Welcome to the Archive site of The Sonic Stadium (2008-2023)
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IDW Sonic’s 900th Adventure is getting a lot more action-packed with the reveal of two new cover variants for the upcoming one-shot comic. Evan Stanley brings us a whale-biting encounter with the book’s Cover C, while the Retail Incentive artwork offers a Fleetway throwback courtesy of legendary UK artist Richard Elson.
As we’ve come to expect from Stanley, her Cover C artwork is a phenomenal piece, featuring a fantastic art style that really captures the dynamism of both Sonic and Amy as they try to escape a whale (what is it with whales?). The IDW writer also shared a clean version of this artwork as well as some thumbnail sketches on her social media channel, as a treat.
As for the Retail Incentive cover? Well, UK-based Sonic fans who grew up in the 1990s are in for a real treat with this one, as this cover is by none other than Sonic the Comic artist Richard Elson. And those with the ‘STC Style’ burned into their memories will truly appreciate Elson’s familiar take on Sonic and Dr. Eggman here.
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IDW has revealed their line-up of Sonic comics for August, and it’s a doozy: the month will see the release of two jumbo-sized Sonic one-shots, plus the monthly comic’s 64th issue, which’ll be all about Sonic.
First, we have a special issue about Sonic’s “900th” adventure, which appears to be commemorating Sonic’s 900th issue of sequential storytelling, including all the comics and manga released over the decades (which you can read about here, FYI, though I really need to add Sonic Adventures & fix some typ-os). Check out the solicit below:
Saving the world is a piece of cake when you’re a speedy blue hedgehog. And Sonic is about to go on his 900th world-saving adventure! Sonic and his friends are playing a game of hot potato! Only the potato is the Warp Topaz, and it could warp the whole world into oblivion! The gang is passing off the Warp Topaz in a relarace to get rid of it once and for all.
The story will retail for $5.99 and feature contributions from “various” writers and artists. Amongst the writers, Ian Flynn has confirmed he’s writing the comic’s bookend framing device. Daniel Barnes (Scrapnik Island) and Aaron Hammerstrom have also been confirmed. Aaron Hammerstrom will also be penciling his story, and Mauro Fonseca will also be penciling a story. Nathalie Fourdraine and Reggie Graham have both been confirmed for colors, and Rik Mack will be handling some of the issue’s inks.
The comic will also have seven different covers, all from pretty notable Sonic comic artists. Easily the most surprising (and most familiar, for our older British readers) is legendary Sonic the Comic artist Richard Elson. His cover was not among the ones shown today, unfortunately.
In addition to elson, we’ve got other legendary Sonic artists such as Tracy Yardley!, Jon Gray, Yuji Uekawa, Adam Bryce Thomas, Evan Stanley, and Nathalie Fourdraine. You can check out Uekawa’s (B) ,Thomas’ (D), and Fourdraine’s (retail incentive) covers below:
Next, we have “Sonic the Hedgehog Endless Summer,” which is part of a larger line of IDW one-shots of summer-centered stories featuring other characters including My Little Pony, TMNT, and Dungeons and Dragons.
We’re bringing you an endless summer with everyone’s favorite characters in four unique one-shots! Wave goodbye to the office and say hello to the beach! Sonic drags Jewel on a well-deserved beach day to spend time with her besties, Tangle and Whisper! But when they all settle in for some rest and relaxation…they realize the Babylon Rogues had the same idea… at the same beach. The only way to settle this is with a totally tubular beach showdown!
The issue will feature writing by Gale Galligan and art by Tracy Yardley! and retail for $7.99. It will also feature three covers from Tracy Yardley! (cover A), Jack Lawerence and Reggie Graham (cover B), and Natalie Haines (retail incentive cover). There will also be a coloring book version of Yardley’s cover. You can check out all of these covers below:
Finally, we have issue 64, which’ll be a special Silver-centered issue featuring two stories. The story is part of a larger story arc about the villain Mimic infiltrating the Diamond Cutters. This will, oddly enough, be the second time Silver has attempted to weed out a potential traitor in a Sonic comic.
This issue is all about Silver the Hedgehog! First, he’s incredibly suspicious of the Diamond Cutter’s new member and he jumps to a conclusion that leads him to some hasty accusations. Awkwardness ensues. Then, Blaze comforts Silver as they bond over being away from home and in Sonic’s world.
