Wow, this issue sounds fantastic. I love how Ian's managed to turn the wallowing mess that Ken Penders left us with into something very awesome indeed.

I'm totally calling that by the end of this arc, though, we're gonna have only seven different coloured Emeralds, rather than many green ones.

Also, it seems like Tommy's in the line to be killed off. Yay!

Well I'm back and now that i have more free time I can review the back story as well. Be warned I am not very good at conveying emotional stories so the review may not do the story justice.

Courage and Honor: Note it says underneath the title that this story takes place before the lead story so keep that in mind.

We start this story with Antoine looking over whats left of his home which is still in ruins from when Patch had taken up residence there. Antoine appears to have been fixing his house and is holding a picture of him and his friends with himself torn out. Antoine is in the middle of lamenting over how Patch destroyed evrything of value to him when Bunnie appears reminding him "Not everything".

While the two of them talk Bunnie questions why Patch would go through the trouble of destroying Antoines life, and if he got some sick thrill out of it. Antoine then starts going into a monolouge about the months he spent with the Anti-freedom Fighters and it is obvious it left some emotional scars on him. He then says that they have his pity but not his forgivness as his face becomes dark and forboding.

Bunnie points out that Antoine is starting to sound like Patch. Antoine apologises and the two of them begin a romantic moment when in rushes Sonic who tells Antoine that Dr. Quack had sent for him and that it involves his father. Antoine asks Bunnie to accompany him and the two set of for the hospital while Sonic watches on hoping that things will turn out alright for his friend.

When the pair reach the hospital Dr. Quack informs Antoine that his fathers condition has taken a turn for the worst and that they can't make an antidote. Turns out the poison Patch used was one that nobody on this world had ever seen and might have been unique to Anti-Mobious. The General had recieved far more poison than the King becuase Patch had apparently had his food laced before he went away with the Royal Family.

Antoine goes in to see his father and the two have a father son moment. Antoine apolagises for being a coward and not living up to his expectations and pretty much says he has been a disgrace to their family name. His father tells him otherwise and points out how he still fought Robotnik since he was a boy in spite of his fear and that he has always been proud of his son. He also advises him and Bunnie to hold onto their love as it is a rare thing before he passes away. Bunnie just hold on to Antoine both with tears in their eyes as she reafirms her love for him. At the end of the story their is a statement In Loving Memory of Jane Flynn.

As the lead was one of the better main stories in a long time this was one of the best back stories in recent memory. You really need to read the story yourself to gain the full emotional impact but Ian obviously put alot of heart and emotion into this story. This symbolizes what the back stories should be for character development either that of setting up events for future stories. While their usually isn't enough space for an amazing action story the space is ideal for a truly emotion character development story. "Ties that Bind" and "Call of Duty" display that as well. Ian I salute your writing it has been a long time since I enjoyed both the main story and the back story in the same issue of this comic.

About the main story...

Think it's possible this may lead to Bunnie getting some new, Nanite-free limbs? Maybe a repaired version of her old limbs?

This issue sounds like a fun read. I'm fine with Tommy being an A.D.A.M.-possessed baddy.

The main story does sound like a pretty neat (and exciting!) way to tie up the narrative mess that Ian inherited.

But what does everyone think of the back story? We've seen a whole lot of death lately, and i'm starting to wonder just how far this trend will go.

(And i've never liked that silly turtle very much either )

Mecha tommy. OMFG that's hilarious. but otherwise, this issue does sound great.

oh god, we're going to have a super sonic,tails,and shadow vs. mecha tommy/adam. that's going to be hilarious.

I only read a couple of sentenaces into the summary of the back up story -- but if the basic premise is "What did Antonie have to suffer while trapped in the Anti-World?" then I'm going to be so happy. I seriously wanted to hear a story like that back when the plot 'twist' happened so I'll be super pleased to read this. I think. I didn't read the full summary so maybe it turns out to suck seriously but I've got a good feeling.

