#sonic idw 41

[the-sky-queen]

Sky's AU ask game masterlist!

Here's a list of all 55 AUs that appeared in my ask game, including their real name and links to the posts they were in! Feel free to send their numbers again for more snippets or just ask me questions about them!

(Some of these names are placeholders. XD You'll be able to tell which ones.)

The Black Prince - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

New Beginnings - 1

Guardian Swap - 1 2

Survivor Swap - 1

Shadow the Hedgehog: Restoration - 1

Good King Shadow - 1

My Fanfic World (Nexus) (need a name for this one) - 1

Soon May the Wellerman Come - 1

The Fall of King Arthur - 1 2

The Blind Hero - 1

Memory Lost - 1 2

Hivemind - 1 2

Legacy - 1

Metal - 1 2

The Void - 1

Broken and Whole - 1 2

Little Gremlins - 1 2 3 4 5 6

Mystery - 1 2

Future Families - 1

Angel of Death - 1

Sonic Phantoms (+ Forces Aftermath) - 1 2 3 4

Movie SSS and Game SSS - 1 2 3

Sonic was created with Shadow - 1

Mega Swap! - 1

Sonic is Just Literally the Ultimate Lifeform - 1 2

(Splitting it up because it's too long otherwise)

26. Shadow Biological Parents - 1

27. Deaf Sonic - 1 2

28. Star Dust - 1

29. Mind Merge - 1 2

30. Actually Dead AU (I NEED TO RENAME THIS ONE, THIS NAME IS TAKEN) - 1 2

31. Sonic 3M AU - 1

32. A Ghost of Who I Used to Be - 1 2

33. The Best Years of Our Lives - 1

34. Father, I wanted to Make You Proud - 1

35. Masks - 1

36. Adventures in Moebius - 1

37. Alter-Egos - 1

38. Shadow has Celiac now :) - 1

39. Sonic is a manipulating hypnotizing little jerk :) - 1

40. SONIC IS BLIND - 1

41. Gone Wrong - 1 2 3 4

42. The Unleashed Thing I Had a Dream About - 1

43. Spirits AU - 1

44. IDW Issue 19 Rewrite - 1

45. SA2 Shadow's Sacrifice Rewritten - 1

46. To Make It Right - 1

47. Awakened - 1

48. Impostor Syndrome Mini Sequel - 1

49. Shadow the Hedgehog: Origin - 1

50. Fruits Basket Sonic yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee - 1

51. Scourge: Fanfilm - 1

52. Sonic and the Avengers??!! - 1 2 3 4

53. Shadow Whipple Story :D - 1

54. Immortals - 1

55. Sonic's Choose Your Own Adventure Story - 1

[kinopioa]

Lmao I can tell the desperation and paranoia coming from your side I very much doubt I love the part where you leave out the podcasts where he thinks some of a lot of early archie was "a mistake" but then again what do I expect from a side who are so desperate for someone to agree with them.

mkay

Looking in the 2015-2023 Masterlist for Bumblekast for questions...

-2019;

Bumblekast 102: 45:25

Ian, going back to your pre super genesis wave run on the Archie comics I noticed that the way you wrote Sonic seemed different from the way you’ve written him since. Sonic is much more aggressive, arrogant, and hot headed. He is much more likely to resort to violence like running across the continent to ram into Eggman and then laughing about it or threatening Eggman with a 5 minute head start. Of course Eggman is a villain, but it’s a very sharp contrast to his usual light hearted attitude in your later comics. Sonic was also egotistical in the case of the Tails and Fiona situation. He’s very often scowling or annoyed with friends and foes alike, and very often undermines authority and boasts about it. I wanted to know what was your reasoning for taking the character in this direction or was this never your intention in the first place? Either way I think it gave the character an nice level of depth to balance out his usual attitude, so thank you.

He says this is due to older writers turning him into an unlikeable jock to his buds that he had to be consistent with, though I very much disagree. Sonic insulting close allies was a Flynn creation, exception for Knuckles for Knucklehead shit when they first fought. Which stopped fairly quickly

Even Penders' run you don't see him dismiss his friends like this badly, when they were literally fighting for his integrity

It's bizarrely the only instance of him saying something in old Archie was bad that year, and it's moreso his writing

Other years were fairly lax but

2020;

Bumblekast 108;

Lawsuit aside, the [Early] Era of the [Archie Sonic] comic was known for its extreme melodrama; was this something you deliberately tried to avoid in your approach to the comics?

