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At their Wondercon 2021 panel, IDW showed some interior art from the book. Check it out in the gallery below:
IDW has released a pre-recorded panel featuring their writers, artists, and the comic’s editor. Check it out in the embed below:
The full preview has been released for Sonic the Hedgehog #38, and it’s getting a bit topsy-turvy in here. Sonic, Tails and Amy have managed to find an Eggman Base inside the mysterious tower, but this is no cake walk! Logic goes out the window as the heroes encounter illusions and obstacles with every new room explored. Can they traverse the place in one piece? Meanwhile, Tangle and Belle have also found their way to the base, but they get the behind-the-curtain view as they run into trouble from the robots controlling things and more tower trickery! This is “Test Run”; part 2.
(W) Evan Stanley (A) Adam Bryce Thomas (CA) Matt Herms
Houston, there appears to be two hedgehogs and a fox floating through space…
Sonic, Amy, and Tails are stuck in a mysterious new Eggman base. Each room holds a challenging surprise and the hallways don’t make any sense! Can they find out how to escape unharmed? Meanwhile, Tangle and Belle sneak in to find the bots running the show and stumble into some trouble!
In Shops: Mar 24, 2021
SRP: $3.99
Sonic the Hedgehog is out at all good comic retailers tomorrow, March 24th. Tricks and traps await you when you tag along for this one!
Source: Previews World
IDW have released their solicits for June, which means more exciting news on upcoming Sonic comics! First, Sonic the Hedgehog #42 sees Zavok having brought the Deadly Six back together, and planning to make a move that will undoubtedly not go down well for the heroes! Jewel has called on Sonic, Tails and the Chaotix to interfere with whatever they have brewing, but will their team-up be enough to stop the Zeti? This is “Zeti Hunt”; part 2.
Sonic the Hedgehog #42—Cover A: Priscilla Tramontano
Ian Flynn (w) • Adam Bryce Thomas (a) • Priscilla Tramontano (c)
“Zeti Hunt,” part two! Now that Zavok has his pack, it’s time for them to make a big move. But Jewel the Beetle, newly appointed Restoration leader, has called on Sonic, Tails, and the Chaotix to run interference. Will they be able to stop the Zeti and make it home in time for spaghetti!?
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Sonic the Hedgehog #42—Cover B: Abby Bulmer
Ian Flynn (w) • Adam Bryce Thomas (a) • Abby Bulmer (c)
*Retailer incentives:
Order 10 copies and get one free variant cover by Nathalie Fourdraine!
In addition to this, there’s more information on the Sonic 30th Anniversary Comic celebration, with a special being released in time for his birthday! Have you wanted to see longtime Sonic comic writer Ian Flynn show the classic heroes together on a quest for the Chaos Emeralds? Does the idea of Eggman celebrating his birthday from ‘The Babysitters Club’ author Gale Gilligan interest you? Did you desire for a story from the McElroy Brothers about Sonic learning to drive? All topped off with art from a slew of excellent artists, and covers by the likes of Sonic Team and Tyson Hesse? As oddly specific as some of those are, this one-shot special has you covered!
Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Special—Cover A: Sonic Team—Gem of the Month
Ian Flynn; Gale Galligan; Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy (w) •Aaron Hammerstrom & Reggie Graham, Mauro Fosenca, Thomas Rothlisberger (a) • Sonic Team (c)
After 30 years of going fast, it’s time for fans to celebrate the speediest hedgehog of all time! It’s an unbelievable birthday celebration for Sonic the Hedgehog with his first Classic Sonic special!
First, in “Seasons of Chaos” by longtime Sonic scribe Ian Flynn and artists Aaron Hammerstrom & Reggie Graham, Sonic goes on an adventure from pleasant spring valleys to wintry wonderlands in search of the Chaos Emeralds. But Sonic’s not alone, with a little help from his friends Miles “Tails” Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Mighty the Armadillo, and Ray the Flying Squirrel, they’ll race, fight, and fly their way to victory against the baddest of baddies!
