Sonic #223-224, FCBD 2011, and Sonic #225 The Mina concert was just the appetizer but now it’s time to get into the Freedom Fighter Suffering arc. That’s what I call it because that’s what we’re mostly getting from here on out. Our heroes have always had it hard and suffered many tragedies but not for such a long period and with little letting up. First up, Naugus comes a knockin’! He wants to be king and he must be crazy to think the council or Elias will let him have the title… r-right? And then we do the Naugus Games… again… I know… but this time it’s as Ian intended. And after that? Eggman’s back and he’s using the latest milestone issue as payback for the last milestone issue (which could be seen as payback for the milestone issue before that)!
Question: What do you think of Geoffrey the traitor?
>>141748968 >Question: What do you think of Geoffrey the traitor? It still amazes me how much sense it makes despite being a huge retcon. >>141748987 Just look at that smug ass.
>>141748968 >Freedom Fighter Suffering arc It really is the most depressing bullshit. Our heroes just get repeatedly kicked in the crotch over and over and it's just... not fun. It's not bad, certainly, but goddamn.
>>141749075 >>villain says he will protect everyone from the person that initially saved them from the egg grapes and provided everything for them Nicole and the Freedom Fighters have all of my sympathy in this arc. The citizens of New Mobotropolis do not. At least not the ones who are ungrateful assweeds.
>>141749106 I'm pretty sure that Sally still outranks Geoffrey considering he did turn on King Max and Elias didn't order them to stand down... no, no... I'm not going to rationalize this...
>>141749138 Yo, Bears, you serve Elias and the council, not this Bat-fish-rhino man weirdo or that skunk. That much should make sense in the chain of power.
>>141749200 Meanwhile, Eggman is about to get his groove back! >>141749182 >>141749192 I don't know. I guess he's just really agile and can suddenly take everyone on?
>>141749231 I am at least enjoying the fight between Sonic and Naugus. >>141749220 All I can say is that Naugus has been using his magic to amplify their fears... and stupidity.
>>141749255 Well shit, it's a formerly incarcerated villain that has multiple counts of treason against the Acorn Kingdom! But maybe his claim to the throne is legit.
Can we all just admit that Geoffreys touch up on his looks really fits well in the more modern mobian look? Unironically I always kinda liked his design but he looks good now too
>>141749287 Max was a brainwashed, deadly sick amnesiac. You'd think there be a stipulation needing to be healty of mind when doing declarations like that.
>>141749312 Man, it’s wild that Ian actually kept Geoffrey as pretty tough considering be easy to humble this pet character with hindsight but suppose works for the story
>>141749287 >Because Max handed the kingdom over to him. Elias is technically a pretender king. Actually, he isn't. The new constitution grant him authority by the will of the people.
The monarchy of old is no more and Naugus Claim are now void of any legitimacy.
>>141749360 I don't think that's how succession work at all, especially considering Max wasn't ruler of anything back then. Also, doesn't he still have a massively long prison sentence for treason and all that?
>>141749396 >Also, doesn't he still have a massively long prison sentence for treason and all that? Technically, he was only ever arrested after he lost his mind in the Egg Grapes. Nicole just imprisoned a retard.
>>141749382 Elias isn’t a counselor. He was never elected. He’s still the king. The new democracy never disbanded the monarchy, just gave it less authority.
>>141749454 >Naugus is an OG betrayer. Right there with Kodos and Robotnik. I don't think Naugus inciting the Great War is actually public. Eggman may be the only one alive who knows.
>no way to verify Naugus' claim except Max who's clearly not in the right state of mind >deals made under duress (like the fucking Zone of Silence) should be considered void regardless >new constitution should render this moot anyway >Naugus' long, long history of hostility to the kingdom in general Someone would have to be either retarded to give this fucker the time of day, which is true of most of the council unfortunately, or high on copium. Speaking of which ->>141749446 Fuck off Geoffrey and go take a long walk off of a short pier
>>141749501 >Feist: Wow, I expected you to at least think about for a minute. Dick. When you're such a raging asshole that even the trickster demigod is taken aback.
