Sunday, January 30, 2022

[ANALYZING SONIC THE HEDGEHOG COMICS] Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 1 (IDW Comics)

 





Title: Sonic the Hedgehog

Issue: #1

Writer: Ian Flynn

Artist: Tracy Yardley

Series: IDW


So after the Archie Sonic the Hedgehog comics were cancelled in 2017, it was unknown at that point on whether or not Sonic the Hedgehog will ever come back into the comics.  Well, it turns out that in 2018, SEGA announced that they will be partnering up with IDW Comics to make a brand-new Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series!  And what better way to celebrate this special occasion than to have the old writers who wrote for the Archie Comics make a comeback into the series?

I will admit that at first, I was a bit worried about this series because I grew up with the Archie Comics and I always enjoyed reading the Archie Comics, even if they had a couple of bad story lines here and there.  So, when I finally picked up the first issue of the IDW comics, I actually found myself enjoying this issue!  But, before I get into my thoughts about this issue, here's a brief summary of this issue.


The series takes place after the events of "Sonic Forces" (you know, that recent Sonic game that turned out to be not so good)?  Anyway, this issue basically showcases Sonic going around trying to help out the townspeople deal with the aftermath of the war in "Sonic Forces" and in this issue, we are introduced to Sonic's best friend, Tails the Fox (or Miles "Tails" Prower for all of you hardcore Sonic the Hedgehog fans) and together, they managed to take down the robots invading the town, while trying to solve the mystery about why Eggman's robots are going berserk, when Dr. Eggman himself is missing.



So, I will admit that when I heard that this series was going to take place after the events of "Sonic Forces," I was a bit surprised by this because I assumed that once this comic book series was rebooted, they were going to make an original story for the comics that's not too heavily tied to the games.  Also, at this point, "Sonic Forces" had developed a pretty bad reputation with the Sonic the Hedgehog fanbase and I thought that SEGA wasn't going to touch that game for a while.  But, after reading this issue, it made me glad that they actually wrote a story that took place after "Sonic Forces" and actually improved on a few issues that "Sonic Forces" didn't tackle properly.

One of the biggest issues that I had with "Sonic Forces" was that it felt like there was no urgency to the situation about Dr. Eggman finally taking over the world.  That's an event that never happened in the previous Sonic the Hedgehog games.  So, you would think that the characters would be more upset at that turn of events.  But here in the comics, Ian Flynn actually did a fantastic job at showing the audience about what the war did to the townspeople and how everyone is trying to deal with damage control from the war.  We see the townspeople still fighting off Dr. Eggman's robots, even after the war is over and it clearly shows that just because the war is over, doesn't mean that everything will go back to normal at the drop of a hat.  It was also nice seeing Sonic do his thing and try to help out the townspeople fight off the robots, because that's what he does.  He's a hero who likes helping out people in their time of need, while still having a snarky attitude towards his enemies.



Now, let's talk about the characters themselves or more specifically, Sonic and Tails.  It was great seeing Sonic and Tails fight together again since for years in the games, we barely get to see Tails fighting alongside Sonic since the games went for the whole "Sonic is the only playable character" direction.  Anyway, I always loved Sonic and Tails' friendship in the franchise and it was nice seeing them just chatting with each other again.  I also loved the fact that Ian Flynn made an attempt to address the issue of Tails' behavior in "Sonic Forces." 


So, you are probably asking "What?  What happened with Tails in Sonic Forces?"  Well, I'll tell you!

So, in "Sonic Forces," when Sonic was captured by Dr. Eggman and was imprisoned for months, this causes Tails to suffer a meltdown and he ended up going off by himself after Sonic's disappearance.  The biggest issue here is when Chaos comes towards Tails and Tails just cowers in front of Chaos.  The problem with this scene is that if you had played "Sonic Adventure," you'll know that Tails actually fought against Chaos before.  So, seeing Tails cower all of a sudden against Chaos just riled up the fandom really badly.

So, in order to fix this, Ian Flynn had Tails kind of address how he was worried about Sonic when he got captured and he's worried that he will lose himself again if something happened to Sonic.  But, the best part about this scene is that Sonic has this worried expression on his face and then, he immediately goes and comforts Tails and tells him that everything will be alright, just like a big brother would do for their little brother.  


Then afterwards, Sonic asks Tails if he would like to go with him and Tails notices that the village is still in danger and he decided to stay behind to help them.  This really shows how much Tails has grown as a character (once again) and this small scene actually fixed the major problem that happened to Tails in "Sonic Forces."  Tracy Yardley's artwork is as usual fantastic to look at.  I loved how he has the characters show a lot of expressions that range from happiness to sadness and it really makes this issue worth reading!