Aw, man, why did Ant's dad had to die, and just when Ant got him back, too. I think this should have been left alone and Le General being kept alive. Anyway, if Jules also been infected by the nanites, perhaps they heal his body enough where he can be derobotized that is if Ian doesn't kill him off too.

While I'm no fan of character death, I have to say that in General D'Coolette's case, it's not gratuitous, and serves a greater purpose:
It allowed Antoine to finally bond with his father, but also forces him to shed the last elements of childhood and become a man. The family name is now Antoine's responsibility, and what he does from now on will reflect upon it.

The second story especailly sounds really good. "In loving memory of Jane Flynn" must refer to the recent death in Ian's family. What a great way to honor her IMO.

More character death? *yawn* this is getting kind of boring. I sure hope this issue is better than the aweful last one...

While I am one for touching and emotional content, I have to agree slightly with the noted continuance of character deaths. I understand a few here and there serve the purpose of development and adding to the depths of other characters as well as cutting off useless fat. However, I am going to be sorely disappointed if it continues too much and the entire cast gets butchered down to just the fully Sega-licensed characters. We already have that in Sonic X, so it isn't needed here thanks.

I think of it more as the more characters dieing, the less we have to worry about. No more Sir Connery, the Ancient Walkers, General D'coolette, M.

The way I see it, every character is there for a specific purpose. Even if they're brought in just recently, or they've lasted almost all of the time the comic's been around.

There's also the fact that Archie has way too many characters to keep track of.

But either way, I'm happy to see an emotional character-building story, although I'm kinda sad that they did kill off Antoine's father, because we got used to the fact of having him around after he was brought back from Mercia.

Anyway, I bet we all had the feeling he was going to be killed of sooner or later. It just so happened to be sooner.

No comic stores in my area (including my brothers) got this months issue yet. Even though it was scheduled for today, it's been delayed a week.

i find the tommy being possessed thing humorous. but i think it would've had a bigger more emotional punch if adam had possessed Jules or Bunnie.

i mean, it was a stupid idea in the first place. tommy gets nanites to become badass. it still would've made more sense if bunnie got the nanites instead. what ian should be doing is just downplay tommy. obviously he's either

1) trying to give tommy unneeded importance.

or

2) trying to kill him off.

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2) trying to kill him off.

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I like how this gets to the heart of the matter

And now that you mention it, it _would_ be a pretty awesome send-off for a character that imo doesn't fit too well in the Archie universe.

Can you picture that tragic scene with the de-nanitized and dying Tommy lying amid the wreckage and apologizing for everything? Ooooh~

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i find the tommy being possessed thing humorous. but i think it would've had a bigger more emotional punch if adam had possessed Jules or Bunnie.

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ADAM has posessed all the metal FFs (NICOLE, Bun, Jules)- but he's got most control of Tommy- Bunnie and Jules still have controla their thoughts, but both played a part in Tails' kidnaping.
SCANS from the latest issue now up.

*looks at Miss Puar scans*

So is Nicole dead too? I don't have the issues yet.

I must say Mecha Tommy look pretty cool design wise.

Tommy looks absolutly demented. I don't think Nicole's dead. She's not REALLY a character Archie have to get rid off any time soon.

I think we've had more character deaths in the last 10 issues than there has been in the entire comic series!

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Nicole's been the most affected apparently as she has now been horribly mutated from being a hand held computer at Sally's side to being the main computer console in the Brain Trust's lab.

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I was under the impression that the handheld part was just hooked up to the larger system (which makes sense - if you have this self-aware computer program, why not let it interface and manage other systems?). Unless the actual handheld was smashed, I would think Nicole had just been disrupted by the attack.

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I think we've had more character deaths in the last 10 issues than there has been in the entire comic series!

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Considering that one of the most common complaints about the comic was that there were too many characters, I find it silly that people now complain when it gets trimmed down.

We're comic geeks. We're never satisfied.

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We're comic geeks. We're never satisfied.

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Gawd, that is so true...

