Looking back at 30 years of the 'World's Most Way Past Cool Comic'

Archie Sonic Remembered (Extended)

Looking back at 30 years of the 'World's Most Way Past Cool Comic'

By Matteo Pirelli

(Pic by Matteo Pirelli)

In 1991, the first Sonic the Hedgehog game was released in the USA to huge success. More sequels and spinoffs were released and introduced fans to Tails, Amy, Knuckles and many more.

More than 30 years later, Sonic has had an interesting journey in the gaming scene. It found its footing into 3D with Sonic Adventure , but had trouble with other games such as Sonic 2006 and Sonic Boom. Sonic has become a superstar in the video game industry with his own merchandise, comics, magazines, TV shows and many more. This can be seen with the two Sonic movies, the current run of the IDW Sonic comics and also the latest games Sonic Frontiers and The Murder of Sonic The Hedgehog (yes, it exists).

But let’s go back to 1992, just before the release of Sonic The Hedgehog 2. Archie Comics would gain the rights to bring Sonic into the comic book industry. In those 25 years, the Blue Blur would be placed into a world different from the games with a vast array of characters exclusive to the comics and placed in tricky and eye-widening adventures. But who are Archie and what did they do to Sonic?

This feature will take a look back at 30 years of Sonic's adventures through Archie's adaptation of one fast blue Hedgehog.

When Archie met Sonic

Chapter One : 1992 - 1997

Drawn by Dave Manak for Sega and Archie

Archie Comics were formed in 1939 by John Goldwater and John Silberkleit. It originally made superhero comics, only shifting to comedic slice-of-life comics in the 1940s in a time where superhero comics were everywhere. This shift proved to be successful. In the 60s and 70s, American Teenagers could relate to Archie and his friends and lead to TV shows and a #1 hit single ‘Sugar Sugar’.

Unfortunately, the next few decades (as seen on the graph on the right) would be tough for them as Marvel and DC reigned supreme and other franchises dominated. Something needed to happen for Archie to stay in the rat race.

In 1992, head of Marketing at Sega of America wanted to open up the world of Sonic. The sequel to the first game was due to be released later that year. So, the team came up with a world where Sonic meets a group of freedom fighters who want to overthrow the reign of Dr. Robotnik. This pitch would be rejected by Sega of Japan and was taken to DiC animation studios to use it to make a cartoon for the mascot.

That cartoon was Sonic the Hedgehog (known as Sonic SatAM by fans). The show only ran for two seasons from 1993 to 1994 and ended on a cliffhanger.

Before the show's release, Archie gained the rights to make Sonic comics and decided to take both that show and another Sonic show (Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog) and morph them into a new comic series.

Jacob Berkley, a video game historian, pointed this out. "The long running Sonic comic by Archie Comics started with a miniseries in 1992, before becoming an ongoing comic in 1993" Jacob says, "While you could argue that it wasn't 100% accurate to the games, you gotta remember that the comic started a mere two years after Sonic's creation... and was not just an adaptation of the video game series, but the then in production DiC Sonic cartoons as well."

Mike Gallagher wrote the mini-series and the first few issues and Scott Shaw would pencil the mini-series. Manak would join in the first issue.

The comic started lightly with the first issues, blending the characters from SatAM with the comedy from AOSTH. "It retained the early designs, story, and characters from the Saturday Morning series, which staying more in tone with the syndicated Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog” Jacob points out. “This led to an initially very run of the mill slapstick comic book without much depth."

These issues were run-of-the-mill short stories. For example In Issue 1, the gang fight a cyborg plant with tree puns and another issue has a fight between them and a robotic salamander named Universalamander.

Things would begin to change when new writers and pencillers joined in including Ken Penders, Patrick Spaziante and many more.

Drawn by Dave Manak for Sega and Archie
Drawn by Dave Manak for Sega and Archie

Picture taken by Matteo Pirelli
Picture taken by Matteo Pirelli

Sales from Comichron.Com
Sales from Comichron.Com

From Groovy Ol' Jake on Twitter

One new artist was Art Mawhinney. He had drawn many issues and witnessed the changes in direction.