Then, in “Dr. Eggman’s Birthday,” the vile, villainous Dr. Eggman takes center stage in a story written by New York Times bestseller Gale Galligan (The Babysitters Club)! And how does the bad doctor celebrate the occasion? Only his Badniks know for sure…
Finally, in “Sonic Learns to Drive,” Sonic’s up against a tough challenge: Driving! When the fastest thing alive can outrun any car, will Sonic have the patience to learn… or will he finally get left in the dust? Written by the hosts of My Brother, My Brother, and Me, The Adventure Zone, and New York Times bestsellers, the McElroy Brothers!
Grab a slice of chili dog cake and don’t get left in the dust on the most way past cool book of the year!
FC • 80 pages • $8.99
Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Special—Cover B: Christina-Antoinette Neofotistou—Gem of the Month
Ian Flynn; Gale Galligan; Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy (w) •Aaron Hammerstrom & Reggie Graham, Mauro Fosenca, Thomas Rothlisberger (a) • Christina-Antoinette Neofotistou (c)
*Retailer incentives:
Order 10 copies and get one free variant cover by Patrick Spaziante!
Order 25 copies and get one free variant cover by Tyson Hesse!
Please note that this is not the same as the deluxe edition coming out in October, we covered that one last week.
Sonic’s birthday is certainly shaping up to be jam-packed, with both of these issues slated for June. As always, we will have more info on them closer to their release, so stay tuned to see what’s in store for the big 3-0!
Source: Bleeding Cool
This year is a year of anniversaries for Sonic in more ways then one, because not only is the franchise itself turning 30, but Ian Flynn’s first published Sonic work, Archie Sonic #160, turns 15. This means that Flynn has now been writing comics for roughly half of the franchise’s entire lifespan, and the time between his first comic, and his next IDW story arc starting later this year, is roughly the same amount of time as between Sonic 1 and Sonic 2006. Yes, that makes folks like myself who remember when they picked up #160 feel rather old!
Since his debut, Ian Flynn has written well over 200 Sonic comics across five ongoing series, alongside a selection of mini-series and one-shots, as well as a couple of Sonic Boom episodes. This gives him the largest body of work of any Sonic writer.
Flynn had been applying for years to the Sonic comic before he was finally brought on. Both he and artist Tracy Yardley! were given a chance to work on the comic by then-editor of the book, Mike Pellerito. Yardley debuted a bit earlier than Flynn in Sonic X #5. Their first story, “See Ya Later Chao,” was written and drawn in 2005, though wouldn’t make it into the book until years later. Though initially not brought on in that capacity, Ian Flynn soon became the head writer of the Archie Sonic book, writing the bulk of the stories from his debut issue on.
Flynn and Yardley!’s debut story, “Birthday Bash,” was a two-part storyline that turned “Evil Sonic” into Scourge the Hedgehog, briefly brought back old school Archie badniks Octobot and Crocbot as a strange fused monstrosity, and also introduced fan favorites Bean the Duck and Bark the Polar Bear as money-grubbing mercs for hire. This duo’s opening chapter would be the first of many, as Yardley became a fairly consistent presence in the Archie books for years. Both Flynn and Yardley would hone their craft over time, introducing bigger and better stories with better art.
On a more personal note, 160 was my big jumping-back-on point for the comics, after dropping them twice in the past. I never dropped them again after this. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Flynn and Yardley significantly redefined how the comics looked and read for the rest of their run. As someone who loved their work, and thought they only got better with time, I was quite content with that.
What are your experiences with Ian Flynn and Tracy Yardley!’s work? Did you pick up #160? Have you ever read that or any other part of Flynn’s Archie run? Let us know in the comments!
I’ve got at least one article in the work about Ian Flynn’s Archie run, in commemoration of this anniversary, so stay tuned for that!
Unfortunately, it does not appear that issue #160 has been reprinted in any capacity, but other Flynn stories from #162 onward were reprinted in the Sonic Sagas collection, which can still be found on Amazon.
Special Note: Tracy Yardley!’s pen name ends with an exclamation point. I thought it fitting to include it here.
Following the 2019 release of two IDW tabletop games, one Hasbro game, and the Shinobi 7 Kickstarter game, Sonic once again returns to tabletops in 2021 with Sonic The Card Game.
