Christmas with Chris – VEDJ-F
Christmas specials in the comic
Have never been at all historic.
It’s too wrapped up in its own thing
To have the time to stop and sing.
But if you were around ten years ago,
There was a comic available to go
It was based on the anime
And celebrated Christmas in it’s silly way
I’m here to judge whether it was nice
Or full of coal and mired in vice
So let’s look back at a Christmas past.
With a little bit of “Gotta Go Fast”.
The story is simple, that’s for sure.
Tell me if you’ve heard this one before.
Sonic and friends are enjoying a stroll
While Sonic can’t believe what he’s been told
About the quickest man in a red hat
Who delivers presents in one night flat
Meanwhile Eggman hatches a plan
And of its absurdity I am a fan!
He’ll pretend to be Santa to demand Sonic’s capture
And the parents will agree to keep their kids’ rapture.
It’s a scheme that harkens back to comedy of old
But it’s a fresh twist, so it at least avoids going cold.
Sonic sets out to see Santa himself,
But there’s not a thing on the Arctic’s ice shelf.
Chuck’s attempted counter is kind of odd.
They’d believe about Sonic in his own world you clod!
A big public stage is where Eggman’s trap is set
Along with a joke that Sonic X fans would get.
Eggman makes his public demand
And the crowd turns on Sonic, sheesh, what greed at hand.
Sonic gets away but trouble is afoot
Because Eggman has tricked the whole world with his suit.
While he hides out on Knuckles’ turf.
He tells his friend what he’ll do back on Earth.
When a fake Santa comes he tries to unmask it
But Eggman had the sense to fasten it.
Sonic surrenders and goes in the sleigh,
But with a fake reindeer coming loose, help is now on the way.
So right before Eggman chucks Sonic into a pit,
Chuck hauls in a helicopter to put a stop to it.
The real Santa has actually shown up,
And before Eggman can deny it, Sonic has his power-up.
With a ring and a twist the bad guys are dealt a blow,
And it turns out the real Santa was a trick of his friends’ own.
So the comic ends with the cast getting gifts,
A neat and cozy tie-up for a comic that uplifts.
The art in this issue is worlds apart,
So let’s just take it from the start.
The cover is wonderful, but that was a given,
With Spaziente here, you’d expect no less than heaven.
The pencils are on-model, the colours are lush,
there’s even some shout-outs, what a neat little touch.
But then you look inside and dear oh dear
It’s pretty much a reader’s worst fear.
This, my reader, is penciller Todd Wahnish
And his reputation was quick to tarnish.
He only ever did two issues, this one and sixteen
But that was enough for the eyes that were keen.
It’s not that his lineart was technically iffy
Otherwise he’d be left to improve in a jiffy.
But the art no-no this man was embracing
Was doing nothing but directly tracing!
Every shot is taken from a show still
From Chuck’s concern to Eggman’s thrill.
And to be honest, it ruins the issue
Because you won’t look past the lack of artist value.
And it’s not your fault, he was paid to draw
Instead you have more bland paper to store.
I mean, the lines aren’t helped by Josh Ray’s flat colour
But compared to the big problem, that’s rather minor.
This issue is not out to teach a lesson
Nor does it want an event to focus on.
It just want to have fun, to make kids smile
You can tell in the writing, as some bits are worthwhile.
But any sort of connection is hard
If the art side doesn’t play its card.
And it really doesn’t, the comedy is lost
With no original character images to keep down the time cost.
It’s easy to tell, even if you’re new
The faces don’t match what the words are telling you.
And as such, that’s all you’ll see
As you look through the wasted potential with pity.
So overall, this issue’s a disappointment
The intent is there, but the presentation is deficient
In terms of reading, it’s not worth your time
But there is one grace that I can chime
For since the best thing is the cover itself
It’d make a great decoration for your shelf!
VEDJ-F would like to note that she is no Livingston or Geisel.