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Okay so I was on TikTok and came across this, and I have thoughts that I need to say

Now, obviously the implication with these two images is that sonic hoping/thinking Eggman could be better is wrong and not in character or something along those lines

I don’t think either of these pictures are out of character for sonic though let me explain

Sonic from my understanding of his character will always lend a hand to others. Will always try to help and tries to see the good in everyone.

That’s why he offers a hand to others to shadow blaze and even metal sometimes. Because he believes they can be good, they can be better.

And he’s right most of the time. Shadow was someone that had gone through terrible things and was hurting badly and taking out his anger on others, blaze with someone who is isolated and burdened with a lot of responsibility and well, not a bad person. She didn’t fully understand how to work with others for goal how to rely on that. And while with metal, he’s rejected his offer several times and we’ve seen the cruelty metal is capable of, we also know robots don’t have to be evil they can choose to be better. We’ve seen that with Gamma, emerl, gemerl and even though he’s not Canon anymore, shard.

And if I’m remembering this correctly, the panel from IDW the user used is after the stuff with Mr. Tinker, so sonic Knows Eggman is capable of good if he ever chose to do it but he doesn’t

So yeah, Sonic hoping Eggman could be a better person isn’t out of character, but neither is him knowing Eggman never will be.

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I was wrong! 79 doesn't come out till the 25th! Oh well!

IDW'S SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, ISSUE #78 - THOUGHTS

Hello, Friends and Romans!

A new issue of IDW Sonic drops tonight, so it's time we dove into the last one!

I believe this issue will be included in the Cause and Effect TPB, so I'm gonna go ahead and call this Cause and Effect, Part 3.

Like parts 1 & 2, the writing of this issue comes to us courtesy of Ian Flynn, while we also get inks from Matt Froese, colors from Valentina Pinto, and delicious, delicious pencils from Aaron Hammerstrom, of whom I am growing to be an increasingly annoying fanboy.

Part 3 here follows up on the storyline of Tails, Amy, and Blaze travelling to the Restoration's regional offices to see how they're faring after the fall of Restoration HQ at the end of Collision Course. This little trek gets us all sorts of neat little callbacks and fun new characters designs as we see that the Restoration seems to be thriving even without a central headquarters to organize all of its branches.

Folks seemed to really like the rabbit lady from Barricade Town, and we also got to see the monkey and their raccon? chipmunk? squirrel? friend from The Last Minute! Calling these two back was a neat way to give us a glimpse at what happens to some of these nameless side characters after their big moment in the main story has passed.

Speaking of callbacks...

In the second half of this issue, we get to visit Turtleshell Island!

For those who don't recognize this place, it is very briefly mentioned by Amy way back in Issue 21 as she's managing Restoration rescue missions during the Metal Virus Saga. It's really cool that we get to spend some time exploring a place that was just an off-hand mention way back when! And it's a super-unique setting, too! You know how I love my fun environments in Sonic stories, and this place is exactly the kind of thing I'm into.

This is also where we get the reappearance of Surge and Kit, who are continuing their journey to become heroes - or at least, Surge is. Last time we saw these two, Kit was forming plans to cause crises for Surge to solve without her knowing, and we see that plan beginning to play out here, as Kit plants an explosive that sends the town into chaos.

From here, this issue is pretty much entirely action, though we do get a little bit of character drama with Surge haphazardly trying to solve the problem on her own, drawing the ire of Blaze in the process.

It's a cool little moment, but they make up pretty quick and work together to save the town. I wish we'd gotten more of a real confrontation between Blaze and Surge, but I think this is the best I can hope for with the direction these characters are heading. I just wanna see more Sonic game characters who aren't Sonic fight this Sonic comic character who was made to beat Sonic!

We get this little introspective moment from Blaze as she pulls off her part of the plan, and while it's nice to give her some character focus, I do feel like the execution here is a little awkward. She got similar moments way back in The Battle for Angel Island, and I felt like it was kinda clunky there, too. Like these are big, climactic conclusions to a character arc that... hasn't really happened?