The publisher, Steamforged Games, maintains an extensive catalog of licensed titles including Dark Souls: The Board Game, Dark Souls: The Card Game, Devil May Cry: The Bloody Palace, and most recently Horizon Zero Dawn: The Board Game. The majority of the company’s library is kickstarter-funded games with high production value, extensive miniatures, and focus on theme; however, the company has also published several smaller, self-funded projects such as PAC-MAN: The Card Game, and Ni no Kuni II: The Board Game.
While we do not have any details on the game as of yet following the company’s Game Manufacturers Association preview, the blog describes the project as a “competitive card racing game where you’ll collect power-ups and rings to win.” Expect the game to launch this calendar year.
Last year, SEGA held a series of monthly Japanese streams featuring Sonic content called “Sonic Station Live!” The streams mostly focused on merchandise, though would also feature various Sonic creatives as hosts. Though the streams came to an end at the end of last year, they appear to be getting a special revival this month so that they can feature a special guest: voice actress and “Sonic lover” Aoi Yuuki. Yuuki voiced the female avatar in Sonic Forces, and Sticks the Badger in both the Japanese dub of the Sonic Boom cartoon, as well as her numerous game appearances.
As the headline notes: do not expect a game announcement from this. This is a Japanese-centric stream, and these streams never featured especially major news items. Going by a translated version of the stream’s program outline, Yuuki will be talking about her favorite Sonic characters, and will be playing various games. Jun Senoue and Kazuyuki Hoshino will be hosting.
The stream is scheduled for Sunday, and is embedded below:
Hot on the heels of the reveal of Classic Sonic’s Free Comic Book Day comic, IDW has revealed that they are releasing a 96 page hard cover graphic novel featuring the classic version of the blue blur! Called “Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Celebration: The Deluxe Edition,” the graphic novel will feature writing from longtime Sonic scribe Ian Flynn, as well as Gale Galligan. It will also feature art from Aaron Hammerstrom and Reggie Graham.
The graphic novel’s main story, “Seasons of Chaos,” will be written by Ian Flynn. It centers around Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy Rose, Mighty the Armadillo, and Ray the Flying Squirrel as they venture through season-inspired zones in search of the the Chaos Emeralds. The story will also feature other unnamed “special guests.”
The graphic novel will also feature “bonus stories” from some of Sonic’s “biggest fans,” as well as loads of bonus content.
The graphic novel will be released on October 5th for $19.99. Check out the official synopsis and cover, provided by Penguin Random House, below:
Celebrate Sonic the Hedgehog’s way past cool 30th birthday!
The classic character comes to life in all-new adventures inspired by the original 2D games and he’s not alone! Join Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles “Tails” Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Mighty the Armadillo, Ray the Flying Squirrel, and even more special guests as they travel through zones inspired by the seasons in search of Chaos Emeralds! It’s a hilarious and hectic race against the clock in “Seasons of Chaos” by longtime Sonic writer Ian Flynn! Plus bonus stories by some of Sonic the Hedgehog’s biggest fans and tons of bonus content celebrating the blue blur!
This special anniversary collection is the perfect piece of pop culture memorabilia for all Sonic fans
Sonic has had a presence at Free Comic Day for well over a decade now, but this year IDW will be using the occasion to celebrate Sonic’s 30th anniversary with a comic featuring Classic Sonic!
Revealed today as part of this year’s complete FCBD line-up, the issue’s cover features classic Sonic characters. Whether this is a wholly original story or just a free version of the upcoming Classic Sonic mini series is currently unknown. Instead of its usual “first Saturday of May” date, this year’s FCBD is scheduled for August 14. For a list of participating comic stores and featured comics, check out the FCBD website here.
Check out the full cover below:
At the moment, the FCBD website gives no further information on the issue, including who is writing it and who drew the cover. Stay tuned to Sonic Stadium for all the latest!
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 director Jeffrey Fowler announced via twitter that the movie was officially moving into production today. Back in January Fowler confirmed that the movie would begin filming this month. Filming will be taking place in both Vancouver and Hawaii. You can check out Fowler’s tweet below:
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is due for release in theaters on April 8, 2022.
SEGA seems to be planning a digital event that will take place on March 18, and social media posts from company employees suggest that Sonic the Hedgehog news could form part of the festivities.
