Megathread IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog - Megathread

[Diogenes]

Tangle & Whisper is feeling more like what I'd want out of a Sonic comic than the main comic; more focused cast, more modest scale, more personal stakes. I'm sure part of the difference is that they're working with original characters that they have much more control over compared to the official Sonic cast, but I hope the main comic can at least move away from "every arc is a global threat and every character is involved" eventually.

[Marco9966]

13 minutes ago, Diogenes said:

Tangle & Whisper is feeling more like what I'd want out of a Sonic comic than the main comic; more focused cast, more modest scale, more personal stakes. I'm sure part of the difference is that they're working with original characters that they have much more control over compared to the official Sonic cast, but I hope the main comic can at least move away from "every arc is a global threat and every character is involved" eventually.

Exactly! Next arc should just be like Sonic Mega Drive but in modern world.

[Kazhnuz]

TBH, I think that we need both for Sonic. It's something that always have worked well for me in the franchise for me : having both big threat and extreme situation, and some at a more personal level. (and Mega Drive would be too much like the recent game for me, just an arc where the character are cartoony and without a real story. And it's too much like a videogame, it was too forced. It was good for a small anniversary hommage.). They should switch between different type of story.

Personally, a really big threat that is genuine is exactly what I needed for Sonic, I was a bit bored of threat that were presented as terrible, but that was quite nothing in the end.

 

The zombot invasion give me more tension and question about "how they'll manage to solve that" and "how it will affect stuff in the long term", while this story make me less interested by "what will happen" but more by "how will they react to all that". TBH I think that Sonic needs both, because it have been both. They should do breath arc between big arcs though.

 

So, back to the actual book : it was pretty good, even if a bit easy to see everything coming (we got all the classic shapeshifter tropes, like taking the appearance of the old crew, the two character splitting up and that being used by the enemy). The character are quite good, Tangle being claustrophobic was a good idea, and it's nice to see Whisper panic.

[Wraith]

Yeah this is definetly an improvement over the main comic for me. Just a lot of good storytelling and character work in this one issue. It's probably my favorite IDW issue so far trumping 2, 4 and 7. The comi relief at the beginning was great but things escalated so quickly with me catching onto "Whisper" not actually whispering just as he made his move.  Mimic is dope and Whisper's trauma bubbles up in a way that feels really believable. Even Tangle got put in a dark place this time which caught me off guard in a good way. This is probably the first really tense situation she's been in without much support. I hope she matures a little bit without losing that loveable air-headed personality. I can't wait to see these two heal and come back stronger than ever. 

[Red Hot Jack]

I still think 12 part arcs feel more natural, they should be either shortened to 10 or extended to more if needed, depending on the threat level and the situation, didn't we do that with Worlds Collide? It was awesome, meanwhile Worlds Unite felt like they were stretching the nothing just to have 12 issues. Here, I'm worried about the length of this story, so much is happening probably due to there being only 4 issues, but it's still too short for me... I don't want it to be rushed, but the good thing is that maybe it will leave me with the feeling that I want more. It's definitely a good story, and I doubt 4 issues are gonna do it justice, that's why I hope they leave things open and hanging for more possibilities, more evolutions and character development.

For the next arc I definitely see something smaller, but my ideal option would be 4 issue mini-arcs that tell a story but are contained within a bigger situation.

[Shadowlax]

4 hours ago, Razule said:

Not exactly much competition.

Eh? Theres " the six " then everyone else , and while a lot of em might not be as popular as some of the 6 some of em are pretty popular. Unless you mean by way of number

1 hour ago, Marco9966 said:

Exactly! Next arc should just be like Sonic Mega Drive but in modern world.

Can they even do that is the question

[Kuzu]

Yea, I'll echo that Tangle and Whisper is generally what I'd want out a Sonic comic series; I suppose it's easier to work with original characters than ones that are mandated to be written to be a certain way. Hopefully the main series can shrink the scale a bit.