He says that it was common fan complaint, so he said he opted for more action. Then said fans complained there was too much action

Again kinda wrong, cuz his run was absolutely swamped with melodrama (House of Cards was planned to be longer too!), and IDW similarly pulls that shit frequently

July 27th: 12:41

What are your thoughts on issue 94 of Archie Sonic and the idea of sonic And the Other freedom fighters going to School ? My opinion on the issue is Sonic going to school at that point in time in the book history was an Extremely a bad idea especially when Eggman is still alive and kicking plus they didn’t need to go to school and they could’ve written issue 94 about sonic and Co. getting jobs The whole issue Felt like I was reading a fanfic

A rare instance of him saying a pre 160 issue storyline is bad, but he cites that being more on editorial being severely out of touch, not writer. Nor does he specify any writer

I dunno anon, he doesn't hate old Archie, even if objectively convoluted

But ah well

[sonicshipbattles]

Daily Submission Stats

Overall Submissions: 65 Unique Ships Submitted: 41 1st Most-Submitted Ship: SonKnux (16 overall submissions - 6 for general SonKnux, 10 for different variants) 2nd Most-Submitted Ship: Knuxadow (7 overall submissions - 5 for general Knuxadow, 2 for different variants) 3rd Most-Submitted Ship: Knuxouge (6 overall submissions - 4 for general Knuxouge, 2 for different variants) 4th Most-Submitted Ship: A tie between KnuxAmy and KnuxMighty (both with 4 submissions) Here we are at the first submissions stats. This time, I'm changing things up a little by listing the top four submitted ships, as these will be the ones placed apart from each other on the grid, so it's most important to know who's winning. SonKnux is way out in front - this isn't too surprising, given that it was the ship that received the most submissions back in our Sonic tournament. For now, I feel like we've had one person submit a lot of different variants for that ship, but I expect it to keep doing well throughout submissions. Also, I just want to congratulate all 4 people who submitted KnuxMighty for all submitting that one Sonic Channel image as the art for them - you have good taste and that image will be used There is one submitted ship that I've omitted so far and will run a poll soon about if it should be included. I think I know what the answer is (and I was kinda surprised to see it submitted at all), but since it's gotten at least two submissions so far, I think it's only fair on the people submitting it that they get given a chance Now, this is usually the part where I list ships with only one nomination, so people can give them a boost and save them from the threeway poll elimination rounds. But since I can make a bracket now regardless of numbers, that isn't so much of an issue. Some ships with higher submissions may skip a round ahead, but all ships will only be in two way polls So instead, I'm just gonna paste the whole list (minus omitted ships) here, so people can see where we're at and maybe give a boost to something not in the top four:

Knuckles/Amy (General) Knuckles/Amy (Post-SGW Archie) Knuckles/Amy/Sonic/Sticks (Boom) Knuckles/Blaze Knuckles/Chili Dogs/Sonic Knuckles/Espio (General) Knuckles/Espio (Archie) Knuckles/Espio/Mighty Knuckles/Espio/Mighty/Silver Knuckles/Espio/Silver Knuckles/his hat (Modern) Knuckles/his hat (OVA) Knuckles/his hat (TMoStH) Knuckles/Jet Knuckles/Julie-Su Knuckles/Metal Sonic Knuckles/Mighty Knuckles/no one Knuckles/Porker Lewis Knuckles/Relic Knuckles/Rouge (General) Knuckles/Rouge (Sonic X) Renegade Knucks/Rebel Rouge Knuckles/Shade Knuckles/Shade/Sonic Knuckles/Shadow (General) Knuckles/Shadow (Archie) Knuckles/Shadow (Sonic X) Knuckles/Shadow/Sonic Knuckles/Silver Knuckles/Sonia Knuckles/Sonic (General) Knuckles/Sonic (Archie) Knuckles/Sonic (Boom) Knuckles/Sonic (Frontiers) Knuckles/Sonic (IDW) Knuckles/Sonic (Sonic X) Knuckles the Dread/Sonic Knuckles/Sticks (Modern) Knuckles/Surge Knuckles/The Master Emerald

[anacecherry]

I posted 8.114 times in 2022

That's 6.898 more posts than 2021!

576 posts created (%7)

7.538 posts reblogged (%93)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@zonic-the-zone-cop

@mizumaranza

@lesbiacebian

@spark-is-tired

@borrelia

I tagged 4.799 of my posts in 2022

Only %41 of my posts had no tags

#rottmnt - 590 posts

#fave - 533 posts

#ace's cherry - 483 posts

#[tumblr] - 443 posts

#video - 324 posts

#sonic - 222 posts

#tiktok - 202 posts

#cats - 117 posts

#🦀 - 89 posts

#toh liveblog - 87 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#idw haters be like: why sonic saying 'big oof' is the worst decision in writing history and ian flynn should kill himseld‚ a thread (1/836)

My Top Posts in 2022:

5.

Would've been really funny if there was a post credits scene and it was just Draxum coming back to New York from his vacation and everyones like "Oh hey Berry, welcome back. The world almost ended while you were gone, could've really used your help but anyway how was Florida?"

892 notes - August 5, 2022

4.

See the full post

1.111 notes - Posted July 19, 2022

3.

See the full post

2.376 notes - Posted July 8, 2022

2.

I don't know what to caption this. Just take it.

