Sonic #120 [Apr 2003] Spaz/Ribeiro/Ray cover: Generic cover saved by a very nice study of gesture. Having the toe of one of Mina's boots trying to overlap the other is a perfect touch. Axer/Jensen frontispiece: "Ladies and gentlemen, here's Lin Mina-Mei!" Beautiful drawing. I'll explain the joke later. "She's Gotta Have Him" Story: Karl Bollers; Art: Stephen Butler; Ink: Andrew Pepoy; Color: Jason Jensen; Lettering: Jeff Powell; Editor: Justin F. Gabrie; Managing Editor: Victor Gorelick; Editor-in-chief: Richard Goldwater. "Each night I ask the stars up above/Why must I be a teenaged mongoose in love?" OK, that ancient song reference dates me, but that's apparently more dating than Mina's been doing. Still suffering from the title "Crush" of S109, she asks Robo-Mom for some dating advice. Not that it's very helpful; turns out Dad and Momgoose first got together on the field of battle against the Overlanders. But since she's in no position to start a war, Mina tries a dose of what passes for sex appeal in an Archie comic: changing out of her sports togs and wearing a Dragon Lady dress. Good idea, lousy timing, as Sonic answers an untimely call to duty. After a mission that happens to last just as long as a page break, Mina is back in her street clothes and formally volunteering to join the Knothole Freedom Fighters. Her curriculum includes physical training (her expression indicates that she's still not exactly in control of her own speed yet), flight instruction, weapons training from Antoine, followed by an unscheduled rest period during Rotor's programming class. She's debriefed by Mom at the end of the day and Mom gets the impression that this is more about Sonic than about going up against Robotnik. Momgoose tries to have a word with Sonic the next morning, but this is hardly a "I hope your intentions toward my daughter are honorable" speech. She doesn't get to say much, actually, as the Menace-Of-The-Month shows up: a giant "uber-bot." They obviously haven't covered this in the Freedom Fighters School curriculum, but Mina feels she's got to make an effort. Since the others have taken to the air and are preoccupied avoiding the heat rays or whatever the bot is shooting out of its eyes, Mina finds that some of the furry kids she babysat back in S78's "Changes" are in the line of fire. Quick cut to Mina recapping trying to get the kids out of harm's way, then being overwhelmed by panic. Turns out that while the uber-bot was on the upstep, it ground to a halt thanks to some timely computer hacking ... excuse me, "programming" by Rotor. Yeah, I know, it's a stretch, but so was the conclusion of "Independence Day." Anyway, this is the reality check Mina needed as she explains to Momgoose why she dropped out of the force. But the plot takes a turn as Sonic catches an earful of Mina singing.... HEAD: This story laid one plot point to rest and put another in perspective. The late, unlamented plot point we no longer have to worry about is the Sonic-Sally-Mina triangle. When I learned that this story would possibly resurrect that plot point, I was afraid that Editorial had collectively managed to ignore "The Crush" which had seemed to lay it to rest last year. I think we can now officially have the funeral. The other plot point was Mina's speed, introduced in "Sword of Omens" (S90). That story had demonstrated how NOT to play up a character trait and integrate it into the continuity. Mina was suddenly as fast as Sonic, which to me cheapened Sonic's speed; it was an unwelcome deus-ex-machina used to save Sonic's bacon. It was also a quick-and-dirty way of setting up the triangle via the infamous Huge Misunderstanding Scene in S99's "Blow By Blow." Now Mina still has the speed, but not only is it confined to one panel but she apparently still hasn't broken that horse to saddle. She doesn't get to pour it on and generally act like some kind of fanfic avatar. What does make its presence known, almost unnoticed, is her singing. It's nicely established at the top of page [3] in the shower scene, and its use at the end of the story foreshadows next issue's "Song Bird" by Romy Chacon. I really like the feel of this development. We weren't hit over the head with it as was the case with her Sonic-like speed, and it helps establish her as a character in her own right and not a clone of Sonic or of any other character. If she's cloned off anyone, it's apparent when she shows up at the bottom of page [3]. Several people on Ken Penders's message board say that the Chinese dress is something out of a Spiderman comic, but that's putting it way too recent. The dress belongs to the stereotype of the Dragon Lady, the Oriental femme fatale, who dates back at least to 1931 and the film "Daughter of the Dragon" starring Anna May Wong, and who got a HUGE bounce in Milton Caniff's "Terry and the Pirates" strip. But in this case, especially because of the tie-in with Mina's singing ability as demonstrated in J. Axer's frontispiece, we need to look at another inspiration: Lin Minmei. The 1982 anime "Superdimensional Fortress Macross" was one of three anime that got edited and repackaged into the groundbreaking series known in the U.S. as "Robotech." The Macross was a huge spaceship which crashed into the Earth and caused the warring nations of Earth to stop fighting so they could examine its technology. The problem is, the alien Zendraedi arrive looking for their SDF. Among the young and untested crew that launches in the Macross to face the Zendraedi is an accidental stowaway: a Chinese pop singer named Lin Minmei. She not only provided one of the romantic subplots in the sprawling soap-operatic plot of "Robotech," she also introduced American watchers of the show to the "idol singer." Unique to Japan, the idol singer is more than just a pop star. Inspired by the post-World War II fan scene surrounding singers such as Pat Boone, Frank Sinatra or Connie Francis, idol singers (or "idoru") are invariably young, cute, female, cute, innocent with just a dash of sexiness, and did I say cute? Musical ability helps, but it's more helpful if she's (you guessed it) cute. Unfortunately, idoru tend to have a very short shelf life. But in "Robotech," Lin Minmei was more than just a pretty face. In what had to be one of the most audacious plot twists of all time, the Zendraedi attack on Earth comes to a screeching halt when they intercept a broadcast of a Lin Minmei concert aboard the Macross. They'd never experienced anything like it before! Let's see if Mina follows in the footsteps of Minmei next month. Overall, this story is a HUGE improvement over "Sword of Omens." Mina is more of a character in her own right, with her own life apart from Sonic, and her interactions with her mom are sweet and unforced. There's some well-done comic relief that ends up being rather telling: Mina dozes off during Rotor's programming lesson, but it's Rotor who happens to get the save this time around. It's well-paced, though the timing of the threat that calls Sonic away from Mina at the bottom of page [3] is a little too convenient, but in the end Mina has to face some truths not just about freedom fighting but about herself. Now this is more like it! Head Score: 10. EYE: Steve Butler does a bravura job of illustrating this story. My favorite detail is the Robotnik "autograph" incorporated into the design of the uber-bot, a detail familiar to anyone with any kind of experience playing the games. And the eyes. Drawing character eyes well has always seemed to elude Ron Lim. Butler shows how it's done. Even Momgoose's eyes are expressive, and that's saying something. But the most telling detail is the coloring of Mina's eyes and Sonic's to some degree. If you've ever made it to the end of the Carnival Night Zone in Sonic 3, you're at the stage where Robotnik keeps dropping what looks like a huge green marble on Sonic. I've always admired the gradation of color of the marble, and its electric shade of green. Jensen is the first colorist I've seen in this book who's been able to duplicate that effect on the printed page. This would be a 10 except that Butler goofs and draws Bunnie with BOTH arms deroboticized. Personally, I wouldn't mind if he keeps it up and gradually gives her a bunny bod again. Eye Score: 9. HEART: I had thought that after "The Crush" there was nothing more to say about the triangle angla, and that it should just be left to die. I admit that I was so eager to see a misbegotten plot point over and done with I'd forgotten that it wouldn't be over until the lilac-haired mongoose sings. Mina's romantic haze about Sonic needed to be dispelled, and it had to take more than a tete-a-tete with Princess Sally to do it. Mina had to enlist in the Freedom Fighters, had to be at Sonic's side when things got serious ... and she had to choke. That put all of her good intentions and adolescent fantasies in perspective. And believe it or not, that made Mina more real. Since her introduction in S76's "Business As Usual," she seemed to have a hard time finding her voice, her identity. Her suddenly being gifted with Sonic's speed was so forced and heavy- handed that it left a bad taste in my mouth. Here, you get the sense that things are actually happening to Mina and leaving a mark on her; she's not just going through the motions and doing something that seemed like a good idea to Justin Gabrie at the time. Now Mina seems to have found her voice, literally, and the comic is the better for it. Heart Score: 10. "Those Were The Days" Story: Ken Penders; Art: Dawn Best; Ink: Ken Penders; Color: Jensen; Lettering: Vickie Williams; Editor: Just Gabrie. A more appropriate song/story title would be "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay," which is where Julie-Su is when Mighty finds her. Rather than be alone with her own thoughts, she asks Mighty to share his. Cue the flashback: After a recap of a story arc I had troubles with when it first came out, Mighty is left presumably alone. Enter Knuckles, who demonstrates what a sheltered life he's been leading by demonstrating profound cluelessness when told about Robotnik's prison. Hint: it's like "Haven" only not run by your relatives. Knuckles gives his home address as the Floating Island, which begs the question of how the heck he got down off there in the first place. As for his getting back, enter Vector with a gyrocopter; no croc should be without one. They overload the thing, and crash land it on the Floating Island without managing to kill anybody. End of flashback, and except for a few more lines of dialogue, end of story. HEAD: "There is no doubt that Marley was dead. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate." Charles Dickens, "A Christmas Carol." I suppose this observation belongs in the Heart section, but let's get this out of the way first. Despite the text boxes at the very beginning and a throwaway line from Mighty at the end, the reader is hard-pressed to remember that Knuckles is supposed to be dead. Ken's euphemistic phrase "sacrificed himself for the good of the many" will be easily deciphered by Trekkers, but he still manages to go out of his way to avoid using the d-word. Even Julie-Su's line "despite all we've been through together ... how much I don't know about Knuckles" softens the impact by being in the present tense. Maybe that's a sign of denial, I don't know, but if she were really talking about someone who was both dearly and departed, she'd have lapsed into the perfect tense: "how much I NEVER KNEW about Knuckles," with that hint of regret that there were things he took with him to the grave. The story structure doesn't help matters, either. Of the six pages available, something like 4-and-a-half are taken up by a flashback sequence. I mean, it's nice to see Knuckles as the Rad Red again, but it does sort of detract from the point of the story: that Knuckles is supposed to be dead. But even apart from all this, there are serious problems with this story. As I hinted already, we don't know how Knux managed to get off the Floating Island, which should have set off alarms bells like crazy all throughout Haven had his absence been discovered. But even that's not the biggest problem, which has to do with Knuckles himself. Aside from his acting clueless when Mighty tried talking to him about Robotnik and being imprisoned, the cold fact remains that Knuckles isn't acting his age, which is supposed to be about 10 years old, same as Mighty. I've written Sonic Kids stories myself, and there's a certain feel about a character that changes when you write about the younger version. It's not just that they know less; they also have a way of looking at the world that's still half in light and half in shadow. They're not babies but they're still low-mileage. The real trick to writing for 10-year-olds is being able to remember what being ten years old FELT like, being able to get a handle on a time when certain changes hadn't taken place yet, and I'm not just talking puberty. Mike Gallagher had that feel for the most part when he wrote Sonic Kids stories; the dialogue for "My Secret Guardian" (Special #9) was a HUGE problem, and didn't sound natural at all, and yet the overall FEEL that these were kids was clearly palpable. I didn't sense that here. Ken has cited the James Bond franchise as one of his influences, and it shows big-time here. Instead of a solo piece with Julie-Su flashing back like crazy about her lost love, we get Mighty narrating a story featuring a gyrocopter and an explosion. This kind of action definitely marks it out as a boy's story, whether Ken meant to write one or not. Head Score: 4. EYE: The Best/Penders collaboration does well here, especially on the first page. Too bad Julie-Su's word balloon in the last panel of the first page hides Mighty's foot hoisted up on the dock; that gesture is totally natural, what I can see of it anyway. Jensen is still relatively new to the book, so he can be forgiven for not remembering that Julie-Su's eyes are violet and not light blue, and Knuckles's eyes are brown and not deep purple. Also, Dawn doesn't quite succeed in drawing a Knuckles who appears to be ten years old, which is understandable because the dialogue is no help on this point. Eye Score: 8. HEART: As mentioned above, Ken has a major jones for James Bond stories, and this story turns into one. Even though it doesn't have anything to do with the story at hand. I can't help but remember back to S47, at the beginning of the Endgame arc. In one noteworthy panel, the characters form a silent reactive tableau upon hearing Doctor Quack "declare" Princess Sally dead, though I think the Doc managed to avoid using the d-word, too. THAT would have made a powerful story: a wordless character study of Julie-Su alone with her thoughts, wandering from place to place in Echidnaopolis, trying to deal with the memories of Knuckles until she can no longer escape the need to grieve. Maybe she would have tried to enter an aurorium (what passes for a church in echidna society) only to have a cleric bar her at the door for trying to bring a weapon inside. Maybe give her one line at the end of the story, emphasis on "maybe." Having attended my share of funerals in the course of my 51 years I know from grief, and how it can cause someone to lose their voice. It's a wordless place, usually not populated with crash-landing gyrocopters. The death of a loved one can be a powerful peg on which to hang a story; this story is the poorer for not knowing that. Heart Score: 2. Fan Art: Amel Puskar and Wesley Cano submit Sonic portraits, but Robin Garbacz sends along an entire portfolio. My favorite is the Muttski before-and-after portrait. The portrait of Geoffrey makes him look absolutely untrustworthy. "The Royal Signet" Story: Romy Chacon; Art: Art Mawhinney, Ink: Pam Eklund; Color: Jensen, Lettering: Jeff Powell; Editor: J. F. Gabrie. Queen Alicia has managed to get a pass to leave the castle, and Sally and her mom are out having a mother-daughter moment, probably for the first time since S91's "Crash!" When Sally offers her vest to her mom, Alicia discovers the title objet in an inside pocket. The two of them head back indoors where Rosie is waiting for them, and Alicia gets to do the "just folks" routine by having Rosie fast-forward past the formalities. Then the three get down to business, which involves their visiting a nearby graveyard to pay their respects to Julayla. If her feline visage confuses you, hang in there; I'll recount that whole sorry story in a little while. After having forged a bond through their memory of the dead, the living carry on. HEAD: "'Let me see some tenderness connected with a death,' said Scrooge." Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol." For me, Sonic fandom began with the story that set this one up: "In The Still Of The Night" (Story: Mike Kanterovich and Ken Penders; Art: Art Mawhinney; Sonic #18). In that one, Sally abandons the mystery of the strange sphere that landed in Knothole in the previous ep to be at Julayla's side as she's dying. Not only was there a neat bit of business that was a goof on the opening credits of the original "Kung Fu" TV series (Sally grabbing the acorn from Julayla's hand not by trying to snatch it from above but by doing the knee tap seen in flashback on page [4]), but I thought it really gutsy for a "funny animal comic" to take on something like the death of a character. I've hung in being a fan of the comic ever since in the hope that it would get that good again and STAY that good. And with writers like Romy Chacon it may finally have a shot at it. This story feels SO different from the Sally-Alicia scene in "Crash!" That one was as flat as 4-day-old soda in a glass, with no feel for character at all. The same can't be said here, though I thought the Queen's use of "take a gander" was way too jarring. And even though it's put off until the last two pages of a five pager, there is no way Romy Chacon can be accused of not facing up to the fact that we're dealing with a death, albeit a long-past one. The scene is perfectly honest and works beautifully; even