Continue reading SEGA Teases ‘SEGA Skyways’ Digital Event for March 18 With ‘Sonic 2021’ References [U: Internal Event Only, No Sonic Announcements]In a statement made earlier today, Sega announced that Team Sonic Racing is now available on Amazon’s cloud-gaming platform, Luna. This makes the second Sonic game to be available on Amazon’s new service, along with Sonic Mania.
For those interested, I am currently in the Luna beta and have checked out TSR on its streaming platform. The game looks and plays exactly like its HD counterparts on PS4 and Xbox, however, I did notice occasional dips in framerate from 60 down to 40 or less at times. I tested the same tracks on my Series S and it runs at 60 fps without any issues. That said, the issue pretty minor and the game still runs very well on Luna.
Here’s hoping for more Sonic on the Luna platform in the future. After all, the more Sonic folks can play, the better.
There’s a Sonic panel happening this month, but not the one that may immediately come to your mind. On March 26th, an hour-long IDW Sonic panel is being held for Sonic comic news.
Continue reading WonderCon’s Going Fast With An IDW Sonic PanelIt has been 10 years sine the devestating Tohoku earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, causing massive loss of life. The folowing nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Diachii power plant still has lasting repurcussions, affecting a huge number of lives of those living in and around the Prefecture. A large area around the wrecked power plant – known as the exclusion zone – is still deemed too radioactive to safely live in.
The Youtube channel, Exploring the Beaten Path, spent time in the Fukushima exclusion zone back in 2019, investigating those places that stand frozen in time since 2011. As part of their exploration, a pair of daring explorers has ventured into the ruins of a SEGA Games Hall (with it’s SEGASonic logo still intact on the building) to get a glimpse into life so suddenly brought to a halt a decade ago.
You can check out the video below:
On this sombre anniversary, the thoughts of everyone at TSS are with those who were and still are affected by this disaster.
Article image from @LostHedgie on Twitter.
Since its official announcement more than a month ago, we’ve slowly begun to learn who will actually be working on Netflix’s Sonic Prime show. Last month, we learned about one of its writers. Today, we learned about a few of its artists, who announced their involvement on Twitter!
Betty Kwong and Nicholas Kole have both been brought on to Wildbrain as designers for the show. Kwong has worked on several shows in the past, serving as senior designer on seasons 11-13 of LEGO Ninjago, as well as a CG designer for the LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special, among other LEGO animation projects. Nicholas Kole, meanwhile, served as a character designer for both Crash Bandicoot 4 and the Spyro Reignited Trilogy. You can check out Kwong’s portfolio here, and Kole’s portfolio here.
There is still a lot we don’t now about Sonic Prime’s production, but we will hopefully be learning more over the coming months. As usual, stay tuned to Sonic Stadium for all the latest.
This year’s Sonic Amateur Gaming Expo will be coming a bit earlier than it has in recent years: it’ll be running from August 21 to August 27. In addition to the start date, SAGE also revealed their new logo and tagline for the year, which you can check out in the tweet below:
SAGE is a long running Sonic fan game expo that celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. You can check out our coverage of last year’s SAGE here.
Today in Shirt Alert, You maniacs! You blew it up!!
Continue reading Shirt Alert! Ring of Friends and The Fallen Green Hill at The YeteeToday in Shirt Alert, this one is definitely a movie reference.
Continue reading Shirt Alert! Blue Driver at RIPT ApparelIf you live in the US and need a reason to subscribe to yet another entertainment streaming service, you might be tempted by Paramount’s new platform as the Sonic the Hedgehog movie will soon be available on Paramount Plus.
Continue reading Sonic Movie Will Feature in Paramount Plus Streaming ServiceIt seems that SEGA is preparing to organise a special music concert to celebrate Sonic the Hedgehog’s 30th Anniversary, according to a recent report in a licensing trade magazine.
Continue reading Sonic 30th Anniversary Concert Revealed in Licensing Magazine
![SEGA Teases ‘SEGA Skyways’ Digital Event for March 18 With ‘Sonic 2021’ References [U: Internal Event Only, No Sonic Announcements]](https://archive.sonicstadium.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2021-event-tease-hero-875x375.jpg)
