Hey there all, I’m Crooker, and I do this thing called “review comics for a website.” You may have heard of it. Well, what I have today is outside my expected catalogue of giant robots, Batgirls, and mutant turtles. I was approached by a fellow creative, who asked extremely politely if I would be willing to check this comic out and give my thoughts: the sparkFLAME Anthology, a gaggle of one-shot, creator-owned, black-and-white stories by Sonic the Hedgehog comic alumni. Y’all know I like me some Sonic, and as a fellow indie author of a black-and-white comic, how could I refuse? This book is available at a pay-what-you-want price (including free), which is cool. I paid because I could, though.
Folks after my own heart, these.
However, the one stipulation from (supreme overlord) editor Dave is thus: “just be fair.” So fair I shall be! Was already gonna anyway, but transparency is important, y’know? So, I’m gonna talk to all of you guys about these stories, not going into all that much detail as to save the reading experience for yourselves, but I promise you, they’re fun! Cart before the horse here, but I thought they were great! Give it a Google search and read it, if you’re so inclined. Some flaws of course, which I’ll point out as I go, so enough of my yapping.
The first story is Ian Flynn and Adam Bryce Thomas’ “Drogune“. Y’know, I always meant to get around to this. I’ve been a fan of Flynn for years now, long before the IDW books made him public enemy number one (my condolences), but I just never quite found the time. But seeing it now, it’s quintessential Ian Flynn good stuff. The thing about the folks that work on the Sonic books is that there’s always this underlying feeling of being restrained, and I felt that during my time reviewing Ian’s IDW work. This feels… open, free. Unbound. Like these boys are spreading their wings and having a good time doing what they do best, which really comes through. The dialogue is snappy and full of instantly recognizable character, and Thomas’ art feels like a great blend of his work on Sonic, Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball, and other “cartoon platformer” design sensibilities. They’re all really appealing to look at, and a breezy, easy to follow read. Just like his professional work. I would say this one might be my personal favorite of the whole anthology. Hard to find anything bad to say at all.
The second story is “Heart 2 Heart” by Miles Arq. As a Tokusatsu fan myself, this one is deeply after my own heart. Visually, it’s a real feast. I love the author’s art style, it’s very much firmly right in my perfect preference zone when it comes to dynamic artwork, and you can tell that there’s a lot of toku nerdery that went into this that I can appreciate. On the writing side of things, it falters a bit. There’s a lot of awkward grammar usage and sentence flow that needs some fine-tuning, and the dialogue can feel a bit on the simplistic side. Pains me to criticize that, since a lot of heart (heh) clearly went into this, and I did really like it, but that is my job. I think with a bit more tweaking and another dialogue pass, this one will really shape up to be something special. Character designs were my favorite out of the whole anthology, though. Choice.
The next up is “Sharkbait” by Natalie Haines. A very Treasure Planet feeling story with a nice swashbuckling vibe. The design of the titular Captain Sharkbait is immensely cool and appealing, and the sense of adventure is palpable in every panel. I really dig the artistic direction for this, and the twist ending being a comedic beat got a good chuckle from me. Simple, but I like it!
Onto “VirtuaBlu” by Aaron Hammerstrom. This one I really resonated with, as it feels VERY Cowboy Bebop, with a twinge of Space Dandy. I’d challenge you to find anybody attempting to do a bit of a space western who isn’t influenced by Bebop (guilty as charged, here), and for that I cannot point the finger and find fault. I really really REALLY love the art direction too, with the main character feeling quintessential Shonen Battle Girl, a nice touch, and quite possibly the coolest skeleton bounty hunter I’ve ever seen in my life. Friggin’ rad. Totally want to see more for that guy alone. Dialogue from our main character can skew a bit on the cliche side I hate to say, but I get the feeling that’s sort of the Goku-esque vibe eking through. Don’t dislike it, just pointing it out.
After that is “enSOULed” by Evan Stanley. I like Stanley’s work, she’s one of the best people to work on the Sonic comics, that’s for sure, but I was a bit let down by this entry. Namely how short it is, and how little it gives us. We get the setup to an intriguing mystery that promises more, but I didn’t feel like the hook was in the water long enough before it was reeled in… that make sense? I guess what I’m saying is I wish she gave it a bit more room to breathe, and let the concept set in to really get its claws in, because I think this as a ton of potential.
