Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Comics

The well known comics publisher "Archie" was chosen to bring Sonic to the fans in comic book format. Their previous publication was a wholesome highschool comedy type scenario. Back in 1993 when Sonic first started, this looked like an ideal platform to launch a cute kiddie-character comic. However, now with Shadow the Hedgehog carrying weapons around and an organization named "GUN" featuring heavily in game plots the ability of Archie to handle the situation has come under question. More?

Archie Mini Series Sonic Comics
Archie Book-Style Compilation Collections
Archie Super Specials Comics (48 pages)
Character First Appearance Facts

Archie Translations

The first comic (Issue #0) was published in Feb. of 1993. You could also get it in a Disney Magazine as an extra feature at some point. The first of these comics were actually a 3 issue miniseries to test the waters. Therefore, there are actually 2 *different* issues of #1, #2 and #3, all of which are legit.

Issue 1 Sonic & Sally Run from Robotnick

The early issues focused on short, comedy related storylines. The stories didn't particularly connect or serialize great arcs of plot. The artists varied, but commonly used ones were Scott Shaw! and Dave Manak. Model sheets for the characters were not likely to be used a whole lot at this time. The most expensive issues to aquire are probably the first 3 (miniseries) With #0, and BOTH of the #1s ranking up there. The early issues relied on jokes, altering stock art and Sonic+Princess interaction. "Sega" related things rarely happened, and Tails is considered to have gotten "Dumped on" because they chose to make the princess Sonic's 2nd character. Why? There were no details on Tails at this time. He was just a character who followed Sonic in Sonic 2. Archie needed characters who's personalities they could CONTROL and also KNOW everything about, so naturally their own self-made characters were the best for the job.

These aren't found on Ebay all that often. By this point, someone has to liquidate a collection for the issues to appear in their original form. Expect to pay over $18.00 for an issue. Their original retail price was $1.25

As you can see, Tails is brown. Why? No one knows, but this mis-coloring went on for FAR too long. Color schemes for the characters were not yet set, which resulted in varient Princess Sallies at this time. Archie also introduced their own band of "Freedom Fighters" the supporting cast for Sonic, who featured heavily in all issues. The "Westernization" of Eggman into "Ivo Robotnik", was cemented with this comic and the TV shows.

Here is issue #13. This one is mysteriously rare. It was Knuckles' first appearance in the book, and at the time of publishing, it didn't seem to be any "Less of them made then normal". It is assumed that comic readers/collectors/Sonic Fans just failed to realize that this could be some sort of land-mark issue. Because no one 'stocked up', this is scarce to this day. It is only occaisonally found on Ebay, and when it appears, expect prices over $25.00.

As you can see, cribbing the stock art was also fairly common. See that tiny "POW" in the corner? That's all the announcement Knuckles got for the issue. He didn't even appear on the cover. Dave Manak did the interior work, and while he was all right at Robotnik, his Knuckles needed a bit more work.

Issue #25 was another landmark.
This one was a type of celebration for reaching such a high number of published comics. To celebrate, a special shiny silver ink was used on the cover. (The ink is roughly the tone of those scratch-off lotto cards, but non-scratchy).

In all re-releases, the special ink is NOT present. It is just gray. Finding the special ink book can be a task, (usually for Ebay) but it's worth it to own. The special ink one will cost a lot more! Watch out while collecting!

This comic also featured cover AND interior art by the Fan-favorite artist Spaz. It also introduced the infamous Metal Sonic to the Archie continuity. Metal Sonic fans could thrill to see their favorite villain for all of this one issue as he dies at the end. (A'la the Sonic CD Race) This cover is also inspired by the original Japanese art.

With the addition of Patric "Spaz" Spaziante to the art-team, the covers were looking better then ever, and the comic was quite popular. Supposedly this guy does not work quickly, but adds much detail, therefore Spaz is not a good choice for interior work. This was an unfortunate turn for Archie, as many artists could simply NOT capture the "Sega Sonic" look at all, and many new characters added in failed to flow with any style. The arrival of Spaz and the turn of the book from rambling comedy to action plots helped propel it along in a good coincidence.

He did the cover and interior work for issue 21 as his debut. Sonic finally got the sense of attitude and speed that the fans wanted to see. They wrote in to say that Spaz was a hit.

Sonic fights E.V.E a shape-shifting learning machine.