[Meta77]

I love tangle and whisper.  I enjoy villains actually trying to kill the hero and use trama to shake whisper to the point she's shaking and actually speaks in her full voice was amazing. 

Also I love how Omega flat out tells sonic he's not his friend lol

[DabigRG]

Was surprised to come across Tangle and Whisper #2 while just on the way. Can't say it's any good news considering what's happening around the weather.

Ignoring that, it was kinda good, though the story kinda went by relatively fast. To try not to worry about the pacing/content next time, I get the feeling you're probably better off reading the whole thing at once. Even if Issue 1 and the prequel tie-in almost feel like different stories from this one.

Spoiler

Gotta give credit to Mimic here--he's actually a pretty crafty, if shamelessly coldblooded guy. I was expecting some runaround with "Jewel," but for what he actually does, I almost would've have noticed outside of them genuinely taking advantage of the medium. As for the latter point, there's what he does regarding the other Diamond Cutters. Seems they're quietly building to his reveal proper, as I don't recall if we've actually seen it.

On the other end, you know how people talk about a character being "humanized?" Well I think that's what this issue does with Whisper--perhaps beyond so. Like apparently the Wisps aren't just her answer to Cheese--she legit needs them to be effective at what she does, since she was apparently quite helpless for her line of work beforehand. Also, seeing her with her eyes actually open is weird.

In other news, what's up with the weird Eggman imagery lately? First the min-Ark drools all over villages and a skyscraper, now Mimic exits the base through it's nose.

Oh and they sorta make Tangle more than just a pointless zemi. Seems she might've actually had a bad experience once--is she claustrophobic, afraid of the dark, or what, though?

 

 

17 hours ago, Marco9966 said:

Tangle and Whisper series is exactly what I want from a Sonic comic.

Issue 2 is great and best art since Sonic issue 7

Oh?

13 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

 

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Backstory goes to... guessable direction. They were part of the group "Diamond Cutters", Mimic sold them to Eggman, only Whisper survived. That's what we guessed from part #1 and I hope #3 will add something more.

 

Oh, is that what happened?

13 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

Also, being a foreigner I like learning rarely used English words. So thank you Flynn for teaching me "yokel" and "rube". My ability to insult people without them knowing just increased! Not that I do that. Much. You maladroit ignoramus.

Uh, considering the former was used in GTA IV...But yeah, it's nice to get some minute variety like that. Gotta use that English major from time to time.

 

13 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

 

Um, Thank you?

Get it? Fish, Cats, Seas? 

Heh. Heh-Heh. 

But yeah, that was a odd mash of source material.

12 hours ago, StaticMania said:

Whisper has great expressions, I wish to see more.

Though I didn't think spoilers would happen already, 2 years at least.

To be fair, that's kinda bulk of what they had for something like this.

And they said it'd be happening in a previous interview for this time of year.

12 hours ago, Tangled Jack said:

, it will feel a really short story if it ends at issue 4

Anyway, I'm excited to read about Whisper's story and I REALLY hope it doesn't feel rushed, with it ending one issue after the backstory.

Yeah, no kiddin.

12 hours ago, Tangled Jack said:

 

What I predict for future stories:

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Jewel dies, and Tangle has to go through the pain Whisper faced. But without turning into a shy person.

 

Oh geez.

 

12 hours ago, Marco9966 said:

The sales are as much as the normal IDW sonic comic. 

I love the character desins of the diamonnd cutters, not all the same shape as sonic.

What were each of they, though?-

[StaticMania]

11 minutes ago, DabigRG said:

And they said it'd be happening in a previous interview for this time of year.

They said she'd show her eyes in an interview?

That's the spoilers I was talking about.

[DabigRG]

11 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

For those curious how Sonic is doing: Year 2 sales stabilized around 11-12 thousands. Tangle&Whisper #1 sold 10K.

