Megathread Archie Sonic Main Discussion

[Sunwalker]

From what I remember Ian commenting about the Silver Saga, the references to Other-M were just meant to be a fun nod, he did not expect the negative reaction that some people had.

[Big Panda]

Pretty sure Knuckles being Enerjak (or just that Knuckles was evil in Jani-Ca's timeline) was something Penders established. The fact it matched Ian's interpretation in Other M was a happy coincidence.

[Tani Coyote]

Ah, so he has acknowledged the backlash, that's good. I guess it was probably meant with no ill intent, but when the Archie comics outright say they don't like using fan ideas, it could come off as a tad abusive.

 

Pretty sure Knuckles being Enerjak (or just that Knuckles was evil in Jani-Ca's timeline) was something Penders established. The fact it matched Ian's interpretation in Other M was a happy coincidence.

It was established that the Knuckles of Jani-Ca's future was evil during Penders' tenure, yes. More specifically, it was said he became the leader of the Dark Legion.

That said, Enerjak as a villain was something that came from the Editor and not Ian.

So I do ponder whether it was just going to be vanilla Enerjak or if the X Years Later part was planned from the start.

[Your Vest Friend]

Eh, I never did see the big deal over Ian using some concepts again in the Silver saga. It's not like it was Other M the official adaptation, the situations and execution of concepts were very different.

 

I only really get cheesed off when it seems blatant that concepts and/or characters have been shoehorned in for the sake of marketing. That would be why Secret Freedom rubbed me the wrong way out the door. 

[Wittymations]

Eh, I dunno. I'd use some old fan ideas if I could find a way to implement them well. Granted, I didn't actually read Other m, but I did the Silver story and liked the Silver story. Hearing that it's borrowed concepts from his old fan comic just makes me go, "Oh, that's kinda interesting."

I mean, I hear a lot about game developers using old concepts (that they, usually, had to scrap) for future installments all that time. Kind of the same thing to me.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

As far as Silver's Dark Mobius arc went, probably the only thing I liked about it was Dark Enerjak being who he was and Silver fighting him. Lara-su was okay a best for me, but the other characters were forgettable. Then again, I don't think Ian meant for them to be anything more than background characters anyway, so that's probably why I tolerate them at least.

[Soniman]

From what I remember Ian commenting about the Silver Saga, the references to Other-M were just meant to be a fun nod, he did not expect the negative reaction that some people had.

 

This is very sad consiering it's one of my favorite arcs and Silver is awesome in it

[Sonic is a Care Bear]

I've read Other M and I enjoyed it, but it's certainly not for everyone. You need to be able to like things in spite of, or because of, their bad art.

 

I thought it was a neat ~What If~ idea, and the plot basically completes it's main story, bringing down evil overlord Knuckles and saving the alternate Mobius, the unfinished part is sort of like a short second arc that kind of lost momentum.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Man who cares about the negative reaction? It had Enerjak Knuckles and Silver duking it out, and it was awesome, and that's why I love it.

 

Is the negativity mainly about it's likeness to Other M, or is there more to it? Because otherwise, I think the reaction might have been much different had it no relation to Other M. And I haven't even read the thing yet.

[Mauro Fonseca]

There'd also not be as much negativity around it if the FF were others in the arc, since I really do feel beyond that much of the arc was established already by the Penders story and accusing it of being all drawn from Other M is eeh.

[Inkling Cooper]

For those of you that have Issue 260, what do you think of it?

[Your Vest Friend]

It's a decent issue. Definitely more focused on the slower, more explorative side of things which is a nice change of pace. 

[Cocktail Shrimp]

It was great, just like all the other recent issues. Less action by far, but it was cool to explore this underwater world we've never seen before. Razor didn't look much like a shark and Coral didn't look anything like a mantis ray, but this is the Sonic universe, who cares? I was escpecially interested in Coral's character, I sympathized with her, and kinda wish more time had been spent on her... but maybe we'll get it in later issues.

 

I'm already excited for the next comic; can't wait til June.

[Sparky]

It was great, just like all the other recent issues. Less action by far, but it was cool to explore this underwater world we've never seen before. Razor didn't look much like a shark and Coral didn't look anything like a mantis ray, but this is the Sonic universe, who cares? I was escpecially interested in Coral's character, I sympathized with her, and kinda wish more time had been spent on her... but maybe we'll get it in later issues.

 

I'm already excited for the next comic; can't wait til June.

Coral is a Betta.

[biznizz]

Coral is supposed to be a betta fish (like a siamese fighting fish I think?), while Pearly is the manta ray. The main story & backup were fine, tho obviously set up for the rest of the arc.