After about issue #20 or so, the Archie Sonic the Hedgehog comics started taking a less comedy and more "Plot+Action" direction. There were also 5 "Super Specials" released, which were extra thick books with more or longer stories. The specials retailed for around $2.25 at initial release. Because of their title, people thought ahead to buy more of these (in most cases) so they are not quite as rare. They say that only 5 were produced because they became too expensive for the limited readership dollars to support. These were not particularly released on any type of time-table.

The "Sonic In your Face Special" ironically had a main story featuring Sally, and very little Sonic. It also contained a special pull-out poster for "Sonic and Knuckles" which was the S&K logo on a black background to announce the new Genisis game. That mini-poster is now collectible.

Several more "Special Books" were released, but not under the name of "Super Special." These included "Sonic & Knuckles #1, Sonic VS Knuckles: Battle Royale, Knuckles Chaotix, In Your Face, Mecha Madness and Super Sonic VS Hyper Knuckles. As you may see by the titles, these mostly include Sonic fighting Knuckles for some reason. Each of them were 48 pages, and were later collected into compilation books.

Uh-oh! What's this? A mutant comic? Why YES it is the infamous "Sonic Live". The travesty of the 48 page specials, this book was an affront to the fans of Sonic.

Dare you find out more....?

Having this filthy thing is good for the total completist, but...if you manage to obtain it you might laugh, or you might cry. There's quite a story in that link above...

The comic was basically an enormous ego-trip for the writers. It will always live as a scar upon the Archie-Sonic history. They put their own relatives in it, who were not even Sonic fans, as they didn't even own 1 single Sonic game! If you want to see someone front the ultimate Mary-Sue, then this comic is for you! (to make fun of)

"Sonic Fans are too stupid to know that the child is holding a TV remote sideways, and not a game controller! Those idiots will buy anything!"

As the Archie series progressed, they introduced more and more Archie-Only characters with ever-expanding and complex backgrounds. Loose ends, plot holes and contrived storylines abound. This was partially due to editors and writers leaving the book, and general "Back End" confusion.

At one point, they tried to kill off Sally in the infamous "Endgame" arc, but fan outrage would not allow it. They had made her too charismatic and like-able a character to simply be dismissed...which also led to contraversy.

The complex and crossing story-arcs packed with Archie-Only characters resulted in a confusing book, that especially boggles newcomers. A trend with the comics is to reveal a character as "Not Someone you thought they were for the last year" with dopplegangers, robot duplicates or inter-reality swapping. Add to the confusion? Always. The 150th Issue has Sonic 'sleeping around' with various females from the forest as Sally has dumped him, Tails hates him for 'stealing his girl' (a female fox who did not like Tails in the first place) and a traditionally weak/cowardly character (Antoine the fox) beating Sonic badly in a battle. This seems like Bizzarro World! Because it is. It turns out that an evil Sonic (Scourge) from another dimension is behind a lot of the problems. The comic marches on toward 200.

The 200th issue is another milestone. No special ink or special item is enclosed with it, and it's the standard size. The plot involves Robotnik going crazy after being defeated by Sonic so that Snivley can take over with a new villain and crew. It's basically a 'Sonic fights Robotnik' story. Be sure to collect this issue though, as it is a milestone.

This bottom right corner photo shows the difference between the regular store edition of this issue & the one that is a pack-in with the Jazwares Figures & Comic Pack. The one in the pack has this phrase, & the store edition will have the barcode in the area instead.

What this will do to the worth of either one (likely not that much) is still unknown. Photo provided by SupeSonicBoom

Time to go hardcore and complete your comic collection?
Then you can't miss the mini-series comics, even though Sonic is not in all of them. Out of these, the Princess Sally ones are probably the most difficult to get in original form. The Knuckles miniseries was so popular, that it led to him getting his own comic...

The first 3 issues of the Sonic comic were considered to be a 'mini series' (as is written to the right) even though they already had the 'main series' in the works.
This (front and back shots) are of a special preview of Sonic #0 comic. It was released for free inside of SegaVisions magazine as a sort of teaser. As you can see to the right, you could subscribe through the card on the back. It does have an issue number (oddly enough) which is "1/4". This contained the first quarter of the book and was printed on newsprint paper. Scanned and owned by: Edscott

Which lasted from issue #1 to issue #28. Why did it end? Not enough people bought it. If you try to read it, keep in mind that this continuity has nothing to do with anything else. When the comic was created, there was no "Official Echidna History" to go on, so there's a whole alternate universe thing going on here.
When the series was cancelled, Knuckles stories returned into the Sonic regular comic that they had come from. He then continues to appear as a regular character, and not 'star' on his own.

