Boy, is this a fantastic month for fans of the Blue Blur. I’ve been playing the hell out of Sonic Frontiers in my spare time, and if you guys wanna put that down for a minute and check out what good stuff we got comic-side right now, here’s another issue of Sonic the Hedgehog: Scrapnik Island from IDW. A fantastic one to be sure, written by Daniel Barnes and pencils by Jack Lawrence. I’m really excited about this mini, and I adored the first issue, so lemme talk your ears off about it once more.
SPOILERS AHEAD for Sonic the Hedgehog: Scrapnik Island #2!
The plot starts off where we left off: Sonic and Tails are stranded on the titular Scrapnik Island, struggling to get their ride back up and running so they can get going. This issue mostly uses their delay to play around with Sonic and Mecha Sonic as a duo, which, as a huge fan of that blue bot, I absolutely adored. We get a nice glimpse into what Mecha’s purpose has become now that he’s no longer Eggman’s pawn, even becoming something of a protector himself (much like the real Sonic) and how his old role still haunts him in a number of ways. I don’t want to spoil the cool stuff they tease about his mental state here (though visually it’s done in a really interesting way) so I’d just go say check out the issue if you wanna see what I mean by that. I think Mecha is definitely going to be the breakout character of this mini (if he isn’t already), and giving him that bit of silent trauma, regret and inner conflict is just JUICY. I love it.
IDW Publishing
This issue also has the full re-debut of Mecha Knuckles, teased at the end of last issue. Turns out he’s not really a strictly villainous presence as one might have assumed based on last time, just a bit of a scary looking meathead guarding the under-repaired Egg Carrier for the Scrapniks. It’s a cute way to make him feel like more of a legitimate counterpart to Knuckles himself, infusing some of the echidna’s core traits in a slightly warped way. I dig it, and the fight he had with Mecha is just… *mwah*. Love it. It’s exactly what you’d wanna see with those two characters in a room together – a no-brainer, and it’s just as fun to read as you think.
IDW Publishing
Of course, there’s still some hinting at a more sinister undertone beneath the surface of all this, but I’m going to wait until things start playing out a bit more in the coming issues to really comment on it in detail.
Lawrence’s art is stellar, of course – it’s so expressive and dynamic. I especially love all the character proportions (as I mentioned last time), like Sonic being a bit more Dreamcast Era-y and Mecha having a lot of square and hard angles subtly layered into his design to reflect his old Genesis sprite art. Clever stuff. And of course Mecha’s inner demons being portrayed the way they were (complete with more clean art of his original, undamaged self) is super interesting and a highlight for me.
IDW Publishing
It’s safe to say that like the last issue, Sonic the Hedgehog: Scrapnik Island #2 is a slam dunk. It really is a good month for Sonic fans, huh? I’m really excited for where this story is going, and for what it means for the comics going forward with old fan favorites back on the table like this. Great character writing, some snappy dialogue, really cool art, and some EXCELLENTLY done fanservice. Pick it up guys, you’re gonna like it (I promise! Would I lie to you?).
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