Too fast for the naked eye - Sonic the Hedgehog!

[ZaraRaEchidna]

About time we get a new Sonic thread going out here 

I want to know your relation to the Sonic series. Yes, if you couldn't tell (and if you couldn't, how!?) I am one o' them Sonic nerds. Actually, I'm part of the 'BumbleKrew' - small things, I help out with the community here and there for the BumbleKast podcast (does anybody remember the BumbleKing Forums? The Flynn-man used to run a Q&A, occasionally with other writers from the STH Archie comics - some time in 2016, they switched over to a podcast format, with my main man, Kyle JCrb Crouse  )
So you can imagine that I'm quite far into the Sonic fan community! That, and, I've got some friends who make absolutely awesome things, that it's hard not to be trapped here forever; already above mentioned Ian and Kyle... Then there's AvaArctic who writes the incredible 'Tangle & Whisper: New Roads' fancomic, Dai and partner who host Weston Super Sonic and Sonic Fanfest, Johnny writes an incredible fic called 'Ruby Haze', and ZOMG there are so many more awesome projects in the works that I can't even tell you, and even more things that if I keep listing stuffs, I'll b typing here forever!

My FAVOURITE Sonic character is... Julie-Su, second only to Knuckles! Yes, I'm still surprised that Julie-Su isn't a 'canon' Sonic character anymore... What a bummer... (Leave any jokes about 'that' Ex-Sonic writer at the door; trust, I've heard it all  no, I am not a fan of his. No, I do not want to hear his name be spoken in my house.)
Knuckles, Knuckles, Knuckles... He's getting his own arc in the IDW comics right now; written by Stanley and Flynn! Oooh, and didja check out the 900th Advenure Special?! Yes, I was the Echidnerd in the back of issue 64 gushing about echidnas -- Nigel Kitching got to write Knuckles' pages! Yes, Nigel Kitching, of Sonic the Comic fame! As a British Sonic fan, that brings tears of joy to my eyes - Sonic the Comic is 'our' comic.. And you know that I grew up with those brilliant comics!

Ooh, yes, and we went to Sonic Symphony last month - what a fantastic show! Jun Senoue is a sweetheart, really made my entire year 

How did I get into Sonic... I'm one of those 'second generation' fans - I'm only 24, so I certainly wasnt one of the fans who picked up Sonic 1 on release, like many of my friends had; I was handed Sonic & Knuckles as soon as I could hold a controller, and the rest, as they say, was history! My love only grew over time. I discovered the echidnas, and that just helped me to curate an incredible fanspace of other fans just as obsessed with them.
That, and, I was a huge SatAM fan back in the day.. I still am, don't get me wrong - my exposure to the Archie Sonic Comics were limited, being in the U.K; I got all of the news from the internet, and sometimes people would post their scans onto forums and fansites. It took me a while to be able to actually read the Archie comics. I also loved Sonic Underground.. I know, ancient sins! When Sonic X came out, I quickly joined the fanbase - it used to be popular in Anime circles, back when we all used to be bundled in together, no matter which one you liked 

Tell me; are you a fan, how did you get into the series if you are; do you have a favourite character? Favourite game? 

[Ves]

I love sonic! But I’ll admit I’ve never actually been into much of the actual media? I think it’s more the concept I’m obsessed with haha , and sadly I’ve never been in the fandom much

The cartoons are honestly the main thing I engage with : sonic X and sonic boom!
Sonic X vaguely follows the sonic adventure games plot I think, and who knows what Sonic Boom was honestly

The games are way too hard for me  =w= and a lot of them were only ever put on console,, so I stick to watching videos of the cutscenes lol

I’ve really been wanting to get into the comics but I know a little too much about.. certain writers to really know where to start with them 

And as basic as it is ive gotta say my favourite character is sonic 
But who knows, maybe that’ll change when I get into some of the other stuff.

[ZaraRaEchidna]

Wooh; I forgot about the Sonic Boom TV show! Aah, what a riot. Have you seen the JP dub of Sonic X? Oh, be still, my beating heart! How wonderful it is! Of course, I am a naysayer who enjoys the ENG dub - but the JP dub takes my heart. We were heckling a friend of ours at Sonic Symphony for not having seen the JP dub .. It's a rite of passage, honestly!

Ah, the games are quite difficult, no?! I used to be a dab hand at them, but recently, my illness has progressed that my clawed hands don't much hold controllers well. But the chao garden will always be there for me, and I have people to backseat, so all is well in the world 

ABSOLUTLEY get into the comics!

So; there are three main comic series.
Archie Sonic the Hedgehog is the most popular one, and the one which contains 'certain' writers  Bobby Schroeder has a pretty good Reading Order for Archie - https://thankskenpenders.tumblr.com/readingorder
Don't let certain writers (whoops, that URL, am I right?!) cloud your judgement! Actually; his characters are some of my favourites - they really blossom in the hands of other writers, it's lovely.