Like, I know her character arc happened over the course of Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure, but those wrapped up! They're over! If we're gonna give Blaze these moments where she has to dig deep and find what drives her, I'd really like her to get some more buildup to those points instead of the story showing this to us every time she does anything.

I guess what I'm really saying is that I can tell Ian Flynn really loves Blaze as a character, but I think I'd like to get a honest-to-god Blaze storyline or miniseries to justify these dramatic character beats.

As the story wraps up and the day is saved, we get one last little glimpse at what to expect from Issue #79 - the long-awaited final confrontation between Whisper and Mimic.

All-in-all, I think this issue was... fine. Like, there was nothing bad, it just didn't do a ton to excite me beyond getting to see more Hammerstrom pencils. I was happy to see how well the Restoration is doing in the aftermath of the Clean Sweepstakes, but that's partly because I'm glad to see that they don't need Sonic and friends to clean up their messes.

If I'm being honest, I like the Restoration as a story element, but... I'm growing a little weary of it being the centerpiece of this story. I'm reading this story because I'm a Sonic fan! I wanna see Sonic characters going on Sonic adventures - travelling through Zones and collecting Chaos Emeralds! Deep down, I'm kind of hoping that, going forward, the Restoration can become more of a background element and I get to see more of what I'm here for.

Again, I like all this stuff, so I won't be heartbroken if the Restoration continues to be the main focus going forward, but I'd prefer some other stories for a while.

Before that, though, we gotta see how this whole Mimic storyline wraps up, so I'm gonna go read Issue 79 now. I think it's out? Guess I'll find out.

As always, thanks for reading!

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IDW'S SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, ISSUE #78 - THOUGHTS

Hello, Friends and Romans!

A new issue of IDW Sonic drops tonight, so it's time we dove into the last one!

I believe this issue will be included in the Cause and Effect TPB, so I'm gonna go ahead and call this Cause and Effect, Part 3.

Like parts 1 & 2, the writing of this issue comes to us courtesy of Ian Flynn, while we also get inks from Matt Froese, colors from Valentina Pinto, and delicious, delicious pencils from Aaron Hammerstrom, of whom I am growing to be an increasingly annoying fanboy.

Part 3 here follows up on the storyline of Tails, Amy, and Blaze travelling to the Restoration's regional offices to see how they're faring after the fall of Restoration HQ at the end of Collision Course. This little trek gets us all sorts of neat little callbacks and fun new characters designs as we see that the Restoration seems to be thriving even without a central headquarters to organize all of its branches.

Folks seemed to really like the rabbit lady from Barricade Town, and we also got to see the monkey and their raccon? chipmunk? squirrel? friend from The Last Minute! Calling these two back was a neat way to give us a glimpse at what happens to some of these nameless side characters after their big moment in the main story has passed.

Speaking of callbacks...

In the second half of this issue, we get to visit Turtleshell Island!

For those who don't recognize this place, it is very briefly mentioned by Amy way back in Issue 21 as she's managing Restoration rescue missions during the Metal Virus Saga. It's really cool that we get to spend some time exploring a place that was just an off-hand mention way back when! And it's a super-unique setting, too! You know how I love my fun environments in Sonic stories, and this place is exactly the kind of thing I'm into.

This is also where we get the reappearance of Surge and Kit, who are continuing their journey to become heroes - or at least, Surge is. Last time we saw these two, Kit was forming plans to cause crises for Surge to solve without her knowing, and we see that plan beginning to play out here, as Kit plants an explosive that sends the town into chaos.

From here, this issue is pretty much entirely action, though we do get a little bit of character drama with Surge haphazardly trying to solve the problem on her own, drawing the ire of Blaze in the process.

