#basically what i'm saying is that Post-SGW Archie Sonic is peak

[soul-sparx]

As much as I love the IDW Sonic comic, as I reread the Archie comic I'm coming to realize I have one major complaint with the new canonical capers. They feel at once too big and too small, which is interesting because I didn't realize such a thing was possible, and yet here we are.

Too big because we hardly spend any time with the locations we see in the comic. Does anyone remember Barricade Town? The town that showed up for one issue in Knuckles's spotlight story back in the beginning of the series? No? I thought not. That's what appearing twice ever will do for a place. None of the locations we've visited have the living, breathing feel of locales like Knothole, or New Mobotropolis. Sure, there are unmemorable one-off locations all around Archie Sonic, but the ones that get a chance to breathe, really get a chance to breathe. The destruction of Knothole in Issue 175 was tragic, not because it was important to the characters, but because it was important to us. It felt like the death of a major character, and led to some of the most impactful arcs of the Pre-SGW series. The only location in IDW Sonic that comes anywhere in the same galaxy as that level of prestige is Restoration HQ and even then, we only see it in glimpses. It's memorable and engaging, but only because it's the only location we've seen with even the slightest hint of depth.

Too small because for as much as the series doesn't dwell on any one location for long, none of the locations stand out enough to deserve it. All we've seen are grassy hills and samey Forces-esque cities. There are a few exceptions, like the snowy resort in White Park, but they're few and far between, and they don't get enough page-time to stick in your mind for long. Compare that to the globetrotting feel of the Post-SGW Archie series-- there, every location, both drawn from the games and totally original, gets just enough depth in the time it's given to stay in your mind forever and beg for the cast to return there someday. I can't remember half the villages in IDW Sonic, but I will never forget Breezie's take on Casino Park, a Badnik safehaven with abandoned Badniks new and old repurposed into servers and chefs and other such workers, given new purpose under her. I won't soon forget Meropis, the underwater kingdom ruled by a tiny little pufferfish, with a culture tied directly into the lore of the world while remaining its own.

There are small glimmers of hope in this regard, though. Sonic's 900th Adventure takes us to locations new and old that have never before been seen in the IDW comic, like Spagonia and even the rainforest parts of Soleanna, and Scrapnik Island is a taste of exactly what I want from this series. A globetrotting journey to a location that, in itself, is both new and old, recontextualizing what we know from the games and telling a brand new story all the while, while at the same time giving us new and engaging characters as well as new versions of old ones. I really hope that soon, Sonic and friends (and enemies!) can get off the tiny little island that's stifling them so much right now and visit more places like that, both pulled from the games and new to the comics, given just enough time to breathe and develop, but not so much that they overstay their welcome.