The next is the British one, Sonic the Comic, or 'Fleetway Sonic the Comic' - this one is fantastic, and is preeeetty straightforwards! You can just jump right into it - I would absolutely, ABSOLUTELY recommend this one!

And the third is the current and ongoing series, IDW Sonic the Hedgehog - This one is also pretty easy to pick up on issue 1. And when I say ongoing.. We got two issues released just yesterday! Ain't that awesome?! This one is definitely also worth a read. If you start anywhere, start on these!

As a bonus, you can read the single-issue French comic, 'Sonic Adventures Dans les Griffes de Robotnik' - it came out before Sonic Adventure, and it's heavily thought to have inspired the plot of the game! Ah, of course I'd push this one; there's more echidnas in it! Princesse Aluçion is a treat.

Sonic is awesome; I know many friends who are fans of 'just' sonic~ he's pretty cool!

Ah, it's late notice, but you had ought to go to Sonic Fanfest this weekend! It's in Bristol, it's going to be a great time. TJ Davis (the one who sang for Sonic R's soundtrack) is going to be doing a live performance! And I snuck a Julie-Su onto the big mural .. I'll be sure to send a piccy of that 
https://sonicfanfest.com/

[ZaraRaEchidna]

Sonic FanFest Was AWESOME! The partner and I met up with some of our friends there - the (then) newest member of the BumbleKrew and a good friend of ours, one of our friends who I had also had the chance to catch up with at Sonic Symphony, and my childhood best friend - and that's before I even get started on the day itself!
Abby Bulmer was lovely to chat to, and TJ Davis was FANTASTIC! Ferran Rodriguez is a sweetheart, and even though his panel didn't go to plan, it was incredible to watch him draw!

Ha - at some point, TJ Davis did a Q&A panel - as I've mentioned prior, she was the vocalist and recorded some voice lines for Sonic R - one of the BEST Videogame Soundtracks out there, I HIGHLY recommend listening to it if you haven't a clue what I'm going on about!
Anyways - she did a Q&A panel, and, well - she's not a Fandom type, right? One of the things she discussed was recording with the band Blur - Damon Albarn, some might know him better from Gorillaz - you can imagine she's not much of a Sonic Fan, but she loves the fans anyways. So, somebody asks her - "What would your Sonic OC be?" and she has no idea what an OC is! Well, it's explained to her, and she looks back at the giant mural (my art is on this wall somewhere - Julie-Su, OF COURSE!) And TJ -- She points to Nicole the Hololynx, and says, "Can I be this one?
 
OF COURSE YOU CAN, TJ!! THAT'S THE BEST ONE!

^ There she is! The legend herself! It was so funny! Also, those are MY ears in the bottom of this image...  You can see my art of Julie-Su on that mural, the pink echidna right by the top right corner of the SFF logo

Yes, yes, I went in cosplay, as I said I would... Fiona Fox, from the Archie Comics series! It was great fun!


All in all, an absolutely stunning day. I got so much cute merchandise, I saw SO many awesome Knuckles cosplayers! The event was run by a friend of mine and thier other half, so I also happened to know half of the staff, which was funny as 

I love Sonic fans, I love being a Sonic fan! I'll be sure to update next time there's another UK Sonic Event - they've confirmed that they're adding more Sonic Symphony tour dates for London, so I'm hoping to get to go back with everybody! 

[Wuff-Wuff]

Woah! Thanks for sharing the FanFest with us Zara-Ra!  I can't believe you saw TJ Davis in person! Sonic R's Soundtrack had no right to go as hard as it did!

I'm glad to hear your art got sone official recognition too  it more than deserves it.

Big props to the Fiona Fox Cosplay too  representing the less represented  they really should add more comic characters to the games.

[L1am]

OMGG your cosplay looks so cool!!
I got into sonic through Underground when I was a toddler(absolute BANGER theme song), im not really a dedicated fan atm but i own a few games and will sometimes watch sonic boom 
I usually go through phases where im obsessed with it and then not for awhile lol. The classic games are a bit too hard for me but ive played most of sonic adventure 1

[Wuff-Wuff]

I've watched the second Sonic movie recently and that was the only time I've witnessed a Sonic medium with a lack of a banger soundtrack  (it was alright~ "eh" would be my score).
The Sonic Adventure Soundtracks (one and two) on the other hand are soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good  :'(

[ZaraRaEchidna]

Thank you, both of you! It was an awesome time; nobody recognised who I was, being that it's a British event, but we had fun nonetheless  TJ Davis was such a sweetheart - she was set up by the door, you could talk to her all day!

