I do not think that humans will ever be allowed to be prominent in the comic.

[Slashy]

This is not even assuming SEGA keeps them off the table. SEGA could allow humans and then IDW will basically ban them from the comic anyway.

There is extremely unlikely that if humans are given the okay that SEGA is going to allow the hodgepodge of styles seen in Reboot. They will likely be required to look like Uwekawa's body of work as we have seen lately with SAGE and the ranger lady.

Not all the staff are great at drawing humans, and that is going to make having human characters be a nightmare because SEGA is going to want to make sure their designs are appealing at all times to avoid the complaints their designs had gotten previously. Potentially each new body type can have this problem and if a new major character is introduced every issue with them could risk delays until the artists figure out how to draw them.

Rather than bringing on new pencilers to just handle the new human characters, IDW will sooner just barr them from the comic.

[MetalSkulkBane]

I think Yardley, Thomas or Stanley are professionals, who learned how to draw a human. Maybe not mastered to Sonic-level, but come on.

Personally I don't really care for seeing more humans. I only care for GUN as a background for Team Dark, but I'm happy to see Rouge as a thief and unhappy to see Shadow being... difficult with or without them.

 

[Slashy]

42 minutes ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

I think Yardley, Thomas or Stanley are professionals, who learned how to draw a human. Maybe not mastered to Sonic-level, but come on.

Personally I don't really care for seeing more humans. I only care for GUN as a background for Team Dark, but I'm happy to see Rouge as a thief and unhappy to see Shadow being... difficult with or without them.

It is not about just being able to do it. It is about being able to do it well enough to mimic someone else's style, with a variety of different body types and make sure you do not go off model.

Even someone like Yardley who did do a great job on the Pre-Quill openly admitted to needing to practice his humans. If someone like him needs practice (and it is pretty clear Paramount was not nearly as concerned with consistency on designs as SEGA would be)  imagine what that means for the team.

 

If it is not mastered to Sonic level, that does pose an issue. SEGA does not want a repeat of 06. They are not going to let off model or any questionable design decisions slip through.

[Dr. Mechano]

Well, we know Witchcart is going to be in the upcoming Tails special.

Quote

“Some of his oldest foes—including Witchcart and her minions—are back, and it’ll be up to Tails to step up as the hero once again in this sure-to-be-classic adventure!”

This will be the first non-Eggman human in IDW ever, so it's kind of a big deal.

[Slashy]

2 hours ago, Dr. Mechano said:

Well, we know Witchcart is going to be in the upcoming Tails special.

This will be the first non-Eggman human in IDW ever, so it's kind of a big deal.

Witchcart has a set design already from Sonic Team, that plays a huge factor. I also expect SAGE to not really pose as much of a problem for the same reason.

[Dr. Mechano]

2 hours ago, Slashy said:

Witchcart has a set design already from Sonic Team, that plays a huge factor. I also expect SAGE to not really pose as much of a problem for the same reason.

Sage may not be human exactly, though yeah, she at least has a humanoid appearance so that's still a fair point.

[Razule]

If they don't show up in the main comics, I thin it'll be because SEGA's eternally indecisive than anything else. They're artists, learning human anatomy is like.. the basics. I don't think SEGA minds some stylistic variation.

[Slashy]

53 minutes ago, Razule said:

If they don't show up in the main comics, I thin it'll be because SEGA's eternally indecisive than anything else. They're artists, learning human anatomy is like.. the basics. I don't think SEGA minds some stylistic variation.

The fact that they were constantly redesigned and got occasional derision to the point where Sonic Team considered a massive retcon to avoid having them present suggests that stylistic variation is a big deal.

Again this is not just making a human that looks like a human it is about drawing humans well enough to succeed at whatever SEGA demands of their style.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Really don’t see why they don’t just stick to the Pixar-ish designs of the humans they brought in Unleashed.

They fit perfectly with the cartoony aesthetic while blending with the photo-surrealism of the settings.

[Slashy]

2 minutes ago, CrownSlayer’s Shadow said:

Really don’t see why they don’t just stick to the Pixar-ish designs of the humans they brought in Unleashed.

They fit perfectly with the cartoony aesthetic while blending with the photo-surrealism of the settings.

I really prefer the Uwekawa style that is apparently being used now and I am baffled that was not the decision SEGA made back in 1997.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

5 minutes ago, Slashy said:

I really prefer the Uwekawa style that is apparently being used now and I am baffled that was not the decision SEGA made back in 1997.

As long as the humans fit next to Sonic much the same way Eggman does.

It really shouldn’t be this trivial either way.

[Slashy]

Just now, CrownSlayer’s Shadow said:

As long as the humans fit next to Sonic much the same way Eggman does.

It really shouldn’t be this trivial either way.

I really never thought the Unleashed style looked like Eggman. He always looked out of place. I am neutral on it.

Uwekawa's stuff like Billy Hatcher and Puyo Puyo fits far better with Eggman than the Unleashed humans.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

1 minute ago, Slashy said:

I really never thought the Unleashed style looked like Eggman. He always looked out of place. I am neutral on it.

Uwekawa's stuff like Billy Hatcher and Puyo Puyo fits far better with Eggman than the Unleashed humans.

I honestly don’t see the difference. Billy Hatcher looks like he’d fit right in with the Unleashed humans in Sonic’s place.

[FlameStream]

If they have to re-introduce them, what they had with Shaarah, Merlina and currently Sage looks best to me.

But personally, I don't mind having them away from the setting, and retrofitting the army (GUN) as animal people. Despite their effort, Sonic world still doesn't feel quite alive, even compared to post-Genesis 

[Darkness Void]

I don't mind humans being in Sonic's world, but I do prefer them without humans. Although without them Shadow wouldn't have existed and Eggman wouldn't be the main villain. It's really confusing at times if the humans are part of Sonic's world or if they're like from Sonic X, a different planet. 