It's a cool little moment, but they make up pretty quick and work together to save the town. I wish we'd gotten more of a real confrontation between Blaze and Surge, but I think this is the best I can hope for with the direction these characters are heading. I just wanna see more Sonic game characters who aren't Sonic fight this Sonic comic character who was made to beat Sonic!

We get this little introspective moment from Blaze as she pulls off her part of the plan, and while it's nice to give her some character focus, I do feel like the execution here is a little awkward. She got similar moments way back in The Battle for Angel Island, and I felt like it was kinda clunky there, too. Like these are big, climactic conclusions to a character arc that... hasn't really happened?

Like, I know her character arc happened over the course of Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure, but those wrapped up! They're over! If we're gonna give Blaze these moments where she has to dig deep and find what drives her, I'd really like her to get some more buildup to those points instead of the story showing this to us every time she does anything.

I guess what I'm really saying is that I can tell Ian Flynn really loves Blaze as a character, but I think I'd like to get a honest-to-god Blaze storyline or miniseries to justify these dramatic character beats.

As the story wraps up and the day is saved, we get one last little glimpse at what to expect from Issue #79 - the long-awaited final confrontation between Whisper and Mimic.

All-in-all, I think this issue was... fine. Like, there was nothing bad, it just didn't do a ton to excite me beyond getting to see more Hammerstrom pencils. I was happy to see how well the Restoration is doing in the aftermath of the Clean Sweepstakes, but that's partly because I'm glad to see that they don't need Sonic and friends to clean up their messes.

If I'm being honest, I like the Restoration as a story element, but... I'm growing a little weary of it being the centerpiece of this story. I'm reading this story because I'm a Sonic fan! I wanna see Sonic characters going on Sonic adventures - travelling through Zones and collecting Chaos Emeralds! Deep down, I'm kind of hoping that, going forward, the Restoration can become more of a background element and I get to see more of what I'm here for.

Again, I like all this stuff, so I won't be heartbroken if the Restoration continues to be the main focus going forward, but I'd prefer some other stories for a while.

Before that, though, we gotta see how this whole Mimic storyline wraps up, so I'm gonna go read Issue 79 now. I think it's out? Guess I'll find out.

As always, thanks for reading!

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IDW Sonic #69 - 70 in nutshell

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everyone who ever tried to kill you failed btw

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When people graffiti on buildings: Yes! Ha ha! Fuck yes!

When people graffiti on rockfaces and cliffsides on hiking trails: What the absolute fuck.

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ohg

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Men of the Mega variety

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IDW'S SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, ISSUE #77 - THOUGHTS

It's been a bit of a long break, but there's finally a new issue coming out tonight, so it's finally time to review the most recent one to date!

Issue 77 marks the second part of what the Trade Paperbacks are calling the Cause and Effect arc. The solicitations call it part 2 of Scattered Pieces. I think the reality is that Scattered Pieces is going to be a longer arc, and so they're splitting it into two parts for the TPB releases - I think this might also have been the case with Phantom Riders, which was why we got Extreme Competition and Collision Course.

This issue follows up on the first set-up story we got in Issue 76, in which Sonic joins forces with the Chaotix to investigate Clutch's whereabouts as well as the continued operations of Clean Sweep Inc. and potentially the location of the Chaos Emerald stolen from Tails' lab.

Lines this time around are done by Adam Bryce Thomas, with colors by Leonardo Ito de Oliveira, formerly just Leonardo Ito. I suppose it's only fair that Aaron Hammerstrom and Min Ho Kim would get a break eventually, and Adam's art is always good stuff, especially in more action-heavy stories.

That being said, this issue... doesn't really have all that much action. There's a short little scuffle with Rough & Tumble, who now seem to be in charge of Clutch's old base of operations, White Park Chateau.

Other than that, though, this issue's a pretty quiet one that focuses, at first, on comedy over action or drama. The comedy's not bad, though, and it's always fun get Sonic, the Chaotix, and the Skunk Bros. in the same place. The setup seems tailor-made (heh) for goofs and gags.