Sonic Underground is AWESOMESAUCE - I don't care what anybody else says, it's one of my all-time favourites! Manic was and is one of my favourite characters. I always thought that you could feel such a genuine effort and love put into the series.
Sonic Boom TV is so funny, I really do love it

Aah, I've been really enjoying the movies! But no, yes, the soundtrack is kind of... Nothing  I'm so excited for the Knuckles TV show coming up, though. Knuckles is going to be training that bumbling fool Wade (who is not exactly UNLIKE Andy from Twin Peaks...) and I am just so ready for the hijinks that echidna is going to get up to! They're supposed to be giving us a sneak preview this Sunday at that American "Superb Owl" ...   
I love what they're doing with the echidnas in the movies; it's been so long since they've dared to touch them! For... reasons.... -cough- ... Ken Penders has started selling his Echyd'nya comics with 'Lara-Su' and 'Julie-Su'... That's not my baby!  Oh, and don't forget Not-ckles! Or... What did he call his Knuckles expie... Knox? I think it was Knox. Eh... No thank you, I'll stick with the TV show  I DO miss Lara-Su, and even moreso Julie-Su -- I miss them more than anything! But, erm, whatever Penders is doing with them is like watching the personification of my refusal to let go of the past, in all of its' hulking horror. Heck - my main sona, and namesake, Zara-Ra is supposed to be the son of Lara-Su, grandson of Julie-Su! ... ... ... The Sonic versions, of course. I don't like the Echydn'ya, or whatever he's calling them  There's some weeeeeird things going on in the world of Echidna Content right now.

At any rate - this new TV show is going to be AWESOME! Well, I'm not expecting anything groundbreaking, but I've sold myself on the concept of 'Knuckles and Andy from Twin Peaks doing very stupid things for 30 minutes' -- anything more than that is only a bonus 
Yes, many fans are hoping for more echidna lore, but I think I have low expectations - it makes me happier that way 

[Wuff-Wuff]

  holy cow, hang on, that seems like a huge rabbit hole you've just casually introduced to us ZaraRa.

So, let me get this straight: this guy called Penders sees Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (on Nintendo DS, released in 2008), realises that some of the characters seem similar to his OCs that he created during his time working for Archie Comics (starting back in 1993), he then asks Archie Comics Publishing (ACP) about his old contract, they say: since it's been over ten years they don't have it anymore, which then propells him to file for copyright registration for these characters (which the U.S Copyright Office ends up accepting since both SEGA and ACP fail to challenge the registration) after which ACP files a lawsuit against Penders, while he files a lawsuit against EA because they are the owners of Bioware, the people who developed Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, which ends up making things even more confusing since now there's multiple lawsuits  ?
Oh yeah and then, after some legal schmingo, the Archie Comics start wiping his characters from the story while SEGA becomes terrified to use anything from the Comics ever again?

Oh and now he doesn't draw Echidnas anymore but Echyd'nya's  ? Ah yes~ .... low expectations are good indeed.

But heck  to be more positive: you're the best Echidna Lore out there anyway ZaraRa! Never stop dreaming.

[ZaraRaEchidna]

Whooooops. I've been spending far too long geeking out with my fellow supernerds, that I forgot that this trainwreck on wheels wasn't common knowledge  My bad!

So, in short, yes - Penders realises Archie no longer has the contracts which say that they and SEGA own the characters; Penders files copyrights for his stories and characters - Archie and SEGA are, at this time, still printing his stories and characters... So Archie sues. But, uh oh! Archie doesn't have the contracts! So Archie loses, and Penders owns the copyrights for his characters & stories.
...
Then, yes, on that high... He sued SEGA and EA, because BioWare had made a DS game based on Ken Penders' characters and stories. Which were supposed to be owned by SEGA, and would have been, had there not been the VERY specific storm brewing below the surface... To clarify, BioWare didn't use Penders' characters - they created characters inspired by them (i.e The Dark Legion becomes The Dark Brotherhood, Julie-Su the ex-soldier Echidna becomes Shade the ex-soldier Echidna, so on) - it's a huge legal mess that got settled out of court in the end. We never got Sonic Chronicles 2, despite it being planned. A friend of mine who worked at BioWare at the time tells me that everybody was so besmirched, that even mentioning 'Sonic' in the halls would ruin the mood of the room for the whole day 

Yes, at some point, The Archie Comics had a giant universe reset, which removed all of the characters and storylines which no longer belonged to them; which is, legally speaking, every character and storyline made in the first few years of the comic. Which is a real shame, because we were just about to get a massive wrap-up story for SO much of the loose ends of echidna lore! Oh, but it was mostly an effort by Ian Flynn and Aleah Baker, who I have a hotline to... So I can just prod them whenever I want. Mostly. Flynn-man wants to keep most of it until he publishes his book, 'Lost Hedgehog Tales', so I don't prod him too much  And, it surprisingly doesn't come up in conversation too much. 