"I actually was a storyboard artist on BOTH the Sat AM Sonic show and the weekday afternoon Adventures of Sonic." Art Remembers, "I was contacted because of those jobs.".

Art Mawhinney joined Archie and became one an artist for the comics from issue 10 and would go on to draw some issues along with Dave Manak and Manny Galan until issue 156.

Art goes on to describe how it was like working for Archie and drawing Sonic. "Well, I was working on MANY other projects, including other Sonic projects, so the comic was just a "side" job thing. I would draw anywhere between 6-24 pages a month. The schedule varied greatly." That schedule included a mini series on Sally, a side story called Sonic Quest and brought in Knuckles to the comics.

He even enjoyed the comic's transistion from humour from Aventures of Sonic to drama from Sonic SatAM, this was seen in his art as the drawings were closer to SatAM.

After 11 years at Archie Sonic, Art decided to leave. "I was very busy with TV storyboarding on many different TV shows, and storyboarding pays much better than comics. I asked to not be given any assignments".

One of his most popular stories he drew for Archie was for Princess Sally. A three parter written by Penders, it featured Sally working with a secret underground base in an attempt to destroy a base.

As many issues were released, the stories became more story driven and more characters joined. Knuckles, Amy and Metal Sonic would appear more and new characters were created such as Geoffrey St. John, Fiona Fox, Mammoth Mogul and more.

Ken Penders decided to shift the tone of the comics more to SatAM’s darker tone, starting with Issue 25, where Sonic and Metal Sonic fight each other.

That's when fans started to notice the changes.

Drawn by Art Mawhinney for Sega and Archie
Drawn by Art Mawhinney for Sega and Archie

Princess Sally Issue 1 : Drawn by Art Mawhinney for Sega and Archie
Princess Sally Issue 1 : Drawn by Art Mawhinney for Sega and Archie

Readers' opinions on the first few issues

Brodie (Bundaborg)

"I feel that the comics used the characters from the show in their own way for a dozen or more issues. They used them and their personalities for fun and wacky stories. All for a cheap laugh. Similar to something you would find in the comics section of a newspaper. However as the SatAM show concluded and was cancelled, you can see the comics shift from the "comedic vibe", to a more serious and lore building approach. Almost picking up where the show left off in a sense."

Joe (Skankindead)

"I think they're fun, and they play with the characters well, though ultimately by themselves the issues are pretty disposable."

Adrian (Kosmobatalanto)

"It's perfect. Like I implied, they did it better than in the SatAm cartoon and being better than the original is everything one can ask from an adaption. What I love about the Archie comics and Freedom Fighters is that the whole "heroic underdogs vs evil dictatorship" theme was very well executed."

1996 saw massive changes for the comics. It lead to more special events, one being the Mecha Madness Special where Metal Sonic and Metal Knuckles would to show their strengths. There were other stories based on the games, Sally’s father was found, characters like Antoine and Tails would begin to develop as characters and it all culminated into issues #47 to #50 that shared the story of ‘Endgame’.

This was hyped by by Archie as the ultimate end of the Sonic comics. Sonic and Sally go on a quest to infiltrate Robotnik's base. Things get sour when Sonic supposedly cuts a rope that Sally loses grip on, falling to her death. This leads to his friends pointing to him as the killer, leading Sonic to be confused thinking he never committed to it. So he runs to try and outlaw the guards. Shenanigans ensue, leading to one final battle between Sonic and Dr. Robotnik.

"The first one is just epic (I have always been drawn to epic, high stakes, storytelling)" says Adrian, "it's the end of the original storyline plotted out for the comics (taken from the SatAm cartoon) and is a historical turning point on Mobius in-universe, like if you'd took the Declaration of Independence, Battle of Berlin and Trinity Test from real life (where this wouldn't work, but I assume uni students understand basic history and physics) and combined them."

Issue 50 was supposed to be the last issue with Sally actually dying and Sonic let off the hook. However, the comics were selling well and Sally was brought back as she was one of the mascots of a Sega theme park in Australia.