>>141749598 Based Sonic, Naugus can't be king for one important reason: he's ugly as sin. Only the beautiful can be trusted to keep true the aesthetics of a monarchy
>>141749646 Geoffrey, did you not pay ANY attention to how stereotypically and unapologetically evil your master is? Or how he treat his subordinates, for that matter?
>>141749689 >>141749666 You're right, Mephiles. Naugus is a fun villain with an interesting set of powers but sadly he's underused. At least he has this whole thing.
>>141749689 Crazy how just one chaos emerald has set him up for life, crazy how sometimes you underestimate how useful they are just on their own without the other 6
>>141749768 >nu-uh, we can't fight because! Even Hamlin thinks this is retarded. HAMLIN. >>141749802 Frankly, if I was Elias, I'd be thinking of leaving these morons in disgust. So I really can't blame him.
>>141749826 >geoffrey doesn't lose >he gives up I guess that's another win for Sally's diplomacy. Shame everything else was a humiliating and one sided defeat.
>>141749075 Nicole really should remind them that they'd all be braindead and ACTUALLY DEAD husks being used to power Robotnik's warmachines right now if it weren't for her.
>>141749919 >that guy can completely destroy what our buildings are made of and what's protecting us? >HE MUST BE COOL! Fuck them, this is almost surpassing Marvel in term of civilian retardation. >>141749942 Everybody is.
>>141749551 >It's in the library It's not, that particular flashback was told by Chuck. It wasn't in Kirby's book, it came from Eggman's files. But even Chuck doesn't know that Naugus used his emotion magic to rile up the Overlanders. Nate suspected, but even he could only guess. Nobody actually caught Naugus in the act of betrayal.
>>141749768 >>141749802 Are they worse than Jar Jar Binks? Because Palpatine wasn't outwardly evil yet when he convinced everyone that giving him emergency powers was a good idea.
>>141749945 >that last panel >honestly, I'm half-tempted to stab myself rather than listen to these morons for another second >>141749967 Yes. Because Palpatine was pretending to be a good guy instead of openly being an evil wizard.
>>141749623 Hm, feels like they changed the design so it looks more like Caliburn, good on em >>141749646 as cool as Geoffry vs the FF is he's clearly only winning because the plot needs him to, in universe experience can only carry him so far >>141749672 Dude just openly betrayed the kingdom, why does he think they're not gonna just assume he also killed his wife?
>>141749974 Yes, yes, I know what some of you are going to say. >but why is sonic not just leaving? >why is allowing the council to hold him back? Because this is Archie Sonic. He has always been loyal to the Acorn Kingdom. It's his home and where his friends and family are. Cope. Just like what he's going to have to do.
>>141749945 I swear to the source above, first the council is turning me into a reactionary monarchist >>141749974 And now I'm becoming the Mobian equivalent of a fucking Jacobite!
>>141749919 >Let's just say that Naugus' magic from the concert is still influencing them I still think Ian should have shown this effect ni a less subtle way.
>>141749287 Naugus can't claim anything both because Max was brainwashed when he did that AND because the Council was specifically formed to PREVENT shit like this.
>>141749974 It’s funny how I can’t hate Naugus for this cause he’s such a delightfully smug sneering dickhead about this but the council are genuinely the worst
>>141750253 Ian's been promising to release all his old plans since the reboot happened. He never has, only gives out a few crumbs once in a while. It's been well over a decade now and he's still promising it's coming. I legit think he's just waiting for Penders to die of old age.
>>141750279 >>141750261 The third time we've covered this story! >>141750253 Naugus gets booted, milestone, then Mogul and Finitevus become major villains for a while.
>>141750320 >>141750294 >Feist should have instantly annihilated both of them. Unfortunately he's not as all knowing and all powerful as he'd like you to believe. That's twice he's been tricked.
>>141750289 Forces is so half baked which is a shame as playing it I knew it’d be disappointing so cushioned a bit, my takeway was Infinite is done well till a point where he feels unresolved and his backstory isn’t fleshed out or presented well and Eggman ruling the world at last has no stakes or feels as big as it should. Also Classic should not of been there at all, worst part of the gameplay and his presence is worthless
>>141750320 this raises a good question, would you want Ian and his team to redo ALL the stories to make them more coherent and on model or just leave them as they are and make something like this a special occasion?