Mahaha, and yes, no, the Echydn'yn''nana'ananaa'as are terrifying things... Oh dear. Oh my. Let me just...


Hurry, it's limited edition, AND signed! Don't you want this ... Uh... Thing... Poor Lara-Su, even the Echidna version isn't very flattering here 
Well, his artwork is standard for comic artists; I won't make fun of a man's art. The design, however...  No thank you. What did you do to my baby?!

OH, AND!!!!

The trailer for the new Knuckles show has dropped! I haven't seen it yet, I'm waiting for my bear to get home, so that we can watch it together! But I WILL be back with my thoughts! I am so blummin' excited!

Here, Wuff, you and the rest can watch it right now
https://youtu.be/1kETt59yn6A

[Wuff-Wuff]

Wait, are you telling me I have the once in a life time chance to see a release (granted, only a trailer, kind of dampens the excitement, but still!) of an official ECHINDA FOCUSED Sonic show before the person who has the comic writers on a hotline does? ....    oh yeah, today IS a good day!

TBH I actually enjoyed the trailer  (normally trailers put me off everything since they've become so formulaic). Looks like it'll be a fun ride. Can't help but notice something starting with an L and ending in... ore missing especially after this conversation, but hey, it's only the trailer so there might be more to come

Oh and thanks for filling us mortals in ZaraRa  I love such stories (even though more game stories based on the comics would hae been even more lovable), seeing something I was obsessed with as a kid made grown ups act... well like kids... what a weird wold. Also I'll have to agree with you on the design, it's, well, not the best. I think what's holding it back is the attempt to still somewhat be based on SEGA's Echidna design. Honestly, now that I think about it, I don't even know why that design even works; Echidnas have a surprising lack of red dreadlocks in real life, but somehow it just works.

Anway, can't wait for your thoughts ZaraRa  do enjoy it with your Bear!

[ZaraRaEchidna]

So, watched with my bear - SO. EXCITED. Why is Pachacamac at the bowling alley?! OH, this show is going to be so silly, in the BEST way!
Pachacamac, who appears for  a split second as... An employee of the bowling alley... Is, in the Game stories, the ruler of the Knuckles Clan, a very, VERY long time ago.
... THE HECK IS HE DOING HERE? I think it's a hallucination, but our friend is adamant that there was a press release saying he's just a regular character. Which, OH, SWEET AURORA, PLEASE. I NEED IT. I NEED AS MUCH GOOFY PACHACAMAC IN MY LIFE AS I CAN GET.

LIKE...

WUT?!?!? 

Ah, but there is Lore - in everything Knuckles does to make it more like 'home', we're recieving more information on where he came from, in this iteration of Sonic! There's ALWAYS lorebits, if you dig! 
...
Wha? Starved for echidna content? ME?! ... NEVAH -bolts out of the window-

So, so, so awesome of a trailer; Knuckles looks so funny, I love what they've done with him! And he's got his HAT! The voice is really starting to grow on me; it always feels a little weird at first, but then I get used to it. I'm used to his Sonic Underground voice, which is what the partner and I use for voicework we do; it's a sort of 'squeaky' high-pitched nasally voice, so you can imagine that the deep voice of Idris Elba is a bit different for us 

Oh man, oh man, am I ever excited for this!

[Wuff-Wuff]

Oh hey yeah! That didn't even register when I first watched it. Isn't that the guy who committed war crimes against innocent child like creatures?  Ah, Sonic Adventure~
Voicework?  like using AI or do you immitate his voice? Or do you know the actual guy  I wouldn't be surprised tbh. My first introduction to Knuckles and his voice was as a guy who rapped about Pumpkins  (although actually I should say as Scott Dreier and not Hunnid-P who did the rap)

[ZaraRaEchidna]

Immitating the voice! Fandubs, LARP, that sort of stuff 

Also YURP, that'd be the guy - he moidered ALLLLLL of dem Chao!  ... I can't wait to see how this bowling alley stuff turns out 

[Wuff-Wuff]

  Oh LARPs? You must have quite a few cosplays!

 :'( Man, what an oversight in recruitment background checks  Let's hope for the best!

I've got some personal sonic news too  I've finally learned "Escape from the City" on Guitar. Next up: Live and Learn! (I'm terrifed of the solo  )


PS: ZaraRa, what are your thoughts on how certain characters seemed to have regressed in the games though  like how Tails went from becoming a more brave fox, realising he doesn't need to be in Sonic's shadow, to someone scared of Chaos Zero (in Sonic Forces, despite having defeated Chaos 4 single handedly in Adventure 1). I could imagine the comics are a saving grace here, but yeah~ (oh gosh and not to forget Amy who overcame her obsessive crush for Sonic, only to later try and force him into marrying her. Sonic Heroes was kind of ... well it was a game )