3.355 notes - Posted May 1, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

See the full post

7.159 notes - Posted May 6, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[alterchaos]

Bet.

1. Amy Rose

2. Cream the Rabbit

3. Rouge the Bat

4. Blaze the Cat

5. Sir Percival (Black Knight)

6. Merlina (Black Knight)

7. Sharah (Secret Rings)

8. Sarah (OVA)

9. Elise (06)

10. Helen (Sonic X)

11. Topaz (Sonic X)

12. Lindsey Thorndyke (Sonic X)

13. Ella (Sonic X)

14. Tikal the Echidna

15. Francis (Sonic X)

16. Scarlet Garcia (Sonic X)

17. President's Aide (Sonic X - forgot name)

18. Maria Robotnik

19. Honey the Cat

20. Vanilla the Rabbit

21. Sally Acorn (Archie/SatAM)

22. Bunnie Rabbot/D'Coolette (Archie/SatAM)

23. The twins from the future Freedom Fighters (Archie)

24. Sally's daughter (Archie - forgot name)

25. Alicia Acorn (Archie)

26. Breezie the Hedgehog (Archie/Adventures of Sonic)

27. Mama Robotnik (Adventures of Sonic)

28. Lanolin (IDW)

29. Tangle the Lemur (IDW)

30. Whisper the Wolf (IDW)

31. Sage (Frontiers)

32. Princess Sonia (Underground)

33. Bernadette Hedgehog (Archie)

34. Tails's mom (Archie)

35. Nicole the Hololynx (Archie)

36. pink Knuckles (Archie - forgot her name lol)

37. Thunderbolt the Chinchilla (Archie)

38. Clove (Archie)

39. Clove's sister (Archie - forgot again)

40. Wave the Swallow

41. Rosie Rascal (Archie)

42. Fiona Fox (Archie)

43. Sally's caretaker (Archie - forgot name)

44. Mina Mongoose (Archie)

45. Tails's and Mina's daughter (Archie - forgot name)

46. Cosmo the Seedrian (Sonic X)

47. Rosie (Sonic Boom)

48. the old lady with the walker (Sonic Boom - forgot name)

49. Earthandria?? (Sonic X - name may be off)

50. Molly (Sonic X)

*dies*

Take my quiz, boy

50 sonic girlies, do you know them all?

[neomel]

IDW Sonic Arcs Tierlist Masterpost!

Introduction

Arcs

Miniseries

One-shots & Annuals

Sagas

FAQ

Introduction

Hello! This is the masterpost for my Tiermaker template regarding all of IDW Sonic's stories - "arcs", for short! Due both to the somewhat messy reading order of the comic and Tiermaker's restrictions on description lengths, I concluded the best course of action to best inform people was to just make a big post on here, detailing all possible questions and confusion you might have. I of course can't decide what you want to do with this info - make your tierlist however you want! - but I hope to at least give some pointers to help clear up confusion.

The images on the template are divided into four categories per the color of their banner (with colors and names that you might've noticed in the table of contents above!). These represent the various ways in which IDW Sonic's stories are officially* categorized in: Arcs, Miniseries, One-Shots / Annuals. and Sagas. The default order that the images appear in on the list, as seen in the above image, follows their release and recommended reading order. Detailed descriptions of what each of these categories mean, as well as where every issue fits in, can be found on each of the bullet-points below.

2. Arcs

Arcs in Sonic IDW are how the comic's main numbered issues are bunched together: think of the issues as chapters, and the arcs as the narrative those chapters form. Every issue with a number, from #1 to today, is part of an arc, and said arcs typically to follow a narrative throughline throughout them, beginning at the start of the arc and being resolved - or changing focus - by the end.

These arcs are officially named and sorted through IDW's paperback reprints, a list of which can be found here. These paperbacks also insert some one-shots and annuals into some arcs, despite these being mostly disconnected from the ongoing arc. As a result of this, some arcs contain 5 whole issues, while others only contain 2 with the rest being made up of these one-shot additions. Whether or not you count these self-contained stories as being part of arcs or not is entirely up to you when making the list!

As of writing [2024-07-26], issues #72 - #75 are yet to be released and yet to be given an official arc name. Once said arc name is revealed, it will be added to the template.

Fallout! > #1 - #4

The Fate of Dr. Eggman > #5 - #8

Battle for Angel Island > #9 - #12

Infection > #13 - #16

Crisis City > #17 - #20

The Last Minute > #21 - #24

All or Nothing > #25 - #29

Out of the Blue > [Annual 2020] #30 - #32

Chao Races & Badnik Bases > #33 - #36

Test Run! > #37 - #40

Zeti Hunt! > #41 - #44

Trial by Fire > #45 - #49

Battle for the Empire > #50 - #51 [Deep Trouble] [Annual 2022]

Overpowered > #52 - #56

Urban Warfare > #57 - #61

Misadventures > #62 - #66

Adventure Awaits > #67 - #68 [900th Adventure] [Endless Summer] [Chaotix Halloween]

Extreme Competition > #69 - #71 [Winter Jam] [Spring Broken]

3. Miniseries

Miniseries are 4-issue side stories that take place inbetween main arcs, typically starring other characters from the comic than Sonic and c.o! These are still part of the story of the comic, but the order they're listed in here is specifically based on the date they were released, not when they canonically take place.

