Sonic the Hedgehog #200

May 16, 2009

Sonic the Hedgehog #200 (Archie Comics)
By Ian Flynn, Tracy Yardley & Patrick “Spaz” Spaziante

The fact that this comic even exists is amazing to me. When this title launched 15 years ago, nobody would ever have predicted it would still be going strong 200 issues and multiple spin-off series later, but here you go. It’s already the longest-running video game comic of all time, and the second-longest running licensed comic since the Golden Age (after Marvel‘s 275-issue run of Conan the Barbarian). But enough about its longevity — is it any good? In a word… yes. This issue features what appears to be a final epic battle between Sonic and his original adversary, Dr. Robotnik. As the two foes face off, Robotnik starts to break down in a way that’s surprisingly intense for a comic for kids. What happens to Robotnik here almost makes you feel sorry for the villain — heck, even makes Sonic feel sorry for him. At the same time, Ian Flynn uses the dramatic change to shift the status quo and introduce a new series of villains (who may or may not have come from the video games, I really don’t know). It’s a good spot to re-evaluate the series, to launch something new, and to set it up for a new direction beginning in issue #201. The art is strong as well, with good linework by Tracy Yardley and Terry Austin. It’s Matt Herms‘s coloring, however, that really blows me away — it gives the book much more energy, much more of a computerized quality that feels appropriate. I’m still stunned the book has lasted this look, but even though I’m not a regular reader, I’m definitely glad it’s out there for those who are.
Rating: 8/10

Sigil (2011 Series) #4

July 20, 2011

Writer: Mike Carey
Pencils: Leonard Kirk
Inks: Ed Tadeo
Colorist: Guru EFX
Letterer: Rob Steen
Cover: Jelena Djurdjevic
Editor: Nick Lowe              
Publisher: Marvel Comics/CrossGen

Samantha Rey and the crew of the El Cazador are racing against the fearsome Captain October, hoping to find an artifact of incredible power that Sam’s mother hid there when she was young. This issue, Sam gets her hands on the mysterious box and decides to take it one place October can’t get to it – through time. I’m really glad to see that Mike Carey took this particular tack with Sam. Giving a character with the ability to travel through time is kind of a big deal, and there are a lot of logical applications that some writers ignore. He seems to be embracing them and, in fact, using the time-travel nature of this series to its advantage. In fact, by the end, time seems to be of the utmost importance. Mixing in those sci-fi elements with the classic pirate setting makes for an interesting contrast, but one that’s really a lot of fun. There’s clearly a pretty large, thought-out backstory here, and while this is the end of this miniseries, we can only hope that it’s done well enough to justify returning to the world of Sigil in the future. Leonard Kirk finishes off this title with great skill, getting to play around in multiple time periods with his artwork, which seems to be a lot of fun for the artist. Overall, this miniseries really was a lot of fun, very exciting, and something I want to see come back in the near future.

Rating: 7/10

Astro City: Samaritan #1

July 24, 2006

Quick Rating: Great
Title: The Eagle and the Mountain

Samaritan faces his arch-enemy Infidel… for dinner?

Writer: Kurt Busiek
Art: Brent E. Anderson
Colors: Alex Sinclair
Letters: John Roshell of Comicraft
Editor: Ben Abernathy
Cover Art: Alex Ross
Publisher: DC Comics/Wildstorm Signature Series

Boy this one was a long time in coming. Many years ago, Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross did a special feature for Wizard magazine to demonstrate how an Astro City character was created. The result of that feature was the Infidel, arch-enemy of Astro City’s premiere hero, Samaritan – and Astro City fans have been waiting for Infidel to show up ever since. Since we’ve been promised a standalone special in-between arcs of The Dark Age, this seems a great time to bring him in.

As Samaritan and the Infidel meet for their annual dinner together, the Infidel reflects on his own origins and how they brought him so deeply in conflict with Samaritan, eventually culminating in their unique understanding. Now the idea of a hero and his arch-enemy meeting for a truce periodically isn’t exactly new – I seem to recall a Fantastic Four story about Reed Richards and Doctor Doom meeting for a drawn-out chess game, for instance – but like all great Astro City stories, Busiek takes a convention of the superhero genre and gives it a nice twist. The reason for the meetings between Samaritan and Infidel are pretty clever, as are the conclusions reached at the end of this special. And if you’ve never read an Astro City comic before, fear not – this issue is totally standalone, and the archetypes are so familiar there’s no way any comic book fan could get confused.

Anderson steps up yet again with his classic artwork. His art style has a real timeless quality to it – there are Silver Age elements, to be sure, but nothing that looks out of place in a modern comic or a superhero tale of any genre – sci-fi, fantasy, horror… his style works with everything. Alex Ross contributes his usual snazzy cover, with a nice design to it that harkens back to a classic pulp magazine in a way that I like very much.

You can’t go wrong with Astro City, gang. Pick this one up.

Rating: 9/10