>>141750351 Forces was just throwing shit at a wall the game. What a mess. I hate it. >Classic should not of been there at all, worst part of the gameplay and his presence is worthless Only there for noslagia shittery. fucking hell
>>141750362 >>141750355 Not really. He can always revisit stories in someway like a flashback or something like that. Fix things that way. He did a lot of that at the start of his run.
>>141750307 If he released his plans than the Archie fans constantly paying him to ask questions he can't fully answer on his podcast will desert him and he won't be able to pay his bills anymore.
>>141750389 >>141750387 If Sir Connery was alive he'd gut Naugus with no hesitation and take whatever punishment. Likely an exile which would be fine with him so he can go and smite evil magic elsewhere.
>>141750383 Yeah, honestly i’d of replaced him with focusing on playing as Sonic’s friends to make it feel like they are contributing beyond cutscenes or hell, make Infinite playable so to show his side more and to make him a bigger threat cause you personally experienced what he can do
>>141750422 >>141750416 We've seen Sonic be buddy-buddy with Max (when he wasn't mentally fucked up) and Elias. He has ties to almost everyone running the kingdom.
This is gonna make me sound like a pussy but I'm kind of sad to see we're in the last leg of Archie Sonic. I joined in at issue 10 a few months ago and it's been insane.
I know there were absolutely retarded moments in this comic, but it's been cool to see how all of these artists and writers --Manak, Gallagher, Gray, Butler, Ian, etc -- all contributed to Sonic. Even if some of them didn't know much about Sonic, it's clear they enjoyed themselves and wanted to make a really interesting and rich world. It's sad to see it end.
What are your favorite fan continuations of Archie Sonic?
Ironically, the statement that Hershey is dead is wrong. She's actually alive. On the sonic wiki is says than Ian was going to bring her back, but The Great Pendering stopped it from happening. So, in conclusion Conductor, you can bring her back if you want to.
>>141750477 Question: Should I do the data files from this issue as well? We kind of haven't done the ones outside of the main issues previously (fucking Penders and his double spread for the Brotherhood). There's 6 pages of them in this.
>>141750455 again, they're SALLY'S family. Besides, we've seen Sonic undermine someone he respects to do his own thing before with Locke and him destroying the Enerjak killer. Something Locke assume was literally the worlds last hope
Even with Naugus there, he's only stoking their already lingering feelings so this is just their natural stupidity being amplified. That Rotor face is literally me right now.
>>141750482 Nah I get that, I remember when reading this young I thought the reboot was a temporary thing cause didn’t know about the legal problems and never realised that even that wouldn’t lasy
>>141750574 I always wondered if it was because they thought they had to, since Bollers came up with giving Naugus elemental magic, or if it was a deliberate decision to make him closer to the original Satam version.
>>141750507 I know it's fun to shit on Penders and rightfully so considering what was going when this issue was published but Penders had some pretty cool ideas and even some highlights. He got the ball rolling on making Antoine a chad if I remember right.
If he just chilled the hell out and went to therapy over his dad instead of making Knuckles' story a weird metaphor for his father abandoning him Penders would have had some interesting ideas.
Also I was just thinking of that image when you replied lol
>>141750482 It's the first time I've followed the Archie Ride from start to finish and I feel the same way. The original run of the comic ending soon is making me kinda melancholic, following the comic every day and talking about it with anons when I catch threads un-archived was a great time.
>>141750677 Funny how this was some of Evan’s first official work in the franchise, i’m sure some people woulda been fine if was left as just this but that’s not here or there
>>141750779 Is interesting just how often the hero’s just truce with the villains, like it is super frequent and they’ve done it with mostly every villain against one other villain that they later truce with, kinda funny
I don't know why, maybe it's just that I'm gonna be 25 and I feel old and nostalgic, but I've been on a little sonic kick lately. I read Archie pretty consistently from the very beginning of Ian's run to the very end, and for all its problems I do genuinely miss the original continuity. I wonder what the comic would be up to now if it had continued. I think it'd be up to around issue 375.
>>141750816 I do like that Naugus is going to try and help. Because he worked hard to screw over the kingdom and he's not letting Eggman ruin that for him.
