Sonic The Hedgehog #204 (Nov 2009)
     Pat Spaziante cover: following up on the three-way featuring
Sonic, Khan and Bunnie, this one features Sonic going mano-a-
monkey with Khan.  Khan is all slobbery and freaky and Sonic
looks like he's trying something he saw in a kung fu movie.  And
there's lightning; lots of lightning.
     I don't know about anyone else, but as well-posed as this
is, there's something missing here.  It's all about the effects
here with no context; to put it another way, it's all flash and
no feeling.  Compare this with a vintage Spaz cover, repurposed
as the background of the ad for Sonic Archives v. 11 opposite
page [4] of the cover story.  Less flash but a lot more "Whoa!!"


     "Heavy Is The Head: Part 2 : Iron Khan"
     Story: Ian Flynn; Art: Stephen Butler; Ink: Terry Austin;
Color Matt Herms; Lettering: John E. Workman; Assistant Editor:
Paul Kaminski; Managing Editor: Mike Pellerito; Editor-in-Chief:
Victor Gorelick; Sega Licensing reps: Cindy Chau and Jerry Chu

     Khan, looking like he's ready to wait in line for "Tron
Legacy" tickets, comes out swinging.  He scatters the Mobians and
even takes a swipe at the Orphans whom Sonic scoots out of the
way on his way to updating Sally about Bunnie.  Sonic gets up to
speed and the one-on-one begins.
     He manages to evade Khan while trying to reason with him,
but this only amuses Queenie and Snively, who breaks up Khan's
former power ring crown.  You can tell she's amused because she
does this really silly-sounding "Mree-hee-hee" laugh.  I don't
know where it comes from, but it's more than a little annoying if
you ask me.  She's also enough of a comic book villain to give a
shout-out of exposition to Sonic which gives him a game plan.
     During a quick consult with Sal, Khan moves in but Antoine
still wants payback from someone for messing with Bunnie.  This
gives Sonic a chance to split while Ant, Sally and a couple of
the Chaotix keep monkeying with the monkey.
     The ever-impatient Sonic is moreso than usual as he waits
for another power ring (Remember power rings?) to be generated. 
Nicole starts by saying you can't rush these things, but offers
to smack the machinery with a wrench to speed things up. 
Finally, the toast pops as Khan closes in.  The Power Ring, we
are told, is either made "by science or magic."  In "Capture The
Flag," I leaned more toward the science side myself.  Anyway,
Sonic slaps it on Khan's broiling brow and he returns to
something approaching normal.
     So now that Queenie's technomagical hold on Khan has been
short-circuited, does she:

     a) Move in to re-establish her technomage control;
     b) Choose to destroy him in case he switches sides;
     c) Give that stupid laugh and go away.

If you guessed "c" then you've been following this comic since at
least S175 when Robotnik did/didn't do the same thing to Sonic. 
Come to think of it, the Bull King made the same mistake three
issues ago.  Is there some kind of provision in the CCA code that
says villains have to be this dense?
     Because despite Queenie's self-assured prediction that the
Mobians will end their resistence to her now that "their faith in
Monkey Fuzz is shattered," we get like FOUR PAGES of Khan filling
in the back story followed by everybody, Antoine and the Orphans
included, showing love to the monkey.  If she thinks she can kick
back and let Mobius run itself, she's crazy.
     And speaking of Robotnik, Snively discovers the mathematical
truth that Gloat - Sane Audience = Exposition, so after informing
the noobs and his demented uncle as to what's going on, he leaves
in a huff.  And what HE gets to miss is watching Robotnik, in the
midst of chowing down on a heaping helping of word salad,
remember word-for-word the override command for the robo rubber
room.  Looks like the Sniveler and his would-be girlfriend are
about to have a not-so-good day.