Sonic X #1, see the mini-series page for more issues...though it has apparently turned into a regular series, which lasted for 40 issues, ending in Jan. 2009.

You need the Sonic Comic Mini-Series Page to find out more!

Comic Con Exclusive Issue 226 Cover Anniversary

This comic, Sonic #226 got a special collectors-edition cover that was only available at SanDiego Comic Con 2011. The interior art and story are all exactly the same as the regular book (so no fan misses out on anything) it's just the cover that's different. There were only 1000 of this made, and it cost about $5.00 and you could only buy it by being there. Naturally, this will drive up the cost & collectibility.
You'll recognize the art from other 20th Anniversary goods including the prize statues & promo art. This issue is part of the Sonic: Genesis arc, where Robotnick pushes some type of 'cosmic reset switch' that allows the Archie cast to have plots in a more games-like universe/scenario. It's temporary, and is being done in part of the 20th Anniversary celebration, and celebration over issue landmark 225.
Photo & owned by RaeLogan

Sonic Sabrina Teenage Witch Crossover Book

When a company owns more than 1 license for different series, crossovers can happen! Just like Marvel or DC, Archie has several properties they can use. First off at left, you can see their Sabrina the Teenage Witch crossed over with Sonic for a single issue. The photo is there because for a while, Sabrina had a live-action TV show. The dialogue says "Impossible! Somebody can keep up with my Speed?" And "Wait till I get it out of first gear!" (meaning the broom, and attempting to make it look like a challenge for Sonic)
The announcement to the right is a much bigger deal. Archie aquired a license for MegaMan and

Sonic Mega Man 12 Issue Crossover Announcement

established a successful Mega Man comic of their own. "When Worlds Collide" will be the TWELVE issue crossover that spans 4 issues of each book (MM, Sonic & Universe

which will be their largest cross over to date, both in terms of length and amount of books involved. Expect issue covers to appear once it happens, as well as a likely release of it as a compilation. Discovered by Neogaf

Ken Penders Comic Con Sonic Signed Print

This is an official signed print.
Being official artists for a franchise, it is legal for authorized comic artists to sell prints of their work relating to the comic book. (Technically it is not legal to *mass produce* and sell fan art if you are not an officially licensed artist)
Here, you can see a Ken Penders piece from the San Diego comic con of 2007. It is a signed and numbered piece (411 out of a possible 500, and measures 7 x 11 inches) belonging to Rae_Logan who also framed it and took the photo.
You will often see similar items by various artists crop up on Ebay, being auctioned off by the artist. Because there are so many fans of the Sonic Archie Comic, panels, pages and splash-pages are basically like a license to print money for these people. Any good quality press can run off any desired number of copies, which they then hand-sign and post for sale.

This piece however is different, because you can see that it has been personalized by Ken Penders at the Comic Con, so it is different from the prints found on Ebay.

Here are 2 examples of less formal art from a comic book artist. At left is an "art card" & right has a signed book & doodle. Art cards are smaller often stiff-card papers that start off blank...but are then custom-request drawn on by an artist at a signing event. In this case, it's Scourge & Mephiles with signature and date. Having a book signed by an author or artist can sometimes increase the value & helps personalize it, if they add a message. In this case you can see Tails doodles along with the signature on the inner cover. These generally aren't hosted by Gear, because artists can (and do) turn out zillions of them, but the concept is something interesting to see & go after if there's a signing event in your area. Photo & owned by RaeLogan

Character Appearance Facts:
Knuckles first appears: Issue #13
Shadow first appears: Issue #146 (on cover too)
Shadow Forced Adaptation # 98
Silver first appears: Issue #194

Forced Adaptations:
When Sega is getting ready to release a new Sonic Game, they will force the main Archie Sonic Series to print an introduction to that game as an aside. The main comic plot always continues, but a seperate (from the entire continutiy) story that intros the game will appear at the end. Sonic Unleashed, Advtr 2 Battle, and Sonic Rush Adventure have gotten this treatment. These don't always do the game justice, (limited pages, etc) but they do add publicity.

Cover art errors aren't generally super common.
The cover is the most-checked thing in a comic, but here, a mistake has slipped through. This is a Worlds Unite crossover issue where Sonic Boom (Also an Archie title), Mega Man (From Worlds Collide) and regular Sonic comics all crossed over since the first set of 12 was a success. However, look at Amy here, that's supposed to be Boom Amy bothering the MM character, while Sticks is in the background antagonizing a Wily Robot of some kind. With 2 available Amys, (Classic Amy does not appear) a mix up could certainly occur.