The big 6-0 for IDW’s Sonic the Hedgehog comic series is here! Sonic the Hedgehog #60 is written still by Evan Stanley, with pencils by Thomas Rothlisberger. Yeah okay, 60 isn’t really a celebrated, round number, but it’s still crazy we’re this many years deep into this run now – feels like yesterday it just got started. Alright, enough feeling old, time to check out this month’s issue and see how everything’s doing.
SPOILERS AHEAD for Sonic the Hedgehog #60!
The plot of this one follows up the cliffhanger from last time, with Tangle falling out a window to her… not death (obviously)! Tangle manages to meet back up with Sonic and the crew in an actual viewable state this time, and now finally every character is on the same page with whats been going on. Whisper and Lanolin are still missing for now, but this issue doesn’t follow that up quite yet, and we instead get some great action set pieces of the group going through Eggman’s city and just doing their thing, destroying robots and fighting their way through obstacles while trying to regroup with the injured Shadow. After going haywire last issue form using some fake Chaos Emeralds as a power source, both he and Eggman’s new city aren’t doing too hot, causing things to go awry all around. This gives the team their chance to turn the tides… only for Eggman to pull out a final gambit, leading us to another cliffhanger. It’s a simple one this time, but I’m fine with that. The last issue was very character-focused, so this time we get some heavy action instead. You definitely need that give and take in a series like this, and when it does action, it does action very well.
IDW Publishing
The characterization is light this time, but what’s there is enjoyable. We get to see a really nice but subtle exchange between Silver and Blaze, a genuine rarity and something that I know fans are desperate for more of, so that alone was a highlight. Silver gets another really cool moment within that scene actually (I see you, Evan!), being the one to risk himself to try and free shadow from his crystal entrapment. Again, very subtle stuff, but it’s nice to see future boy get anything to do at all. A lot of the other characters had themselves expressed mostly through the subtleties of the art, and when it comes to showing good expressions, Rothlisberger is one of my absolute favorites in the stable of Sonic artists. I really fell in love with his work in the Anniversary Special and the Imposter Syndrome mini, so I’m always happy to see him come in and get to go ham. Sonic characters really are at their best when their cartoony faces are taking full advantage of the range of expressions they’re capable of, and few artists do that better.
IDW Publishing
Speaking of the art, the fight scenes and set pieces are great here. I love how colorful the city looks, and how the characters themselves pop against it. The work by John-Paul Bove and Ed Pirrie in that department is fantastic here, and it really helped in making this issue a fun read when paired with Rothlisberger’s pencil work.
IDW Publishing
Overall, a pretty good issue! Very action-packed, colorful, and fun. There’s still a lot of steam left in the engine for this arc yet, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. We’ve had a lot of big city-level battles in Sonic as of late actually, and as fun as they are, I do hope we get something a bit more long form after this. A breather is definitely needed after all the hectic, high-octane action we’ve been getting since Imposter Syndrome. Still though, as far as big, multi-character battles go, this one is handled exceptionally well! No surprise there, the people on Sonic rarely disappoint.
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