Sonic X #15

December 21, 2006

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Bad Eggnog

When Dr. Eggman disguises himself as Santa Claus, can Sonic the Hedgehog save Christmas?

Writer: Joe Edkin
Pencils: Todd Wahnish
Inks: Terry Austin
Colors: Josh Ray
Letters: John Workman
Editor: Mike Pellerito
Cover Art: Pat “Spaz” Spaziante
Publisher: Archie Comics

For those of you unfamiliar with the Sonic X spinoff from the classic Sonic the Hedgehog series, here’s the basic premise: the evil Dr. Eggman fled from his homeworld to Earth, with Sonic and his friends hot on his tail. Now they’re trapped until Earth until they can take him down once and for all. And this issue, Dr. Eggman has his sights set on Christmas.

It’s their first Christmas on Earth, and Sonic and Eggman both hear the legend of Santa Claus. Sonic is skeptical, but Eggman sees a plot – disguise himself as the jolly old fat man and tell the world they aren’t getting any Christmas presents unless they capture Sonic for him! Now Sonic has to prove the Eggman-Santa is a fraud, to save Christmas, and save himself.

Joe Edkin has put together a nice little Christmas story here, and he does so without falling back on some of the Christmas story clichés I fully expected to come to bear. Todd Wahnish and Terry Austin’s artwork is suitable to mirror they style of the cartoon and video game the comic is based on, but Pat Spaziante’s cover is a lot more eye-popping than some of the relatively flat interiors.

I’ve read a lot of the Sonic comics that Archie has published over the last 15 years (a record for a video game-based comic book), and while I find I enjoy “classic” Sonic more than Sonic X, this book isn’t without his charms. If your little one is a Sonic fan, this would be a nice comic to slip into their stocking this Christmas.

Rating: 7/10

Truth, Justin, and the American Way #2

May 16, 2006

Quick Rating: Very Good

An alien suit, chased by the feds… the real danger? Justin’s fiancé.

Writers: Scott Kurtz & Aaron Williams
Art: Giuseppe Ferrario
Theme Song By: Kristofer Straub
Cover Art: Giuseppe Ferrario
Publisher: Image Comics

With the first-issue set-up out of the way, Scott Kurtz and Aaron Williams seem even more at home with their new title. Justin has come under the gun at his own bachelor party as Agent Bixby tracks the alien super-suit down to the young slacker. Quite inadvertently, Justin begins to learn about some of the incredible properties of the suit, but ultimately he’ll have something far more dangerous than the Feds or an extraterrestrial haberdasher to worry about… his fiancé, Bailey.

Aside from the cover (the first of a series of 80s movie homages, judging from future solicits), this issue doesn’t dwell quite as steeply in the nostalgia as last issue, but now that the premise has been set up, it’s not as necessary. This issue is more driven by plot and character than the gags, which is to the good.

Not to say that it doesn’t have humor – the book is still quite satisfyingly funny. I particularly liked the flashback to Justin and Bailey’s first meeting – the sort of charming foolishness that only seems to work in the movies or on TV, but is still heartwarming nonetheless.

Even if we weren’t getting crackingly funny story, this comic would be well worth getting for the introduction of Giuseppe Ferrario to American audiences. He’s got a wonderful grasp on the characters, the choreography and the coloring, and the things he does with backgrounds are amazing. He’s clearly overlaid the characters over a background that’s been Photoshopped (or done in some equivalent program), but the transition is rarely too jarring. The only really obvious page is the last one, where Bailey stands on a rug that looks slightly too realistic. But the way he plays with patterns in fabric and even the signs that appear at the Corn Dog stand are great and make up for the minor quibbles.

Kurtz and Williams are already quite established as two of the funniest cartoonists working in comics, and it’s great that they’ve brought on an up-and-comer on this, one of their highest-profile projects in some time. I’m enjoying the heck out of this comic, and I can’t wait to play the MP3 of the theme song and start reading issue three.

Rating: 8/10

Batman: Harley and Ivy #1

April 24, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Bosom Buddies

When Harley Quinn screws up one scheme too many, Poison Ivy just wants to get away from her – but it may not be that easy.

Writer: Paul Dini & Bruce Timm
Pencils: Bruce Timm
Inks: Shane Giles
Colors: Lee Loughridge
Letters: Tom Orzechowski
Editor: Joan Hilty
Cover Art: Bruce Timm
Publisher: DC Comics

The fantastic creative team that created Batman: The Animated Series and a half-dozen spinoffs and related series since then come together again for a three-issue tale in one of the wackier corners of their world. This is not a title for someone who likes their Batman dark and hard-boiled… in fact, the caped crusader is barely in it. While there are some darker moments in this issue, most of it is a pretty funny tale about Harley Quinn finally making a big enough mistake that her sometime partner Poison Ivy wants to be rid of her… and Harley refusing to take the hint. Dini has been doing more highbrow stuff the last few years, like his collaborations with Alex Ross, but apparently stuff like his Jingle Belle specials have kept him sharp, because this is still a funny, funny book.

Although this issue is done in the animated style and seems to fit rather neatly into the animated universe, it’s still not something I’d necessarily give to the kiddies. There is a shower room fight scene that actually feels a bit gratuitous, with Timm seemingly attempting to determine just how far he can go showing skin, even resorting to word balloons and sound effects to cover some of the naughty bits.

That aside, the artwork is splendid. Bruce Timm’s style really defined these characters for the last decade, and his incarnations are as good as always. These panels could easily have flowed straight from a frame of film to make up the comic book story presented here.

The last page of the issue may be the funniest, and although it promises even less Batman than you got this issue, the story that is lined up looks like it’s going to be a very entertaining one. With a new Batman cartoon scheduled to premiere on television this fall, DC has been weaning away from comics based on the old Dini/Timm cartoons. I certainly hope they’ll do the occasional miniseries or special like this to keep that universe alive, because a lot of us have been fans of it for a really long time, and it would be a shame for the fantastic versions of these characters you see in this comic book to vanish entirely.

Rating: 8/10