The comic will retail for $3.99 and feature writing from Evan Stanley, who is writing the comic’s main story, and Ian Flynn, who will be writing the back up. It will also feature interior art by Aarom Hammerstrom and Evan Stanley, as well as three covers from Jack Lawerence (A), Jennifer Hernandez (B), and Nathalie Fourdraine (retail incentive). Check them out below:
Although these comics are all currently scheduled for August, this could change in the future, as IDW has been known to delay comics. Stay tuned for future IDW Sonic updates!
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Shadow fans, rejoice! According to IDW Sonic comics writer and artist Evan Stanley, SEGA has established some revised guidelines on how to work with the moody anti-hero, opening the door for Stanley, Flynn and co to further develop his character arc in the future.
Addressing questions about the “red tape” around writing for Shadow, Stanley revealed on Tumblr that the guidelines have become a lot clearer in recent times, allowing more freedom for writers looking to flesh out his character on paper.
We’ve gotten some clearer, more workable guidelines for how to handle [Shadow]! I had very little trouble writing his part in the upcoming issues, and SEGA’s notes actually feed me up to write him more how I’d like to.
Whereas in the past, SEGA’s strict guidelines surrounding Shadow only left enough room for comic authors to write him in as a rather two-dimensional character, there now seems to be an active interest from the Sonic Brand team to make the Chaos Controller more understood. Stanley recalls a recent situation in a separate Tumblr post about this and how SEGA’s change of heart has opened up doors for the character.
Shadow being more understood is precisely what happened. I’m reminded of a scene in an upcoming issue where in the original draft Shadow acted without explaining himself, only giving an aggressive, confident response to his team-mates. This isn’t how I would have liked him to handle the situation. But in previous issues, this is how I’ve been asked to write him… so that’s what I did.
So you can imagine my delight to get the script back from SEGA with the request to have him instead explain his reasoning when it makes sense to do so and to showcase his intelligence, pragmatism, and capacity for strategy in the future. Not only does this make him much more workable within storylines, it helps make it clear that his “pride” is, from his perspective, a non-judgemental statement of fact and not an ego trip. It’s also an honest reflection of reality– 99 out of 100 times he really IS that good.
It all sounds really promising, and hopefully this will mean Shadow will have the space to grow as a character and not just be some grumpy git without much of a motive anymore.
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After well over a year of build up, we are finally reaching IDW Sonic’s 50th issue. The issue is scheduled to release just a day before Sonic’s 31st anniversary, on June 22. Curiously, while the issue’s listed price is $7.99, double the comics usual price, one of the covers has a list price of $3.99.
Check out the solicit and the two released covers below. The primary cover features art by Yui Karasuno, who has frequently done art for Sonic Team in the past. The retail incentive cover was drawn by Nathalie Fourdraine. A currently-unrevealed third cover will feature art by the comic’s lead writer, Evan Stanley. This issue will be written by Ian Flynn, and feature interior art by Adam Bryce Thomas.
(W) Ian Flynn (A) Adam Bryce Thomas (CA) Sonic Team (Yui Karasuno)
Sonic the Hedgehog #50 is here! To celebrate, this issue features two Sonics! And two Tails! Wait… One of them is green… And the other has tails made out of water?! Imposters! And they’re working with Dr. Starline?! After assembling a squad of bad guys, kidnapping Belle, starting a forest fire, and causing chaos in Central City, Starline is finally ready to unleash his monstrous imposters: Surge and Kit! Will his meticulous planning be enough to defeat Sonic and Dr. Eggman? The throne is only big enough for one!
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We’re just a week away from the release of IDW’s Sonic 2 prequel comic, and you all know what that means: preview pages!
Courtesy of Apple Books, the fist three pages of the comic have been released. The pages are drawn by Adam Bryce Thomas and feature writing by Keil Phegley. In addition to the pages, we also got the titles for all five stories: Hedgehog Day Afternoon, Always Bet on Red, Mushroom With a View, The Secret of My Distress, and Two For the Road. If I had to guess, “Mushroom With a View” will be the Robotnik story that had input from Jim Carrey.
The comic will be available next week, on March 23!
