Today I’ve got not one, but TWO IDW Sonic the Hedgehog reviews for you all, this 900th Adventure special, and Sonic the Hedgehog #64. If you’re joining me from that review, hello! If not, check that one out when you’re done here, if ya like.
The premise of this book is simple: over every combined game, movie, TV show, and comic, this is Sonic’s OFFICIAL 900th outing. I don’t actually know how true that is, but I’m sure it’s probably not fully accurate. It’s the spirit of it that matters though, and it’s a pretty cool milestone to celebrate anyway! The blue blur has certainly had a long a varied career, and it’s really awesome this book gathers some of the best on the comic industry’s side of that journey together to celebrate. There are, quite frankly, too many people on this book for me to credit in a concise manner, so I wont even bother, and just let you look it up if you’re curious. Don’t worry, all the usuals you’ve come to expect from IDW are here.
But I will make mention of ONE particular name, Nigel Kitching, returning to the Sonic franchise after over 20 years since his time on the UK’s Sonic the Comic. Is this a glorious return to form? Well, I’ll talk about that later. For now, I’ll go over the plot.
IDW Publishing
The plot is a pretty typical setup for an anniversary story: Sonic is warped around and has a chance to meet up with a lot of his longtime friends and foes on a quirky little adventure. It’s not exactly anything special in that regard, but the passion of the project shines through. We see references to all stages of Sonic’s life from the Genesis to the modern day, with plenty of other little references for nerds like me to gawk at (hello, Mazinger Z Eggmech in the ruined city from the OVA, I love you). The plot justifies itself via the Warp Topaz, a magical McGuffin that’s been in the comic plenty of times before, but it’s really just here to give Sonic a reason to hop around the planet a bunch to see all these set pieces. The real stars of this show aren’t Sonic and friends, but the talents working to make his world come alive. From Ian Flynn to Nigel Kitching, Adam Bryce Thomas to Evan Stanley, this book is loaded with people giving their all to make it a memorable and fun read.
IDW Publishing
I do wanna stop and narrow my focus to talk about Kitching for a moment. As I alluded to above, Kitching’s inclusion here is an amazing feat. The man is from a very specific era of Sonic stories that Sega itself doesn’t really like to acknowledge, and his UK run wasn’t nearly as famous (or infamous) as the Archie days of the brand among worldwide fans. But to have him here feels right, like a respectful gesture to his legacy with the character and it’s fans. But it’s also a shame to me that he only writes a couple pages of what feels like somebody else’s story. That’s my one gripe with this book in the end, that unlike the 30th Anniversary Special or any given Annual so far, this book is a relatively simple, short, 30 page endeavor that doesn’t really show off the unique writing flairs of the people working on it. I would have loved for all of these wonderfully skilled people to have their own little story to spotlight THEIR way to do Sonic, but I suppose there’s always next time for that. It just feels like a bit of a waste gathering all these insanely skilled people known for their mastery of this character… and having them all NOT go off and tell their own unique tales to celebrate this wild and varied journey our favorite Hedgehog has had.
IDW Publishing
This is very much the artist’s show in that regard though, with a ton of different artists and colorists coming together to make some truly gorgeous sequences, no two looking or feeling alike. The Metal Sonic portion is my personal favorite in that regard, but everybody here did such an amazing job showcasing what they have to bring to to table with this character and his world, and I’m all the happier for it. I’m only sad that they got the LEGENDARY Richard Elson and only had him do a cover! A great cover mind you, but c’mon man! Let him draw a few pages alongside Kitching’s writing again, he’s awesome!
I thought this was a great little comic. I only wish it embraced its own potential a little more and delivered something genuinely knock-out amazing like the 3oth Anniversary did a couple years ago. The return of Sonic UK alumni puts a smile on my face like no other, and was the genuine highlight of the book for me. I hope everybody who worked on this story feels proud of this collaboration, as they should, since it really did show that everybody who works on Sonic comics is a talent in their own, unique and cool way. And that’s exactly what the little blue rodent would want.
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