Sonic #65 [Best if read before: Dec 1998]
     Spaz/HaRiO/Moore(?)/Heroic Age cover: Since Nate Morgan gets his
name on the cover, he's the only figure who isn't transparent to some
degree or other.  While Sonic is in slight fadeout mode, you can't say
the same for Tails or Naugus (who reminds me here of one of the
Monstars from "Space Jam").  I suppose there was a point to rendering
them that way; I'll let you know when I figure out what it is.
     "Virtual paradise" paragraph gives way to a splash of Sonic,
Tails, and Nate Morgan reminding us of the name of the villain. 
There's also silent backup by Eddy the Yeti (hey, I think it's a better
name than "Abominable Snow-Bot").  It's hard to tell, whether the look
of collective fear and loathing is because of Naugus, or because Archie
Comics had the audacity to rip off story titles from J. R. R. Tolkien
TWICE in the same year.  First "Return of the King" and now:
     "The Naugus Trilogy: Part 2:
     "The Fellowship of the Rings"
     Story: Karl Bollers; Art: Steve Butler; Ink: Pam Eklund;
Lettering: Jeff Powell; Color: Ken Penders; Editorial: G-Force
     We then get a 2-page spread for the credits page; that takes up
quite a bit of open space and sets up the exposition on page 4 for the
benefit of those just joining us.  From this we learn that Naugus's
stowing himself away inside Eddy the Yeti's pilot light was the only
way he could get past the "mystical wards placed around [Nate's]
fortress to keep out beings such as yourself."  Since these "wards" are
alluded to only once more and their providence is never mentioned in
the course of the extended flashback to come, Justin G. might as well
have defined "wards" as "plot devices" rather than "defenses" in his
editorial box.  A frontal assault on Naugus by Sonic, Tails and Eddy
the Yeti gets them a dose of the Darth Vader Remote Control
Strangulation bit until Nate breaks it up and gets rid of his unwanted
house guest with...
     I'd like to admit at this point that while I don't watch
everything Cartoon Network has to offer, there are some program blocks
I try to catch whenever possible.  One of these comes on at 2:00 pm
Eastern time on Sundays: "Road Rovers" and "SWAT Kats" back to back. 
I like to think of this block as the "Reigning Cats and Dogs Hour," but
anyway.  One of the bumpers for "Road Rovers" (i.e., the bits of
animation they show when going to commercial) shows Hunter closing in
on General Parvo only to forget all about his objective when presented
with the prospect of chasing a tennis ball.  Nate must have seen the
show as well because he pulls the EXACT SAME BIT on Naugus using what
turns out to be a hologram of a power ring.  Of course Naugus does his
part and chases after the thing like a terrier tearing after a
Frisbee(tm).  By the time he realizes what's happened, he's out in the
cold, literally.
     Back inside, we learn that Nate's full name is Nathaniel
Beauregard Morgan, and Sonic gets in a panel of exposition himself. 
But the Flashback-O-Matic is just getting warmed up, folks.
     Either some fans write to Sonic every blessed month, or else the
"Find Your Name" feature has taken to using the same names over and
over; I KNOW I've come across both Green Gibbon and Noele "T2" Carballo
before.  Reminds me of a little editorial stunt the New Yorker magazine
pulled between 1967 and 1971: rather than use the same copy week after
week after week when summarizing the plot of a long-running Broadway
show, they'd print famous quotations, copyright lines, and even
excerpts from Jane Austen's "Persuasion."  And just what I need to keep
me on my diet: cookies with funky-colored centers and pictures of
monsters on them.
     Remember an issue or two ago when the letter page featured an
explanation of why's Robotnik's origin in the SatAM continuity differed
from the RSV (Received Sega Version)?  Well, Karl Bollers does his
darnedest to meld the two together in Nate's extended exposition which,
if anyone else is counting, takes up 7 pages of a 16 page story:
     Nate used to be a "geo-physician"; this sounds like the kind of
job where you walk up to a volcano, put a stethoscope against its side
and say "Turn your head and erupt."  Seems he was working on a project
with "Julian Kintobor of the House of Ivo" and someone who looks a lot
like Egon from "The Real Ghostbusters."  They were perfecting an
alternative energy source: the Power Ring.
     True Confession: when I first heard this as a spoiler on the Net
I just about went ballistic.  All this time I had been maintaining the
FAQ File and storing lots of Sonic trivia away, and one piece of the
story seemed absolutely unassailable: that it was Uncle Chuck who had
perfected the Power Ring.  But take a looky back at page 1, boys and
girls, where it says "Archie Comics AND Sega present...Sonic the
Hedgehog."  Somehow I doubt that either of these entities have anything
like a strong commitment to the continuity of the animated show that
got many of us buying these fraggin' comics in the first place.  After
all, Archie had downplayed Uncle Chuck's scientific credentials for the
longest time and relegated him to the role of glorified short-order
cook and chili dog stand entrepreneur; only recently, since "Endgame,"
have they shown the character any kind of respect.  And we all know the
depth (or shallowness) of Sega's commitment to the secondary characters
from the SatAM show.  Make no mistake, the REAL Great War has been
between story continuities, and the SatAM version stands about as much
chance against the Sega juggernaut as Poland did when caught between
Hitler and Stalin.
