Yeah, good thing they included "almost" on that cover. Otherwise I'd harp on how Sonic's not fighting his long-longtime rivals Mario, Link, Kirby, Pikachu, Samus, Fox, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, or Solid Snake. How can the comic continue to not include these characters?

(srsly though, a Brawl comic'd be awesome)

I love the Rouge/Geoffrey/Scratch bit at the start.

The fact they get noticed so easily proves that maybe, just maybe, Station Square and New Mobotropolis should try having spies that nobody knows are spies.

Scratch, Grounder and Coconuts are back! And Coconuts is suffering! All's right with the world.

srsly though, a Brawl comic'd be awesome

It would be an instant classic! But I believe Ian has mentioned that various legalities would keep that from ever happening. As now you are dealing with Nintendo's property and character.

But who knows they could be working on a comic right now!

So it would be more likely that we would see a Unleashed comic or one of Biowares RPG comic before Brawl.

Oh and classic dumb-bots ftw!

Third page, Bean is looking...extra bad.

Wow...Grounder feels like he walked right out of the old cartoon show without missing a beat. Coconuts is still broody about his position in life, too.

I still have yet to receive this issue in the mail. I hope it comes really soon!!

I dunno why, but it seems that this year (parts of last year) have been the most times that Archie has shipped the comics late to me. I used to always get the comics before Ian or anybody here would post page previews about it.

I can only figure that the cause in this shipping delay might be that Archie is simply overloaded with sonic comic book orders at the moment and are slowly crunching away at the orders.

Looking at the preview pages; interesting non-romanic pairing, St.John and Rouge teaming up for an investigation. Yes, it does seem strange and unwise that St.John is out there investigating since it is known that he is a Acorn government agent. Mogul doesn't seem worried that they will find anything.

Oh my god can there be one more person with that same Sonic avatar? It's getting seriously confusing.

And I am absolutely delighted to see the return of the SSSSS Squad.

But what does that say at the bottom top left hand corner of cast members, I wonder who those two are?

omg sonic and sally share a character logo IT MUST BE LOVE LOVE LOVE

Also dude, fix your avatar up, it's humongous.

Yes it might be, for some say that it is hinted in this issiue, that they may restart their relationship again, let's just hope Ian does it right this time.

I'd rather it not be done at all.

Yes it might be, for some say that it is hinted in this issiue

Some as in "I decided to start this rumor just now?" There have been far too many occassions of you passing off something you want to happen in the comic as "people have been saying" or "Ian hinted at" for anyone to really take you seriously anymore.

Yes it might be, for some say that it is hinted in this issiue, that they may restart their relationship again, let's just hope Ian does it right this time.

I hope not. We just got over the last romance plot. I'm starting to understand why Sega wants Sonic to be a free hedgehog.

I know that technically this probably falls under the "no talking about romance" rules for the forums, but I for one definitely hope that Sonic and Sally get back together. Sure, you can argue for him being single all you like, but I miss the SatAM-esque early days of the comic and later issues prior to their breakup. Every hero should have someone to give their heart to, and to fight for to the end to make sure that they get back to them.

As for the rest of the comic plot, Mogul strikes me as a recurrance of the whole idea of an evil genius who really isn't such a genius. I mean, if I were him, I'd be hiding away in another dimension or in some opulent palace hidden far away from where anyone could find it to wait out my enemies, not taking over a casino and hiring on a bunch of my enemies' other former foes to serve as my personal staff or allies. If he really wants to avoid Sonic, he should be hiding, not showing off. Plus, to add my opinion regarding the rest of his plan, I think the idea of him striking at Sonic's descendants in vengeance is stupid. I mean, every possible future we've seen indicates that at least one of Sonic's kids will inherit his speed, and no doubt the rest of his powers, and it seems likely that the rest of the gang's kids will as well. For all Mogul knows, those traits could continue to be passed down, to the point where he won't stand the ghost of a chance beating whatever new enemies he decides to make. Plus, there's the fact that Sonic and co. will probably warn their kids against Mogul's return-as he was ever so gracious as to tell them that he was planning on it-and even if he were to beat their kids, some other group of misfit heroes would just rise up to trounce him in their place. So Mogul gets a 15 out of 10 for his vocabulary, and a 2 for thinking ahead.

I think by running a casino, out in the open no less, shows that he could really care less about the Freedom Fighters...I mean he has the powers of a god again.