All 4 issues of Endgame together sold over 28,000 copies, with the last issues selling over 8,000. Archie had found something to stay afloat in the business.

Sega wanted more.

Drawn by Pat Spaziante for Sega and Archie
Drawn by Pat Spaziante for Sega and Archie

Drawn by Patrick Spaziante for Sega and Archie
Drawn by Patrick Spaziante for Sega and Archie

Cover drawn by Patrick Spaziante for Sega and Archie
Cover drawn by Patrick Spaziante for Sega and Archie

Archie Sonic's "Endgame"
Ken's magnum opus, in my mind, and also in his mind IIRC, or at least it's still one of his personal favorites. It's certainly one of mine.
Just glad Sally Acorn survived this, she originally wasn't going to.#ArchieSonic #SonicTheHedgehog #Sonic pic.twitter.com/ChHvJKXlv2
— Good Penders - Ran by JoshSonic2021 (@GoodPenders) January 14, 2023

Drawn by Dave Manak for Sega and Archie

Drawn by Pat Spaziante for Sega and Archie

Drawn by Dave Manak for Sega and Archie

Drawn by Dave Manak For Sega and Archie

Travelling through the Darkest Storm

Chapter Two : 1998 - 2011

Drawn by Tracy Yardley for Sega and Archie

Sonic Adventure marked a new era for the character as he jumped into the 3D world in 1998. During this time, Archie kept on going and evolved the story. Karl Bollers was chosen as the new writer for the main issues and Ken Penders was responsible for a side-series based on Knuckles. His story was told in over 30 issues and was met with mixed reviews.

While this series introduced Knuckles’ family, locations and characters such as Julie-Su, the Chaotix and his father Locke, the story writing was convoluted with confusion and gained controversy when one of the stories was eerily similar to the Second World War. In 2000, the Knuckles Comics were cancelled and were future stories were condensed into the mainline issues.

From 1998 to 2000, Sonic and Tails would travel around the world as they visited locations such as the Iron Fortress, Downunda, Sandblast City and many more. New characters such as Nate Morgan and Mina Mongoose were introduced, with the latter becoming a love interest for Sonic. Battles against baddies such as Naugus and Kodos kept readers happy and the new millennium saw the comic adaption of the first Sonic Adventure game.

As Sonic moved into a new era, sales of the comic were not looking good. According to Comichron, the Sonic comics were selling around 6,000 copies per issue. The X-Men were dominating, thanks to a new movie adaptation featuring Hugh Jackman and Sir Patrick Stewart. Marvel and DC were dabbling into movies and tv shows and Archie were struggling with what to do with Sonic.

Not even a parody of Guardians of Galaxy and a retelling of a SatAM episode could help Sonic succeed. Luckily, there were some stories that kept things cool. Sally met her long lost brother Prince Elias Acorn; the love triangle between Sonic, Mina and Sally was at its peak; and in issue #125, every single character joined together to stop the Xorda from destroying Mobius, their home planet. That issue was drawn by every one in the Archie Sonic crew from Manak and Mawhinney to newcomers J Axer and Dawn Best.

While the most ambitious issue yet, it sold an underwhelming 6,234 copies.

Issue #134 would be marked the lowest point by fans. After Sonic returns from space, everyone welcomes him back. Sally asks for Sonic to stay with him to rule the Kingdom after fearing he would die again. Sonic rejects and Sally slaps Sonic in a fist of rage.

It was almost 2006, comic sales were falling and Archie needed to do something to keep the story fresh.

Drawn by J Axer for Sega and Archie
Drawn by J Axer for Sega and Archie

Drawn by Manny Galan and Ken Penders for Sega and Archie
Drawn by Manny Galan and Ken Penders for Sega and Archie

Drawn by Steven Butler for Sega and Archie
Drawn by Steven Butler for Sega and Archie

Drawn by Jon Gray for Sega and Archie
Drawn by Jon Gray for Sega and Archie

Fans thoughts of the Knuckles and Sonic comics from 1998 to 2005

Joe (Skankindead)

"I have not read the Knuckles miniseries, and I've only read a handful of the Knuckles side series proper. Almost every story I've read by Penders involving Echidnas in any way has been unbearably boring, which is why I don't care much about them."
"Plain and simple, Ken Penders' writing sucks...his stories are just not satisfying to read"

Brodie (Bundaborg)

"It was clear that the comics had taken off on a unique tangent under the previous writer(s). The comics centred around romance and drama. Perhaps it was a way to invest people and sell more comics."