     HEAD: OK, I have nothing against villains having their blind
spot.  Knowing that they have a vulnerability at least keeps
things interesting.  But does it have to be the SAME blind spot
all the time?
     This is the third time in 29 issues that a villain
(Robotnik, the Bull King, and now the Iron Queen) has had Sonic
right where they want him only to decide that killing him
outright is either too much work or is psychologically
unsatisfying so they simply let their attention-deficit disorder
kick in and find something else to do.  It was a good ploy when
Robotnik did it, but worn out by S201 and now it just seems like
Ian is in a rut or something.  
     I know that the CCA doesn't want kids to think that homicide
is an acceptable problem-solving strategy, but part of the
writer's job is to find alternatives in situations like this.  If
Sonic had simply pulled Khan down under the surface and held his
breath until Snively and his girlfriend went away on the
assumption that Sonic's mail will now be forwarded to Davy
Jones's Locker, it wouldn't have changed the story dynamic and
simply delayed Sonic's extended "This is why..." exposition
balloons by only a page or two.  Or he could have done a little
one-handed burrowing, which happened in S184's "Chaos Angel" and
surfaced out of sight of the villains.  It also would have given
the villains more of a reason to gloat and afforded a bigger
shock when confronting Sonic again.  "What can I say?" as Sonic
put it in "Sonic Adventure 2" when he reunited with Shadow after
he managed to Chaos Control his way out of the capsule before it
exploded in space, "I die hard."
     Sonic v. Khan was pretty much a set piece, so my interest
was focused on what happened after Sonic saw to it that the
thermostat in Khan's boiler room got dialed down.  And while Ian
took his time getting there, he did serve up an interesting and
intense reason as to why there isn't any back-up back home: under
the influence of the Iron Queen, Khan turned into a simian of
mass destruction.  That would have been a seriously interesting
graphic had Butler been allowed a background shot of bodies
strewn across the landscape of the Dragon Kingdom, even in such a
long shot that none of the messy details would be visible.  But
here we come back to the CCA thing.
     And it says a lot for the Mobians that they think better of
Khan than he does of himself.  With the group literally reaching
out to Khan, this changes the dynamic considerably.
     And the WAY it's done is pretty impressive as well.  A
discussion of the Orphans and Khan more properly belongs in the
Heart section, but even Antoine comes around.  And on that
subject, Ian deserves props for peppering Antoine's speech with
the kind of malapropisms that marked him back in the SatAM
continuity, such as "sorry for my frostingness" as well as his
kind of overdone and mangled syntax as in the line "So you choose
now to be telling us?"  Ken Penders used to simply give Antoine a
dime store French accent ... when he remembered to use it at all. 
And the verbal sparring between Ant and Sonic in one panel is
spot on perfect.
     As for Robotnik, it looks like the Big Guy is worming his
way back into the continuity now that his own wet works have had
a chance to cool down.  The only question now is just how insane
in the membrane he really is.  Head Score: 9.
     EYE: Good work by Butler, and kudos to Matt Herms for the
dark sky effects in the background during the fight scene.  Eye
Score: 10.
     HEART: At first, I thought that the Orphans were totally
annoying, especially since their introduction in this arc was in
the role of Angry Kid Mob.  Now, they've come around and sided
with Khan.  I still think that it's pretty manipulative and
heavy-handed to use them this way, but it gets the point across.
     I refer to them as "the Orphans" because Ian hasn't really
done anything with them as individuals.  Sure, we know Sasha
grows up to be part of the Mobian mainstream media, but that's
about it.  Fact is, I have a hard time keeping straight which is
Rory and which is Snaggle.  They exist as a unit, like the trio
of Spirits in Mozart's "Magic Flute."
     That said, Ian gets it really right when he has the kids
admit that "sometimes we felt like it was our fault" that they
lost their parents.  That's a psychological tick common to, among
others, children of divorce and rape victims.  As I write this, I
have to work at not beating myself up for my hearing loss (no,
I'm not deaf, but I feel like I'm getting there) and obsessing
over what I did/didn't do/could have done about it to make it
worse/better.  It's a no-win game, believe me.  But having the
Orphans tell Khan that they're all on the same side, which Sonic
and Sally also tried to tell him earlier in the story, is
emotionally satisfying and a cue to break out the hugs and
handshakes.  It would have been unsatisfying for Khan to simply
turn yet again and join the Mobians, like a pinball caught
between bumpers.  The emotional flow here is right, and sets up
the next chapter of the arc.  Heart Score: 10.


