Archie Sonic Recap and Awards Ceremony #1- The Humble Beginnings

 

Hello there! We're going to be doing something a bit different today. I've really been enjoying the Archie Sonic reviews I've been doing so far, but from the moment I started this project, I knew I wanted to do something special every once in a while to kind of shake things up, and maybe make things a bit easier to follow for any potential newcomers who don't have the time or energy to sift through every single review to get my view of this series. I've had a couple different ideas bouncing around in my head, and what I ultimately settled on was a combination of 2 things:

1. A brief recap of the major events in the book that have transpired recently. Pretty straightforward and self-explanatory, just a way to make sure no one gets lost as the book's lore gets increasingly complicated.

2. A rundown of my favorite and least favorite moments of each major section, structured as a sort of goofy awards show. This one requires a bit more elaboration, so bear with me:

This idea spawned from a trend I've seen in a couple of other Archie Sonic review sites over the years called "Best/Worst Lists". From what I understand, the first person to do this was a man named Dan Drazen, one of the earliest major Archie Sonic reviewers back when the book dropped... and a rather controversial one at that. (Don't ask why, I don't have all the details, but from what I've read, he had some... interesting takes on this book and what he felt it should be. I'll just leave it at that.) 

While I don't necessarily like the guy who first came up with it, the concept itself sounded like a pretty fun one, but I wanted to put my own personal spin on it, so I'm making a few minor adjustments:

a. First, I'm dropping the "Best/Worst" label in favor of "Favorite/Least Favorite". That original title just sounded too pretentious and left the door open for "my opinion is objective fact", and that mindset is the last thing the internet needs more of right now.

b. Where those lists were going by year, I'm going to be doing this and the recap roughly every 10 main series issues or so, with the number occasionally fluctuating depending on other circumstances like spin-off books. I just feel like this will be a better way of properly marking off each section of the book, and give me more freedom to do as I please with this, because at the end of the day this is all for fun.

c. Lastly, while I'll be borrowing a lot of the main categories from those lists, I reserve the right to add others as I please, again just for the sake of making things more fun for me, and hopefully for you as well.

Alright, with all of those ground rules set, let's do it to it!

Issues covered in this section:

The Original Archie Sonic Miniseries (#0-#3)

Archie Sonic the Hedgehog (#1-10)

PREVIOUSLY, ON AVATAR:

Long ago, the people of Mobius lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Robotnik Nation attacked. 

Sonic the Hedgehog, the fastest thing alive, grew up as an errand boy for his Uncle Chuck's chili dog stand, only for it all to be ripped away as the doctor quickly took over the planet, turning Chuck and Sonic's pet dog Muttski into robots... except that only Muttski actually looks like a robot right now, and all it takes is some red swirly eyes and a metal jaw to disguise as one, but whatever.

Sonic then ran off to Knothole Village to join up with the Freedom Fighters, led by Princess Sally, who seek to one day overthrow Robotnik and discover the whereabouts of Sally's father, King Acorn, and restore the world back to what it once was. Other members include Tails, Sonic's little brother in all but name; Antoine, the group's resident punching bag who gets bullied on a near-constant basis despite only being pompous about 10% of the time; and Rotor, the tech guy.

Along the way, Sonic and Rotor also rescued Bunnie Rabbot halfway through the roboticization process, and she proceeded to become the local powerhouse... whenever the writers actually bothered to remember her existence.

And... yeah, that's pretty much it. The Freedom Fighters hide out in Knothole, Robotnik schemes to find and destroy them, hijinks ensue, rinse and repeat. There have been a few other attempts at expanding the world, but most of them have been either new Badniks or random gag characters who add very little in terms of value. The only major exceptions to this are the comic's first use of Chaos Emeralds, which exist in a near-infinite amount all over the planet, and the introduction of Snively, Robotnik's cowardly nephew and soon-to-be constant backstabber.