>>141750816 Look, it we can all admit that Geoffrey falling off the quinjet to his death was tragic but sadly, with his dare that he could fight Eggman with both his hands and legs cuffed, blindfolded AND gagged it was unavoidable. Right guys?
>>141750779 I hate the unnecessary half-lidded stare Yardley gives to everyone. So fucking obnoxious and it doesn't fit the setting at all. He might've been the first to draw Sonic correctly, but Ben still has the best art style.
>>141748968 >Question: What do you think of Geoffrey the traitor? Easily the best he's been in the comic, feels super natural despite being a massive retcon
>>141750987 Shut the fuck up you traitorous skunk. By that logic, Max didn't have any authority to give to Naugus since Robotnik was ruling the Kingdom.
>>141750911 >>141750934 Damn, Sally really got a major stat boost. Her tactical prowess will really come in handy in the coming times of conflict against Eggman. >:(
>>141750997 Just a reminder that Nicole is still suffering. And she will be suffering a lot worse as we go on. >>141750979 No, no, they're still a couple. It's not officially dead until the reboot.
>>141751072 An opinion without any elaboration, you say page is bad with nothing to actually detail why hence easy to ready butthurt as no other option
>>141751113 >But maybe... Eggman should've been killed... but Sonic would've been sad... Just spike his food with cyanide and say he died from a broken heart or somethin
>>141751101 Dumb logic, but just so you stop seething. If you're not a raging Sonallyfag, it's clear to see why Sonic and her kissing in a tense situation with no setup or reason is stupid.
>>141751150 That is such a specific thing to think it’s dumb over, they’ve hooked up by this point and Sonic does all sorts of whatever in tense situations cause that is in his character, but if you think it’s a dumb page that’s fine no point arguing really
>>141751150 >no setup or reason What? They just built up back their broken relationship over several issues and they're going into a dangerous situation. This is stereotypical time for a kiss for good luck.
>>141751160 >>141751183 EXIT this issue is also where I was unable to keep up with archie for good until well after it ended and IDW got the rights. I never really found out what happened after this for a long time and maybe it was for the best
>>141750889 He was good in the Silver Age. She doesn't go uwu baby retard with him until IDW (though she does still draw him with rounded eyes in Archie)
>>141751199 >>141751239 Except Sally is the one who offered the kiss. Pay attention. >>141751207 It's called a "trope", not a stereotype. And it's a dumb trope, especially when done with a character like Sally, who's supposed to be "rational". It's obvious that Ian rushed this just so issue 231 would be more impactful so I'm not even sure why you're defending it.
>>141751256 I know it's not quite done yet, but oh man, it feels like the end of the old Bonnie and Clyde movie where we all know what's gonna happen but it's a shock and bittersweet all the same >>141751287 don't worry guys, GER will come in and un-do the Super Genesis Wave and un-fuck the Pendering... right?
>>141751321 >Except Sally is the one who offered the kiss. And? Nothing wrong with that when they have been flirting on the battlefield for years. >And it's a dumb trope, especially when done with a character like Sally, who's supposed to be "rational". Princess Leia is also supposed to be a rational person, that didn't stop her from kissing her twin brother when Storm troopers were shooting at them.
>>141751321 I’m not sure why you are taking umbridge at this page specifically for such asinine reasons to be honest, i’d have more respect if you just said you hated it showed a pairing you don’t like
>>141751321 I'm defending it because I don't see a problem. It's a kiss while they were free falling. They didn't decide to fuck in the middle of a firefight. You're just autistically mad over nothing.
>>141751273 >let’s end the issue on a giant cliffhanger while we go into a filler arc rehashing the first two Genesis games for 4 months! Was anyone reading this ongoing in this thread at this time? I can’t imagine how pissed off that must have made readers.
>>141751321 >when done with a character like Sally, who's supposed to be "rational". Next you'll tell me she shouldn't be riding on the wing of an airplane because that's not rational either. The whole scene is to show she's not the same as she was when she gave Sonic the slap. And Ian spent the better part of a year irl setting this up, it wasn't rushed.