     "Friend In Deed: Part 2"
     Story: Ian Flynn; Art: Jamal Peppers; Ink: Terry Austin;
Color: Matt Herms; Lettering: John E. Workman

     After last issue's sublimely silent confrontation between
Knuckles and Espio, we're back in talkfest mode as Knuckles
brings the newbies up to speed on his predicament and makes it
clear that letting Espio take the Master Emerald is not an
option.  Knowing that "destroying" Knuckles ... OK, killing him
... isn't an option either as far as the CCA is concerned, Espio
relents while refusing to show his hand as to who else is yanking
his chain.  In fact, Knuckles makes up for lost verbiage by
asking a boatload of questions on page [4] about the Iron Queen
and relations between the four clans or "houses" and Lightning
Lynx.  Then Espio departs while delivering the exit line "I've
said too much."  In some respects, he still hasn't said much of
anything.

     HEAD: We're really no farther along than when the last part
of the story ended.  Face it, we knew Knuckles would get out of
his predicament; the only open question was "How?".  The one
thing new to the mix is that something other than common decency
is impelling Espio to keep from carrying out the Queen's orders. 
Knuckles is as confused as before, and I can't say I blame him. 
Besides, he STILL hadn't got an answer to the whole Rainbow
Valley question.  Not much traction this time.  Head Score: 5.
     EYE: I wonder whether Jamal Peppers had to work any harder
this time around to accommodate the word balloons than he did for
the last story where his drawings had to carry more of the
weight.  Peppers/Austin/Herms is a good team; I'd like to see
them combine more often, and not just on 5-pagers.  Eye Score:
10.
     HEART: Not much of a factor here since as I said Knuckles's
escaping the possibility of being sliced and diced by Espio was a
foregone conclusion.  Followed by a wall of words.  Heart Score:
n/a


     Fan Art: Alysia does a cute drawing of Beauty (Amy Rose)
taming the Beast (Sonic-as-werehog), and Nikki provides a Sonic
headshot.  But it was Stephanie's drawing of Conquering Storm the
Rabbit that got my attention.  When she was introduced on the
splash page at the end of S200's "Turn About Is Fair Play," I
thought for certain that C. S. had real breakout potential.  With
those iron-toed shoes, I wondered whether she's go one-on-one
with Bunnie before the latter got jerked around by the Queen. 
But after acting as the Queen's messenger in S201's "Change in
Management" she dropped down the narrative rabbit hole.  I'm
still hoping she'll get back in the game and defy this comic's
tradition of wasting characters with potential.

     Fan Funnies: I've never indulged in laser tag, but
apparently it's so literally painless (compared to paintball
fighting, anyway), that participants need to bring their own
drama.  That's what William Crowe is putting forward, anyway.

     Sonic-Grams: Editorial responds to David's remark that "You
guys have officially gotten me hooked on Sonic the Hedgehog" with
a rousing "Woo-hoo!" though around the office the more
appropriate response would be "Cha-CHING!!"  David also points
out conflicting scenarios between S184's "Chaos Angel" where
Locke sacrifices himself and S143's "Father's Day" where Locke
has a deathbed scene.  But relax; "the storylines of the future
are only possible developments."  Hope that clears things up. 
Connor wants to see more Tails, and while Editorial fills him in
about Amadeus, Rosemary and Merlin, it's all factual information
which Ian hasn't riffed on yet in an actual story.  It's all tell
and no show, in other words.  Maybe someday they'll fix that. 
Michelle would like to see serialized stories based on the games
such as "Unleashed" and "Black Knight" in Sonic Universe, as well
as another Sonic animated series.  The extended game stories idea
gets slapped down, which is a pity; the games have featured a
very strong narrative element lately.  Maybe TOO strong for the
CCA; after all, in "Black Knight," Sonic not only defeats Sir
Gawain (Knuckles) but then has to talk him out of killing himself
for failing to carry out his mission to destroy Sonic.  There was
never a suicide clause in European chivalry so it must be some
samurai bleed-over.  As for an animated series, they "haven't
heard anything," a situation to which I increasingly can relate.