I know that technically this probably falls under the "no talking about romance" rules for the forums, but I for one definitely hope that Sonic and Sally get back together. Sure, you can argue for him being single all you like, but I miss the SatAM-esque early days of the comic and later issues prior to their breakup. Every hero should have someone to give their heart to, and to fight for to the end to make sure that they get back to them.

I agree with you, Enerjak the 3rd, I think everyone here knows how I feel about Sonic and Sally. The way I see it, Sega not really wanting Sonic to have a stable romantic relationship has, in part, caused the relationship drama because it leaves Archie torn between trying to please fans, and giving them some hope, and pleasing Sega. If(which I hope) Sonic and Sally do get back together I don't think it will happen in this issue though something may happen to lead up to it.

Anyway, about my avatar, I am not sure how I got it. I didn't chose it. I wonder if it is sort of a default avatar that is given to everyone who doesn't chose one.

Every hero should have someone to give their heart to, and to fight for to the end to make sure that they get back to them.

Hell yeah! Sonic & Jet - the One True Pairing!

I think by running a casino, out in the open no less, shows that he could really care less about the Freedom Fighters...I mean he has the powers of a god again.

Guy could wipe them all out just by raising his eyebrows at them right now.

so i picked up the issue yesterday, it was ok i guess. not the best really the destructix fight was kind of entertaining and my favorite part was when nack gives sally ten seconds before he starts shooting. it's nice to have him active.

my favorite part was when nack gives sally ten seconds before he starts shooting. it's nice to have him active

Nack couldn't even hit Mina at point-blank range with his handgun...what makes Nack so sure he tag Sally from a distance? While running away? Last time Sally went toe-to-toe with Nack, he ended up on the ground.

I wonder if Nack's aim is anything like this video, about 50 seconds in

Didn't Nack smash Sally's heed with a Sledgehammer in one issue? o0

I don't remember that, but Nack did drop a heavy dumbbell set on Sonic in the issue right before Mecha Madness.

well seeing as how he tagged sonic (fastest thing alive remember?) with a stun gun i don't think he'd have a hard time with sally.

He was using the "auto aim" setting.

It looks like the issue is out, please tell more? Yes, Nack did hit Sally on the head with a sledgehammer, in issue #69 at the juice bar. I believe that was my favorite issue that year, it was good to see Sonic and the rest go out and have fun like normal teenagers, if only for a moment. Your welcome, Gammarallyson.

It looks like the issue is out, please tell more? Yes, Nack did hit Sally on the head with a sledgehammer, in issue #69 at the juice bar.

Ah yeah, Thank you!

I'm just saying that Nack doesn't need a gun because...

BAD MEN USE SLEDGEHAMMERS!!!

... REAL SLEDGEHAMMERS! --;;

Was I the only one that noticed how particularly sloppy the art was this month? There were some panels where I couldn't tell what their limbs were doing (or how they got that flexible).

my favorite part was when nack gives sally ten seconds before he starts shooting. it's nice to have him active

Nack couldn't even hit Mina at point-blank range with his handgun...what makes Nack so sure he tag Sally from a distance? While running away? Last time Sally went toe-to-toe with Nack, he ended up on the ground.

I wonder if Nack's aim is anything like this video, about 50 seconds in

Nack missed the shot at Mina because someone bumped his arm just as he was shooting. I didn't notice that myself until someone pointed it out.

And on another note, the comic can't say the word "shot" anymore? They have to say "zapped"? And they can't even show someone getting hit by a stun gun? I found that a bit strange, seeing as worse things have been said in the past, like the word "kill", which is used in just about every action kids cartoon dub.

Nack missed the shot at Mina because someone bumped his arm just as he was shooting. I didn't notice that myself until someone pointed it out.

Oh I know, I was just poking fun at Nack's threatening demeanor as some "hot shot" bounty hunter.

Take Boba Fett for instance, the most "feared" bounty hunter in all of Star Wars. He was ultimately taken out of the picture by a "blind man" with a stick. He too missed a killing shot at someone because of someone "bumped" him. Guess they weren't all "big and bad" bounty hunters if they were taken out by the smallest of things.

And on another note, the comic can't say the word "shot" anymore? They have to say "zapped"? And they can't even show someone getting hit by a stun gun? I found that a bit strange, seeing as worse things have been said in the past, like the word "kill", which is used in just about every action kids cartoon dub.