I finally got the comic, and I couldn't be happier.. The Main story was better then I'd hoped, and the back-up story was so good, I could forgive the mangled attempts at french

Edit: One little detail I enjoyed.. When Bunnie saw how trashed Antoine's place is, she offered him to stay with her..

...But he wants to wait to propose first.

Making Antoine the gentleman he should be: Nice Touch.

Judging by #169's cover, I'm guessing Sonic, Tails and Shadow power up to their super forms to fight Super Mecha Tommy? When all is said and done, Tommy is killed in the process, and upon Sonic and Tails' arrival home they're asked by the other Freedom Fighters about Tommy's whereabouts, the two pretend they don't know what they're talking about.

So goes another character death.

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upon Sonic and Tails' arrival home they're asked by the other Freedom Fighters about Tommy's whereabouts, the two pretend they don't know what they're talking about.

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Either that, or have a big memorial service for Tommy.

Or if that don't go down too well, dump Tommy's body in a ditch, and have a big memorial service to General D'coolette. =D

Now with the death of Antoine's father, and the possible death of Tommy, the action might calm down for a bit, at least in my opinion it should, so you know, everyone can undergo a little thing called 'character development', ya know?

But, of course that will never happen.

Now thsi actually sounds like a good story. I have not idea why it has not arrived at my apt yet but it should've been here.

I hope that for once Tommy is killed. But this is a good way of using him I guess. Now, as for Jules, I don't want the guy killed... I had some hope deep down that they would find a way of slow derobotization. Maybe limb by limb or maybe the head first and work surgery or something. I like the old man ya know.

General D'collette's death was wow... Yeah, good play by Archie here. Plus Bunnie saying I love you at the end was priceless. Only thing that seems weird to me is when the General said "Antoine... Mon Fils..." Ain't Mon Fils French for My children? Unless he refered to both Antoine and Bunnie, this may be a typo. Either way it makes sense saying that he will tell Ant's mom how happy he and Buns are. But otherwise good story as well.

Hidoi, i'm pretty sure "mon fils" translates to "my son". Instead, "mon fille" would be "my daughter".

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Making Antoine the gentleman he should be: Nice Touch.

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I don't think Antoine has ever been portrayed as anything but a gentleman, though. Nor do I lament that he has grown a lot less buffoonish lately.

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Now with the death of Antoine's father, and the possible death of Tommy, the action might calm down for a bit, at least in my opinion it should, so you know, everyone can undergo a little thing called 'character development', ya know?

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SPOILER ALERT! Ian did say something about it. Click here to find out. SPOILER ALERT!

"Fils" is indeed "son." "My children" would be "mes enfants."

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Considering that one of the most common complaints about the comic was that there were too many characters, I find it silly that people now complain when it gets trimmed down.

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Complaining? Who's complaining?! I'm just amazed by the fact!

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Complaining? Who's complaining?! I'm just amazed by the fact!

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Let's face it.. The reign of Ken "Let's add yet another extra character" Penders is definetly over.

I thought this issue was pretty cool. I If Tommy becomes a permanent host for A.D.A.M., it would be all right by me.

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Complaining? Who's complaining?! I'm just amazed by the fact!

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I meant it as a more general comment. =P

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More character death?

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Be glad it's not Grant Morrison writing the comic, or in #161 Robotnik would've sicced a giant Swatbot on Knothole to kill most've the cast...

Ah, thanx for the correction. My French is about as good as my Italian... close to sippo lol

Also, Kuddos to Ian's answers for all those questions. The man knows what he's doing in regards to comic book char death! Oh and specially on the "drastic changes" he was talking about. I can't wait to find out.

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Be glad it's not Grant Morrison writing the comic, or in #161 Robotnik would've sicced a giant Swatbot on Knothole to kill most've the cast...

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No, that'd have been Mark Millar.. Grant Morrison would've come up with a way to make Horizont-Al and Verti-Cal into cool cosmic beings or something..

...Well, it depends on whether or not Grant's on his good meds or his bad meds. 'Cause if he's on his bad meds, the stuff he writes gets pretty impossible to understand..

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No, that'd have been Mark Millar..

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Nah, definately Grant Morrison.

And he'd do it several times, each one more weirder and disturbing than the last.

And Antoine would end up going up with Lien-Da or something.

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Nah, definately Grant Morrison.

And he'd do it several times, each one more weirder and disturbing than the last.

And Antoine would end up going up with Lien-Da or something.

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Like I said, Grant's got good days and "WTF" days.. I still think his JLA run was one of the greatest ever, for exemple, while his "Seven Soldiers of Victory" run just confused the snot out of me...

Yes and Bunnie will be alright, remember Rotor disnagaed her limbs, she'll get them once the nanties are gone or removed from them.

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Yes and Bunnie will be alright, remember Rotor disnagaed her limbs, she'll get them once the nanties are gone or removed from them.

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who are you talking to? i don't remember anyone asking if she'd be allright. since, well obviously she will be.

I said, on the satamsonic message board, that I don't believe you had to have mass deaths to deal with the idea that there were too many characters. Anyway, as long as Ian doesn't kill off Sally or any of the other core FF's, I should be fine with how Ian handles death in the comic book.

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I said, on the satamsonic message board, that I don't believe you had to have mass deaths to deal with the idea that there were too many characters.

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Yeah but you see DC that what comic book writer do when they don't know what to do with a character. That or send to another dimension, turning them into litte kids, throw them into space, put them in another time period, replace the hero/villain character with a "better" version(see The Flash, Green Lantern)of himself, etc.

I'm also guessing that Nicole was mereley hooked up to the Brain-Trust computer & monitor... However, while she may not have been destroyed, she's still dealing with a nanaite infection.

It would be cool if she could get control over them, and then maybe build herself a body like the one she had in that backup story...

I also hope that this is used as an excuse to build Bunnie some new limbs - I was never much of a fan of her post-"Upgrade" look...

Finally, one thought I had after reading this issue: "At last, the return of the Kill Tommy Club!"

This is a great issue but err.. mmm...what's up with all the "ads"? This issue has to have a record ad count.

If I may ask a polite question:

WHO THE FRAG TOLD GARY BEDELL HE COULD DRAW??? :">

The art for "Courage and Honor" is some of the WORST to ever appear in this comic. His compositions aren't bad but the modeling is appalling. He's turned everyone involved into those stupid bendable figures you find at souvenir stands and in shopping mall kiosks -- the ones with straight tubes for arms with no definition whatsoever. I thought that trying to impose human proportions on furries was bad, but this sinks to a new low. It's especially unforgivable in a story where the emotional stakes are so high; for me, it totally undercuts the heart factor.

At least I don't have to look any further for Worst Story Art for 2006. But ... dag, man!

I'm sure Gary did his best and he is new after all. Maybe with some practice he'd improve?
I remember my first drawing of Sonic. It looked like a stick figure threw up and died. And while my work ain't never gonna hang in the Louvre nowadays it sorta resembles the characters. Even more so when I close my eyes. ^_~
Still, I looks forward to your review, despite the harshness of critique they're always funny and informative.
ALL HAIL DRAZEN, THE UBER-LORD OF VISUAL ARTS!!!

I thought Gary's art was fine.. He definetly captured the facial expressions well enough, at least where sadness was involved.

Now, the mangled french, I had problems with.

This is a first in review a Sonic Issiue:

s4.photobucket.com/albums...REVIEW.flv

yeah, i think it just might be.

Sorry but I did research with a friend who knows French and she told me Mon Fils means my kids or my children (mis hijos). Mon Fil is my son and Mon Fille is my daughter...

Had to looks. So the General was seeing Bunnie as if she was his own daughter. Hence part of the family. Great story nontheless

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Sorry but I did research with a friend who knows French and she told me Mon Fils means my kids or my children (mis hijos). Mon Fil is my son and Mon Fille is my daughter...

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Mon fils = My son
Ma fille = My daughter
Mes enfants = My kids