Megathread Archie Sonic Main Discussion

[Ryannumber1gamer]

3 hours ago, Jason the Jackass said:

Well let's see...The comics spectacular so far has some of the recent back comic short stories combined together, just part four of Waves of Change, ALL of Team Treasure Tango (Worth it for that), part two and three of Total Eclipse (Shadow vs. Knuckles), ALL OF CHAMPIONS! (Okay, this was so worth it now. I only have that in regular book form.), Ray of Hope, Silver Age part one (I already have this digitally so I don't want the rest) Cold Hearted,  Back in Business, Babylon Rising part 1 (Which I have in 3 other digital books. XP) and that's everything!

Quick review: First off, if you're gonna buy this book, buy it digitally. The print version is digest size slightly smaller than comic size and uses news print from what I understand. There's some worthless, incomplete story stuff in here, but TTT and Champions (two of my favorite arcs) make it an instant buy! Throw that in along with recent short stories that will get you up to speed of upcoming arcs for new fans make this book a pretty darn good deal.I give it an A

Hey, any chance you could do a quick recap of the stories in the GN thread? Could be useful for those looking for it, and they're likely to see it there.

[PC the Hedgehog]

Just out of curiosity, how any of you out there purchase the comics digitally as opposed to in print?

Because I was thinking about making the big switch to digital. I'd kinda miss getting the comics in the mail after 22 years of doing so, but at least I wouldn't have to deal with Archie's subpar mailing department. That, and I could simply buy every single old individual issue instead of waiting the rest of my life for graphic novels.

[shdowhunt60]

I do it digitally, because there's less of a chance of UPS being retarded and losing it. Because, you know, digital. There's no comic to lose. And the UPS has nothing to do with it.

Damnit, you know what I mean?

[pocket]

My comic shop doesn't carry Sonic, so it may be my only choice.

I actually hate the idea of buying single issues. I've been waiting for Graphic Novel releases to catch up on the comic, but as most people following the GN thread know, that's a losing battle. I'm probably over a year behind in the story, since all I've got are the first two GNs and two digests that family bought for me.

[Big Panda]

I buy all my comics physically but I also like to have some digitally. It's useful for those instances when the digital versions comes out first, plus it's just convenient having instant versions right here on my phone that can flip through without fear of damaging anything.

[Moppsy]

So how would one get the digital copies?  My sub for the physical comics is coming to an end and I might jump over to the digital version.  Tired of the missing issues and late delivery. 

[Big Panda]

26 minutes ago, Moppsy said:

So how would one get the digital copies?  My sub for the physical comics is coming to an end and I might jump over to the digital version.  Tired of the missing issues and late delivery. 

Download the Archie Comics App, for one thing. I think you can also get them on Amazon Kindle.

[Zulon Eredas]

I get mine from my local comic shop, but also from the bookstore if things don't work out.

(Finally. I've been looking for a reason to make my first post since Bumbleking shut down)

[PC the Hedgehog]

Thanks for the responses, guys.

And if I'm not mistaken, is every single issue of every comic available?

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Just now, PC the Hedgehog said:

Thanks for the responses, guys.

And if I'm not mistaken, is every single issue of every comic available?

Every issue is indeed there, and even better, are totally unedited. 

Only exception is the Knuckles series, which don't have the final 12 issues or so due to them releasing the issues as the Archives released.

[Sega DogTagz]

I could never give up my hard copies. I usually just wait six months and then by all the ones I missed in the gap from mycomicshop (<-- Good Store, highly recommended for new and current comics)

Of course that means I have to sacrifice a few days out of the year to essentially marathon sessions of comic reading, but y'know there are worse things to sacrifice a day to and there is something satisfying in sitting down and reading a good arc start to finish. No need to sit on cliffhangers waiting for the next months issue to drop.

[Moppsy]

Do you think the comics should stick to a four issue arc format or expand to possibly five or six?  Or do you think it's fine as is?  Perhaps maybe dependent on the arc itself?  Because personally I feel four just isn't enough in some cases where there is a lot of plot going on and the whole thing has to finish in that confined amount of time.  I'm not talking about sagas though, I think those don't really need a necessary issue limit as it's a much broader story and serves as a background.

[Shaddy Zaphod]

I don't think it matters for the main comic, because even if an arc has only two, three or four issues in it, sometimes they add more parts after it anyway, just not in the named arc. Like how 'Light in the Dark' had three parts but then they had 'Consequences' which was basically a part four of that story.

As for Sonic Universe, I dunno. That thing's nearly ten years old now, and I feel like moving away from 4-part arcs would just be jarring for sake of difference

[Moppsy]

I'm not really suggesting it for the sake of difference though.  Not even every arc, really. Just arcs that could benefit with an extra comic or two if necessary to help with pacing.  The recent Silver Age story for example I felt could have been a bit longer with regards to the Council and the monster's rampage.  Perhaps it's a personal gripe but the whole arc felt a bit rushed.  

[Ryannumber1gamer]

19 minutes ago, Moppsy said:

Do you think the comics should stick to a four issue arc format or expand to possibly five or six?  Or do you think it's fine as is?  Perhaps maybe dependent on the arc itself?  Because personally I feel four just isn't enough in some cases where there is a lot of plot going on and the whole thing has to finish in that confined amount of time.  I'm not talking about sagas though, I think those don't really need a necessary issue limit as it's a much broader story and serves as a background.