That and Nack's sniper rifle looked like a vacuum cleaner in some panels. At first glance I thought Nack missed Sonic because he was still standing. I really don't see the big deal about the whole "gun use = violence" thing. Past issues have had more realistic firearms featured and showed people getting shot by weapons. But I don't remember any protests or public outcry for that.

For the Sonic Adventure 2 adaptation for the comic, Spaz gave the army guys "real" machine guns, that shot bullets. In Hearts Held Hostage, J Axer gave Nack's thugs 9mm handguns and Sally got a real six shooter. We saw Mina get hit with the bullet.

I dunno, for an action comic to dumb down the little stuff like this only makes it confusing for some. Almost like 4Kids censoring an episode of US Sonic X vs. Sonic X Jap.

I mean, really, you can have some guy getting nailed in the face by a nasty right hook...but the minute you bring out a realistic gun or show a gun being used...it's labeled as "excessive violence" and needs to be toned down or taken out completely.

In Hearts Held Hostage, J Axer gave Nack's thugs 9mm handguns and Sally got a real six shooter. We saw Mina get hit with the bullet.

However, there were still some issues with that. That big black section before Nack fires off the shot at Sally? That was where the panel depicting him reloading was originally. Apparently while clobbering people with fists and feet is acceptable, they're trying to tone down "imitatable" depictions of firearms.

Don't forget the gun with the red circle slash over it on one of the covers for that stupid Hunter arc, too.

Apparently while clobbering people with fists and feet is acceptable, they're trying to tone down "imitatable" depictions of firearms.

I believe the comic went "officially" Anti-Gun in Sonic#149

Don't forget the gun with the red circle slash over it on one of the covers for that stupid Hunter arc, too.

Here are some more gun wielding freedom fighters featured in the comic, besides the obvious Hearts Held Hostage arc with Sally.

But I do love how Sonic#149 recons ALL past, present, and future use of gun weapons by the Freedom Fighters. Is it really so wrong for the Freedom Fighters to carry/use such weapons. Geoffery had his classic wrist mounted "crossbow" (which has been missing since his Home re-design), and Sally carried a cutting laser "pistol" in the earlier comics. And used it to take down a Com-Bat.

If guns are really so bad then why give Nack one at all? Why not let him use his "gas gernades" or that "sandbag" mallet thing? Didn't he have a "corkgun" in Fighters? Why not equip him with that? Or why not give him a Squirt Gun...it would have the same effect.

Now you see, this has just given me the idea of him having that corkgun. But the cork being plastic explosive. And the string being detonation cable.

My mind, she taketh odd tangents.

Now you see, this has just given me the idea of him having that corkgun. But the cork being plastic explosive. And the string being detonation cable.

That, to me, would be more interesting to see implemented then him having a generic rifle. It takes care of the whole "gun use = bad" stigma and returns Nack to his more SegaSonic roots. Here's another idea for the corkgun. Have the cork be a LEAD WEIGHT so when he shoots you, you go flying backwards. You could then show the victim on the ground with stars above his head and you wouldn't have Nack going around saying stuff like, "Don't worry everyone...he just stunned!"

Let's compare simlar themes with simlar characters...

Here is the TTS comic from way back. Here, you clearly see sonic getting the holy crap zapped out of him and with Nack standing behind him with a smoking gun. We see that he is stunned and Nack confirms that he is down and out. I did some quick researching and found this review of the scene:

Sonic navigates approximations of the 6 Triple Trouble zones or levels or whatever they are, catches up to the emerald, and gets zapped for his trouble by Nack.

Dan Drazen said that about the scene. It doesn't look like he felt that the scene could have been better or needed to be changed.

Here is the Issue#187. It features the same characters in practically the same situation as the TTS comic did. But, it's different.

And here is what some people are saying about it.

The sniping scene. That could have been directed a little better. While we don't see Nack actually shoot, we know he's hit Sonic, or at least we think he's hit him since Sonic is still standing but looking weak. Like the Hanna-Barbara Pac-Man after he's been bit by the ghost monsters. It would have been nice to see him at least fall down. Then, we would have known he was stunned or hit before Nack tells Sally. I had to do a second look to figure out what happened.

And on another note, the comic can't say the word "shot" anymore? They have to say "zapped"? And they can't even show someone getting hit by a stun gun? I found that a bit strange, seeing as worse things have been said in the past, like the word "kill", which is used in just about every action kids cartoon dub.