     Speaking of Stalin, let's get back to the rewriting of Mobian
history.  Julian managed to talk Nate into field testing the power ring
without running all the diagnostics on it.  I don't know why the
authorities chose to equate incompetence with "sedition" (which
involves inciting the populace to rebel against the authority of the
State).  Perhaps Overland (which Ken Penders identified with the
Northeastern United States in his map of Mobius in "Brave New World")
should have been identified with Stalin's Russia after all.  Ralph
Waldo Emerson may have condemned a foolish consistency as being the
hobgoblin of little minds, but the alternative (having your continuity
careening all over the highway) isn't too pretty, either.  Question for
J. Fred Gabrie: What's it gonna take to nail down the backstory for the
series and get all of the writers to go along with it?  The comic's
been rolling along for a tidy few years now, and the stories have
become interlocked to the point where supplying the new writers with
five issues of the comic and an old character bible just isn't enough
to guarantee a coherent story.  Face it, the old days of Making It Up
As You Go Along are over.
     But back to Nate.  He finds himself amongst the furries who were
then "in a pre-industrial state."  Again, this is highly unlike the
SatAM continuity.  Knothole may have been rustic, but it wasn't because
technology was somehow beyond the grasp of the resident furs.  Sally
has always been comfortable with Nicole, and Rotor showed quite a bit
of familiarity with sophisticated hardware (the portal in "When
Hedgehogs Collide", #24, is just one example of where this development
deviates from Archie's own plotlines!).  And since when is a "pre-
industrial state" characterized by the existence of powered flight? 
King Max and his daughter Sally didn't get to the Floating Island by
rope ladder if Ken Penders's "Black and Blue and Red All Over" (#44) is
to be believed.
     Forget it.  If I keep letting myself get cheesed off at the
inconsistencies Karl has written into this story I'll NEVER finish this
review; either that, or when I DO finish I'll have an ulcer to show for
it.
     Nate is taken into the palace of King Max's father, Frederic, much
as Julian would one day be accepted by Max himself.  Thanks to access
to a Chaos Emerald, Nate is finally able to perfect the power ring. 
What about Uncle Chuck?  He and his brother, Jules, are mentioned in
passing as "students" of Nate's so forget about his getting any credit
for ANYTHING!  We're supposed to believe that Mobius then goes through
a "technological golden age" and that Mobitropolis took shape at that
time.  And all was groovy.
     But if you think Karl Bollers has taken revisionism as far as it
can go you haven't seen anything yet!  Quick review: according to the
SatAM continuity, Naugus (who was never burdened with the given name
"Ixis") was in league with then War Minister Julian.  He was rewarded
for his discovery of The Void by being exiled there by the
aforementioned Julian in a characteristically duplicitous act.  King
Max was clueless about the act, as well as Julian's intentions, until
as Robotnik he sprang the trap.  So, here's the Karl Bollers rewrite:
Naugus, jealous of Nate's status at the royal court, and unable to
persuade Max that Nate is a threat, allies himself with the Warlord
General Kodos.  By the way, anybody ever figure out what species Kodos
is supposed to be?  A chance encounter by troops from both sides turns
into a bloody (but off-screen) skirmish which precipitates the Great
War.  Kodos blames Nate for the encounter, with Naugus singing the
chorus.  Nate then goes into a self-imposed exile, in the course of
which he comes upon the site for Knothole AND sets up the "ring forge"
at the bottom of "a deep, murky lake."
     Nate continues on south to the Southern Tundra.  He also makes a
totally gratuitous reference to the "Day of Fury" subplot Ken Penders
used in the "Forgotten Tribe" arc (Knuckles #10-12 plus Sonic #58).  On
top of that, he gets it WRONG: Athair tells Knuckles that the last time
the weather was this cockeyed few Mobians survived.  That was just
before the great "Nobody dies today!" scene.  What Karl serves up is an
Overlander rumor about mutates.  This plot twist comes out of nowhere
but at least it gives him an explanation for Eddy the Yeti.  And at
story's end, he's showing Sonic and Tails (who at some point in the
flashback finally removed his parka) his power ring collection.  We're
told that the conclusion will "rock our world" but all I've got to show
for coming through THIS installment is a headache.
     I understood going in that this portion of the story would be
taken up with flashbacks and development.  I did NOT foresee that one
of the developments would be running roughshod over various plot points
that had already been established.  It made it exceedingly hard to care
about what was happening to Nate when he was being presented as the
Overlander who singlehandedly made Mobius what it was, from the
perfecting of the power ring to the bringing of the furries out of
their pre-industrial state to the discovery of Knothole and the
providential way Sonic would have access to said power rings.  Even
THIS wouldn't have been so bad had it not meant that Uncle Chuck was
going to end up getting eclipsed big time.  That adds a certain ironic
twist to the fact that Nate is depicted as being black: in the same way
that it used to be assumed that white males made history, we now learn
that a non-furry was the real key behind the furries' development.