Now, if there was a problem that I had with this issue is that the world wasn't quite as well developed as I would have liked.  You see, for years SEGA had been pretty undecided on naming Sonic's world or even explaining to the viewers about how things work in Sonic's world and I think that it seeped into the comics as well (although, that had a lot to do with SEGA's mandates, which we will go into more much later on.  Oh, we so will go into it)...  Also, if you are not a fan of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise or you haven't played "Sonic Forces," then chances are you will be a bit confused about why this war even started in the first place and how did Dr. Eggman even managed to nearly take over the world in "Sonic Forces?"

But overall, I give this issue a rating of:


Even though I wished that the world was developed a bit more, so that new readers will understand Sonic's world a bit better, I found this issue to be a really fun read and I loved the way that it managed to fix a lot of controversial moments that happened in "Sonic Forces."  So far, it's a really great start to the reboot of the Sonic the Hedgehog comics and I definitely can't wait to tackle the next issue soon!


Friday, January 28, 2022

[NEW FEATURE] Analyzing Sonic the Hedgehog Comics

 


Hey everyone!  So, I have created another new feature for this blog and it's called "Analyzing Sonic the Hedgehog Comics!"

So, you are probably wondering: "Why in the world are you talking about Sonic the Hedgehog here?  This is a book blog, not a video game blog!"

Well, this was something that I wanted to do for awhile now since I've read a lot of Sonic the Hedgehog comic books and I always found the history behind the Sonic the Hedgehog comic books to be the most fascinating (and the most controversial) thing to ever come out of the world of comic books.  And also, I tend to review comic books on this blog, so that was one of the reasons why I wanted to talk about this series on this blog.

Another reason was that I was trying to figure out what would be the best place to talk about the Sonic the Hedgehog comics.  At first, I was thinking about making videos about my deep thoughts on each issue of the Sonic the Hedgehog comic books on my YouTube channel.  But since I dedicated my YouTube channel to talking about mostly movies, TV shows and video games, I felt that it would be better to express my thoughts on these comic books on my book blog.

And so, the new series "Analyzing Sonic the Hedgehog Comics" has started and I have a feeling that this will be a long running series since there are SO MANY comic books of everybody's favorite blue blur!

So, here's how the series will work.  I will review each issue of whatever Sonic the Hedgehog comic book I picked up, whether it's from the Archie Comics, the IDW Comics and the Fleetway Comics (if they ever get distributed internationally) and I will analyze each scene in the comic and give out my thoughts on the issue as a whole.  Then, I will rate each issue by this special rating system that I had created:




WAY PAST COOL: This is the highest rating and it basically means that the issue and the characters were very well written and I was into the story.

HUH...NO PROBLEM: This is pretty much an average rating.  The story was okay and the characters were tolerable enough where I don't outright hate them.

THAT'S NO GOOD!: This is the lowest rating and it basically means that the story was terrible and the characters were written terribly.

Also, I'm hoping to do this feature every week, so expect to find a new review of an issue drop any time of the week.

So, that's what this feature is all about!  If you are a huge fan of the Sonic the Hedgehog comic books and you want to see my opinions on them, then check this series out!


Wednesday, January 19, 2022

Rabbitearsblog is now a Bookshop Affiliate!

 


Hey everyone!  So, I don't normally do posts about me being an affiliate of any website because I tend to jump around various affiliates from time to time and it's hard to see which affiliate that I'm going to be with in the long haul.  But, I have decided to do a post about the most recent affiliate I just joined because I feel like I will be staying with this website in the long haul.  So, here we go!


So, before I get into what book site I have become an affiliate of, let's talk about what's going on in the real world right now.  So, you all know that we are in the middle of a pandemic and because of this, businesses are starting to suffer.  Some of the businesses that are being affected by the pandemic are bookstores, especially the small and independent bookstores.

Not only that, but many small and independent bookstores have to struggle with competing with giants like Amazon to make a living.  So, what's a good way to help out independent and small bookstores that are struggling in this current environment?  Simple! 

BECOME A BOOKSHOP AFFILIATE!

What is Bookshop, you ask?  Well, Bookshop is an online bookselling service that supports local bookshops, including indie bookstores.  So, if you pick a specific book store or independent bookstore that uses bookshops to deal with their online orders, than that specific bookstore will get all of the profits from your purchase.  However, if you don't pick a specific bookstore and order from the Bookshop website, then 10% of every sale will be processed into a pool where the earnings are divided up and given to independent bookstores.  So, no matter how you order a book from Bookshop, you will still be supporting an independent bookstore.  You can also get some discounts when you are purchasing books through Bookshop!



So, you are probably wondering about why I'm becoming an affiliate of Bookshop?

Well, the main reason is because I want to support indie bookstores.  As I mentioned before, there are many indie bookstores that are not getting any love, so becoming an affiliate of a site like Bookshop will definitely help me be able to support enough indie bookstores.  Another reason why I've become an affiliate is because of:

MONEY!