Tangle & Whisper > After Infection

Bad Guys > After Out of the Blue

Imposter Syndrome > After Trial by Fire

Scrapnik Island > After Overpowered

4. One-shots / Annuals

One-shots, as the name implies, are stories contained entirely to a single comic issue. Annuals are similar: Think of them like collections of several smaller One-shots, all drawn by different artists! Like with the Miniseries, these are all canon and part of the storyline, and all but one are officially included as part of arcs per the paperback reprints. As they're typically disconnected from the events of the main comic's arcs, I recommend ranking these on their own!

Annual 2019 > Not part of any arc

Annual 2020 > Part of Out of the Blue

Deep Trouble > Part of Battle for the Empire

Annual 2022 > Part of Battle for the Empire

900th Adventure > Part of Adventure Awaits

Endless Summer > Part of Adventure Awaits

Chaotix Halloween > Part of Adventure Awaits

Winter Jam > Part of Extreme Competition

Spring Broken > Part of Extreme Competition

5. Sagas

The little asterisk at the end of "officially" in the introduction was referring to this category in particular. Sagas in IDW Sonic are ways to group together the greater story of the book into phases, mainly through a common thread that binds the arcs and issues featured together. This classification is the only one not officially provided by IDW themselves - however, the comic book's main writer Ian Flynn has provided the names and outline for them through his podcast, to help divide the comic's run into different sections. Sagas are effectively a way to view the IDW Sonic story on a macro scale, combining multiple pieces of the story into larger wholes.

Whilst looking at the tiermaker template, think of it like this: Every Arc, Miniseries and One-shot / Annual featured before a Saga icon is part of said Saga, and everything after said Saga icon is part of the next Saga. As of writing [2024-07-26], the ongoing saga beginning with Scrapnik Island and issue #57 lacks a given name and is thus not featured on the tierlist template.

Revenge of Neo Metal [#1 - #12] Fallout!, The Fate of Dr. Eggman, Battle for Angel Island, Annual 2019

The Metal Virus [#13 - #32] Infection!, Tangle & Whisper, Crisis City, The Last Minute, All or Nothing, Annual 2020, Out of the Blue,

Eggman's Legacy [#33 - #56] Bad Guys, Chao Races & Badnik Bases, Test Run!, Zeti Hunt!, Trial by Fire, Imposter Syndrome, Battle for the Empire, Deep Trouble, Annual 2022, Overpowered

Saga of Misadventures [#57 - #75] Scrapnik Island, Urban Warfare, Misadventures, Adventure Awaits, 900th Adventure, Endless Summer, Chaotix Halloween, Extreme Competition, Winter Jam, Spring Broken, Phantom Riders

6. FAQ

I'll be using this section to address some common questions that I've received from others in asking for feedback in this template. If you have further questions, feel free to add them in the reblog tags or replies, and I'll edit the post to include them!

Why aren't the Classic Sonic IDW issues featured, such as the 30th Anniversary Special or Fang the Hunter?

My goal with the default sorting of this template, as described in the introduction, to follow both with their release and recommended reading order. The Classic Sonic IDW issues are very disconnected from the core Sonic IDW storyline, as the Classic Sonic games still exist in a nebulous amount of time in the past before the original Sonic Adventure. Because of this, they're not part of any of the three currently established sagas nor part of any of IDW's officially released reading orders - and I have no way of adding them to the template that doesn't mess with the sorting. For instance, due to how Tiermaker works, all images added are shoved into the very back: This means that if I were to put all the Classic Sonic stories in at the beginning of the template (per their Chronological appearance), all new Classic IDW releases such as the upcoming Knuckles anniversary release would end up awkwardly squeezed in the middle of the main series.

However, since Tiermaker lets users add their own custom images to templates, I want to eventually make a sort of "DLC pack" with images of all the Classic Sonic releases. These will be linked here with a Google Drive link at a later date.

What about the Sonic Forces, Team Sonic Racing, and Sonic Frontiers prequel / tie-in comics?

Those may also be included in the future - and if so, they'll be released the same way as the Classic Sonic releases.

What the heck is "Deep Trouble"?

During 2021 and 2022, IDW released "Free Comic Book Day" issues of the Sonic comic, released for free as per the name of the annual holiday. Whilst 2021's release was halfway a Classic Sonic story and a halfway a clipshow recap of the IDW comic from issue #1 to #49, the 2022 release included a new story canon to the main Sonic IDW storyline. That's "Deep Trouble"!

Why are #67 and #68 not part of "Misadventures"? What even is "Adventure Awaits"?!