Ultra Devil Chao and Shigamado respectively. To me, it was a missed chance to effectively show the readers an emotionial moment befalling Sonic and remove "all doubt" as to what happened in that scene. To take something so small and trivial and edit it to the point where the meaning is lost or confuses the readers is silly. It's not like Nack is taking a Head shot similar to the one in Rambo II or Saving Private Ryan. Marvel probably did it the best with Peter and Ben's scene in Spider Man. It would be hard to not be moved in some way by that and if Marvel did it another way, it may not have been as powerful as it once was. Here's DC in a simlar scene:

It's dramatic, it's emotional, it's action packed, it's not "over the top", and it's not "toned down either". And yet it gets the point across without having the two pages being hacked up by censors or by being "edited out".

The point I'm trying to get at is: gun use, gun depictions, gun imagery, and gun "violence" have been apart of the history of the Sonic comic since the beginning. And whenever it seems to be edited or censored out, it adds unneeded confusion and dilutes the emotional impact of the scene.

Here are some past reminders of Pro Gun use in the comic that seem perfectly fine, IMHO.

I like that one the best! Robotnik: "Dodge This!!"

While Sonic's reaction could have been better depicted (after all, the sound effect on Sally's panel shows that SOMETHING happened), keep in mind that in those past instances they're all generic "lasers," not bullets being fired.

I've been debating about chiming in because, really, there's a strong case for the "violence is violence" thing. That, and a lot of this has to do with internal stuff which I obviously can't talk about. In a nutshell: the realistic firearms got pushed too far, so now we don't have them at all. That's not something I can control. That's not something my boss can control.

Also, I want to point out the evidence compiled by sonicblaster (which is very thorough, by the way. Impressive!) Let's look at what's being shot and how:
- a robot with a big, flashy laser (by a villain)
- a door with a big, flashy laser
- a robot with paint (big and splashy?)
- Sonic in perhaps the biggest and flashiest laser of all
- Sonic with a smoldering head wound

Do I need to point out the one that doesn't rank with the others? I don't care if Nack was shooting bullets or cork, there's no way we'd get away with showing Sonic being shot (sniped!) in the head. There's a huge difference between "giant wash of energy" (Triple Trouble) and "boom! head shot!" (STH#187)

So why push the envelope at all? Primarily it was to dramatically shift gears. Up until this point the brawl had been light-hearted, even silly. Then out of nowhere Sonic gets dropped with a shot to the head. The moment isn't supposed to be "ah, that makes me think about the current standard of acceptable gun play in a kids' comic." It's supposed to be: "holy crap! Sonic just got sniped! Bad guys win!" How it's ultimately rendered is out of my hands.

Hope that clears things up.

I've been debating about chiming in because, really, there's a strong case for the "violence is violence" thing. That, and a lot of this has to do with internal stuff which I obviously can't talk about. In a nutshell: the realistic firearms got pushed too far, so now we don't have them at all. That's not something I can control. That's not something my boss can control.

Also, I want to point out the evidence compiled by sonicblaster (which is very thorough, by the way. Impressive!) Let's look at what's being shot and how:
- a robot with a big, flashy laser (by a villain)
- a door with a big, flashy laser
- a robot with paint (big and splashy?)
- Sonic in perhaps the biggest and flashiest laser of all
- Sonic with a smoldering head wound

Do I need to point out the one that doesn't rank with the others? I don't care if Nack was shooting bullets or cork, there's no way we'd get away with showing Sonic being shot (sniped!) in the head. There's a huge difference between "giant wash of energy" (Triple Trouble) and "boom! head shot!" (STH#187)

So why push the envelope at all? Primarily it was to dramatically shift gears. Up until this point the brawl had been light-hearted, even silly. Then out of nowhere Sonic gets dropped with a shot to the head. The moment isn't supposed to be "ah, that makes me think about the current standard of acceptable gun play in a kids' comic." It's supposed to be: "holy crap! Sonic just got sniped! Bad guys win!" How it's ultimately rendered is out of my hands.

Hope that clears things up.

That and it's still a comic generated towards kids.

I'm personally not complaing about the fact that he was not seen getting shot, but the fact that he was still standing (albeit with an dazed look on his face) in one panel, then carried off the next. A small drawing of him falling face first to the ground (possibly in the same panel) would have fixed that scene nicely.

Ian's right though. The "pro-gun" stance kills itself when it's:

1.) A villain with a gun.
2.) The gun in question is a very fake looking, sci-fi laser gun.