As for the behind-the-scenes production of this book, honestly, there isn't much to say on that front, either. We've had 2 main writers, those being Michael Gallagher and Angelo DeCesare. Gallagher got the ball rolling but quickly settled into a familiar and often tedious rhythm of 4th-wall breaking, exposition dumping to an absurd degree, and lots and lots of bad puns. Angelo didn't deviate from this pattern TOO much, although his stories certainly felt much more experimental... for better and for worse, as we'll be reminded in just a second. I guess I can say Angelo has a better grasp on the character dynamics overall, but Mike is the only one who's used Bunnie in any meaningful way, so they kind of even out at the end of the day.

On the artist front, we started off with some solid work from Scott Shaw, but he quickly left in favor of Dave Manak, who has been our default for most of these stories. Not a BAD one, to be frank, but also not one that I've been singing the praises of too highly. We did get a brief glimpse of the legendary Art Mawhinney right at the end of this stretch, but it's going to be a minute before he fully settles in, and Manak is still going to be here for a LONG time. Don't expect the artwork in this book to be consistent any time soon.

And now, the moment you've been waiting for:

THE AWARDS CEREMONY

                               No but seriously, why is EVERY Mario and Sonic Olympics track FIRE!?

Favorite Main Story: 

"Olympic Trials and Errors!" by Angelo DeCesare (Archie Sonic #5)

A lot of these early stories don't really leave me a whole lot to work with, but by the standards of the Gag Era, this one was a decently fun time, and a solid debut for a new writer. It's got Robotnik's first semi-competent plan, a few of the jokes actually got me to chuckle a bit, and it gave my boys Tails and Antoine their first real wins in a period where that was incredibly scarce. Not much else to add, I liked it.

Least Favorite Main Story:

"Run Sally, Run!" by Mike Gallagher (Original Miniseries #1)

You might have expected this "honor" to go to "The Spin Doctor!" given my never-ending grudge against all things Sonic Spinball, but putting my hatred of that game aside, the story itself didn't actually offend me all that much. You might also have thought "Sonic Flashback!" from the end of the mini-series would have squeaked out the win entirely due to its insanely bizarre premise.

But no, as dumb as those stories were, they didn't have anything as INFURIATING as Sally's attitude in this one. I won't repeat all the reasons why her plan in this story was insanely stupid, you can go back to my review for my full thoughts on that (which was one of the most fun bits for me to write so far, I might add). But MAN is she just awful in this story, and she's not much better in most of the others thus far. It's going to be a while before her character gets a chance to shine, I'm afraid.

Favorite Back-up Story: 

"Rabbot Deployment!" by Mike Gallagher (Archie Sonic #3)

Yeah, this one was pretty easy to pick. As much as the goofier aspects of this story become incredibly weird in hindsight, it's still a pretty solid debut for Bunnie that showcases everything that makes her awesome. That said, the fact that Gallagher couldn't resist the "hairdresser" pun when giving her a motivation is just SO typical of him. Ugh.

Least Favorite Back-up Story:

"Sonic's Christmas Carol!" by Angelo DeCesare (Archie Sonic #6)

Well, you knew THIS was coming. This is the first story in the comic's run that I actively, passionately DESPISE, for reasons I've already made abundantly clear. It's a parody of a classic story that doesn't bother to get a single detail right and is painfully unfunny save for a single halfway decent attempt at a gag right at the end. Add on the completely unnecessary "all just a dream" ending and Jacob Snarley, and you have quite a mess on your hands. Once this post is over, I'm going to return to my vow of silence and hopefully never bring it up again as long as I can help it.

Favorite/Least Favorite Story Arcs:

None

Yeah, still no overarching plot just yet, but I wanted to make you aware that these categories would exist, because they WILL be relevant later once the more serious direction of the book starts to take hold. Moving on.

Favorite Cover:

Original Miniseries #1 by Scott Shaw

This category was actually a really tough race between 3 covers that I like a lot. Issue 1 of the main book was pretty cool and dynamic, but just a bit TOO chaotic to quite win the day. Issue 9 was also fun, but it felt kind of unfair to give the win to a cover that was clearly inspired by another series entirely. Sorry, Manak, I swear it isn't personal.

This cover is the perfect example of "simple, but effective". Just a single shot of Sonic with his signature cocky attitude rescuing Sally from danger, and the wonderfully menacing Robotnik in the background. Solid work, and it's relevant to the issue at hand, something that can't be said about a lot of these. Speaking of which...