I was surprised to learn this too! The paperback releases seem to have an upper cap for how many issues they're willing to include, which meant that #62-68 couldn't all be fit into one release. I think it's perfectly valid to consider them all still part of the same arc and to just ignore "Adventure Awaits" (particularly with #67, I believe that one really should have been in the "Misadventures" paperback). Nevertheless, the aim in including releases like "Adventure Awaits" is to allow the template to have as many options as possible for the sake of ranking: I would rather include too many options than too few, and I reckon that ignoring arc classifications that you find stupid is a completely valid option in making your tierlist!

What's the deal with "Extreme Competition" Isn't the arc called "Phantom Riders"?

Issues #69-75 have a similar quirk as "Misadventures" described above, where what's seemingly presented as one arc is instead split up into two paperbacks. This is, of course, because #69-#75 is a LOT of comic book: With #75 being double-sized, the stretch's total run is equivalent to that of EIGHT issues: Double that of the standard paperback release! Therefore, "Extreme Competition" collects the start of this larger Phantom Riders arc in #69-#71, alongside two one-shot stories that center on competition, in "Winter Jam" and "Spring Broken". While we don't yet have a formal announcement on what the next paperback release will be after this, it's nigh inevitable that it's going to be collecting #72-#75 under the "Phantom Riders" name.

What all this means for you, effectively, is that you'll (soon) have the choice to either rank "Phantom Riders" as the entire stretch of issues from #69 to #75, or rank it as specifically the second half of the story, with "Extreme Competition" making up the first half. If you don't want to engage with this split-in-two system that the paperbacks did, my advice is the same as in the above question regarding "Adventure Awaits": If you think the arc classification is stupid, just disregard it! Most people will probably understand "Phantom Riders" as meaning the entire arc anyway.

You mentioned them by name above; when are "Phantom Riders" and "Saga of Misadventures" being added to the template?

When the paperback for "Phantom Riders" is officially announced.

Where did the Saga name "Saga of Misadventures" come from?

While the comic's first three names were provided by Ian Flynn through his podcast, these three sagas were also the ones that he was most prominently involved with. Evan Stanley wrote a majority of material from #57 to #75, and in her opinion this stretch of the book isn't to be considered a saga. She's further said that, if the stretch of issues had to be labeled under any name, it would be "Misadventures". I of course respect Evan Stanley's wishes for her run in the book, yet also am bound by the template's framework to still encapsulate #57-#75 under a name: Thus, to avoid confusion with the arc of the same name, I coined the name "Saga of Misadventures".

If you want to adhere to Evan's wishes of avoiding considering the stretch a saga whatsoever, you're free to avoid ranking the saga altogether.

In the list of arcs, why is Annual 2020 listed first on Out of the Blue, before the issues that make up the arc?

That's the way it was printed in the paperback! I assume it's because Annual 2020 features a good number of stories regarding the Metal Virus, and that Out of the Blue is the definitive end to the Metal Virus saga.

What about the Archie Comics?

I haven't read them!

Can I ask you something?

Sure thing! And if it's a question relevant enough to the template, I'll add it on here!

[LAST EDIT: 2024-09-23]

[crystalmaiden77real]

Shadow used Chaos Control without an Emerald in his first scene.

" Look, Mom! No Emerald! "

Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vjXvek4nq0 at 1: 41. When Shadow first talked to Eggman, he wasn't holding an Emerald, and he still warped to another room, after inexplicably going upwards.

I was just reminded even Sonic Battle and Sonic Rivals think otherwise, so apparently this was a retcon based on the games, not something the comic just retconned. But I don't think writers should base the canon of a recent comic on spin-off games most people haven't seen all the cutscenes of. It just seems unintuitive to go with the retcon of obscure games.

It's needlessly confusing to a general audience. This would be like if IDW established that Eggman Nega is from the future of Sonic's specific dimension, because Rivals said so. I prefer the idea that he's from an alternate dimension that is ahead in time from Sonic's, so it's both. You don't see IDW insisting that Blaze is from Silver's future instead just because 06 is a more famous and console game while Rush is a handheld, more obscure title.

[shimecm]

Bless Zavok titties 🙏

[identifying-sonic-in-posts]

Sonic Colors (2010)

Sonic IDW Endless Summer, art by Tracy Yardley and Thomas Rothlisberger, inks by Maria Keane, colors by Joana Lafuente

Sonic IDW #45, art by Evan Stanley, inks by Matt Froese, colors by Reggie Graham

Sonic Speed Simulator (Roblox), Summer Sonic

Sonic Adventure 2, hero story

Sonic Channel, Sonic Pict January, 2021, art by Yui Karasuno

Sonic IDW #41, art by Adam Bryce Thomas, colors by Matt Herms

Sonic IDW Endless Summer, art by Tracy Yardley and Thomas Rothlisberger, inks by Maria Keane, colors by Joana Lafuente

Sonic IDW #53, art by Adam Bryce Thomas, colors by Reggie Graham

Sonic The Hedgehog ”Passion & Pride” Anthems with Attitude from the Sonic Adventure Era, art by Yuji Uekawa

A lot of Tails’ stuff being blue, most of Sonic’s belongings having a hint of yellow.