>>141751417 >Was anyone reading this ongoing in this thread at this time? I was! I was lurking the forums too. >I can’t imagine how pissed off that must have made readers. Not as much as you'd think. The big cliffhanger kept people talking for the four months, it gave the whole Genesis storyline a very ominous air to it, some people were excited the whole way through, some people got kind of bored with it but there wasn't much outright anger.
>spend their entire lives protecting the world >universe decides to be extra cruel towards them Sonic, Antoine, Bunnie, Sally, and Rotor did not deserve that much suffering.
In my opinion, Genesis was the beginning of the end of the Sonic franchise, or at least an early warning sign of what it would become in present day. Sega forcing various iterations separate from the games to bow to their whim and make something that nobody really wanted is an all too familiar occurrence nowadays.
>>141750969 I'll add that this is technically not the last time we see them kiss. The thing is that we see the panel of their kiss at the end of Endgame as a memory before a really bad thing happens to Sally.
>>141750482 This is my third time reading, second ride overall I'm feeling the melancholy too, man, I haven't read this in years and forgot how good this was
Barefeet with me once more. Imagine Naugus allows you to worship and bow to him as you choose fit. Me? I would choose to kiss and attend to his feet. He is a king after all, and what's a king without loyal, willing subjects? No, he won't wear socks, but he'll certainly let you touch his feet, and even that is overstepping your boundaries as one of his subjects. But he'll allow you to go even farther.
>>141751688 >Specifically, separating classic and modern was a mistake. Yeah. We could never have something like Advance ever again because of that dumb assery
>>141750969 God...knowing that this was their last kiss... and that after this war was over they were likely gonna get married... only for the universe to be reset while she is a robot....
It tears me up. I'm a 21 year old man crying over a comic about a blue hedgehog that never got an official ending.
That is the beauty of Archie Sonic. It has its bad moments but moments like this make it worth it and then some.
Remember that Sonally isn't dead (like Sally is right now) but it will be gone when we have the reboot. And as one anon said, there's one nice moment left and an after effect of it. Then it goes all downhill from there. If anything the sweet moment will make the reboot and its effects sting that much more.
>>141751551 It was honestly kind of novel to see Green Hill Zone and other classic game elements in the comic at the time since it hadn't been rehashed to death by that point. But there was that ominous dread lurking underneath it all too.
It ultimately was a detour, but I didn't mind it at the time. Though I was also 12 so what did I know.
>>141751729 It's very cute when they're just flirting with no drama. Sonic's never had a love interest with chemistry like this. I can't imagine Sonamy ever reaching the same high notes if Sega ever made it canon.
>Q:My first ever Sonic comic, which was also written by you Ian, was Sonic Genesis. The Graphic Novel/hardcover trade from Archie. And not just that, but it was also my first exposure to Sonic media outside the games, having only played Generations before this, so this thing introduced me to characters like Sally Acorn, Antoine, Snively, and showcased more stuff beyond the games. [...] I was wondering if you could maybe just talk a little bit about the process behind making it. The inital idea, how did you and the rest of the team decide for this format for the 20th anniversary story, ETC ETC, just want to know about the making of it. Ian: Maaan, that is an interesting point to enter. Kyle: Yeah, that is an interesting point to enter Sonic in general to be honest with you. It still kind of blows my mind that there's like people who are like yeah Sonic Lost World is my first Sonic game and I'm like what? Oh that's right you're like, 17. Ian: It's always interesting to hear when people hopped on the book but that particular arc, that's funky. That's interesting. Kyle: Well I mean it is sort of an introductory sort-of deal which was actually kind of nice in that sense. Ian: It was conceived of as the 20th anniversary tie-in special. It was purely for money, it was a marketing thing. I was not happy about it because it was throwing off everything I built up to that point. This is supposed to be the big payoffs of the story arc and now we're taking a four-month break on a spin-off thing. It had to be classic oriented because it was the 20th anniversary and we kind of treated it as a "What if we had to reboot the book? What if this was a new continuity, a new take on the continuity?" and because Genesis did very well there was some talk at the time to turn it into a spin-off and make it its own continuity and go from there. I'm not quite sure why that idea died on the vine but it was there for a time. cont'd
>>141751855 Great secondary antagonist, love how he's Eggman's enemy as well so there's a third faction between him and Sonic, love how he's a wizard to contrast Eggman being a mad scientist.
