Official Solicitation
“Mayhem In The Marble Hill Zoneâ€
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Cassanovas
In a rare appearance, bow in hair and blubbering, Sally Acorn is consoled by Tails as she searches for her missing brother, Tufty, who has developed heroic ambitions after finding a discarded pair of Sonic`s old sneakers. Leaving Tails to do the `let the poor helpless girlie bawl into your shoulder` routine, Sonic sets off for the eponymous zone, only to find the errant squirrel under the guard of a gang of badniks who`re only too keen for both animals to join them.
Cassanovas` art was always unmistakable, and I could never be quite sure whether or not that plasticised sheen and those permanently dopey expressions were endearing or wrecked the mood. Although Sonic at least was identified clearly in his role as protector of the average Mobian on the street, the story in itself had very little substance other than Sonic telling anyone with any ambition to beat him that he had no equal. As usual. Tufty takes the hint and is never heard from again.
And somehow, for me, allowing badniks the sentience to speak in perfectly normal voices always lessens the impact of the story, by masking what they really are.
But it does make you wonder how advanced Robotnik's abilities with AI might be, so I suppose that these things even out.
Cover: Ferran Rodriguez