I had this book blog up since 2012 (so, over 10 years now) and I always wanted to keep this blog going for as long as I live. So, in becoming an affiliate, I would be able to earn enough money to be able to add on some new features for the blog, as well as be able to buy more books to review for this blog. And this is at no extra cost to you!  So, in many of my posts, you will see affiliate links to Bookshop and I will continue making disclaimers that I get a small percentage of the purchase you make.  However, I don't want to pressure you guys into buying every single product that I featured on this blog, because I understand that sometimes we just don't have the funds to buy everything (I know I don't) and I want you guys to purchase a product that you really like and purchase whenever you feel comfortable to do so.

So, to give you guys a good idea of how Bookshop works, I have created some lists on the site that you guys can check out.  If you want some good book recommendations, then check out these lists to see what books you are interested in reading:

Best Romance Novels for Romance Fanatics!

Banned Children's Books That You Seriously Need to Read!

The Weirdest and Most Disturbing Children's Books!

Overall, I've become a Bookshop affiliate to support independent bookstores and I always love to recommend my favorite books to you guys!  So, if you want to see more book lists on my Bookshop account, then let me know!



Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Top Ten Tuesday #90: Top 10 2021 Releases I Wanted to Read But Haven’t Gotten to Yet (Those Poor Neglected Books)

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme that was formerly created at The Broke and the Bookish but has now moved to That Artsy Reader Girl. 




Follow me through Blogger and Bloglovin to reach this goal!


This week's top 10 Tuesday topic is a Freebie, so I chose Top 10 2021 Releases I Wanted to Read But Haven't Gotten to Yet (Those Poor Neglected Books)!

Oh man!  Let's just say that 2021 was the year that I barely read anything (HOW AWFUL) and yet, there were so many interesting books that were released in 2021 that I just haven't gotten to yet!  Well, let's talk about those neglected books that I wanted to read in 2021!

So, here are my top 10 2021 Releases I Wanted to Read But Haven't Gotten to Yet (in no particular order of course)!





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Ko-fi // PayPal // Society6 // Redbubble // Bookshop // Etsy








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Saturday, January 15, 2022

Stacking the Shelves #97: January 15, 2022

Stacking The Shelves is a book meme created by Reading Reality and it is about sharing books that you are adding to your shelves, whether it's physical or virtual.  This means including books that you bought from the store or online, books you borrowed from friends or from the library, books you've reviewed, gifts and ebooks!


Hey everyone! So, 2022 is starting out pretty well for me.  I'm actually getting better prepared for my YouTube videos than last year and I've bought lots of awesome books in the last few weeks.  Also, I'm back to posting up photos everyday on my Instagram account, so check out my Instagram account for more book photos!


Book Bought:


From Barnes and Noble:









Book Received:

From Publisher:










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Sunday, January 9, 2022

The Sunday Post Meme (200)

 

Hey everybody! I am participating in a book meme called the Sunday Post which is being hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer! The goal of this meme is to share news you have  on various books and things you’ve read or received and also talk about what is coming up for your blog! Book hauls can include library books, yard sale finds, arcs and bought books and you can share these finds with other book bloggers!


Hey everyone! HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!  Man, 2021 was an...okay year.  The pandemic was still raging on at the time, but at least we got the vaccine now.  Anyway, I'm looking forward to 2022 as I hope that it's way better than 2021 and I really hope that things settle down this year.  Also, I got a lot of goals I have set for myself this year, which includes: 

LOSING WEIGHT:  This is something that I've been trying to do for years.  So, I'm hoping to lose some weight this year.

READ MORE:  For the last few years, I've been struggling with reading more books and I'm hoping to get back into reading this year.

GET 1,000 FOLLOWERS ON THIS BLOG:  I know that's a MASSIVE goal to achieve, but I would love to get over 1,000 Followers sometime this year!





Follow me through Blogger and Bloglovin to reach this goal!


  



Book Reviews






Miscellaneous



  

Book Photo Sundays Meme!

 

Looking for New Guest Posts! 


Cover Spotlight Meme






My Beta Reading Services!










 





















One Word: NEW!







(TRAILER)

* So...I saw the new Sonic the Hedgehog 2 trailer and it was...AWESOME!!! OH MY GOODNESS!  Never had a trailer gotten me so pumped up for a movie!  I really enjoyed the first Sonic movie and now that my favorite characters Tails and Knuckles will be making their film debut, I am BEYOND excited to see these characters in the sequel!





 

How was your New Year so far?








*So, here are some good things that happened to me recently!



* My Fiverr account is still doing very well!  I can't believe that I'm still getting orders in!  This is a good way to help with my financial situation!

* Getting more involved with my YouTube channel has really been a pleasant experience for me!  It has helped me get through the tough times of the pandemic in 2021 and I'm just glad that I'm able to find an outlet to help me get through 2021!




★ Paper Fury is revealing her recent book The Kings of Nowhere is Live on Patreon and Cover Reveal!


☆ It Starts at Midnight is talking about Books to Explode Your 2022 TBR!



Well, that's the Sunday News for today and I will have more news for the various books I've read in the near future!



Posted on Sunday, January 9, 2022



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