Friday, September 10, 2021

[BOOK REVIEW] Sonic the Hedgehog IDW Collection Volume 1 by Ian Flynn

 




Title: Sonic the Hedgehog IDW Collection Volume 1

Author:  Ian Flynn

Artists:  Tracy Yardley, Adam Bryce Thomas, Jennifer Hernandez and Evan Stanley

Genre:  Action / Science Fiction / Humor

Series: Sonic the Hedgehog IDW Collection #1

Year Published: 2021

Year Read:  2021


Publisher: 
 IDW Publishing

Source:   Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 10+ (Brief Language and Violence)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Bookshop


Introduction:

So, let me tell you guys my history with “Sonic the Hedgehog” through the comic books.  I grew up reading the Archie “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic books when I was a kid and I always enjoyed reading that series because that series tended to get pretty CRAZY and I LOVED IT!  So, I was totally devastated when the series got cancelled after running for over 200 issues (which is quite an impressive feat for a comic book series based off a video game property). So, for many years, I thought that “Sonic the Hedgehog” would never come back to the wonderful world of comic books…until one fateful day, IDW announced that they were going to do a new “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic book series that featured the same writers and artists from the Archie series!  At first, I was a bit hesitant about this announcement since I loved the Archie Comics and I did not want to see my precious series be replaced after all of these years.  But the moment I picked up this first collection of IDW’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic book series, I was immediately HOOKED!  I never thought that this series could actually be so good!


What is this story about?

Taking place after the events of the latest “Sonic the Hedgehog” video game “Sonic Forces,” the series starts off with Sonic the Hedgehog trying to take down Dr. Eggman’s remaining robot armies after the Doctor’s defeat in “Sonic Forces.”  Along the way, Sonic meets up with some old friends (Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Silver) and some new friends (Tangle and Whisper) and they all help Sonic with taking down Dr. Eggman’s remaining robots.  However, it turns out that Dr. Eggman had mysteriously vanished after the events of “Sonic Forces” and a new threat is actually the one controlling the robots.

Who is really behind all the robot attacks and what happened to Dr. Eggman?

Find out in this volume!


What I loved about this story:

Ian Flynn’s writing: So, for those of you who do not know, Ian Flynn is one of the original writers from the Archie “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic book series, meaning that he has been writing for this series for over 10 years!  So, when I heard that he was coming back to write for this series, I was beyond excited since I loved his work in the Archie Comics.  Ian Flynn has once again done a fantastic job at writing this collection of stories.  I just loved the way that he portrayed each character, especially Sonic, Tails, Amy, Whisper and Tangle.  I especially loved the numerous moments between the characters, especially between Sonic and Tails as we get to see their brotherly relationship with each other.  I also loved the fact that Ian Flynn fixed a lot of the things that were controversial from the “Sonic Forces” video game (as that game seems to be extremely hated by the fans).  For one thing, he made Tails into a braver and more enjoyable character like how he was portrayed in the “Sonic Adventure” games and I appreciated the fact that Ian Flynn fixed Tails’ character since Tails is one of my all-time favorite characters from the “Sonic the Hedgehog” franchise.  Another set of characters that I really started to take a shining to are Tangle and Whisper.  These are two new characters added for the comic book series and I already love these two characters!  I just loved the way that these two characters were introduced into the story as they felt like they been a part of the Sonic cast for years, despite the fact that they are new characters.  Also, this is a question I tend to ask myself:

“WHY WASN’T SONIC FORCES WRITTEN THIS WAY?”

One of my biggest gripes with the game “Sonic Forces” was how the story was so clunky and I was disappointed that we did not have any plot points about how the characters felt about the bleak situation they were dealing with in the game.  In this new comic book series however, we actually get some good insight on how the characters felt about the events of “Sonic Forces,” like how Tails was worried that something bad will happen to Sonic again and whether or not he will break apart again.  I just loved that moment between him and Sonic when they were talking about that situation and I just wished that “Sonic Forces” took the time to showcase such relationships between the characters.


The artwork: OH, MY GOODNESS!  Probably the best part of this collection was the artwork itself!  The artwork was done by several different artists who each brought something truly creative to the series.  The artists are Tracy Yardley, Adam Bryce Thomas, Jennifer Hernandez and Evan Stanley.  My favorite artwork in this collection is from Adam Bryce Thomas, Tracy Yardley and Evan Stanley.  Adam Bryce Thomas’ artwork is probably the most epic out of the entire collection as I loved the way that the action scenes are drawn out and I loved that fact that his artwork has a more serious feel to them.  Tracy Yardley’s art is a nice throwback to the Archie Sonic the Hedgehog comics since he was an artist from the Archie Comics.  Evan Stanley’s art is so fun and amazing to look at since I loved the way that the characters have comical expressions on their faces whenever something funny or shocking happens to them.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

One of the problems that I had with this collection was that I wished that the world that Sonic lived in was established a bit more.  Now, as a long-time fan of the “Sonic the Hedgehog” series, I am already familiar with the world of “Sonic the Hedgehog.” However, if you are a new reader to this series or you are just getting into the “Sonic the Hedgehog” series, chances are you are going to be a bit confused about how certain events played out, like how did the war started in the first place?  Also, one of the artworks from this collection was a bit off from the rest of the artwork.  That artwork came from issue three and even though I did like the artwork from that issue, it stood out from the other artwork in the collection as the other artwork were smoother in style, while the artwork in issue three had more bolded lines for the characters.


Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Sonic the Hedgehog: The IDW Collection Volume 1” is a fantastic collection of stories that “Sonic the Hedgehog” fans will greatly enjoy!  If you were a fan of the Archie Comics or you just want to jump into the “Sonic the Hedgehog” franchise through the comics, then you should definitely pick this collection up!  Now, I am waiting for the second collection to come out soon!


You might also like:


No comments:

Post a Comment