     I can't say that this is a pleasing set-up for the upcoming Image
crossover special.  Because we'll be running into the same situation
all over again: skins versus furs.  I mean, c'mon!  The cover for the
special practically screams it, with all the furs grouped on one side. 
I may be way off base, since I haven't any idea as to where the special
is going to go.  But Archie Comics seems to think they have a very good
reason to play things this way.
     Despite the hype for the crossover special, and even implied in
the publicity blurb for the special that's been made available in comic
stores and posted on the Net, the perception remains that Sonic is a
species of "funny animal book."  In other words, a second-class citizen
at best in a comic scene dominated by steroid-packed hyoomons (Ferengi
pronunciation) where the mention of "Wolverine" will not conjure up
images of the University of Michigan mascot.  Even Ken Penders, in an
unguarded moment, described Sonic as "basically a kiddie book."  So the
crossover special, like "Fellowship of the Rings," can be seen as an
attempt to put some distance between the comic and the perception.  
     I'm beginning to wonder whether Archie Comics isn't, in its
corporate heart of hearts, ASHAMED to be doing a furry book.  After
all, the furriest thing about their bread-and-butter Archie comic line
has to be Mr. Svenson's moustache.  Archie Andrews and the rest of the
crew can recycle the same bits over and over, they can give short
shrift to character development, they can lock the Riverdale kids in
the mother of all time warps, but by golly at least it ain't no funny
animal book!
     Sorry, I can't be objective about the merits of a story that takes
this many liberties with the continuity, so let's check the Fan Art. 
I liked Kathryn Wheeler's "Sonic vs. Knuckles" cover art; the concept
may be passe, but it's still an excuse to bring Sally and Bunnie into
the picture.  I have mixed feelings about Sean Lane's drawing of
Knuckles with a weighty problem: it's an attempt at humor rather than
just a character study, but the script needs some polishing.  And am I
right in thinking that "Whitney" LIKES Geoffrey St. John?
     Pro Art: James Fry and Andrew Pepoy drawing of Sonic and Tails
getting shot at by Robotnik.  What's really depressing is, this is
beginning to look like the "good old days."
     "Amy Rose and Dulcy the Dragon in:
     "The Library"
     Story: Ken Penders; Art: Art Mawhinney; Ink: Ken Penders;
Lettering: Jeff Powell; Coloring: Ken Penders; Editorial: G-Force
     In the midst of the ongoing reconstruction of Mobitropolis, Amy
shows Dulcy a book she found.  It appears to be a chronicle of the life
of someone named Kirby (a thinly-veiled reference to one of Ken's major
comic book influences, Jack Kirby).  Not satisfied with a secondary
source, Amy Rose talks Dulcy into giving her a lift to the library. 
Upon entering the still-intact structure, Amy Rose's reaction when she
views the contents is somewhat akin to that of Belle being presented
with her host's not-too-shabby book collection in "Beauty and the
Beast."  My appreciation of Amy Rose increases accordingly.  Dulcy
finds a number of books including one by Kirby called "The D-Man."  Of
all the jokes embedded in the titles and authors on display in that
panel, I'm sorry to say it's the only one I don't get.  But Amy Rose
and Dulcy decide to beat feet when they think they're not alone.  The
last panel reveals that there IS someone in the library--probably the
one who's kept the floors clean, the furniture dusted and the
electricity flowing all these years.  Hey, that's where I'D want to
live!
     This story's undergone a bit of a rewrite since Ken first told me
about it.  He'd first planned to have Tails accompany Amy Rose to the
library to hunt down the treasured Kirby volume, but that was before
Tails was scheduled to be out of town for this issue.  Also, the
appearance of the Phantom of the Library is a new element.  But these
are very minor matters and don't detract from the story at all.  Not
for me, anyway.  Then again, it's pretty hard for me NOT to enjoy a
story set in a library and having to do with books.  After dealing with
the cover story, I thoroughly enjoyed this one.  To each their own; I
understand that some readers actually used to enjoy the fistfights
between Sonic and Knuckles.
     And to translate the box at the end: the discovery of the Kirby
volume becomes a handy link to several projected back stories by Ken. 
These will deal with events leading up to and including the Great War. 
And they will be major.
     Sonic-Grams: Plugs for Sonic #66, Knuckles #19 and the Image
crossover special, complete with faded (in my copy, anyway) thumbnails
of the covers.  Letters: Jeff Spencer tells King Max his attempt at
being a marriage broker leaves something to be desired, and Rick Causey
seconds the motion.
     P.S.: Ken Penders has informed me that the "D-Man" reference was
to a Kirby series from the 1970s, "The Demon."  By that time, I'd
dropped out of the comic scene completely, and wouldn't get back in
until I discovered a comic that was part of the Kitchen Sink Press line:
Reed Waller's "Omaha The Cat Dancer."  Wouldn't you know it: another
furry book.