Articles By True Red

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #117

Written by R. Chaco, Benny Lee, Ken Penders, art by Art Mawhinney, Jim Amash, Steven Butler, Penders and Dawn Best, cover by Spaz and Riveiro.

"Tortoise and the Hedgehog." Sonic's childhood friend, Tommy Turtle, hasn't been since Dr. Robotnik first took over. Now, he's back and already in trouble. Sonic goes to help but finds some old enemies in his way. What's a hero to do? "CyberRace." See what Robotnik and Snively have to do to download their new bodies after their old ones have been destroyed. "Ultimate Power, Pt. 3." Knuckles confronts Mammoth Mogul - and Dimitri's life is at stake. Place your bets as the Chaos-infused contest is about to begin.

32 pages, $1.99, in stores on Nov. 13.

Sources: Comics Continuum & Westfield Comics

JoyRide Studios has finally updated their site with info on the upcoming Sonic and Shadow action figures.

According to the site, Sonic is part of Series 1 and Shadow is part of Series 2. For more info (such as where to get them), check out their site.

Source: JoyRide Studios

Gamesradar.com has posted some more screen shots of the Mega Collection for Gamecube that'll be released in November in the US.

Source: Gamesradar.com

This was posted by Ken Penders:

It's that time again, as I gear up once again for the San Diego Comic-Con.

At the moment, I'm scheduled to be seated at table AA-7 in Artists Alley. Dawn Best will be at my table unless fate intervenes and she somehow lucks into one for herself.

At the moment, I'm not sure if I will be doing commissions or not. Before I do anyone else's my first priority is finishing up something I owe to a fan who's been extremely patient with me. Beyond that, I'll probably charge $50 for convention sketches. I'll charge more if the request goes beyond one character.

Regarding Sonic and Knuckles back issues, I'll be showing up with quite an extensive selection of back issues, Chances are I'll sell out of certain issues quickly as a result.

I'll also have plenty or original art for sale. I've already posted some of the special pieces that will be on display at my table for sale up on ebay.

The art on Ebay is the following:

• Sonic #114 Cover (ends Aug 4 1:17am Eastern--Aug 3 10:17pm Pacific)
• Knuckles #1 Cover with Spaz signature (ends Aug 4 1:22am Eastern--Aug 3 10:22pm Pacific)
• Knuckles #2 Cover (ends Aug 4 1:27am Eastern--Aug 3 10:27pm Pacific)
• Knuckles #24 Cover (ends Aug 4 1:32am Eastern--Aug 3 10:32pm Pacific)
• Super Special #12 Splash Page (ends Aug 4 1:38am Eastern--Aug 3 10:38pm Pacific)
• Sonic #107 Cover (ends Aug 4 1:48am Eastern--Aug 3 10:48pm Pacific)
• Sonic #110 Cover (ends Aug 4 1:53am Eastern--Aug 3 10:53pm Pacific)
• Sonic #115 Cover (ends Aug 4 1:58am Eastern--Aug 3 10:58pm Pacific)
• Sonic #116 Cover with Rouge's first appearance on a cover (ends Aug 4 2:07am Eastern--Aug 3 11:07pm Pacific)
• Brotherhood Data File in Sonic #112 (ends Aug 4 2:13am Eastern--Aug 3 11:13pm Pacific)
• Amy Rose Data File in Sonic #112 (ends Aug 4 2:19am Eastern--Aug 3 11:19pm Pacific)
• Tails Data File in Sonic #112 (ends Aug 4 3:13am Eastern/12:13am Pacific)

Source: Ken's Comic Book Stories & Art

A little Ebay heads up from Ken's Message Board:

• Amy Rose: Ends July 27 at 9pm Eastern (6pm Pacific)
• Shadow: Ends July 29 at 8:56pm Eastern (5:56pm Pacific)
• Rouge: Ends July 31 at 8:53pm Eastern (5:53pm Pacific)

From IGNPocket:

Starting July 27th and going all the way through to September 8th, Sega will be popping by Tokyo-based department stores to give gamers a taste of upcoming games such as Super Monkey Ball 2, Beach Spikers, and Phantasy Star Online, giving gamers photo ops with AiAi the monkey, Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehogs, and offering the opportunity to score goodies like Ai Ai and Chao clothing clips.

For those that bring their Game Boy Advances along for the ride, they'll be able to plug into the Sega Joycarry machines and dowload free versions of Puyo Pop and Chu Chu Rocket to play to their heart's content...or until their batteries run out or they hit the power switch. These games are scaled-back versions of the games that can be purchased for the GBA system, that remain resident in memory until you turn off the system.

Japanese gamers will also be able to download a Chao Mini Garden and a super special Chao creature to their GBA systems, and upload it and save it to their Sonic Advance GameCube game...you won't be able to get this Chao creature anywhere else...or so says Sega, anyway.

Though this store event is only in Japan, Sega will offer a similar opportunity to download free GBA games when Phantasy Star Online goes live for the GameCube later this year. As announced at E3, players will be able to hook up their GBA systems to their GameCube and download GBA demos, like Puyo Pop, Chu Chu Rocket and even a GBA version of Nights into Dreams off the PSO server.

-- Craig Harris

Source: IGN Pocket

News from XenGamers:

Sega representatives have confirmed plans for the latest sports incarnation featuring their blue mascot Sonic. Specifically, Sonic Bowling is currently in development for java-compatible cell phones. Scheduled for release on July 22 through the Sega Game Cafe service, subscribers can play Sonic Bowling for a monthly charge of 300 yen ($3). The finished version will support four-player wireless matches and will feature several popular characters from the Sonic series. Sonic Bowling is the latest in Sega's line of sports titles featuring their blue mascot including; Sonic Billiards, Sonic Fishing, Sonic Tennis and Sonic Golf amongst others.

Reported By Dennis Day

Source: XenGamers

XenGamers posted an interview with Yuji Naka, which talks about Sonic, PSO, NiGHTS, & Samba de Amigo.

At E3, the XenGamers staff was given the opportunity to sit down for some questions with Yuji Naka, leader of Sega's legendary Sonic Team. In addition to helping make Sonic the Hedgehog the billion dollar franchise that it is today, Naka-san was also responsible for other Sega greats such as Nights, Burning Rangers, and Samba de Amigo.

This business-side info on Sega comes from Gamespot:

The company may be looking to purchase other publishers to bolster its position in the market.

According to a recent story on Reuters, Sega is currently considering the purchase of other publishers in North America and Europe to strengthen its position in the market and move it closer to the achievement of its goal to be the top publisher in the world. The only company completely ruled out is Electronic Arts, but there are several companies rumored to be involved in Sega's plans, including THQ and Infogrames, which saw a significant increase in stock value after the news was released.

We'll have more as it becomes available.

By Giancarlo Varanini

Source: Gamespot

Archie's Sonic The Hedgehog #112 hits comic shops today.

Source: Diamond Comics