The story is not without it's more reserved moments, though, and they're used to make it sink in just how off-putting White Park is when there's nobody there.

Last time we saw this place, it was a bustling resort, so seeing it all empty like this gives it kind of a creepy, liminal feeling.

The issue truly takes a turn for the more grounded and dramatic, with the return of Clutch.

This opens up a whole ton of questions. Last time we saw this guy, he was being hauled away as a prisoner of Dr. Eggman - who isn't exactly known for his merciful touch.

It isn't long before we get the answers to this and many other questions, as Clutch explains that he simply waited for Eggman to get distracted before making his escape, and that the remnants of Clean Sweep are all just automated systems continuing to follow their programming until they ultimately fall apart.

Of course, all these answers seem a little too convenient, and those among you with keen eyes might have noticed the fancy new cane Clutch is rocking - one that is distinctly different from his old one.

One thing is clear, though. Whatever position he finds himself in, Clutch is absolutely miserable. And it's not long before we find out why.

While Sonic and the Chaotix take off to investigate one of Clean Sweep's supposedly automated facilities, Clutch sneaks off to a secret chamber to converse with his new employer, Dr. Eggman.

Yes, Clean Sweep Inc. is now a front for the Eggman Empire, allowing the doctor to discreetly spread his influence and recycle his fallen forces.

The story also wastes no time in showing us exactly how Eggman is keeping Clutch in line, as the second Clutch tries to withhold information from the doctor, Eggman becomes insistent, causing Clutch to remove his hat and show us this weird, mechanical spider-thing clamped to his head.

Now, we don't know what this thing is - could be some kind of mind control device, or an electric shock administrator, or even something as simple as a bomb. Whatever the case, it's apparent that Clutch does not like having it there.

This really sucks for Clutch.

But this rules for me.

This is exactly the kind of thing I've been missing since the old Archie days - moves like these that really show off Eggman's boundless cruelty, and the stakes having him in play imposes on every other figure on this world's stage.

This also seems to be the first step toward something I've been hoping we get for some time: Eggman having semi-independent minions.

Back in Archie, I liked the Dark Egg Legion and I loved the Egg Army. The Chapter-Masters and the Egg Bosses were such a neat element, because, in addition to Eggman and his usual badniks, you also had other villains working under him who had their own personalities, their own agendas, their own approaches to solving problems. It helped sell the idea of the Eggman Empire as an actual, functioning empire because you got to see how Eggman's influence affected different places in different ways.

I'm very excited to see where this goes. even if I'm likely going to have to wait a while.

All-in-all, pretty decent issue. I enjoyed it, though significantly moreso once Clutch hit the scene. Hopefully the next few issues give us just as many neat implications to chew on.

I do plan on talking about Chaos Crisis, the Sonic/DC crossover, at some point, but I think I'm gonna wait until the whole thing is out to tackle that one.

Till then, though, the new issue's been out for about a half hour for me, so I'mma go read that!

Thanks for reading, and I'll catch ya next time!

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i go to the shop and I ask if they have any raspberries. they say no, they used to sell raspberries, but they haven't had any in stock in the last 15 years. I ask if there's somewhere else I can go to buy raspberries. They say no, with confidence and pride, they're the only shop around who has ever sold or will ever sell raspberries. Other shops might sell other fruit, sure, but they have a monopoly on all raspberries forever. I ask if they're possibly planning on them selling them again in future? they say they can't tell me that.

on the way home, I encounter someone eating raspberries. I ask and they tell me that they grow their own, they got some seeds from the shop back in The Raspberry Days and kept them. They take me to a field of many beautiful raspberry plants and invite me to pick my own, they're free for all the town to pick whenever they'd like.

someone comes up behind us. It's the shop manager, President of Nintendo Shuntaro Furukawa. he hatefully throws a bob-omb that blows up and kills both of us instantly for stealing 200 trillion dollars worth of potential Raspberry Shop That Doesn't Do Raspberries Anymore profits that they weren't making and then he turns around to the camera with a big thumbs up and says don't do piracy or something ok please

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i can only imagine batman having to tame shadow when he eventually gets adopted into the batfamily

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HMMMMMMM the BACKstory you sayyyyy???

wait, you designed whisper?