[mikandreamer]

this is my contribution to this meme

[niyana-the-ambiguous-mobian]

Uh you doing okay there Lanolin?

[kinopioa]

Matt Herm's coloring I got curious of. Other than me feeling Sonic's blue is too teal, it was good in Archie, even some IDW covers (though the latter is glam grade anyway, and shouldn't be used for ref)

For standard Archie stuff (2013-2016);

He made a tutorial for it as well (Video and wip Devianart image), which is cool. Though I do feel he didn't color tone much for none standard lighting. Gradually became reserved for covers

Starting 2014 he had a flatter style, but it's still good. Color toning is implemented

Early IDW starts flattening things, despite Variant covers

Though still fine

Issue 41 seems to be the first issue he uses the noise overlay that Reggie uses, and it gradually gets flatter from there. For the most part it's fine, but he seems to have issue with ABT's art after 50, leaving a lot of elements flat colored and using highlights more. Though 58 seems fine in comparison

Otherwise, not happy with the inconsistent shade detail across elements

@randomthefox @crusherthedoctor

[woodchipp]

I don’t know what Flynn has done to make you turn up your nose at him

Characterizing Sonic as a sanctimonious hypocrite who beats himself off about how he’s so much purer than the common, vulgar, weak, licentous villains he encounters and seems to not hold his friends in high regard, considering how he strawmanned a clearly grieving Espio to defend his worldview in an argument and deflected blame for letting Metal Sonic go to Tails

Characterizing Shadow as a stupid and aggressive asshole (and no, you can’t hide behind the Mandates excuse. only writers who don’t grasp the characters get notes from SEGA. Daniel Barnes and Caleb Goeliner didn’t seem to have any trouble with SEGA or the mandates, so why did Flynn? :))

Characterizing Eggman as a dunce who sat on his ass and did nothing while his plans went wayward to kickstart Starline’s arc as Eggman’s disillusioned fanboy. Sure, Eggman does make mistakes in the games, but it’s nowhere near downright negligence of the situation around him

Related to the previous point, almost completely supplanting Eggman as the main antagonist of the comic with (bland and uninteresting) comic originals. I can’t even remember the last time Eggman was portrayed as a genuine villain at the top of the food chain without being backstabbed/upstaged/having to fight for the spot, and I think it says a lot when the main hero of the series and tthe main villain of the series has  directly fought each other only twice (#23 and briefly in #41) as of now

Deflecting any criticism towards the half-baked moral conundrums he raises in the comic with “but it’s just a children’s book! don’t like, don’t read! go read adult material if you’re an adult and you’re not satisfied with my surface-level approach! the comic was never meant to be a balanced moral debate!” and patronizingly referring to Sonic’s rant in #50 as “spelling the SEGA standard out for those who haven’t figured it out yet”

Hiding behind Adam Bryce Thomas’ artistic decisions after recieving criticism for the “Big Oof” line, something that he wrote

Explicitly stating that the comic focuses more on the OCs because that allows the writers to circumvent SEGA’s guidelines since the OCs have much less oversight than the canon characters

Was this list exhaustive enough?

I don’t fucking care about how many copies Frontiers sold out, sweetie. If I have to listen to a podcast to learn that Eggman and Sage’s relationship was actually meant to be far more shallow than it is shown to be in-game and then watch a stream to learn that the final boss was actually the personification of Death, the plot sucks balls. If I have to listen to Tails referring to himself in Pontaff’s games as “wildily inconsistent” and hear the characters embarking to do things they have been already doing all this time, the character writing sucks balls. If I have to see two colorful, vibrant anthro animals standing in a nearly-photorealistic grassy field, the art direction sucks balls. If I have to learn that Aliens From Outer Space are actually responsible for everything that happened in the frachise so far, the lore revelations suck balls. 

Similarly, I couldn’t give less of a fuck about IDW’s sales. You just have to Google “idw publishing stocks” to see their dire straits :)

If you don’t consider Tangle or Whisper to be game character in spite of them appearing in two mobile games that have been downloaded and played more than any Sonic game

This is such a laughable argument holy fucking shit

I can apply the same logic to every single character that has been ever added to Sonic Dash or Sonic Forces Speed Battle. Is Red from Angry Birds Epic a Sonic game character now? 

What they said in the beginning about it being diverged from canon no longer applies. Shit changed.

When asked about the canonicity of the comic, the best answer Flynn could give basically amounted to “If you want to think that the comic is canon, I would not argue against you”, which is still very vague. This is not the groundbreaking shift you think it is. 