 

 

Man who cares about the negative reaction? It had Enerjak Knuckles and Silver duking it out, and it was awesome, and that's why I love it.

 

Is the negativity mainly about it's likeness to Other M, or is there more to it? Because otherwise, I think the reaction might have been much different had it no relation to Other M. And I haven't even read the thing yet.

 

There seems to be an inherant stigma about creators who used to be fans of their work sometimes; like they haven't paid their dues or using ideas they had before they became an official writer is "unprofessional". I could swear that the Other M comparisons went beyond Silver Saga, but we'll focus on that for now.

 

Obviously, there's people who just didn't like the story (Knuckles goes into a dark descent into absolute villainy, rips peoples' souls out to create inhuman soldiers, the Freedom Fighters are altered, etc). Then there are the people who hate Ian's work no matter what (mostly the Penders camp) who use the Other M connection to make the accusation that Ian is getting paid for writing his fan work (when... that's mostly true of all comics, right? It's stuff the writer makes up on their own to be used.). Then you get people who do enjoy Ian's professional work, but either hated/knew of Other M who thought that Ian went too far in this reference.

 

My opinion is that if you can make something shine from an old idea you had, then you should be able to do so (tho I'm aware of the double edged sword it can be). Hell, Marv Wolfman outright admitted he came up with the basic idea of Crisis On Infinite Earths and the Anti-Monitor when he was about 5 (...and there were people who called that "unprofessional" as well. Can't please everybody).

[QuantumEdge]

Whoa, Marv thought of that thing at that age?!   Boy, they don't kid around when they say they think of things way in advance of its release date!  

 

I believe its alright that writers can do what Ian did with Silver Saga, so long as it doesn't go so far (Penders' LSC is a prime example).  I'm having difficulty in why people have such a gripe with Silver Saga.  It was in a completely different universe, not the main one, so no hamr done I think.

[biznizz]

I think he was five, but he was most definitely a kid in the 60's(?) who came up with the idea of every DC character ever fighting against his villain, then called the Librarian.

 

Maybe a complaint about Silver Saga was that it was four issues and thus four months before something like the Lockdown arc happened. Don't forget, if something starts dragging it's feet, then people are more quick to point out it's flaws; like what happened with Iron Dominion or Mecha Sally.

[QuantumEdge]

True enough.  I can only imagine the angry comments from the Scourge die hards that were wanting to get the Silver Saga over with.  That said I don't think it was a bad story, despite it not being up to my taste.  The problem really is that you're going to have people who want shorter stories when long sagas take place, but then have others (or even those same people) want longer ones when they get short.

 

Also, Librarian?  Haha

[Dantemustdie00]

It was great, just like all the other recent issues. Less action by far, but it was cool to explore this underwater world we've never seen before. Razor didn't look much like a shark and Coral didn't look anything like a mantis ray, but this is the Sonic universe, who cares? I was escpecially interested in Coral's character, I sympathized with her, and kinda wish more time had been spent on her... but maybe we'll get it in later issues.

 

I'm already excited for the next comic; can't wait til June.

well it's not like Sonic and the others look much like Hedgehogs, and Knuckles is anything but a Echidna, but hey, trying to draw a animal in Sonic-style is gonna be weird one way or another, especially ones that we never seen before.

 

Heh, I doubt Yuji Uekawa could've done any better anyway.

 

through Pearl is the Manta through, 

[QuantumEdge]

I've been wondering for a while now, but can you get a Sonic comic subscription to the UK?

[Your Vest Friend]

I don't think you can directly from Archie because they only really distribute to USA/Canada.

 

I know Forbidden Planet do a subscription service for Sonic though, so you could get one through that if you wanted.

[Cocktail Shrimp]

Coral is a Betta.

Woops messed that one up. D:

[QuantumEdge]

All I can find is purchasable single issues, but still they seem cheaper then I expected.  However I may have to think about it.  If there's one thing my parents like to make sure of it's that I have plenty of savings.

[Arcade Racer CC14]

Nothing to make for an absolutely CHAOTIC Saturday than SU #64 peeks and spoilers!

The issue opens with Knuckles and the Chaotix confronting the Hooligans. After a short tussle with both of them demanding that the other hand over the Emerald (Including Bean having to get his word balloons re-acclimated. Seriously. XD) Bean of all people points out the logic that if both teams attacked one another because they thought they had the Emerald, then neither of them do. Nack calls a truce and reveals that his Emerald tracker is pointing out the same spot as Knuckles' sixth sense. Since the Emerald clearly isn't at ground level, Knux reasons that it must be deep within the Aquatic Mines that he's all to familiar with. After realizing that they're enemies and shouldn't be sharing info with each other, Bean gives the Hooligans some cover and they get a head start. Vector frets that they've got such an advantage already, but Knux reveals his familiarity with the Aquatic Mine and that he should be able to point them in the right direction before the Hooligans even get within an inch of it. The Chaotix agree and the four get a move on.