Oh I understand, and I didn't mean to single you out by saying your complaining or anything. And I wouldn't want for everyone else to think that I am complaining either. I'm just giving a in depth review to a certain scene and offering constructive criticism, at the least. Don't let my posts fool you. I highly enjoyed this issue.

Everything to the dumb-bots, the Sally & Sonic walk/talk, the humorous fight scene with Bark and Bean switching sides twice during the whole ordeal. I greatly enjoyed this issue.

My favorite part would have to be the line of dialogue from Mogul in the "investor's meeting".

"I'll pay handsomely for the shoes of Sonic the Hedgehog. It is up to you if his feet are still in them."

It's such an odd item to want from somebody, and yet it makes perfect sense. Mogul sounds way more menacing there then if he had just plainly stated, "Give me the heart of the Hedgehog and put it in this box" or something.

I like how the Armada are referenced again in the comic. They're a mystery in which clues are dropped about them every so often. I just hope more light is shed on the whole "Armada" entourage in the future as they are still not greatly known outside of the one Game Gear game from the 90's. I think there were some Armada birds in Tails' Game Gear game Sky Patrol. But I never got past the first level and only played it for a few hours.

I don't know what role Rouge and St. John will have to play in all this, just have to wait and see.

But I too enjoyed this issiue.

What I mean is it had good dose of everything, from comdey (Sally baiting Bean with the bomb) to supense (Nack telling Sally she had ten seconds to get help), to hints of stories to come in the near future (Merlin going off to find answers to Sonic abilltey to go super when the emerald was locked, plus many others), plus so much more.

Now as pro, if you know what I mean, I espiecally liked how Ian hints at the possibitly of Sonic and Sally getting back together (not in this issiue or the next, but very soon).

I also enjoyed how Ian wrote Sally in this one, for she seems to denfenlty have come full circle, to accepting (as hard as it seems) of Knothole being gone, to not be used to being in the great forest without the rest of the freedom fighters, to reflecting on how at one point in their lives that when fighting the war, that coming back to Knothole it didn't seem to bad at all, to where unlike Sonic and the others, she wishes she could had made the transtion in the changes of the time just as easily, and to the point she regerts her emotionally outbust back in #134.

Overall it wasn't a bad issiue, , and I do look forward to next month's issiue.

And as far as Matt Herms artisc debut, I felt it was done very well, to the point you could almost mistake his art for Tracy's.

Also it was good to see the origianl badnik trio again.

Overall rating: 7/10 stars.

All I know, is seeing Grounder in print was fantastic.
While reading, his voice was consistently in my head.
Ah, the nostalgia.

Whew. Finally went down to my local comic book and picked up the last four issues. I'm glad I held myself from coming here, otherwise I woulda been spoiled majorly.

Oh, where to begin? St. John and Rouge - A very unlikely but interesting work pair, I would never have guessed those two working together.

Mammoth Mogul - MAN OH MAN, do I ever admire that character even more? Messing with peoples heads, even well before they became the stars they are now, brilliant. And buying out Casinopolis, sheer genius. That now has to be Mobius's most wretched hive of scum and villainy. And with guest appearances by the old Badniks, it puts a spring in my step and a song in my heart. Mogul is back in business.

Robotnik and the Dark Legion - Whoo boy, that's just exactly what Robotnik didn't need, another mindless army ;D Oh well, at least it's good to see the two finally working together after all this time.

Scourge and Fiona - Didn't think that they would escape offworld. I wonder if they went to a different planet like they said, or went dimension-hopping? Probably the latter, knowing Scourge.

Villains, villains, and more villains - Destructix, Nack the Weasel, Bean and Bark, and more, all rolled into one comic! And with the possible threat of the Battlebird Armade looming in the background, things could get more interesting in this department.

Sonic and Sally - This whole issue, the one thing which made me truly happy was seeing Sonic and Sally together, as friends. We haven't been able to see that in the comic for a while, because it's been such a roller coaster ride, but I'm glad Ian finally decided to slow down to get those two sorted back out.

And finally, Sonic getting captured - I can tell you what, didn't see that coming. Especially after Mogul's speech on how whenever Sonic was involved, all his schemes would fail. But you know what, after giving that speech to Sonic, Mogul still didn't even seem to understand what even himself was saying as the very next issue after escaping, he gets Sonic sent for, and that will only mean a whole world of hurt and trouble for the big guy.

Can't wait for next month.