Until Tangle and Whisper actually appear in a game instead of being off-handedly mentioned, nothing is certain. And even then, Games!Tangle and Whisper could be completely different characters from their comic incarnations

And the days of Sega pimping out Sonic to whatever Western media content creator and not caring what they churn out are over.

Sure.

Because it’s a Western media content creator you happen to like. :)

You are in a renaissance of Sonic 

Oh, boo-fucking-hoo. Excuse me for not enjoying the “renaissance” when most of the products (with the exception of the movies) suck balls and the fandom is just one man’s insane cult of personality at this point.

Sonic Frontiers sold 3 million copies.

For comparison’s sake, Sonic 06 sold 800k, Sonic Unleashed sold under 2.5 million copies, Sonic Colors sold 2.1 million copies, and Sonic Generations sold 1.8 million copies. Sonic Lost World sold 700k and is one of the lowest selling main games in the Franchise and yet the Zeti are prominent in the comic. Sonic Forces sold a pitiful in its first week and we may never know exactly how much Sonic Forces actually sold(and it having 5 million plus on players on PSN+ is not any indication of a sale since it was free.) Yet somehow the comic takes place directly after Forces. Sonic Mania sold just over a million in case those hardcore Sonic classic fans want to open their mouths. While I’m at it, Sonic Adventure sold 1.3 million and SA2 sold 1.7 million. Sonic Rush sold 1.3 million and its sequel,which suffered after 06 tarnished Sonic’s reputation, sold 300k. The first Sonic game sold 15 million copies and before Retro fans start talking shit, note that is the only game in the franchise that sold that amount and it was in the golden age of gaming. You could sell a wet fart in an Nintendo cartridge and it would have made a million easy. Sonic 2? 6 million. Sonic 3? 1.03 million. Sonic and Knuckles? 1.3 million. Sonic CD? 1.5 million. Shadow the Hedgehog? 2 million. And Sonic Heroes and probably the biggest offender as to why Sonic Team stopped giving a shit about quality or effort and more about that Christmas grind? 3.41 million in 2 years.

Sonic Frontiers sold like gang busters in the couple of months it’s been out.

If you think Sage or any Frontiers elements won’t be referenced or be in the comic, you are bugging. Especially given that one of the main writers of the game writes for the comic. If that’s what is keeping you from saying IDW Sonic is on the same canon as the games and not what Iizuka says or what Flynn has stated several times, you are bugging. You are kidding yourselves if you think IDW can’t possibly put in those elements from the game in their comic.

If you don’t consider Tangle or Whisper to be game character in spite of them appearing in two mobile games that have been downloaded and played more than any Sonic game and have been created with the help of Sonic Team’s own character designer, fling yourself into the Nile River and cope and seethe. Tangle and Whisper have merchandise in the Sega Shop.

TailsTube shorts? Written by Flynn. That little Amy Rose Tarot Card set that is coming out soon? Written by Flynn with art created by one of the many IDW comic artists. This comic series has well over 50 issues including 4 different 4 part miniseries. It sold out in Japan! It’s consistently IDW’s top selling comic beating both the Transformers and Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles. It has sold over 10,000 copies an issue in a world where comics aren’t widely recognized unless it’s in the Marvel or DC. What they said in the beginning about it being diverged from canon no longer applies. Shit changed. It’s a new goddamn world. IDW Sonic is the only medium that actually uses your beloved obscure characters like Silver and Blaze. Like Cream. I don’t know what Flynn has done to make you turn up your nose at him but get over it. And the days of Sega pimping out Sonic to whatever Western media content creator and not caring what they churn out are over. The only exception to this is the movie verse(and because Iizuka has explicitly said it’s in a different canon)and honestly I have a tougher time trying to grasp how Sonic Prime is canon than I am with IDW. But regardless, it’s a new day. You are in a renaissance of Sonic and for once Sega gives enough of a shit about lore to want to make it all gel together and avoiding SATAM or Sonic Underground or Sonic the Comic or Archie Sonic the Hedgehog. Get the fuck over it.

[chibigalaxies]

..warm comfy hedgie.

[molinaskies]

Sonic's Next Emotional Arc: Skepticism and Doubt

IDW SPOILERS – Read up to the latest issue (41, at time of writing) or at least issue 40 before reading this.

I keep seeing arguments about how “Sonic and company don’t even seem impacted by the severe stakes of the Metal Virus and the pain they experienced.”

In the nicest way possible, that’s absolute cap. Here’s why:

When I first read Belle’s introduction in the Chao Races arc, I thought Sonic’s standoffish nature towards her (especially how he held his reservations through the following two issues) was out of character for him, but now, I think it makes complete sense (and is genius on the part of Evan Stanley).

Why?

Sonic was waiting for her to turn on him, just like how Mr. Tinker did.

I’ve spoken at length about Sonic’s emotional intelligence, so I would bet real-world money on the fact that Belle’s denial of her creator and her overall appearance clued Sonic in immediately – when he asked about who built her, he was referring to Tinker from the start.