You can check out the preview pages and comic synopsis below:
Catch up with Sonic and friends-if you can-in this exclusive prequel to 2022’s most anticipated family film! Life is good in Green Hills for Sonic the Hedgehog . . . maybe too good. He’s starting to get bored, and when Sonic gets bored, things become a lot less boring for everyone else-fast! Quicker than you can say “Chili Dog,” the Fastest Thing Alive is saving the day and causing all sorts of chaos along the way! Plus, new and returning characters starring in the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 film take the lead in stories of their own!
via Apple Books Store Page
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The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.
Sonic comic writer and artist Evan Stanley has just revealed her alternate cover for IDW’s Issue #37, which depicts Tangle and Belle running headlong into some new adventure, while the blue blur, Amy and Tails look at… something, with expressions of mild trepidation. Check it out below:
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Chao are mysterious little creatures, aren’t they? According to an official writer for the IDW Sonic Comic, SEGA has confirmed that they’re genderless!
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IDW has released solicitations for October’s Sonic issues. Sonic #34 is features writing and art from Evan Stanley, as well as a cover from Abby Bulmer. Meanwhile, Sonic the Hedgehog: Bad Guys #2 will feature writing from long-time Sonic scribe Ian Flynn, and will also feature art from Jack Lawerence and a cove from Diana Skelly.
Check out the solicitations and covers below!
Sonic the Hedgehog #34:
It’s off to the races with Cream, Cheese, Amy, and Rouge! They have to keep up their winning streak or surrender Cheese to Clutch’s evil… clutches! Meanwhile, Sonic and Tails are being watched by a mysterious figure in Eggman’s seemingly abandoned base and Shadow investigates a mystery!
Sonic #34 will be in stores on October 14.
Sonic the Hedgehog: Bad Guys #2
From Sonic veterans Ian Flynn and Jack Lawrence comes “Smash & Grab,” an exciting story jam-packed with bad guys and badniks!
Some of Sonic’s worst enemies are back and badder than ever! Dr. Starline, Dr. Eggman’s former-right hand, has brought together Mimic, Rough, Tumble, and Zavok and promised them even more incredible power… if they can stop fighting each other and start fighting badniks to get to it!
Sonic the Hedgehog: Bad Guys #2 will be available on October 28.
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After being delayed from its original April release date due to the pandemic, IDW’s Sonic annual comic is finally available!
The extra-large $8 comic features six stories from six different writers. , including Ian Flynn, Evan Stanley, Caleb Goellner, Sarah Graley, Sam King and Gigi Dutreix! Each story also features art by Jon Gray, Evan Stanley, Aaron Hammerstom, Lamar Wells, Jamal Peppers, and Abigail Bulmer. Here’s the solicitation from IDW:
“Untold Tales of the Metal Virus!” As the Metal Virus plague-Dr. Eggman’s latest plan that turns all organic life into zombified robots-spreads across Sonic’s world, none can escape its path! Join Sonic and some of his greatest friends and worst foes in six incredible, previously untold stories about how the world reacts to this latest threat!
For a full list of the stories, credits, as well as the various alternate covers and preview pages, check out the gallery below:
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The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.
After a months long indefinite delay, IDW’s Sonic comics will finally start shipping again, starting with issue 28.
Check out the full list of confirmed release dates below!
Sonic the Hedgehog #28: June 24
Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 6: Last Minute: June 24
Sonic the Hedgehog Annual 2020: July 8
Sonic the Hedgehog #29: July 22
Sonic the Hedgehog #30: August 5
Sonic the Hedgehog Spanish Edition Volume 1: ¡Consecuencias!: August 12
Sonic the Hedgehog #31: August 19
Sonic the Hedgehog #32: September 2
Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 7: All or Nothing: October 20
Evan Stanley will be taking over as writer for a time starting with issue #33, which currently doesn’t have a release date. Flynn will be returning to the series in 2021 with a new villain-focused mini series, “Sonic the Hedgehog: Bad Guys,” as well as some stories in the main book.
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While the Sonic comic may be on hiatus due to the Coronavirus, plans for future issues are still going full steam ahead. As reported on comicbook.com, Sonic artist, Even Stanley will take over as both writer and illustrator of IDW’s Sonic The Hedgehog comic book as of issue 33. The story will take place just after the “Metal Virus” arc ends and will be a more lighthearted tale called “Chao Races and Badnik Bases.” Continue reading Evan Stanley takes over the Sonic comic while Ian Flynn pens “Bad Guys”
The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.
The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.