Now for Mauro Fonseca’s “Maria Feveriero.” As a fellow Go Nagai fan who also takes massive inspiration from his work for his own, I resonated with this right away. It’s like Cutie Honey by way of Popeye, Nagai-esque cheesecake and all. This makes sense to me since Fonseca is who I always refer to as “the Cutie Honey guy who works for IDW Sonic.” The only bad thing I have to say here is that the pages can feel a bad crowded and chaotic, and thus sometimes hard to follow. The designs though, are fantastic. Our main girl is absolutely adorable in that exact same way her Go Nagai inspirations are, and honestly I would absolutely dig into more for the strong character designs alone, should more get made.
“Tales of Captain Blackbeard: The Hat” by Rik Mack is our next story, and it’s the most Sonic feeling at its core from all these Known-For-Sonic creators. It honestly feels like it could have been a backup story of an original character in the classic Archie Sonic books, and that’s high praise. The vibe is perfect, whimsical, a bit sad, and cheeky where need be. A good, solid read.
Up next is Reggie Graham’s (great first name, btw) “Evalla.” This one took me a minute to click with, but I do ultimately like it. Is it a compliment or insult to say this gives me Steven Universe vibes? I mean it in a good way, if that helps. It’s got that tropical chill vibe, and exaggerated character design work, and looks pretty visually present in all ways. A real eye-grabber, and that’s rad, if a bit overstimulating at times. The emotional core at the end is what really got me though, and put a genuine smile on my face. Nice stuff.
Ian Flynn is BACK to torment the denizens of the internet once more with “The Nine Lives of Klaws McGee“! Okay, I kid. He’s also got Jonathan Giffiths there to help with the torment. Aaaaah I’m messin’. We do have fun around here. In the spirit of a good natured ribbing, this is the snarkier side of ol’ Flynn that his biggest fans will no doubt recognize, with a charming little kid friendly tale that’s a nice whimsical gag-strip of a story. It’s simple and maybe not for everybody, but hey, I’m not gonna turn my nose up as something intended as harmless humor.
Second to last is “20-Something Widow” by Gigi Dutreux. A really short, but deeply saddening personal story from the author that gives a very quick insight to a moment I think a lot of us dread experiencing. Losing a loved one is indescribable, and we’ve all had at least one experience with it. So I’ll save any other words I could say here and only offer my condolences and hope that venting that pain in this form was helpful in any way. Godspeed.
Last up, “Endless Fantasia” by Scrapnik Island Guy and My Twitter Mutual Danny Barnes, with Mike Luckas on pencils and Reggie Graham inking. Love this guy Danny, he makes Sonic fans on Twitter angry in all the right ways and it’s a joy to see. He wrote Scrapnik Island, you know. Good book. Read it. I reviewed that here a dog’s age ago. What was I talking about again? Oh right.
I’ve been following this one here and there in its development stage as Danny posts about it online, and it’s cool to finally see it bear fruit! As one of my favorite guys to ever write for the Blue Blur, he brings that energy full-on with co-lead and Cool Rabbit Man, Jack. Very much that Dreamcast era sassy snarker in a new form. Jill is also cool as hell and an equally awesome design, and the structure of this comic is overall very solid. The action beat is fun and energetic, and the characters have likeable personalities that leave you wanting for more. Also, swordgun. Gun that is a sword. I like. Next to Drogune’s story in this, I would probably call this my second favorite. Maybe slightly biased.
So, that was sparkFLAME Anthology. Not something I expected myself to be looking at, but I’m glad I did! I love this stuff. The authentic feel of people who just wanna make stuff, damned be what people tell them. I try to live that myself every day of my life, and as a fellow independent creator, my hat’s off. My favorite comic of all time is Eastman and Laird’s TMNT, a book that is so chock-full of that “do what you want because who can stop you?” energy, the kind of story I love and respect the most. Indie comics are a gem and a treat, and I’m honored to have been asked to take a look at these. You all did a great job, and each one of these stories, despite some hiccups here and there, was fun and something I wouldn’t hesitate to check out more of. Take a look, pay what you want, and give it a read yourself!
Hope to see more, and soon! I gotta give my poor, fast typing hands a break.
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