“Yesterday’s” Comic> Sonic Super Special #11

This is going to bring the wrong kind of furries, isn’t it? The ones that give the community a bad name.

Sonic Super Special #11

Archie Comic Publications (1989)

WRITER: Ken Penders

COLORISTS: Josh & Aimee Ray

“SALLY FRONTISPIECE” (I think they mean the splash page): Suzanne Paddock & Pam Eklund with colors by Nelson Ribeiro

EDITOR: J.F. Gabrie

Five stories focusing on the female heroes of the Archie Sonicverse at this time. I’ll be doing this rapid style.

Princess Sally: “Ascension” .

ARTIST: Jim Valentino | LETTERER: Vickie Williams

Elias may be willing to let Sally assume the position she was raised for, to be the next ruler, but Sally herself isn’t sure. So she enters the pool that connects her to the Source Of All, experiencing memories of  her past and a brief vision of the future, with King Sonic having her escape with their children when an attack hits the castle. Rather than see the full vision she decides that instead of following the Source she has to choose her own path. This is going to be the theme of the book, exploring the various characters in the Archie Sonicverse, and for Sally it’s the first time she’s had a choice. Nothing definite results here, but it is a step in the direction she’ll be taking before the continuity gets rebooted.

HERSHEY: “Solo”

ART/LETTERS: Ken Penders

Hershey The Cat has to go solo (hence the name) to sneak into Robotnik’s base to learn what happened to Valdez. Unfortunately it’s not good news. He’s roboticized, so she leaves a little message for him. There isn’t a lot we learn about Hershey outside of being able to come up with a way to distract Robotnik, but it’s a decent outing for her.

Lupe & The Wolf Pack: “Family”

ARTIST: Coleen Doran | LETTERER: Vickie Williams

The pack finally arrives home, only to learn that Uncle Chuck, now lacking his free will, has roboticized her husband and children, forcing her to do the same. He even has her husband do the deed, but she maintains her free will long enough to get some payback, rescuing her pack but opting to remain with her husband. I hate this one. While the telling is fine, it’s the events I’m unhappy with. Having Chuck under evil control is bad enough, but now another of the SatAM characters are out of the game along with the comic original from the previous story. I don’t like evil winning. I also fear for the two Overlander kids since Lupe was the only one who wanted to protect them. Will they still be allowed to remain in the pack or will old hatreds lead to them being abandoned? I’m just not happy with how this turned out. Bittersweet is rarely the story ending I enjoy, and I don’t here. Penders gave up a good character and happy reunion.

Bunnie Rabbot: “Upgrade”

ARTIST: Fry | LETTERER: Jeff Powell

Bunnie’s organic and robot parts go to war with each other, and it could cost Bunnie her life. She can either alter her cybernetics but lose being restored, or risk restoring which could kill her. With Antonie assuring her he’d love her no matter what, she goes for the upgrades. This may be an excuse to alter her character model for something sleeker than what her show model allowed for, but it’s done in a good character moment for her and her budding relationship with Antoine. Best story in the comic.

Julie-Su: “Shadows”

ARTIST: Patrick “Spaz” Spaziante | LETTERER: Jeff Powell

Julie-Su decides to visit the destroyed Legion base that used to be her home. There she meets an old echidna who claims his wife raised her after her mother was killed and before her father mysteriously was also killed. The suspects are her half-siblings Kragok and LIen-Da, who hated her and wiped her memory of the whole thing. This is just Penders adding to the life story of his original character do not steal because he stole it via legal loophole. Otherwise it’s not a necessary addition to her character.

overall

A mixed bag with this one. Sally, Hershey, and Bunnie all have interesting stories and if not an exploration of their character then at least something cool to see her do (Hershey’s case). The others are the bad ending or an unnecessary addition to their backstory as Penders continues to be more interested in his story and his character than the game characters. I enjoyed parts of the comic, but not the whole thing.