Yes! I designed Whisper, the original Diamond Cutters, Mimic (and Duo), Dr. Starline, Belle, Nite, Don, and Kit (with Mauro Fonseca; we designed Surge and Kit together). I also did Gold the Tenrec and the Bits back in the day.

I've done more, but those are the big ones. Also, not visual design, but I wrote the backstory and personality for Prof. Victoria.

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I can't believe after all the speculation they just randomly dropped a TailsTube episode with Professor Victoria appearing in the flesh on the same day as a Nintendo Direct

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IDW'S SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, ISSUE #76 - THOUGHTS

Well, it's that time once again, friends and Romans. Let's take a look at the current latest issue of IDW Sonic with less than an hour to go before the next release.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Issue 76 kicks off the "Scattered Pieces" arc, which - if we're using the trade paperback releases for our naming schemes - is split into two parts, this first part being called "Cause and Effect."

We are once again blessed with Pencils by Aaron Hammerstrom, and it looks like this might be the last time for a while, so I'm really gonna soak it all in while it lasts. Between him and Min Ho Kim, these last several issues have been the most authentically "Sonic" feeling out of IDW's entire run - at least, in my opinion.

Matt Froese and Valentina Pinto also pair really well with Hammerstrom's work. I hope the three of them get to come together more often in the future.

Plot-wise, this one is pretty chill, with Ian Flynn stepping back into the writers' seat to give us another setup issue for upcoming storylines. Normally, it's easy to moan and complain about the expository issues, but honestly, this has been one of my favorite of the bunch. We get some nice character drama and really solid directions for each of the main groups we'll be following throughout the next leg of the story.

Sonic and the Chaotix

The obvious first character we touch base with is Sonic, who has sought out the Chaotix Detective Agency to ask for their help in doing three things:

Seeking out Clutch the Opossum after he was taken captive by Dr. Eggman

Finding out who is running Clean Sweep Inc. in Clutch's absence

Locating the Chaos Emerald that was stolen from Tails' lab in Central City

When Sonic first approaches them, something happens that I was really hoping we'd get to see.

The Chaotix... don't trust him.

I was really hoping that Sonic's antics as the Phantom Rider would have at least some consequences, lead to some form of tension, and here it is! These guys have known Sonic for years, consider him a friend - they went to his birthday party. And yet, his decision to cause trouble on purpose, to not even try reaching out to them - the investigators he knows best - before joining forces with Eggman to try and get to the bottom of the Clean Sweepstakes, it's understandably a hard pill to swallow.

They get past it pretty quick, though - not that I expected a rift between Sonic and the Chaotix to last a terribly long time. I do, however, hope it is an indicator of reactions to come, and that, as Sonic continues to move through the world in the wake of the Sweepstakes, he finds the world a bit less willing to place their full faith in him than they have in the past.

Tails, Amy, and Blaze

Next we check in on Tails, Amy, Blaze, and Silver, where it's revealed that, despite their headquarters being demolished, the Restoration might not be entirely defunct! They had several smaller outposts conducting different types of specific work across the world that might still be running!

Blaze, feeling a sense of duty to her friends in this dimension, decides to join up with Tails and Amy to go check in on these vestigial locations to see how they're doing, and what they need to get back to work at full capacity.

I like the idea of this, as it gives us an excuse to explore some new locations and maybe do a solid bit of worldbuilding within them. One of the key "Sonic" elements I've always felt that IDW kind of lacks is Environmental Exploration - stories all about exploring a new place and discovering what's unique about it. Sonic game stories do this all the time, and hopefully IDW is moving to start making that more of a presence within its stories.