Evan (Arson Hole)

"I've read a few Issues of Knuckles, and from what I can gather, it's one of the most out-of-touch, melodramatic, and all-around sloppiest comics I've read in my life. If there were a Hall of Fame for awful comics, or a series dedicated to teaching how not to write a long-running comic, it would belong in both."

Ian Flynn © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons
Ian Flynn © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons

Cover by Pat Spaziante for Sega and Archie
Cover by Pat Spaziante for Sega and Archie

2006 was the 15^th Anniversary of Sonic and things had changed. Penders and Bollers left as writers and Mawhinney and Manak left as pencillers. In their place were people who had read the comics and watched SatAM as children. They were penciller Tracy Yardley(!), colourer Matt Herms and writer Ian Flynn.

The latter had written mail to Archie and submitted his work through mail to get their attention. In response, editor Mike Pellerito brought him in. Around this time, the Sonic comics were on the verge of cancellation. Flynn convinced Archie to let him continue the story and a new era had begun.

Issue #160 started with Sonic celebrating his birthday with his friends, only to be interrupted by a new foe. This foe was named Scourge and was the anti version of Sonic, he would go on to form his own crew of villains through the issues.

The first few issues Ian had written was a massive clean up. Gone were characters such as the Ancient Walkers and Tommy the Turtle and in was the re-introduction of Elias, Tail’s parents and Fiona Fox. Fiona would go on to become a villain along with Scourge.

During this year, Archie had also worked on the comic adaptation of Sonic X, a simple comedic series that was based on the show of the same name while adding new small stories including Sonic taking on the mighty El Gran Gordo (Robotnik in disguise) in a wrestling match.

Meanwhile, in issue #175 the main series, there was a huge shake up. The village of Knothole was destroyed by Dr Robotnik. All seemed lost until Sally’s AI friend, Nicole, created a new location called New Mobotropolis. A successful attempt to save Sonic’s gang and townsfolk from death. In issue #151, Tana Del Rio of Sabrina fame was given the chance to write a small story for the Sonic comics and introduced a new take on Nicole. This character had originally appeared as a computer Sally would hold to help her and the Freedom Fighters to succeed in their missions. Now, Nicole was an Android Lynx who could switch from computer to flesh; resulting in creating a new haven for the Freedom Fighters.

While sales of the comics were not as high as expected, the internet was starting to rise and now fans were making art and videos on social medias such as Deviantart and YouTube. This led Archie to continue marketing the comics through social media and comic conventions, it was at this rate where the Sonic comics were selling more than the main Archie comics.

Drawn by Tracy Yardley for Sega and Archie
Drawn by Tracy Yardley for Sega and Archie

From issue 160, the story writing had improved, with numerous references to the games. The art had also improved with Tracy Yardley(!) and Matt Herms drawing the characters closer to the modern design, especially with many of the female characters that were drawn human-like until the new artists arrived. Because of this, more people started reading the issues. Sales per issues went from 6,000 to 7,000. Flynn et al were doing something right.

“As a new name head writer came in under the name of Ian Flynn, he finally was able to give the comic a consistent tone and direction.” Jacob Berkley explains, “While the world stayed very much rooted in the SatAM inspired stories and original lore established, he was able to weave elements of the video games into them very naturally, creating a very solid direction for the comic going forward.”

There were numerous stories that took place from 2007 to 2009. In issues #178 and #179, Tail’s Parents have a stand-off with Elias (now king) in order to overthrow the monarchy. During this, Sonic and Tails’ friendship is tested. Issues #180-184 brought back Enerjak, an old enemy from the Knuckles series that reigned terror in the Acorn Kingdom, issues #189 to #198 was an all-in ‘hedgehog havoc’ where Sonic and the Freedom Fighters would fight against Scourge and the Suppression Squad.