IDW has announced that the Sonic comic will be getting its very first oversized issue next March with Sonic the Hedgehog Annual 2019. This 48-page comic is not only a first for the IDW series, but also the first oversized comic Sonic has starred in in over 18 years.
A big comic requires a lot of people to make and the list of creators for this comic is sizable. This issue will be featuring work from series veterans Ian Flynn, Evan Stanley, Jennifer Hernandez, Jonathan Gray, Caleb Goellner, Diana Skelly, and Gigi Dutreix. The comic will also be introducing new creators from other IDW comics, including Jack Lawerence (Transformers: Lost Light), Cavan Scott (Star Wars Adventures), and James Kochalka (Johnny Boo).
In addition to all of these new creators, the comic will also feature a cover variant from veteran Sonic game artist Yuji Uekawa. Uekawa is best known for his work in the Sonic Adventure games, which introduced Sonic’s modern, green-eyed look. This cover will mark Uekawa’s debut in Sonic comics.
In a press release IDW gave exclusively to ComicBook.com, Uekawa gave his thoughts on IDW’s original characters, which are featured in his cover. “I am really happy to draw IDW’s original characters altogether with Sonic and his friends, as I had never imagined that I would draw these characters as official artwork. As with many IDW Sonic series fans, I personally love Tangle and Whisper, and I am very much looking forward to seeing their further adventures with Sonic, as well as seeing original characters in future issues!”
The other two variant covers will feature art from Hernandez and Nathalie Fourdraine.
The issue will cost $7.99, and the number of individual stories it will feature are currently unknown. Stay tuned for further details!
UPDATE: Sonic comic editor David Mariotte has confirmed that the comic will feature five stories:
A Tangle and Whisper story from Ian Flynn and Jennifer Hernandez.
A Sonic and Tails story from Caleb Goellner and Jack Lawerence.
A Rouge the Bat story from Cavan Scott and Diana Skelly.
A Sonic fan club story from James Kochalka and Jon Gray.
A Blaze and Silver story from Evan Stanley and Gigi Dutriex.
Check out Uekawa’s full cover below:
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Pictures courtesy of Christian Gausin and 50 Rings Photography. This past Sunday was the first ever gathering of Sonic Revolution at the Holiday Inn at Buena Park. It’s the largest organized Sonic convention in the U.S. similar to “Summer of Sonic” in the UK, but still fairly small so far. We also are encouraging other Sonic fans across the U.S. to make their own Sonic conventions or at least a “meet and greet”. Sonic Revolution was founded by Shayne and Charles Edwards, Christian Gausin and Lidice Garcia. It started with them organizing “Sonic Boom U.S. West Chapter” (it was in response to Sonic Boom moving to St Louis) in September of 2013. During our little meet and greet, she asked if we’d like to be involved in building up the community for a full on Sonic convention and we were all in!
The gang who made it happen.
So how was it? It was great! We had some wonderful guests and a nice amount of attendees. Guests included gaming composer legend Tommy Tallarico, Archie Comics Evan Stanley, artists Elson Wong and Devin Taylor, my brother John and his girlfriend Debbie selling her hand-made jewelry, Darian Gonzalez with his very Sonic-like fan game “Bingo the Multiva” Chris Wilcots of fan film “Sonic Prologue” and rock band Serenity Seven. Not to mention the extra surprise of Sega’s Aaron Webber and Stephen Frost who stopped by to check out the event. We even had a real life hedgehog show up!
“Where’s Amy at?”
The schedule of events included a cosplay contest, a panel with Tommy Tallarico talking about his life and video game music (he confirmed that Michael Jackson was the composer on Sonic 3), two concerts by Serenity Seven, Chris Wilcots showed off two exclusive scenes from his upcoming fan film “Sonic Prologue”, Aaron Webber and Stephen Frost had a Q&A panel (or course someone shouted “When do we get Shenmue 3?”), a very tough trivia contest (hosted and prizes supplied by yours truly), a one minute art contest in which Evan and Elson had to draw Sticks auditioning for Sonic Boom, a gaming competition (with several consoles in the back showing off many Sonic games) and finally, a raffle for some cool prizes and one more concert by Serenity Seven. It was an absolute blast and I can’t wait until next year! Let’s get to the pics!
Our Gaming Tournament booth.
Tanner “Ogilvie” Bates showing off his display of Sonic merchandise for sale.
Our program guide.
Blaze and Rouge enjoying themselves.