Is that good? Here how Archie looked like this

It starts around Endgame (50), with slight uprising possibly caused by release of SA1. It falls down around soap opera times (75-120), and crawls up, but why? Better writing, Sonic x, internet? Can't say, but Flynn didn't automatically fixed everything (he take over almost same time X comic starts). Maybe just stabilized things, with slight upraise post 200  and SU introduction.  And last few spikes are Mecha Sally, Collide followed by reboot and Unite (although Unite only really jumped for 275 anniversary). Strangely post-Unite sales seem to fall lower than even during Flynn writing.

 

Oh dear...

Wait, woah, WHAT?

 

Also, my word did Boom drop.

9 hours ago, Razule said:

Not exactly much competition.

Well foq ya'll, I laughed.

.

7 hours ago, Sonic Fan J said:

I enjoyed that little romp of an issue. Flynn is still going for the heavy tones, but it felt a lot more personal and character driven to me than the main book so I enjoyed it. Probably helps that I like Tangle and seeing the nuance she has time for in this book is a treat.

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Didn't realize that Tangle is claustrophobic though. Did I miss that in a prior volume or was it just slipped in here rather nonchalantly under the radar?

Whisper still isn't doing anything for me, but seeing her emotional range expanded on in this issue was nice. Maybe next issue will give me something to latch onto, but right now Tangle just entertains me more with her goofy antics and balanced nuances.

No, that's definitely new. What you see was what you got before.

7 hours ago, chaosjam said:

.  It would've needed to been a clean cut, toss out the old continuity all together and start fresh but that would have pissed off long time Archie fans immediately, Ian tried to salvage as much as he could and make it somewhat cohesive for the fans sake.

Actually, he wanted a true reboot. It was the editor's suggestion that he try to tie in the transition.

5 hours ago, Shadowlax said:

Eh? Theres " the six " then everyone else , and while a lot of em might not be as popular as some of the 6 some of em are pretty popular. Unless you mean by way of number

Can they even do that is the question

I thought you were talking about the Zeti for a second.

I'm like, "The fuck are YOU talking about?"

48 minutes ago, StaticMania said:

They said she'd show her eyes in an interview?

That's the spoilers I was talking about.

...Oh.

[DabigRG]

 

You get up for five minutes...

[knuckles20]

1 hour ago, DabigRG said:

What were each of they, though?-

Until we get confirmation,

 

A cat/feline, gecko/reptile, and bear.

[Shadowlax]

51 minutes ago, DabigRG said:

\

I thought you were talking about the Zeti for a second.

I'm like, "The fuck are YOU talking about?"

 

Clearly the most popular characters are the zeti ahahah

( I forgot they existed. I just meant Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Eggman and Shadow. Legit my bad )

[Dr. Detective]

I just read the latest Tangle and Whisper.

Yeah, it would seem that this is very much an echo of what the more typical Sonic comics from old were more structured like. The two flavors of these two series make for an interesting comparison on my end. 

As for my opinion, it's rather complicated so I hope to be as clear as I can.

I'm enjoying the main comic more... however, I do acknowledge and agree that the set-up and structure of the Tangle and Whisper series is something that would heavily benefit the book down the line. I think the factors contributing to what I'm enjoying about the main book are a lot more prominent and important to me, as such, the giddiness I usually feel when finishing an issue wasn't exactly here. The situation is a bit more typical and the characters I'm not as used to just yet.

That said this is still an interesting story. I'm taking a liking to these two far faster than I ever have any of the other hero characters introduced in the old Archie books (that is to say, I only ever like the villains which might be why I still feel as though Starline is the best). Despite being fairly typical in some respects it's making good use of it's characters and its utilizing their emotions really well. I do like that the book is not afraid of letting them screw up and I'm glad the dynamic here isn't of one annoyed person bashing their head against the hard-head of an idiot. They're both definitely their own characters and Ian's taking full advantage of that! 