After Knuckles starts remembering his previous mission before he got caught up in the Chaotix and the Hooligans' little Emerald war and thinks about how Relic and Fixit are doing, we cut to them on Angel Island. Relic is still tooling around with a communications console to which Fixit asks why. She reveals that since she can't get anyone on the surface to respond, she decided to try and synch up the old systems of the Island itself. However, she's having just as much luck with it and says that it makes her feel like a moron. However, she does take a moment out of her spat of lowered confidence to compliment Fixit on doing a fine job assisting her and says that she's glad that she found him "under that rubble," to which Fixit replies that he lives to serve. Fixit tries to help her out by interfacing with the system directly, but gets fried. Relic asks him if he's okay to which he replies positively, reasoning that he's just not compatible with the post-Eggman affected systems. However, in that brief jolt, he was able to detect a strange energy reading in the Mushroom Hill Zone that seems ALIEN to the Island. (Gee, I wonder who it is? XD) Since Knux asked them to keep an eye on the Island, Relic decides that they should investigate. Fixit frets about it being potentially dangerous to which Relic replies that they'll be very quiet and if "some terrible beastie" assaults them, they'll just run VERY far away.

Back to K-Dawg and the Echidna Icers (What? It's a Sonic Adventure 2 Knuckles level so I'm setting the mood. XD), Knuckles reveals that the Emerald reading is getting stronger and still moving. Charmy asks how he can sense these things in the first place, to which Knux replies that it's a sixth sense that he's always known and that they say only the best treasure hunters can sense a precious gem from miles away. "Since when did you hunt for treasure? You're always watching the Master Emerald?" ""Always?" I can have hobbies, too, y'know." Knux asks why they keep Charmy around again to which Espio asks if HE would leave him to fend for himself and Vector replies that he writes him off as a "charitable cause" during tax season. Charmy finds one of SA2's famous switches and tries to press it, but Knux stops him, revealing what it really does to the Mine's water level. After Charmy gives Knux the run around with a "Why?" game, they head in deeper, finding a HUGE crack in the Earth itself. After realizing that they're really on the edge, Vector tells the others that this isn't simply about a paycheck, but also saving the planet. Knux asks where THEY were when the Gaia-fueled crack-up happened, to which Espio reveals that despite their office being far away from a fault line, EVERYTHING shook around them. He also wonders how the Hooligans can live with themselves depriving the Earth of its salvation.

Speaking of, Nack and crew are still on the Emerald track. He says that they need to find it as soon as possible so they can get it back to Eggman, to which Bark sighs, obviously not keen on handing over the world's last hope to a megalomaniac. Nack asks if he'd rather let the world sort itself out, to which the ursine giant frowns in reluctant acceptance. Meanwhile, back to Knuckles and the gang, they have another conversation about ghosts after Vector tries to spook Charmy again to which Knuckles succinctly says that if the ghosts are transparent, they shouldn't care, but if they're solid enough to hurt them, they can just clock them upside the phantasmal head. The Chaotix give his golden advice some applause and Rad Red takes it all in, calling himself a "seasoned expert" and suggesting that he probably already cleaned this place out the last time he was here. Charmy wonders about the Gaia monsters that they encountered on the surface to which Knux hopes that they'll STAY up there. After Espio suggests that they may be going the wrong way because they still haven't found the Emerald, Knux loses his cool a bit and says that they'd be moving faster if he didn't have to explain every little bit about the Mine to the detectives. He tells them that it's still moving, to which Vector suggests that it may be caught in a current, but Espio quickly shoots that thought down because the water is too stagnant. Vector asks who could POSSIBLY take it deeper into the Mine by themselves to which Espio suggests that maybe whoever it is are just as lost as they are. Charmy brings up the grim possibility that maybe the Hooligans found it already to which the rest of the Chaotix rush recklessly forward, Vector even grabbing Knuckles and using him as a metal detector. XD Suffice it to say, this gets Knux noticeably peeved and he tells Vector that he's already spent enough time getting distracted from his mission and that he's through helping them. Vector respects his wishes, but asks if he can at least point them in the right direction, to which Knux acquiesces, but suddenly detects that it's headed right for them! They go around a corner and discover the Emerald and Chip, who's obviously lost. The issue ends.

Enjoy!

[Big Panda]

Oh god Bean's breaking of the forth wall. I can't. I fucking can't...