All this lead to issues #199 and #200, where the Freedom Fighters would finally defeat Dr. Robotnik again. The readers were surprised. The Sonic Comics were at their peak and the fans were happy to stick around.

With success, there was a new sub-series that kept on building the world of Sonic. It was called Sonic Universe. Started in 2009, his focused on character’s stories including Shadow, Tails, Knuckles, Sally, a look in to the future of Mobius 30 years later and a treasure battle between Amy, Shadow and Jet. This kept readers interested without having to wait a month for the next issue.

Around this time, issues #201 to #212 witnessed the coup of the Iron Dominion with Snively, Robotnik’s small sidekick, in charge. The next few issues re-introduced classic characters such as Lupe the Wolf and the Arctic Freedom Fighters.

However, it would be issue #220 where Archie Sonic was at its creative peak. Geoffrey St. John, the skunk introduced in 1995, would betray Sonic and the Kingdom to help Naugus claim the Throne. Up to this point, this was the biggest plot twist. Geoffrey had appeared sparsely after issue #134 and was brought back to cause havoc.

2011 saw the 20^th anniversary of Sonic, this led to the arc mostly known both inside and outside the Sonic fanbase. The Mecha Sally Arc.

Drawn by Ben Bates for Sega and Archie
Drawn by Ben Bates for Sega and Archie

A video tribute by RenardeBlanche from 2008

Drawn by Tracy Yardley for Sega and Archie

Drawn by Tracy Yardley

Drawn by Tracy Yardley for Sega and Archie

drawn by Tracy Yardley for Sega and Archie

Readers' favourite Sonic stories

Chris (DiggityDogVA)

"'Enerjak Reborn' was just such a perfect "Sonic" story - a back-and-forth of quips and action sequences, a brisk pace that didn't ever drag OR feel rushed, cliffhangers at just the right time to get you excited to see what happens next month, and tons of characters that worked so well off each other. Dr. Finitevus is such a fun villain to read, because he just revels in the horrible stuff he does, plus the fallout from the arc cast a really long shadow (heh), not just for Knuckles but characters like Scourge, Dimitri, Eggman, Lien-Da. It being set almost right after Knothole's destruction makes that particular stretch of months the most consistently awesome for the comic."

Evan (Arson Hole)

"Probably Issue #200, simply because it's the only mainline Issue I had growing up, and it acted as a pretty decent climax to a large part of the series' ongoing story.
Though upon recent re-readings, #225 definitely piqued my interest, as it essentially encompasses everything that actually makes Archie Sonic so beloved: Action, romance, high stakes, even a bit of tragedy at the end."

Joe (Skankindead)

"My favorites are usually the ones with the character Nicole. Since she's a living AI, the comics are able to play a lot with how others react to her. For instance, the story Changing Tempo where the entire city turns against her due to a song that voices the singer's distrust of her, and rather than the stoic response you'd expect from an AI, she ends up in tears!"

Sally, the Mecha Sally Arc and Trouble outside the Comics

2011 - 2013

Drawn by Ben Bates for Sega and Archie

Before we get into the arc, we have to talk about Princess Sally Acorn. Created in the Sonic pitch in 1992, Sally would undergo many designs through many media until Sonic SatAM, where she stayed the same since.

During the 90s, there was a rise in Feminism in media. Sally was one of those role models, designed to not only help Sonic through missions, but show to people what a healthy relationship looks like as seen in SatAM and the comics. While, she was written differently in the comics, Flynn would take note of Sally in the cartoons and use it as a reference to revitalise her as a leader and a fighter.

Sally was a game-changer for female characters. With Ridley from Alien and Princess Leia from Star Wars before her, Sally would go on to influence writers and cartoonists to take note. Many of these characters inspired included Kim Possible, Lara Croft, the Bride from Kill Bill and even Blaze in the Sonic games.

Because of this, Sally has become the most recognisable characters outside of the comics, leading many fans asking Sega if they will bring her into the games.