Least Favorite Cover:

Archie Sonic #4 by Dave Manak

There were plenty of disposable gag covers to choose from here, but I decided to go with this one because the sight of the "grittier" Sonic is just really unappealing. Not much else to add here.

Favorite Story Art:

"'Twan With the Wind" by Art Mawhinney (Archie Sonic #10)

Thank goodness for Art Mawhinney slipping in here at the last second and making this decision WAY easier for me. Scott Shaw's miniseries work was also pretty good, but there's just no beating this guy. He's on another level.

Least Favorite Story Art:

"Vertigo a Go Go!" by Dave Manak (Archie Sonic #2)

Listen Dave, I SWEAR it isn't personal. This just doesn't look all that great to me, I'm SORRY! It's just Sonic, Al, and Cal swirling in an empty void filled with random shapes and colors. It's partly Gallagher's fault for leaving Manak without much to work with, but even still, it just feels messy to me. It's not AWFUL or anything, but I don't like it one bit.

Favorite New Character:

Snively Robotnik

For the sake of making things simple on this first go around, I decided "new character" meant "everyone not introduced in Issue 0 of the miniseries". In terms of standout introductions, that left only 2 real contenders: Bunnie Rabbot, and Snively Robotnik. You might have expected I would pick Bunnie based on how hyped I've gotten from every fight scene she's had so far, but if you did, you're underestimating just how much I LOVE this wonderful little troll here. I know he doesn't seem like much right now, but TRUST me, Snively's story is one of the absolute best this comic has to offer, and he adds SO much to the book every single time he appears. Snively is the worst, and that's precisely what makes him the best.

Least Favorite New Character:

The Nerbs

Conversely, you might have expected THIS award to go to Al and Cal, but honestly, they've never really bugged me, and their brief role under Ian Flynn's pen is more than enough to redeem them in my eyes. THESE guys, however, I can't stand. They're literally nothing but walking, talking stereotypes, and their isolationist attitude calls to mind a far greater evil in this comic in the far-off future. There is literally nothing redeemable about them, and I'm glad they're basically gone after this point.

Favorite Usage of Game Lore:

The Undersea Cavern

This is a category I invented entirely on my own, because I felt like it was important to acknowledge the game roots that this entire franchise stems from. Look, I hate Labyrinth Zone as much as anyone, but you can't deny this recreation of the water slide was a thing of beauty. I just wish Casino Night could have gotten the same treatment, but, oh well.

Least Favorite Usage of Game Lore:

Literally ALL of "The Spin Doctor!"

Yeah, couldn't help myself, I had to get at least one last dig at Spinball while I still had the chance. I know I ranted about this plenty already, but seeing Sonic just BLITZ past all these stages that I struggled on for who even knows how many hours is a special kind of frustration that you will never truly understand until you subject yourself to the absolute torment that is this "game". I'm just glad Robotnik ditched this place after realizing what horror he accidentally unleashed upon the universe.

Favorite Joke:

"A single flower managed to survive the pollution!" *BLAM* (Archie Sonic #7- Uncle Chuck's Treasure)

This is another category I invented on my own. I don't know if it will survive past the Gag Era or not, but I figured it was worth trying out. Anyway yeah, I'm a simple man. I see well-executed Black Comedy, I laugh. I know I'm probably extremely not right in the head for getting such pleasure from this, but I can't help it, man. It's just funny, I don't know what you want from me.

Least Favorite Joke:

"Bah, Humbot!" (Archie Sonic #6- Sonic's Christmas Carol)

Nothing encapsulates everything wrong with this story quite like this line. It speaks for itself. Oh well, back to not acknowledging its existence.

And I think that's where I'm going to wrap it up. Do you agree with my picks? Did you enjoy this format? Be sure to let me know. I had a lot of fun with this, and I would love to keep doing it. I think it's a really neat way of checking our progress on this comic and breaking down all the main highlights. 

But now... there's nothing left standing in his way. No more stalling, no more delays. Next time...

THE PENDERING.