>>141751913 The whole thing was address the classic stories and kind of a new take on the freedom fighters, how would they fit into the original games story and do it in such a way that it fits four issues. Truth be told I'm not fond of it. It was one of the few instances where I wrote a story because I was told to. I did the best I could with it but there was no real heart put into it to be perfectly honest and I feel bad because I've gotten lots of people saying "this was my most favorite version of Sonic!", "I love this!", "it's my favorite story!" and I'm like, I'm so happy for you and I kind of wish I'd done more with it then to make it better. Although a large part of that is because Patrick Spaziante and Tracy Yardley did the art and it was freaking gorgeous. So I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm glad you're with us now. Kyle: I liked that book personally but then again I'm a classic Sonic-stan so I really appreciated that sort of mixing the modern and the classic and the archie all together in a cohesive new way. in a new way. It's like a prototype post-reboot in a way. Ian: And you are not alone and I'm happy folks enjoyed it so much. I want to say that there was like a brainstorm/springboard idea for a follow-up arc that was Sonic 2 and that would have brought in Bunnie but that never went anywhere.
>>141751923 But that's the thing, Iizuka just treats them like Mario powerups when they're like, actual living alien beings that all teleported away at the end of Colors?
>>141751958 Colors DS establishes how they come to Earth. The DS version of that game is actually more canon than the console one despite not getting a fancy re-release.
>>141751855 Said my compliments a plenty in the thread for his character but just say again he is a superb villain that nicely contrasts Eggman and honestly a character of his role should pop up in the games, a magical type that focuses on the dark arts
>>141751855 I remember liking him a lot during this part of the comic but I think that's mostly because I'm a sucker for goofy villain/smart henchman dynamic
I just came from the idw sonic storytime and HOLY SHIT IS IDW BEAN SOULLESS like I get archie bean is just deadpool as a duck, but jesus christ hes so lucid in idw
>>141751900 I don’t even mind zeti designs or species but they are just not great recurring villains, like Infinite or a modern version of Fang are more viable as recurring foes but I’m not sega so whatever suppose
>>141752036 something something more inline or whatever. Meh. I also see that bean and bark are going to just be apart of the shitty friends club than doing any bad again. Way to make them even more irrelevant than they were. Being with Fang carried them. No one will literally give a fuck about them soon.
>>141752073 They're just the most generic one-note villains in Sonic. Red's the leader, Yellow is fat and eats a lot, Purple is crazy, Violet is emo, Blue is the wise sensei and Green is girl. Yawn.
>>141752147 I mean he did technically (not like any fan actually gave a fuck about it unless your a hipster) But the japs want them that way I guess. But no one will give a FUCK about them when they're just generic friends. So lol at that >>141752181 Blaming iizuka for EVERYTHING is a bit annoying bro.
>>141752177 Robotnik was fucking with reality with the Ultimate Annihilator and he didn’t even need an emerald for it. The Eggmen are just in another league from the other villains.
>>141752488 Nta but are you really gonna pull the non canon card with archie being brought up when talking about the hooligans characters? btw i like archie before you say anything else about me
>>141752564 I don't like Rouge being part of the friend group but I dont think Honey should either even if she's not bad. She's there but not always with them.
Battle Lord Kukku XV, leader of the Battle Bird Armada, and one tough customer! I decided to give them the Wing Fortress. Eggman has his Death Egg, he doesn’t need anything else. And see how generous he is, giving the BBA the chaos emeralds! Surely he’s open and honest about his intentions!
>>141752612 Just whenever they don't use Cream. Cream really deserves the spot in Sonic's friend group ensemble but I guess Sega doesn't like throwing the innocent character into adventures.
>>141752727 >When the first adventure she want on was her and Cheese single-handedly beating and destroying Eggman's latest Death Egg model I know she's suppose to be like 6 but come on, she's a very capable 6 year old.
>>141752785 >>141752811 How do you "accidentally" delete your Tumblr? I don't think you just have to click one thing by mistake and it's gone like that.
>>141753019 He also needed to find a new place to live. I think that might've been sorted out but he stopped updating his comic a year or so ago. He's gone on hiatuses like this before.