Bishop’s son enjoying the show.
Now THAT’S a big Sonic.
Tails – Don’t worry Shadow, I’m sure there’s someone who wants a giant, ugly Shadow plush.
More of Tanner’s merch.
Bishop Gahram’s Silver poster.
Rouge with what appears to be a piece of the Master emerald.
Letting people in to enjoy the show.
Blaze the Cat.
Shard’s here and ready to party!
Mariaaaa!!
Aaron and Steven Arrive on the scene.
“Sonic the what now? Never heard of it.”
Tommy Tallarico hangs out with Serenity Seven.
Tommy talks to the crowd about his music career.
Aaron and Stephen enjoying the show.
It was so cool getting to meet a musical legend like Mr. Tallarico.
This father and son were in line at least 3 hours before the show opened
“Gasp!” It’s the Chaos Emeralds!
“Time to go super!”
Some classic Sonic merchandise.
“Hmmmm yes. This does play quite like Sonic. You’ll be hearing from our lawyers soon.”
Here, Aaron is showing off a fan’s concept art for a game idea Stephen had were Tails (who’s deathly allergic to bee’s in his official bio) is being chased by Charmy and the object of the game is to keep the pair apart.
This is Aaron idea for a game. Big’s Big Fishing Adventure 3.
Guess who won first place in the cosplay contest?
Aaron and Stephen answering questions on stage.
The fans soaking in the Q&A panel.
Fan’s at Evan, Elson and Devin’s booth.
Founders Shayne and Lidice enjoying the fruits of their labor.
Evan won the one minute art contest with her drawing of Sticks jugging. Elson was apparently drawing her on a surfboard,but didn’t quite get to finish.
Well, that’s a wrap for now. There’s plenty more pics on our Sonic Revolution Facebook page at www.facebook.com/groups/sonicrevolution . There, you can check ou-wait! What’s th-..
Oh dear lord!!
RUN AARON AND STEPHEN! RUUNNN!!
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To those unfamiliar, the Sonic Comic Dramas aren’t mere scans of the actual comics themselves! Far from it, in fact: voice acting, sound effects, special effects, camera pans, original art, and music all contribute to the Dramas, and I’m not kidding when I say it’s high quality work right there! Reading the comics suddenly feels a whole lot more cinematic now!
All I’m missing is the popcorn, but that can easily be rectified.
So, whether or not you follow the Archie comics, get a load of the latest entry in the series! Adapting select scenes from issues #217 and #218, we take a look at some of Bunnie Rabbot’s backstory in A Rabbot Reunion! Featuring Kovabomb as Sonic and Evan Stanley as Bunnie!
In the meantime, why not check out the previous entries of Elson’s animated adaptations as well? Links are available after the jump!
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While at Comic Con Alex and I got the chance to interview the recently promoted executive director of editorial Paul Kaminski, art director Jon “Dubs” Gray and artist Evan Stanley. We discuss all things Sonic and Megaman and even throw in the Mighty Crusaders for a little variety. It was pretty hard to get an interview schedule in as Archie booth was incredibly busy this year, so you’ll notice that the interview is in two parts. We have the second part of the interview in the comments page. I think the second part came out much better as it was more off the cuff and natural and my stomach isn’t as stuck out, making me look like I’m 9 months pregnant. Enjoy!
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Here’s the Q&A session from the Sonic/Mega Man panel that took place just over a week ago at Comic Con International. Artists Jon Gray and Evan Stanley were there along with Editor Paul Kaminski and Archie president Mike Perrilto among others. Mike and Paul are still arguing on whether Rotor Sucks or not, but everyone shows their love for the freedom fighting clam, Bivalve. I’ll be showing photos from the panel in a later update and my interview with Archie Editor Paul Kaminski will also be up later this week. The audio kinda echos through the room, so I’d recommend some headphones so you can hear what they are saying. Enjoy!
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Okay, Stop me if you’ve heard this before…
So Sonic and his friends go to the Shazamazon to help two tribes fight off the Dark-Egg Legion. However, these tribes known as the Wolf Pack and the Felidae (Lead by Grand Chief Lupe and Queen Hathor) have an uneasy truce with one another and are always at the brink of…oh you HAVE heard this story before! Like, two years ago, right? Well, get ready to hear it again as Sonic comics 237 and 238 give you that always puzzling question…”Was this trip REALLY necessary?”
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