Readers' impressions on Sally?

Joe (Danklord)

"Well she's a pretty good foil to Sonic. She's more strict than Sonic and useally served to reign him in when needed, but she also trusted him enough to let him do his own thing at times. In a way she also kinda served as a stepping stone into a lot of the bigger lore and backstory in the Archie universe by proxy of being part of a royal blood line with its own extensive history. And of course you had the slap. I know a lot of people don't like it, and I'm not the biggest fan either, but it did help explore both Sally as a character and her relationship with Sonic as we saw the two deal with the aftermath and eventually come back together over time."

Brodie (Bundaborg)

"Princess Sally, this past year has become one of my favourite characters I've ever seen and she is one of the main reasons I am invested within Sonic now as an adult (after 10 years of not caring for it). She creates an interesting dynamic, as the title character is of course Sonic. But in this particular universe, Sonic is living within Sally and her family's kingdom. Sally is royalty, but through circumstances of loss and war, she has gained responsibility and doesn't use her title for her own benefit. She sees it as an opportunity to inspire and lead others. She is a fantastic female role model who promotes the use of digital technology, leadership skills and independence. As a primary school teacher, seeing these kinds of traits being promoted through a female character in the early 90s is ahead of its time and its what makes her unique and so likeable as a character."

Elowen (tmntspyvsspy)

"I feel like of the versions of Sally that exist, Archie Sally is probably the best. She, with a good writer at the helm, could be more than just the obligatory girl on the team. She actually had a personality, her story progresses, she could be a princess and a freedom fighter. While I don't feel it is exclusively her, I would include her as an influence on how female characters are written now."

However, in #230, Sally had sacrificed herself to stop Robontik from turning the world into a fleshless metallic ball. All that energy went into her, turning her into Mecha Sally. Once an important leader to defeat Robotnik was now an important weapon to defeat the Freedom Fighters.

From issues #231 to #247, the Freedom Fighters would experience their lowest point. They witnessed Antoine put into a coma after nearly getting killed by Metal Sonic. Bunnie Rabbot, Antoine’s wife, departs depressed. Amy and Tails let their feelings out and Sonic locks himself in his own bedroom emotionless, the Acorn Council is in disarray and the Freedom Fighters decide to demerge into two groups in order to save Sally from her metal prison. Geoffrey begins questioning his partnership with Naugus, now King of the Acorn Kingdom, only to be possessed by him in his last appearance. All seems lost, but in issue #247, the Freedom Fighters begin their quest to save Sally and overthrow Naugus.

Unfortunately, back in the USA, Archie and a former artist’s lawsuit begins to cause trouble.

In 2010, Ken Penders claimed copyright to his characters he made for the Sonic Comics. However, Archie sued Penders, claming he signed a ‘work for hire’ contact. Unfortunately, photographic documents were not proof and Archie and failed to produce a proper contract with Penders, the lawsuit was settled in 2013 and led to Archie having to reboot the comic.

There were many changes throughout 2012.

Issue #237, Hershey the Cat was originally supposed to return. Instead, Leeta and Lyco took her place.

The ‘Endangered Species’ arc from issues #243 to #246 were re-written at the last minute.

Characters like Rob O’ the Hedge, Geoffrey, Julie-Su, Elias and many more characters were removed.

Fans were left confused and angered that the comics would be rebooted, many of their favourite characters were officially gone and it meant that the Mecha Sally Arc would not get an ending.

Made in Canva by Matteo Pirelli
Made in Canva by Matteo Pirelli

The start of the Reboot and the End of the Comics

2013-2017

Drawn by Tracy Yardley for Sega and Archie

2013 marked the start of the reboot of the Sonic Comics with issue #252. Before it began, Archie had rights to make comics of Capcom’s Megaman. So they decided to do one crossover between Sonic and Megaman to segue into Sonic’s new world. Ian Flynn decided to event a thing called the Super Genesis Wave, a weapon that Robotnik used to destruct Sonic’s chances returning to his home.

