My Favourite Fleetway: Knuckles Village of the Damned Part 2

Due to a combination of Sonic the Comic Con and my own laziness, Part 3 has been delayed for a bit, for now, enjoy Part 2.

*dresses up as a vampire and emerges from behind the sofa with a scary put on deep voice*

Hello my children! It’s Halloween! And what better way to celebrate the night of ghosts and goblins by gathering around the campfire to share a scary story, today we continue our tale of conspiracy and horror as we look at a scary tale from the pages of Sonic the Comic.

http://www.sonicstadium.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/knuckleswicker5.png

Come closer as we turn the pages of Knuckles Village of the Damned Part 2! And be sure to check out Part 1 if you have not already done so… we’ll be waiting!

Knuckles: Village Of The Damned Part 2

We begin as we left off, Knuckles awakens, confused as he spots a strange parade in the streets below where a young woman is tied to a huge stone being led through the streets. As she begs for help, take note of her clothing why don’t you? And the costumes that the villages are wearing, again we see a small homage to classic horror, as in the previous issue, The Wicker Man makes another appearance.

http://www.sonicstadium.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/knucklesvillagewolf.png

There is one nice inclusion here on the first page too, when Knuckles dives through the window, the artist has included a large full moon behind knuckles which although technically it’s not possible for Knuckles to be in this position with the moon directly behind him. I suspect this is another homage to something, not entirely sure what since the image of a hero or a defiant image in front of a large moon is used to much, whilst I want to say ‘An American Werewolf In London” this image of the moon overshadowing a character is used a lot over a wide range of media, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolfman, even other comic book heroes such as Batman have used it.

https://www.sonicstadium.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/knucklesvillagewicker2.png

As Knuckles rescues the girl we see in the background one of the villagers, another homage to The Wicker Man, you may have noticed this individual with the sun mask like face, he bears a striking resemblance to Christopher Lee’s character, Lord Summerisle. Don’t believe me? See for yourself. This character shall play an interesting role later in this story, keep that in mind for part 3.

With Knuckles and the girl on the run, they take refuge inside a barn, whilst no direct parallel here, it reminds me personally of a scene from a zombie movie, in which the heroes are trapped in a remote farmhouse with the zombie hoard outside. Or something like the movie Critters which also features a similar looking barn early in the movie, and least we forget something scary like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

http://www.sonicstadium.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/knuckleswicker2.png

After some time resting, Knuckles is woken up by the angry villagers, how did they find him? In his sleep the girl told them where he was hiding. We now discover that the girl was in on the whole scheme, whilst the plot is a direct parallel to The Wicker Man, as Howie discovers that the girl he’s been trying to save is in on the conspiracy and he is actually to be made the sacrifice, there is another small reference here. Lots of old horror movies had a classic ‘angry mob.’ Most famously found in Frankenstein, what characteristics do these mobs have? Grab your pitchforks and sharp farming tools and head towards the monster my children.

http://www.sonicstadium.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/knuckleswicker3.png

In a piece of dialogue almost identical to that of the Wicker Man, we discover that the villagers plan to sacrifice Knuckles in order to improve their crops. And as with Howie in The Wicker Man, Knuckle’s pleas and protests fall on death ears as he’s lead to the Wicker Egg.

https://www.sonicstadium.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/knuckleswicker4.png

And so Part 2 ends my children, will unlike Howie, will Knuckles escape his fate in the Wicker Egg? Or will he too face the fires and burn? What other references and homages will be found inside the pages of part 3? Join me next time as we find out.

When will part 3 come? Very soon, but wait? It’s not Halloween month any more you say? Well my children, at the end of some stories… Halloween never ends! Ah-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Happy Halloween!