Short Answer: No.

Long Answer: It's complicated. I think that a good story should have much time as what they need. They shouldn't need to be shortened down and rushed in order to fit four issue arcs, or buffed out with too little story, resulting in a lot of padding. One of my favourite arcs so far has been Control, and that only need two issues to get it's full story across. It was action packed and fast paced. It stayed for the exact amount of time that was needed, and changed things up by actually having the last part of the arc (Sonic's training), being resolved in Ambushed so there is a new interesting dynamic to keep us interested with Sonic's friends by lured into a trap.

This has been easily one of the biggest problems with Archie Comics to date, and it's nowhere better seen than Mega Man's comic. Ian Flynn's Mega Man stories are pretty damn awesome and are filled with damn interesting concepts, the problem is Archie has a rule on arcs for a reason. They only want four issue arcs because they can then sell it off as a graphic novel. The only reason Countdown to Chaos got away with it was due to the fact they couldn't leave the prologue out of it as it was an incredibly important element of the full story. With Mega Man, Mega Man's 1 plot had some serious pacing issues due to issue 1 being focused solely on Mega Man's origins, and Issue 4 being his journey through Wily Castle, therefore meaning there was only two issues for the six robot masters, and the underlining plot that Rock is slowly going mad with power. Meaning every robot master gets maybe a page or two before they are beaten.

The Return of Dr. Wily is even worse. It's based on Mega Man 2, but of course it's still restricted to 4 issues, and this was the worst, due to how much potential was here. 8 robot masters, each with their own unique personality. Part four is the Wily Castle, which has a mecha dragon, a giant Guts Man, and more. But it had a really cool plot where Dr. Wily has tricked Mega Man into downloading a virus that brainwashes him into being loyal to Wily, which slowly causes him to get more and more angry, and hating towards Light and Roll. The end result is Brainwashed Mega Man, I.E: One of the most powerful enemies, the person who took down 16 robot masters gets un-brainwashed in about 2 pages after the Light Robot Masters throw a USB into him. 

Sonic himself has had arcs like this as well, but it's been no where near as bad as Mega Man. Honestly, Archie needs to stop this nonsense with GNs as quite honestly, it only ends up ruining some seriously good stories with a great deal of potential.

[Moppsy]

Sounds like the question I asked was better meant for the Mega Man books.  I kind of figured the 4 issue rule wasn't some arbitrary limitation for the sake of itself, but it still can be just that, a limitation, be it Sonic or Mega Man.  I agree that a story should be the length it needs to be without wearing out it's welcome and not happening too quickly.  Unless the story is perfectly fitted for four issues (which most Sonic ones are), it makes shorter compact stories too long and long stories too short.  

[Professor Pickle]

Good to know I'm not the only person who's had a problem with the pacing in the Archie comics. 

[Wittymations]

Biggest issue Archie faces with pacing and sticking to a four issue format comes down to one thing: It's a monthly comic book. Once a month, we get a book (twice if you count Universe, but they usually have their own set of adventures).

Expanding the format to six would take a whole half year to finish a single story. If the company was able to push out two books a month, doubling the power, this would be no problem, we could even finish an arc in three months. But, of course, being a licensed product, that's a no go. Especially now.

 

Yes, longer stories could definitely benefit.World's Collide expanded several books, and it was very well paced, for the most part. But you gotta look at the time frame, makes things less feasible.

[Ellipsis-Ultima]

While waiting for issues, here's the Textless variants of STH 279 and SU 80, Rafa Knight Style.

         

Closeups: 

279: http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/sonic/images/c/c4/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_278_Variant_Cover.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160222034206

80: (It's really BIG!) http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/sonic/images/7/72/Sonic_Universe_80_Variant_Cover.png/revision/latest?cb=20160222033003

 

 

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

OK, I have to say that is without a doubt one badass looking Silver.

[Your Vest Friend]

Oh, right, could someone be a dear and check to see whether StH#279 is in this week's upcoming release stuff? Remember that its current slated release date is officially this Wednesday. 

[RobotnikHolmes]

15 minutes ago, Detective Reptiles said:

Oh, right, could someone be a dear and check to see whether StH#279 is in this week's upcoming release stuff? Remember that its current slated release date is officially this Wednesday. 

Yeh, according to everything on the Internet, #279 is gonna be out on Wednesday. XP No more news of delays. Yet.

[Your Vest Friend]

Wait, hold on, managed to find the preview site myself after whacking Google hard enough.

It's...not on the upcoming release list. 

[RobotnikHolmes]

Eggman's Dozen is still scheduled for next week still, which I am exausted about and excited for at the same time.

3 minutes ago, Detective Reptiles said:

Wait, hold on, managed to find the preview site myself after whacking Google hard enough.

It's...not on the upcoming release list. 

Huh, though call me unaware of how preview sites work, but it appears all these comics are listed in November, December, January and other month releases, and not March and April and such months? o-o

[Your Vest Friend]

That's when the comics were first revealed, because that's the date they get their code.