Sonic’s extensive rogues gallery will be getting some new additions in the IDW comics this April: the skunk brothers Rough and Tumble. This pair of malicious mephitidaes will be antagonizing Sonic and Knuckles in the series’ third issue.
Kotaku interviewed the comic’s associate editor David Marriotte, who said that the new villains aren’t exactly masterminds, meaning we shouldn’t expect them to be hatching any grand schemes any time soon. He also confirmed that they are “independent agents,” though did hint that they could become henchman down the line. So it may be safe to speculate that they’ll end up working for Dr. Eggman eventually.
Marriotte also talked about how new comic characters are designed: they are first described by writer Ian Flynn in a few paragraphs, then they are designed by one of the comic’s artists, and then they are sent to SEGA for approval. After some back and forth between IDW and SEGA, the characters are fleshed out and finalized. According to Kotaku, the characters used to be more heavily clothed, had less defined eyes, and Tumble use to look a lot more rabid.
Meanwhile, in a Game Informer interview released yesterday, Ian Flynn confirmed that the IDW comics will be a fresh start focused on story elements and characters from the games. Early issues will feature stories that are light on world-building and lore, but heavy on adventure and cinematic action. Despite starting with “bite-sized” stories, Flynn also confirmed that these stories will start building up to a surprise that will pay off within the comic’s first year. This surprise will be an obscure antagonist that hardcore fans may be able to guess, but casual fans will find new and exciting. You can find the full interview, which goes into more detail about Flynn’s plans as well as his past, here.
Flynn later clarified on Twitter that he doesn’t want to front load a new, fast paced book with lore, and that he wanted to keep things game-centric to make the comic recognizable to casual fans. Once the tone is set, he will get into bigger arcs and begin exploring the characters.
IDW’s Sonic the Hedgehog will launch April 4, and release a new issue every week for its first four weeks before going monthly with issue 5.
I was a little worried by the names but I have to say I’m pleasantly surprised!
Same here. It’s good to see some more species coming in too.
And yes, I’m aware of Geoffrey St. John.
Update 2/16 1:33 PM: IDW informed us that a mistake had been made, and the names of the characters reversed. Rough is the little one, Tumble is the big one. The article has been edited to reflect the correct names.
From the Kotaku article. Please edit this post accordingly.
Tyson Hesse’s OCs look better than the real Cs.
“IDW comics will be a fresh start focused on story elements and characters from the games”
Great news!
“This surprise will be an obscure antagonist that hardcore fans may be able to guess”
Fang/Nack perhaps? He’s a pretty obscure antagonist as far as game characters go. I’d be all for it, just please, don’t team him up with Rough and Tumble, Bean and Bark, or anyone else, this time. Have him work solo, just like in the games.
Is fang even obscure anymore? He’s been around for a while in the previous comic series and had a chunk of a boss fight dedicated to him in Mania, so while he’s not a frequent villain in the games, he’s been the “surprise cameo/twist” character in the brand for years now.
I do hope that this antagonist that they’re building up to will actually be a hype-inducing surprise. I won’t take my guesses on who because that’d spark further debate on the character being too obscure, not obscure enough, too minor, or too major to qualify. Still, I have faith in Flynn in this regard because in general he’s good at teasing things for fans.
These guys are kinda great! Glad there’s people with talent working on these comics.
they look better than what Archie came up with – no clothes and accessories here
Ooh, looking nice! These two are basically the guys I can’t remember from Sonic Underground by the looks of it
Sleet and Dingo? Let’s hope these new guys are better than them.
Seems promising. I’m looking forward to the new Sonic comics and I’ll probably collect all of them until the series ends. I’m gonna get issue 1 (hopefully I’ll try to get issue #0 too) to the final issue.
Unless I’ve missed something, there is no issue #0.