I haven't read Archie yet but I am aware of the lore behind their humans.

[Fieryfurnace]

Spoiler

 

Yuji Uekawa's humans can look kind of cursed occasionally. I know it's an anime thing, but I wish they had more prominent noses. I don't have any strong feelings about the human designs in general, but I suppose I slightly prefer the Unleashed-style humans for their variety.

 

[Mobotropolis]

If SEGA wants humans in the book humans are going to be in the book. And they'll look how SEGA wants them to. 

That's how licensed books are supposed to work. 

The problem was that for a long time SEGA let companies run wild and free with their characters and branding. That meant they were allowed to say and do a lot of things with humans that shouldn't have flown based on modern standards. 

With humans in particular outside of one oddly shaped egg-like one have not been significant enough characters in their lore, games or branding to warrant making a consistent art style or style guide like they do with the Sonic people. 

Guess as to why Sega made humans less predominate is because they figured the folks who play their games aren't as interested in the human characters as they are in the Sonic people. A common complaint with X, Unleashed and even the earlier-days Archie Comics was how much focus the humans got in a series that's supposed to be about colorful cartoon animals. 

So Sega gave it some thought and decided to make it about the Sonic people. 

[Dr. Mechano]

On 11/1/2022 at 11:31 AM, Darkness Void said:

I don't mind humans being in Sonic's world, but I do prefer them without humans. Although without them Shadow wouldn't have existed and Eggman wouldn't be the main villain. It's really confusing at times if the humans are part of Sonic's world or if they're like from Sonic X, a different planet. 

I haven't read Archie yet but I am aware of the lore behind their humans.

In the games, it's set on one planet. Humans mostly live on the continents, while talking animals mostly live on the islands.

So they don't live in two literal different worlds like in Sonic X, but they do seem to have two societies. (Albeit with some crossover, such as Amy living in the mostly human-populated Station Square)

[Darkness Void]

On 11/2/2022 at 3:25 PM, Dr. Mechano said:

In the games, it's set on one planet. Humans mostly live on the continents, while talking animals mostly live on the islands.

So they don't live in two literal different worlds like in Sonic X, but they do seem to have two societies. (Albeit with some crossover, such as Amy living in the mostly human-populated Station Square)

That's not counting Sonic Forces is it? If they live that closely why didn't we see a single human fighting in this war *cough* G.U.N *cough* at all? That game from what I heard is a real canon nightmare.

Speaking of G.U.N we rarely ever see those guys. From memory we see them in, like 3 game total? SA2B, Shadow, and that one DS game. Oh and 06. Actually if you really wanted to you could say those officers we see fighting Chaos in Adventure's opening scene were G.U.N.

[Dr. Mechano]

16 minutes ago, Darkness Void said:

That's not counting Sonic Forces is it? If they live that closely why didn't we see a single human fighting in this war *cough* G.U.N *cough* at all? That game from what I heard is a real canon nightmare.

Eggman beat them offscreen during the six months Sonic was in prison. TailsTube covers it here:

So basically by the time the Avatar joins the Resistance, the small rag-tag group of Resistance fighters led by Knuckles is the only force left opposing Eggman, with GUN having been defeated.

[Darkness Void]

44 minutes ago, Dr. Mechano said:

So basically by the time the Avatar joins the Resistance, the small rag-tag group of Resistance fighters led by Knuckles is the only force left opposing Eggman, with GUN having been defeated.

....As a fan of sonic SatAM this is truly disappointing that they failed to address that in game. At least Shadow's game showed us how close they were brought to their knees. I suppose with the games, SEGA/Sonic Team just can't be bothered to make us feel real emotion.

[Mauro Fonseca]

No, it's because when Sonic Forces was written, there hadn't been a retcon yet that it all happens on the same planet. There's no GUN because it's not set on the Human world.

"Actually it WAS all the same planet and GUN are absent because they got beat off-screen" is a later retcon.

[Eskana]

I've never really cared for any humans in Sonic stories (Robotnik aside.) I don't care that they are there, but these stories aren't about them.

Anyway, whenever they show up (like with G.U.N.), they are pretty much just doing normal human things or whatever the plot demands. Even Maria in Archie wasn't that interesting. I don't care if they never show up, except then we'd need some kind of long backstory to why Robotnik is here.

[Zoomzeta]

Buddy, you should be careful when you say the word "never" in a franchise that constantly sees changes. 

On 11/4/2022 at 7:58 PM, Darkness Void said:

That's not counting Sonic Forces is it? If they live that closely why didn't we see a single human fighting in this war *cough* G.U.N *cough* at all? That game from what I heard is a real canon nightmare.

Speaking of G.U.N we rarely ever see those guys. From memory we see them in, like 3 game total? SA2B, Shadow, and that one DS game. Oh and 06. Actually if you really wanted to you could say those officers we see fighting Chaos in Adventure's opening scene were G.U.N.

Retcon. 

[thumbs13]

On 11/4/2022 at 7:58 PM, Darkness Void said:

That's not counting Sonic Forces is it? If they live that closely why didn't we see a single human fighting in this war *cough* G.U.N *cough* at all? That game from what I heard is a real canon nightmare.

Speaking of G.U.N we rarely ever see those guys. From memory we see them in, like 3 game total? SA2B, Shadow, and that one DS game. Oh and 06. Actually if you really wanted to you could say those officers we see fighting Chaos in Adventure's opening scene were G.U.N.

I think you invade a  G.U.N ship in Rush, but I could be wrong.