We get to check in with Silver very briefly before he departs from the group to go check in with others who might need his help...

Silver and the Diamond Cutters

The conversation between Silver and the Diamond Cutters is one I've been waiting a long time for - like, nearly two years long. There's a ton of interpersonal drama at play here, and you know I eat that shit up for breakfast.

Immediately, we get Jewel stepping down as the Administrator of the Restoration, talking through her mistakes, and the mentality that lead her to think Clutch could be trusted. It's clear she's being very hard on herself, even if, as the other characters point out, she doesn't really deserve it, and very few people would debate that.

What some people might debate about, more however, is Lanolin.

Luckily, I have a feeling that what Lanolin does here will likely be satisfying to everyone... She takes an honest look at her mistakes, assesses how she made them, and... apologizes.

Now, I am of the mind that Lanolin also has very little a apologize for here. Her mistakes were honest, and anyone operating with the information she had would have made them. Still, it's nice to see someone so driven take a step back, realize that they've hurt the people around them, and try to make amends for it.

My favorite part of this is Silver's involvement. After all, he's the only non-comic original character here. IDW spends so much time on its original characters - because they're certainly the ones that they have the most creative control over - that it's always a treat to see them dig into the games' characters, especially the supporting cast, put them in unique situations, and establish unique relationships between them and the comics' material that stands out from how the material relates to our main protagonist, Sonic.

Silver getting to have his own, distinct dynamic with the Diamond Cutters is really cool.

Unfortunately, it's not necessarily to last, as it seems like, as of this issue, the new Diamond Cutters are officially disbanded.

Personally, I find this - as well as Jewel's resignation - a little disappointing. I know it's been years now, but it still feels like we haven't had Jewel's Restoration or the new DC for all that long. It feels to me like the comic keeps doing things to establish new directions or shift the status quo, just to undo them and restore it later down the line. I hope that, eventually, we get some more long-form, lasting changes to this world and these characters.

We're not left with no direction for these characters, however, as we get little side quests for everyone to go on!

Belle sets off to go and see the world on her own. I think this give us a nice status for her as sort of a Sometimes Character we bump into from time-to-time as her travels cross paths with the main cast. Some folks have also mentioned the idea of her running into the Scrapniks, which is such a cool idea, and I really, really hope it happens.

We get Jewel and Lanolin working together to begin rebuilding Emeraldville, where Restoration HQ used to stand, which provides even more opportunities for location exploring and worldbuilding, so you know I'm down for that.

Lastly, Silver decides to join up with Tangle and Whisper to help hunt down Mimic and put a stop to him once and for all.

Despite Tangle's objections, it's so, so clear that Whisper is absolutely intent on straight-up murdering Mimic next time she sees him, and that already sets up some really nice tension between her and Tangle, but what's really interesting is the question of how Silver is gonna play into that mix. He's also got a significant grudge to settle with Mimic (again, how cool to have him bear a unique resentment toward one of the comic's antagonists), but he's also been down this path before - hellbent on using lethal force to strike down an enemy he believes to be the root of his problems.

The problem in that case was that he was wrong, and that his zealous devotion to this quest blinded him to the obvious truth of his mistake - and while it's not clear how much of the incident he remembers, it's clear he's come a long way since then. So what will he do when the time comes? Will he side with Tangle, upholding the ideals he's spent all this time building? Or will he support Whisper, understanding the pain and anger that drive her?

All this to say, I'm very excited to see what the next stretch of this comic looks like. Every character has really strong direction for where they're going to go and what they're going to do next and I'm eager to see how these adventures play out and how they might connect with one another!

Solid issue, does a great job setting things up for us. Where will it all go? I dunno, but I'm about to find out, since Issue 77 dropped 5 minutes ago - as did the first issue of the DC/Sonic Crossover, which I have every intent on reviewing here as well.

Until then, as always, thanks for reading!

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Get anoned

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