Sonic’s friendly by nature, which is why he’s so chummy with her after Tails makes a case for her. The same idea goes for while they’re in battle, where Sonic’s attention and priorities are heavily shifted. Otherwise, however, notice how he’s crasser with her in his dialogue.

Note the distinct lack of apology from Sonic (by design; an explanation is not an apology and he knows it) and the elliptic pause.

Here, Sonic gives in rather begrudgingly, but his tone changes from actively defensive to teasing (a level down in Sonic’s defence mechanism – “a step above Eggman," I’ll call it), where he’s not comfortable really chatting with her but will riff off her, instead.

Once in the company of his friends, Sonic is more willing to keep her around, especially with someone else. Once again, when Sonic isn’t playing tour guide, his demeanor resets and… he’s confused; lost in thought until Amy requests his attention.

Here, note the realization within Sonic that Belle is here to stay, as well as his apology (with a distinct lack of an explanation – this is especially important).

Sonic finally accepts that Belle will be good for his friends and for their cause, but he doesn’t tell her (or anyone) his thoughts because 1) he senses that Belle 100% is in denial and isn’t ready to face certain facts (something Sonic, himself, is familiar with), and 2) he recognizes that he has no right to instill within Belle the same doubt he’s been living with since issue 1 (at an absolute minimum, too, given the history of this damn hedgehog).

Eggman, during the climax of the Metal Virus arc, has an amazing one-liner that sets up Sonic’s current emotional arc, in which Sonic won’t be so trusting of new faces and new situations. In the moment, Sonic tries to brush it off, but such little details – the retraction of his ears and his sweat – give his genuine discomfort away, because Eggman is right.

Sonic’s biggest desire of Eggman is for him to be a better person – something Sonic knows that Eggman is very seriously capable of, both through the existence of Mr. Tinker upon complete amnesia and by the historically significant grace periods that Eggman goes through to aid the greater good (Sonic Adventure 1 and 2, Sonic ’06, and Lost World, to name a few examples).

Side note: reread issue 23. Sonic is genuinely at his most desperate, and it's raw and painful and good. Easily a standout issue in the Metal Virus arc.

Sonic’s choice to spare Mr. Tinker is one he’s done nothing but defend whenever it’s been brought into the discussion, but in private, Sonic doubts his decision and feels immense guilt and responsibility for the losses his friends have seen and experienced to the Metal Virus.

Remember, too, that this comes nearly right after an approximate seven-month war that Sonic’s overzealousness (and subsequent defeat and capture) effectively started. We also see post-Metal Virus that Sonic seems significantly more protective of his friends compared to the start of the comic. He’s hyper-aware of his place in the world and in their lives, and he wants nothing more than to protect them – his somewhat-awkward, non-verbal communication of how much he adores them (Tails and Amy, especially).

Also, a very sweet detail here on the left: Sonic pushes Amy’s and Tails’ heads down to protect them from being waterboarded, and immediately, Amy goes to do the same for Sonic. Those two are so pure in their connection - whatever that means to you - and Amy is best girl (and y’all can @ me lol).

In a way, Sonic’s actions as of late have been the direct cause of a lot of very serious problems, and Sonic isn’t so ready to make another grave mistake. Belle was (and is) a living, walking, talking, and sentient reminder of what could be Sonic’s biggest regret and point of eternal conflict – the point of reflection in which he realized the absolute pain he put his loved ones through.

However, despite all of this, Sonic isn’t ready to give up hope. He’s changing his tactics up a bit, which shows his growing emotional maturity, but he still wants to believe that everyone can be good, that every problem can be solved, and that every person can be redeemed – including himself.

I want to share another excerpt from Japanese Sonic X. At the end of episode 38, after Sonic and Shadow save the planet from the falling ARK with seconds to spare before the point of no return and irreparable damage, this exchange between the president’s aid and the president’s driver (Sam Speed) occurs:

Sonic’s unparalleled optimism has been a core characteristic of his for a long time, and I really like how well the IDW comics have adhered to this fact while enabling Sonic to open up and be a teenager as it’s because of Sonic’s age and development that he experiences such waves of both optimism and doubt.

Sonic has never lived in a floating timeline. He’s grown and regressed and matured through every experience he’s had. He’s a thoughtful, dynamic, intelligent character who doesn’t take anything for granted. At least, not anymore.

(and people say nice things about him – LOL).

[lightningstar1389]

Oh hey, this got posted on some news sites last night??! Wild!!!

Here's my IDW Sonic cover! ⛱️✨ Right now it's looking like it will be cover B for issue 41 (scheduled for a June release, right before Sonics 30th anniversary! But I'll let you guys know if that changes) So sorry for the terrible crop oof

Love me some adventure and OVA references 😎 I hope you all enjoy it!

Huge thank you to Riley Farmer and David Mariotte for the opportunity, I had a great time making this!

Also, the sketch and thumbnail: