Sonic X cover looks great, S172 cover a bit wordy for my tastes. Also gotta wonder why Spaz ain't credited despited his sig being visible. Romance has been handled with mixed results in the past, while I don't hate it I'm hopin' this is a sign they'll regulate it to seasonal (Valentine) issues as opposed to soap opera triangles that last forever-and-a-year. Least the preview blurbs gots some creativity. "Magically Delirious Spaz" FTW.

...is that Ristar at the bottom left of that Sonic X cover art?...

Yes it is, Shadow Hog. Yes it is. XD

Usually, I don't like the Sonic X covers, but this one made me giggle insanely nN

And, why's Sonic's cover gone back to looking like a magazine? =( But either way, I'm looking forward to the stories inside of it. And Del Rio is back! nN

The cover of 172 makes my stomach lurch because it reminds me of the period when the comic tried to follow a magazine format. I really hope that isn't a sign of things to come. Sabrina's artist is doing the backup? I pray it looks better than the Sonic-Sabrina cross-over.

Both issues look intriguing, but for the love of Zod, stop it with the holiday specials!

Eh, the holiday themed covers don't bother me that much, and besides it's only a one time thing. I seriously doubt they'll be doing another year's worth of holiday stories.

It's not the covers, I like them. It's the fact that issues 13-17 are all holiday issues (after 10 and 11 were an anniversary special) and it comes off as a bit gimmicky.

True, but I'd still rather have holiday gimmicks than love triangles, teen drama, and angst by the barrell.

Wow, if that's Tracy's work, he sure pulls off Spaz's style to a T. I hate the cover, though; it doesn't really matter if the cover is supposed to look like a tabloid or whatever, we voiced our disapproval for the 'zine-style covers. Why try it again?

But if Scourge getting a date isn't just a silly thing to stick on the cover, we may be in for some hearty laughs.

ENOUGH. WITH. THE. HOLIDAY. SONIC. X. COVERS.

I'm intrigued to see Steven Butler pull off the Sonic X style art.

Oh yes, and the stories sound good.

Oh wow. Never cross Amy.

*backs away from #172's cover slowly* o__O;;

it's been a while since julie su or amy got any attention. way to kill two birds with one stone.

Sonic X covers keep rocking more and more. This is arguably the best yet.

Despite the romantic plot, this actually has me interested in what the heck Fiona did that would have an impact like they're suggesting, and whether Bean and Bark or even the Armada were involved. This could be a very good plot, cleanup, and setup at the same time.

Yep, that's one dead Ristar. I believe the other one's Bonk.

Oh, Lord. Amy's fixin' to break somebdy's teeth with that mallet! That said, I'm actually kinda glad they're finally bringing Amy out into the Sonic romance, not because I like the couple (I don't care who he ends up with), but because she's really be left out of the romance...triangle...square...pentagon?

Oh, and Sonic X's cover is marvelously awesome. Serene on top, busy and hilarious on the bottom. Bokkun is still the cutest little robot midget ever.

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SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #172

"Truth of the Heart": Just in time for Valentine's Day, we ramp up the romantic intrigue. but don't worry, as always the stakes are high in the world of Sonic! As more of Fiona Fox's mysterious past is revealed, Sonic must face shocking secrets that will leave him torn between his new girlfriend and the friends he has loved and fought for all these years. Not only that, but one of her revelations sets off a series of events that will lead to one of the most senses-shattering cliffhangers in years! Which of Sonic's allies will be pushed to the brink? This is one issue you won't want to miss! SCRIPT: Ian Flynn. ART: Tracy Yardley (pencils) and Jim Amash (ink). PLUS: "Worth the Effort": Sabrina the Teenage Witch artist lends her artistic talents to Sonic the Hedgehog as Amy gets trained by one of the best warriors ever, Knuckles' girlfriend Julie-Su. But will Amy's infatuation for Sonic put both of them in danger? SCRIPT: Ian Flynn. ART: Tania Del Rio and Jim Amash. Love is a battlefield cover by Tracy Yardley and Jim Amash.

Shipping February 7, 2007
On sale DCD February 21, 2007
On sale Newsstand February 27, 2007
32-page, full color comic
$2.25 US
UPC #: 62816-46977-17211

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Well Ian did meantion at one piont that in early '07, something like this would happen, and adding Amy back into the mix, is to me Ian's first attempt to bring back the notion that only one girl should trying win Sonic's heart and that is Amy. In other words, Ian is slowly trying to get things back to the way there where like when Amy first appeared.

As for the allie that'll be pushed to the brink I have to say Antione, cause maybe the secret will be that Fiona possibly knew about the switch that made perviously or it might even Tails whose pushed to the brink, guess we'll have to wait and find.

As for the second story, it's almost simliar to whn Mina was being trained, that what it sounds like to me.

Anyway, God Bless.

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way to kill two birds with one stone.

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I read that as "two lovebirds with one story".

The StH cover perfectly mimics a tabloid front page, with all the attention (good or bad) on celebrity relationships. I seriously doubt it is a return to the magazine format of issues prior.

>> Betcha its Tails that gets to the brink, cause she'll have known about the Downunda assignment and whatnot. >> And he won't believe it...and he'll try to um...tickle Sonic in his sleep? I dunno. Steal his sneakers?

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Well Ian did meantion at one piont that in early '07, something like this would happen, and adding Amy back into the mix, is to me Ian's first attempt to bring back the notion that only one girl should trying win Sonic's heart and that is Amy. In other words, Ian is slowly trying to get things back to the way there where like when Amy first appeared.

As for the allie that'll be pushed to the brink I have to say Antione, cause maybe the secret will be that Fiona possibly knew about the switch that made perviously or it might even Tails whose pushed to the brink, guess we'll have to wait and find.

As for the second story, it's almost simliar to whn Mina was being trained, that what it sounds like to me.

Anyway, God Bless.

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So.. Now Amy is going to become Sonic's official love interest?

...Is there any reason why we still have Sally alive anymore? 'Cause she's getting more and more useless as time goes on..
-Leader of the Freedom Fighters? Sonic seems to have taken over that role.
-Heir to the Throne? She gave that up to Elias.
-Sonic's Girlfriend? After her rather abrupt break-up with Sonic, our hedgehog hero's been going out with Bunnie and Fiona, and Amy seems to be the next in line.

So what's left for everyone's favorite princess?

Actually, Sally is currently heir to the throne. Elias is king.

Also, I wouldn't call the break up abrupt, because it occurred after an entire year of (albeit forced) estrangement.

I am not fond of the #172 cover, the art just seems strange to me. What is interesting, to me, about the preview is that it makes it sound like this is more than just a romanic conflict for Sonic, it is chosing between his friends. I hope, and like to think, Sonic will choose his old friends.

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our hedgehog hero's been going out with Bunnie

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That never happened. 😮

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So.. Now Amy is going to become Sonic's official love interest?

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Nah. More like Official Hero Worshipper. I don't expect Sonic to return those feelings. At the same time, I don't see him completely shutting her out either. This, of course, is in keeping with how Sonic is portrayed in game canon. I suspect Ian may be trying to fine-tune certain personalities to more closely resemble their video-game counterparts.

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So what's left for everyone's favorite princess?

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Perhaps Sally just needs some time to herself. Who wouldn't be exhausted, after years and years of keeping everything together, all of the plates spinning, all of the balls in the air? I suppose that her ability to multitask, lead, and achieve at the same time is one of the primary sources of her appeal, but perhaps it's unrealistic to expect a character to be quite so perfect all of the time.

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I am not fond of the #172 cover, the art just seems strange to me.

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A kindred spirit! I really really dislike the faux tabloidness. It seems gimmicky.

As for Amy, Psx appears to have summed it up quite neatly. That and the fact that a teen having a serious relationship with a kid (what, an 11 year old?) is just wrong wrong wrong.

I think that when Amy used the Ring of Acorns to wish herself into a teenager's body her body aged but her mind didn't. So I don't think it would be Sonic dating a child; just Sonic dating a child-like teenager.

Although that does bring up an interesting point about how our legal system would deal with the rammifications of timetravel and magic-exposure. I smell a sci-fi/legal thriller story...

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That never happened. 😮

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Uh, yes, it did. Even if only because Bunnie wanted to make Antoine jealous.

Ok, I guess I overreacted.. But I hope Ian's got plans for Sally that involve her doing something positive..

<quote>Uh, yes, it did. Even if only because Bunnie wanted to make Antoine jealous.</quote>

No, EVIL Sonic made out with Bunnie, once. And that's really all that happened. Bunnie may have thought she and Sonic were an item but they weren't.

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how our legal system would deal with the rammifications of timetravel and magic-exposure

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Well i'm pretty sure how it *would* work is the legal system would simply treat Amy as a person with a younger mental age ie. incapable of making that kind of decision. The onus would therefore be on the other party in the relationship to make sure no lines are crossed. Kind of like those teacher/pupil relationships we read about now and then.

RE the relationship talk, I feel like it might potentially veer into embargoed territory. Go ahead and pursue the discussion, but none of that "X sucks, no Y sucks, no you're both wrong they both aren't good for Z, it's A that should be with Z" rubbish please.

Oh dear God, Ristar's skeleton.

I wanna see this Fiona/Amy match-up. The cover makes it look bloody apocalyptic (whatever the continuity, you do NOT mess with Amy).

YxZ DISCUSS!

I hope this shady past is Ian's way of getting Fiona out of the FF in a non-contrived and interesting way, because I want more Chaotix, Knuckles fans want more Knuckles & Chaotix, and SatAM fans want more FFs. As somebody said, we have hero overload. Reducing the love dodecahedrons, through what sounds like a very interesting story, would be a nice bonus too.

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So.. Now Amy is going to become Sonic's official love interest?

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1. It does not say that.
2. Not a billion years.

It strange, I don't like Amy but I actually want her to beat the crap out of Fiona. IS THAT SO WRONG? At least this issue seems to be 'getting rid' of Fiona. Maybe Not, but we'll have to see. Thing is, I can't see much connection between the latest previews. What a wierd yet exciting tie-in!

Bunnie and Antoine back together but will it last?

grrrrr.... what's up with that can anyone tell me what is gonna happen possibly some spoilers?

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Bunnie and Antoine back together but will it last?

grrrrr.... what's up with that can anyone tell me what is gonna happen possibly some spoilers?

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Uh... the cover's a tabloid magazine parody. They always have gossip-ish "intrigue" like that. This thing doesn't come out for months, so I don't know where you're expecting spoilers from.

Aw man, I just noticed those are Ristar's bones lol.

I now have a new theory...

I think Fiona's in cahoots with Scourge. Here are my clues..

#1: Back in Sonic #150, it was originally planned for Anti-Sonic to be discovered by Tails with Fiona, not Bunnie. If they'd kept it, this would've set up a connection between the two.

#2, in Sonic #165, Scourge taunts Sonic by saying "I wanted to see my girlfriend again. I love how she plays it like you two are for real."

And #3, the cover for #172 includes a blurb called "Scourge's Secret Date."

Of the three clues, I think #2's the really big hint..

That would be AWESOME. Because we'd have another villain to up the villain to hero quotient, and we've never really had a core FF switch sides long term (closest I can think of is Drago?). The Fiona love triangle was introduced when Evil Sonic infiltrated, right? This could add a lot to any future battles with the Finitevus gang, especially involving Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Sally. Maybe that does turn the love polygons even more convoluted, but it would do it in a good way.

To me, Scourge's secret date is the bigger clue, because I can't think of anybody else who would be his date.

Ian seems very aware of the hero overload, since he introduced Bean and Bark, characters that we know he wanted to write, as neutrals if not unwitting villains.

Well if we didn't know that #172's cover said something about "Scourge's Secret Date" it's pretty easy to pass off what Scourge said in #165 as just something to throw off/distract Sonic. Taken together, I guess the theory's pretty tempting. That and it *would* be a very very elegant way for Ian to simplify the story.

But I suspect that Ian isn't just going to throw it out that Fiona's a clear cut villain of some sort. There's clearly some pretty ripe and juicy drama that's been building up, and what I'd say is Ian plans to keep us guessing RE Fiona's true motivations for a while yet.

So perhaps we shouldn't write her off as one of Sonic's love interests yet eh.

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Bunnie and Antoine back together but will it last?

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Y'know it's pretty hard envisioning Bunnie and Antoine breaking up now. Their relationship has been massively tested and it's all held together up to now. The death of the General is going to force our favorite wuss to grow up, and it just doesn't seem likely that Bunnie's the kind of person who will throw it all away on a whim. Five kongbucks on them to stay together indefinitely ;o

My thoughts are that Fiona possibly new about both switches (Antione and Sonic), and that maybe Dr. F. is using something on her to get to how we say, spy on the freedom fighters.

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The Fiona love triangle was introduced when Evil Sonic infiltrated, right?

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Nah, it happened several issues and two stories afterwards.

Yeah, I don't get that either. Former girlfriend? But... but he's from a bizarro Mobius. I can imagine him hooking up with a bizarro Fiona at one point, but not here. When was there time to do THAT between all the ring hopping, Bunny/Rouge flirting and emerald absorbing?

It could be retconned in that he was seeing Fiona during his days of impersonating Sonic - though boy, she'd sure have to be uncaring about him constantly seeing other girls!

When I initially read the "Scourge's Secret Date" thing the first person that jumped to my mind was Rouge. The two of them seemed to get along decently well -- she's probably the only person in the positive universe to really put up with him. But I guess that wouldn't be very 'secret', would it? Hmm...That does make the Fiona theory sound quite more believiable.

That is a interesting idea. Whether or not it happens is different story.

The 172 cover is very wordy.Don't like too much.

Given what Sonic appeared to interrupt Bunnie and Ant talking about eatrlier, it wouldn't surprise me if that cover's a red herring for the exact opposite.

After all, there've been discussions by the writers about them being the only likely candidates for such a thing ever since issue #100 was being planned...

The very last page says can't get enough sonic look for STH #174 out now, but #173 has not come out yet so what is the deal?

Typo, probobly.