Also, sometimes when playing up a mystery it can be done in a way that's annoying but I'm happy to say that's not happening here. Mimic is effectively tricking them while playing on the emotions of the person he's trying to outwit and making sure it's too his advantage. Turning into Jewel, not to appear before them, but to just make use of her voice so that he could then turn into Whisper to lure Tangle out was a double layered trick that almost got me. I figured it out about a panel before Whisper kicked Tangle into the safe. That's effective use of mind fuckery.

Really good issue. 

As I said, the main book still has my attention the most, but, if the concept and the characters weren't what they were, I could see myself being more in line with the fear that it might just be a revolving door of appearances rather than stuff that would allow them to breathe and be open with themselves.

There's a part of me that feels like we still don't have a proper demonstration of just how much restriction actually is on the main cast just yet. Ian keeps talking about how continuously surprised he is by what SEGA is allowing him to get away with.

I want to see how much he can stretch an attempt at doing something like this for our main cast before the tolerance SEGA has breaks. It might be something that can give you all what you guys crave. 

[SBR2]

3 hours ago, DabigRG said:

Oh dear...

Wait, woah, WHAT?

 

Also, my word did Boom drop.

Which is a shame because IMHO the Boom book was hilarious. 

[Shadowlax]

3 hours ago, Dr. Detective Mike said:

There's a part of me that feels like we still don't have a proper demonstration of just how much restriction actually is on the main cast just yet. Ian keeps talking about how continuously surprised he is by what SEGA is allowing him to get away with.

 

Wanna mention that flynn specifically noted that it is invovled with over arching narratives . Apparently they are just now super hard on the characters themselves and how they speak. Which would line up with rumors recently spread. Which if said rumors are true, that's a pretty good demonstration.

So you can't really use what he's getting away with over arching narratives as a basis for character stuff, because they seem to just really care about how their characters appear. For better, or for worse.

All that said, depending on how tangle and whisper 3 and 4 go, you might get a pretty good representation in the story or after the fact via ian flynn , of how restrictive sega is character wise.

 

[Ellipsis-Ultima]

Mimic has a profile

Spoiler

HE'S 32 YEARS OLD WHAT

 

[StaticMania]

That's one way to do an octopus, I guess.

I think I would've preferred he also have tentacles for arms even if he still has regular legs.

Just a bit more uniqueness in the design.

[Red Hot Jack]

Btw some people made me notice how Mimic is very similar to Hive in Marvel's Agents of SHIELD. And as scary...

[DabigRG]

4 hours ago, Ellipsis-Ultima said:

Mimic has a profile

  Hide contents

HE'S 32 YEARS OLD WHAT

 

But of course--he is a Sonic villain. 

How old is Whisper again? 

4 hours ago, StaticMania said:

That's one way to do an octopus, I guess.

I think I would've preferred he also have tentacles for arms even if he still has regular legs.

Just a bit more uniqueness in the design.

 He's part way through transforming back though, isn't he? 

[SBR2]

6 hours ago, Ellipsis-Ultima said:

Mimic has a profile

  Reveal hidden contents

HE'S 32 YEARS OLD WHAT

 

Holy Shit! Does that make him like the oldest Anthro Sonic character?

[Big Panda]

15 minutes ago, SBR2 said:

Holy Shit! Does that make him like the oldest Anthro Sonic character?

No. I can think of several anthro Sonic characters, at least one in IDW, who’d have to be much older.

[Marco9966]

29 minutes ago, Forgetful Panda said:

No. I can think of several anthro Sonic characters, at least one in IDW, who’d have to be much older.

Shadow is 50, Mimic is 32, Elder Scruffy must be 50 too.

Everyone else is below 20.

[DabigRG]

2 minutes ago, Marco9966 said:

Shadow is 50, Mimic is 32, Elder Scruffy must be 50 too.

Everyone else is below 20.

What about Starline?