#224
May 2003
#224
May 2003
CONTROL ZONE
Hey Boomers!
Spick, span and still sharper than a cyber razor cut, Sonic the Comic (STC to the discerning Boomer) is back! Yes, after heading out of STC offices back in 1998, I took the seas of the Internet – and now STC is joining me with its first online issue. It’s hard work being a trend-setter, Boomers.
Readers old and new should be sure to clue themselves up on recent happenings in the world of STC in the Data Zone at the top of each story before taking the plunge into Sonic’s latest adventure, Drowned! And if that wasn’t excitement enough, Tails is pitted against fan favourite Nack the Weasel in a new 2-part story, Just Like Old Crimes, and we go back to the bad old days of Robotnik’s rule for an untold tale from the past of Amy and Tekno!
Not every character is best pleased though: I hear Knuckles is rather miffed at being side-lined and is even now planning to score a piece of the online action… If you want to see him back, be sure to speak out at Speedlines!
And speaking of future STC… check out this exclusive sneak peek at issue 225!
DATA ZONE
The Story So Far...
Sonic’s battle with the terrifying Chaos creature was going badly until Ebony showed up with her friend, Super Sonic.
Super had split from Sonic and had become a pacifist, never daring to use the terrible power that the chaos energy bestowed upon him.
That all changed when he absorbed Chaos’ energy and reverted to a terrifying monster.
Luckily, Ebony was able to merge Sonic and Super again – back to the way it was in the beginning.
With Chaos destroyed, the Chaos Emeralds recovered and Robotnik captured, it appears that Sonic’s troubles are finally over.
Now he has time to embark on a new mission – to find the Floating Island which has sunk beneath the ocean!
Characters
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COMICS
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COVER
SONIC
TAILS
AMY
PINUPS
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NEXT ISSUE
SPEEDLINES
In order to have some letters ready for this edition (as well as some invaluable last-minute external advice) we gave a couple of lucky fans – and a few creators – a sneak peek at this issue. Excerpts from their letters back follow!
Two Thumbs Up!
Dear Megadroid,
I really enjoyed reading the work so far. It’s incredibly strong material, particularly in page layout/story-telling and panel composition…I am staggered at the quality of the artwork. “Amy Vs Tekno” suffered from being coloured in pencil; not that it was bad as such, but it compared poorly to the digital colouring of the other two strips. Digital colour is not as straightforward as many people think, and whoever handled colour chores on the first two strips demonstrated the sort of subtlety and confidence I’d associate with a pro. The underwater scenes in “Drowned”, and the use of blurs to create depth and isolate the key elements in “Just Like Old Crimes” were very effective.
The writing is a step or two behind the art. I felt like I’d arrived in the middle of of a story in “Drowned”, and although it was possible to follow what was happening, I could have handled a slower pace and more dialogue. The characterisation was as good as one might expect from a group of longtime committed fans, but it was matched by good solid backgrounds and accomplished background action. Again, it’s just top stuff; better than many popular webcomics I’ve seen.
So, two thumbs up 🙂 Whoever is responsible for this work should be very proud of their achievements, and I hope (knowing how hard it is to maintain any kind of work rate on a hobby basis) that you can keep it going.
Best,
Bob Corona
Bob Corona was an artist for STC for five years and his artwork included the first ever Shortfuse the Cybernik story.
Thanks for the great comments and advice, Bob, and keep reading!
Whatever happened to Knuckles?
Dear Megadroid,
Congratulations on restarting a fantastic comic. It must have been difficult, but this webcomic keeps most of the charm of the paper version. It’s also great to see a decent webcomic to follow the legacy of the original STC. I’m hopeful the comic can go from strength to strength.
In the Control Zone you mention that Knuckles may appear in the future. Are there plans for any other characters to return in STC soon? Maybe a poll so readers can ask for who they’d hope to see in the future? Or maybe even the re-introduction of non-Sonic Team characters in their own unique stories (for example, like Sparkster)?
Anyway, great site so far and long may this excellence continue.
Dean Rivers
Knuckles will return in the very next issue! As for who else will be returning, I’d love to tell you… but it would ruin the surprise!
The BIG Issue
Dear Megadroid,
It’s probably no surprise to anyone that I’m most interested in the first story. Don’t get me wrong the other two are very nice too but I feel the closest to ‘Drowned’ as it’s a straight continuation of the stuff that Rich and I were doing. And there was one brilliant idea in this story, the moment when Sonic was in danger of changing and realised that instead of a feeling of hatred and anger he felt a kind of peacefulness. That’s a fantastic idea and I really wish that I’d thought of it. I could write you a story now about a whole bunch of issues that could come out of this.
But I guess I’m just going to have to wait and see what you come up with. However if I don’t see Big pretty soon I’m going to be very disappointed.
Nigel Kitching
Nigel Kitching wrote many of the stories you’ll remember from STC, including The Sonic Terminator and Running Wild.
Big will definitely be back, but that’s all I can say for now!
Elson's Choice
Dear Megadroid,
What can I say ? STC online. From the cover to the last page, it’s great. I think that your many months of hard work have resulted in a site that you can be justifiably proud of. The organisation and dedication that goes into achieving something like this is quite extraordinary and few people would be able to get a project of this magnitude to a state of completion, without a serious amount of funds. You deserve serious praise for what you have achieved.
I think that you pretty much retain the spirit of the original comic, though with a leaning toward the more elongated designs that the characters take on in the later games. I found the whole thing thoroughly entertaining.
For those of us who worked on the original comic it is a humbling experience to realise that something we were involved in helped to inspire others to produce work of this quality.
Good luck for all of the future issues. And thanks for all of your efforts so far. Can’t wait for issue 225.
All the best,
Richard Elson
Richard Elson spent eight and half years as an eye-popping art hume on STC. As you say, Rich, the original creators were an inspiration. We couldn’t have done it without you all!
Join the conversation!
Hume-in-Charge: Michael Corker
Special thanks this issue to:
Ed Reynolds, Abby Bulmer, Michael Corker, Nigel Kitching, Richard Elson, Dave Bulmer, Thalia Evans, Zak Simmonds-Hurn, Tom Huxley, Bob Corona, Dean Rivers
Sonic the Comic is copyright © Egmont Magazines Ltd. Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters © SEGA. Other characters belong to their creators. Used without permission. Published by the Sonic the Comic online team. This comic is only available on the internet.