This lead to Sonic finding himself in planet similar to Mobius. Up until #256, he finally meets everyone, all redesigned for the reboot and uses Nicole to regain their memories. However, the World starts collapsing and the Unleashed arc begins, an adaptation of the game Sonic Unleased that was released in 2009.

The story was simple, the Freedom Fighters must work together to stop Dark Gaia from destroying Earth.

Meanwhile, in the Universe comics, stories were focused on Knuckles, Shadow, a fighting tournament, Nicole and the Chaotix.

Fortunately, the sales started to improve. The first five reboot issues all sold around 10,000 copies, the highest in over 15 years for Sonic.

Despite another Sonic/Megaman crossover, sales began to fall down. And in the background, Archie were considering withdrawing from making licensed comics.

During Christmas Day 2016, Ian Flynn was celebrating another year of Archie Sonic. Both Sonic and Universe were about to hit some milestones. 300^th issue of Sonic and 100^th issue of Universe and the comics would be celebrating 25 years on shelves. However, he got a call from the editor and was told the bad news.

One reader, TheStarlineZone (Internet name used to protect privacy), was sad about the cancellation.

"In denial, as you'd expect." the fan says, "I frantically checked the wiki, I tended to use the Archie Sonic App and tended to download most things until the final Universe arc (and I still recall seeing one of the last mainline ones being sold). How did it get cut short? What caused this? Will we still get Sonic in Comics form?"

"Not helping is that until then, Sonic was in a media lull, aside from Sochi 2014, Rio 2016, and Boom. Even the merch felt cut off. Something felt incomplete. In hindsight, I feel Worlds Unite kept us from having the "Freedom Fighters Exploration Arc" that 95-98 seem to have been set up for. Such beautiful covers never used."

"Oh, also, the cancellation is largely why I refuse to watch Riverdale."

Two days later, Sega announced that IDW would start a new Sonic comic series in 2018. This was much closer to the games, choosing to make its own universe in favour of continuing what Archie did in the reboot. Much of the crew from Archie Sonic, including Flynn, Yardley, Herms and newcomer Evan Stanley have contributed to the series. IDW’s version is still going strong with over 60 issues released to critical acclaim. The first four issues together sold over 63,000 copies and introduced new heroes such as Tangle and Whisper and new villains such as Dr. Starline and Surge & Kit.

“It was demoralising, especially when we got the call right before Christmas” Ian explains. “I talked to the editor at the time who gave me a call, how excited he was about coming up to our two milestone issues.”

“We really worked well together and we were looking forward to next year. An an hour later, he calls back and was like ‘well…’”

“It was kind of terrifying too because the Sonic books were my career at that point because the Sonic books were my career at that point, I didn’t have anything else…that was it. I had nothing to fall back on”.

“There was a bit of panic and just tried to keep my ear on the ground on where the license would go from there. Hope I could seize on an opportunity to maybe get my foot on the door and bring who I could with me by saying ‘Hey there! Thanks for picking me back up. There’s a whole talented bunch of people who know how to do this book. Let me give you the contact info. I know they want work.”

“It was not a good time, it was not a merry Christmas”.

“Losing the continuity again was hard, especially how much effort Aleah and I put into crafting something relatable but new.”

“It wasn’t quite as bad as the first reboot since that was the stuff I grew up on that was in my childhood and I had the privilege of contributing. To lose all that was especially hard.”

In July 2017, Archie announced that they were no longer releasing Sonic comics. 24 years of adventures and surprise had ended and millions of fans felt heartbroken when the news broke out.

From everyone who read the comics, thank you so much for the memories and your hard work 💙 Thank you. pic.twitter.com/95TNy5pA4l
— Emi Jones ✨ (@TheEmuEmi) July 19, 2017

Drawn by Tyson Hesse for Sega and Archie
Drawn by Tyson Hesse for Sega and Archie

Epilogue

Present day

Picture taken by Matteo Pirelli

After 6 years of its cancellation, Archie Sonic is still remembered by its fans. After over 570 issues, including specials and magazines, Archie’s take on Sonic remains the most interesting and experimental. It was built from an animated adaptation of Sonic in 1993 and kept on going, despite many low points and disorientation. It would lead to those growing up with the comics to find a way to compel fans to pick up an issue and enjoy what was in front of their eyes. From Sonic and Tails fighting each other to Naugus overlooking a Kingdom in disarray.