the banter in the final word balloon has a different feel from the dialogue between Julie-Su and Mighty in "Those Were The Days." This story and that one, in fact, should be read as a set; while ostensibly about the same subject, the treatments are vastly different. Head Score: 10, despite the "take a gander." EYE: This is the kind of story that makes me glad that Art Mawhinney is doing pencil work for the series again. Look at his drawing of Queen Alicia in the center panels of page [3], how she holds herself as Rosie shows her the proper courtesy. She holds herself LIKE a queen; the honor being showed by Rosie is due her, so it makes it all the more believable when she tells Rosie that it's not necessary. The honor was hers to have and hers to let go. These drawings do more to establish her character than every bit of dialogue she's had in the comic since she was thawed out. They contribute to the sense that she's a real character, and one who's likeable at that. If you've been a fan of the comic since, oh, around S57, you may be a little confused by the appearance of Julayla in flashback and at the end of the story. Didn't she used to look more like Sally and Alicia when she appeared in Sonic Kids stories? As usual, we can thank/blame Editorial for the confusion: Once upon a time, when Julayla died in S18, she was an unambiguous feline. Back in the day before Sonic Kids, there was no need to depict Julayla because she was, well, dead. Then came the infamous "The Dream Zone," (S43). In the course of that story, illustrated in part by Pat Spaziante, there's a flashback to the day Robotnik took over. Sonic and Sally, as kids, run to a grown-up to find out what to do. That grown-up looks an AWFUL lot like Sally, and it would have been the most natural thing in the world to assume that this was, in fact, Sally's mom. But thanks to The Phantom Letterer, Sally addresses this non-feline person as "Julayla." That didn't fool me for a second; I'll bet cash money that the original word balloon had Sally saying "Mommy" instead. But the politics of the appearance of Queen Alicia is another one of the great inside stories about the comic that's only come out over time in bits and pieces. I know that she HAD been at the center of the original Princess Sally miniseries until Kanterovich, Penders and Mawhinney were more or less forced to redo the entire thing on orders from Sega and Archie and thus delay its roll-out. The party line is that this delay hurt sales of the miniseries; personally, I have to wonder whether it wasn't the fact that they printed a second-string story instead and that the original might have been more successful. Nobody's ever gone public with the whole bizarre story, but I blame it in part on the fact that Archie at the time didn't have faith that the comic would last as long as it has and they were still relying on Making It Up As They Go as a guiding editorial principle. So aside from one panel in "Running To Stand Still" (S54), Julayla has been depicted as yet another ground squirrel. I believe now that the character can rest in peace, thanks to the original artist setting the record straight once and for all. Sonic is on firm enough footing now that it can happen. That still leaves the problem of Julayla-2's modeling in the Sonic Kids stories, but that's Editorial's headache, not mine. Eye Score: 10. HEART: 10. That says it all. Off-Panel: This time it's Justin's turn to take the hit. Gives new meaning to the term "Chrome-Dome." This Justin: J. Fred talks about the cover story for S125 and its round-robin artistic execution [bites tongue until it bleeds], but doesn't say what the preview media declare: that there'll be a Knuckles story in the issue as well. Blurb for S121: Prince Elias returns to the continuity, Knuckles goes to Echidna Heaven, and Mina auditions for "Mobian Idol"; let's hope Robotnik doesn't show up as Robo-Simon. Sonic-Grams: Abe Flower sings the praises of J. Axer, though I think he confuses writer Romy Chacon with penciler Art Mawhinney; Jonathan Chang, who's read every issue, objects to Knuckles being killed off. You'd think all that reading of the comic would have told him something about death cheats. He also thinks Amy Rose would make a better girlfriend for Sonic than Sally. When IS Amy Rose going to get some meaningful face time again? Ben comments on the shortness of the stories, and Bree compliments them on how the comic keeps changing. Yeah, well, keep in mind that not all those changes were intentional (see above).