“Yesterday’s” Comic> Sonic Blast

If your response is “this comic is for the birds”, please apologize in the comments.

Sonic Blast

Archie Comics Publications (1997)

“FRONTISPIECE”: Pat Spaz & Pam Ekland

COLORIST: Karl Bollers

EDITOR: J. Freddy Gabrie

“Sonic Blast”

WRITER: Mike Gallagher

PENCILER: Art Mawhinney

INKER: Rich Koslowski

LETTERER: Jeff Powell

“Bugged Bunnie” & “The T.U.F.F. Awards”

WRITER: Angelo Decesare

PENCILER: Dave Manak

INKER: Pam Ekland (story 2); Pat Spaz (story 3)

LETTERER: Mindy Eisman

The main story is supposedly an adaptation of the video game of the same name. Not having played it I can’t judge it on that regard. In the story we get, Snively decides to get a bit of payback on Robotnik by allowing the Freedom Fighters to learn Robotnik is on Flickie Island, an island where jewels grow like flowers, then eaten by the friendly Flickie Birds. Being another Zone, Sonic, Rotor, and Tails learn salt water can restore roboticized Flickie Birds because why not. Robotnik is hoping that one of the jewels is a Chaos Emerald, responsible for creating the Zone. However, releasing it from the statue brings it to life and Sonic finds himself actually rescuing Robotnik, who loses the Emerald in a warp gate (those rings that go to special bonus zones in the games). With the Flickies all returned to their home dimension (except for one as a gag because it’s Michael Gallagher) our heroes leave Robotnik prisoner on the now normal island.

The story goes back to the older comics, where elements of both the DIC versions of Sonic at the time were merged into one concept. The usual Gallagher humor is here but not as bad when the fourth wall isn’t breaking. Also, Gallagher drops some unnecessary “remember when this happened” as if he’s trying to force the game into the regular Archie continuity and this overall is what hurts the story early on. Beyond that it’s a goofy fun story, though again I can’t speak to it as an adaptation.

The second story is completely unnecessary and it’s not even good. Sonic and Sally host an awards show for their fellow Freedom Fighters but Rotor only gets really weak footage of the gang in action until Sally finally pulls the plug. The editor should have done that and put something else in here instead.

Not that the third story is any better. Robotnik and Snively manage to plant a tracking device on Bunnie (while dressed as plants and Snively has to make the obvious joke) and try to follow her back to Knothole. She finally manages to jump a distance they can’t follow, but as they leave to get an army to attack Knothole the tracker falls off Bunnie and is eaten by an unevolved prairie dog or something, which leads to the villains not realizing they’re wasting they’re time. Kind of like reading this story.

I’m sorry, but this comic wasn’t very good. The first story is okay at best while the other two try too hard to put the SatAM characters in the “Adventures Of” style and the end result just doesn’t work. Maybe just stick to the game.