A fan continuation, Archie Sonic Online, continues the Pre-Boot where issue #247 left off. It has released five issues of the main series, three issues of Universe and rewrote the Endangered Species Arc. Its Discord Server continues to enjoy and discuss both the original run and the fan-continued run.

Fanart and fan-fiction continues to be made of the Archie Sonic comics as many have been released through Deviantart, Tumblr and Twitter much to success.

To this day, Archie Sonic is still loved by its fans. With many games such as Assassin’s Creed, Call of Duty, Halo and Witcher delving into the world of comics, Archie’s take on Sonic continues to inspire and amaze people to this day. Its stories are still told, its characters continue to make people smile or angered, its writing continues to inspire people to write stories and its legacy continues to show how successful adapting a video game character can help other publishers and studios to do the same.

Not bad for the ‘World’s Most Way Past Cool Comic’

The Archie Sonic Online website
The Archie Sonic Online website

Final words by the readers

Dave (DiggityDogDAV) For there to be any lasting legacy of Archie Sonic, I think SEGA is gonna have to swallow their pride and embrace what Archie built with their characters, because in my opinion Archie Sonic was the very best iteration of Sonic, and the fact that SEGA keeps trying to ignore it proves they don't understand both the appear of Sonic OR the passion fans have for him

Brodie (Bundaborg) I've known about the Sonic Archie comics for over 14 years now, when I was a 9 year old. However, I didn't care for these comics until I was an adult. It wasn't until February last year in 2022, when I had my university break, that I decided to read through the Archie Comics series and give it a chance. It was because I decided to watch the 1993 TV Show titled simply "Sonic The Hedgehog", that I was really engaged with those very characters I never cared for as a child.

Joe (Danklord) I think it'll still be remembered even like 10 years from now but I think it'll unfortunately stay as a niche part of the wider Sonic community, remembered mostly for some of it's weirder bits.

Joe (Skankindead) I think they'll always be remembered - if not for its achievement of how long it lasted, then for just how insane the stories could get.

Elowen (Tmntspyvsspy) Media as a whole I'm not sure the impact of, but it's definitely had an impact on comics and especially independent comics. The long running nature of the comic and the lasting effect of the lawsuit kind of require at least a ripple effect of the industry.

Adrian (Kosmobatalato) I would say Archie Sonic was a huge influence on my own works (a multimedia project and constructed world) and also my IRL character development and worldview.

Evan (Arson Hole) It's the single longest-running video game comic of all time, and despite it's subterranean-level low points, it's stratosphere-level highs are what made it as beloved and fondly remembered as it is. It left such a massive impact that fans to this day hope for the comic's cast to make some kind of grand comeback in the games.

TheStarlineZone It's only been 5 years and.. Already it seems forgotten? More than I'd think. I get Fleetway becoming just the nickname for its own Super Sonic, Fleetway ended in 2002, Archie did around 2017. But despite all the Sally protests, which I am divided on, it feels like people forget that Archie isn't just Sally. It's about community. Something I want more in IDW.

Jake (GoodOlGroovyJake) There have been many fan comics which continue the story and legacy of Archie Sonic the Hedgehog. Notably, there's Sonic Retold, Heroes Come Back, and, likely the most important, Archie Sonic Online. Many fans of the original comic have contributed to the fan continuation through writing and art. While unofficial, it's an absolutely stellar continuation of the original comic created by the fans. Many of the artists from it would even go on to create their own comics. Archie Sonic may be officially cancelled, but the fans will keep it's legacy going, either through fan continuations, or through their own work inspired by it.

Art Mawhinney Someone contacted me about Archie Sonic Online, but I really haven't looked at anything. I know the Sonic comic meant much more to certain writers and artists than me. I really enjoyed drawing the Sonic universe...but you move on to other things.

MATTEO PIRELLI (MUSIC AND SPORTS)

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