Knuckles #29 [Oct 1999] New logo: The Knuckles title has been preceded by "Sonic the Hedgehog presents" complete with Sonic artwork. Wonder if this is a foretaste of a revised marketing strategy that reminds readers (the newbies who need reminding, anyway) that this is a spinoff of a book with stronger sales. Galan/Penders/Moore/Heroic Age cover: Gee, I thought for sure that the cover would be reworked after I saw the initial ink of it on Ken's Web site. Sally's supposed to be, what, five years old here? The way Galan drew her here, she appears to have more of a bustline as a kid than in her more grown-up spectral appearance on the cover. That, plus her arms look WAY too long, as if she's part orangutan. Great cover, otherwise. "My Special Friend" Story: Ken Penders; Art: Art Mawhinney; Ink: Rich Koslowski; Color: Frank Gagliardo; Lettering: Vickie Williams; Editorial: G- Force. Credits page: Art by Maw and Mann. Mawhinney figures of Knuckles and Sally with obvious PhotoShop influence, against a background pastiche of Manny Galan artwork from "My Secret Guardian" (Special #9). "No one can keep a secret in a warren." Richard Adams, "Watership Down" Fact: overcrowding has long been a bane of the animal (and human) world, leading to all sorts of undesirable outcomes. In this case, having the King and who knows how many Mobian refugees suddenly living in Knothole with Sonic and the gang after the events of Sonic #75 more or less guarantees that keeping a secret becomes impossible. I can think of four or five scenarios that might have led to Antoine's letting slip the fact that he was responsible for piloting Geoffrey et al. to the Floating Island to follow up on yet one more lead concerning Elias and Alicia. In any event, Sally confronts Antoine and scares the accent out of him before talking to her old man. After a touch of self- criticism he launches into one of his stump speeches. Honestly, you really think that a self-consciously grandiose line like "Out of the ashes of despair, however, hope may shine forth" is what Sally wants or needs to hear at this point? I don't think so. I also couldn't help noticing that by that point he's no longer making eye contact with Sally. Max still needs a lot of work, IMHO. Over on the Floating Island, Knuckles has gone in-country and, instead of talking to an ant, he's talking to Catweasle, a cockatoo with Harry the dingo's attitude. And Knuckles hasn't ONLY been "hanging in Echidnaopolis." Back in the Forgotten Tribe arc (K10-12), you'll recall, Athair showed up and shlepped him all over creation. He only found his way back by the end of the Chaotix Caper arc (K13-15). Anyway, the two of them ramble on, throwing in a reference to Manny Galan's new job for good measure while CW comes close to tarnishing Archie's record of upholding the CCA. Anyway, Catweasle then points out something approaching the island, though Knuckles has to look past two pages of ads in order to spot it. It's a shuttle carrying Sally, who's indulging in bald-faced revisionism at Ken Penders's behest. Maybe your reaction was different, but I didn't buy the "temporal anomalies while trapped in the Void" explanation for a second. I guess Karl Bollers's version of events in "Return of the King" (i.e., that Max was being possessed by Naugus) was either totally forgettable or else NOBODY bought into it. Since then, of course, Max hasn't needed help from anyone else in order to make an ass of himself. Why Ken felt the need to make this stuff up in order to apologize for Max's behavior, I don't know. But trust me: there's worse to come. Sabre and Thunderhawk, meanwhile, open the garage door and let Sally land. To Knuckles falls the task of greeting Sally who goes into full boil when they meet. As for Knuckles's lame attempt to defuse the situation and what it leads to...permit me to quote the following: "I am extremely disappointed that Ken tried to explain why Sally was colored with orange fur and [blond] hair in StH mini-series #0, and pink fur with black hair through StH monthly series #15. There was really no point to this whatsoever! Newer fans will have no idea what is being referred to, while we readers that have been around since the beginning, in my experience, simply don't care. This was corrected so long ago that it ceases to matter. What really irks me is that in SSS#3, Sonic Firsts, Sally is recolored to reflect her appearance today, so why was this bothered with? I know that many of us fans are nitpickers who want to know every little detail about these characters and the world they live in, but this was an issue that just didn't need to be addressed, and comes [off] extremely lame...Sally is my favorite character, and I really dislike it when they do unflattering things to her!" [Signed] Christopher Sweeters. I really don't have anything to add to that, except to ask Sherman to set the Wayback(tm) for Sonic #16. In the Sonic-Grams section, the editor 'fesses up that Archie Comics went ahead and colored Sally on their own initiative without waiting for DiC to supply them with color models. So Justin is contradicting what's already been entered into the record! And of course, as Chris pointed out, when "Sonic Firsts" rolled out Sally's coloring was corrected as if nothing had happened. This is "history" only in the sense that George Orwell would have used the word. Or, for that matter, Benedict from "Election Night" (K23). Sally accuses Knuckles of holding out on her WRT her Mom, and Knuckles basically says "The line forms behind me if you're waiting for answers!" Since they're both clueless, Spectre shows up to escort them to the clubhouse; just make a right at the Archie Comics subscription blank. After brief introductions and a touch of flattery from Spectre, Sally gets down to business while Knuckles and Locke face off. Locke's main problem with Sally, one echoed by Spectre, is that Sally isn't ready to be as amoral as the members of the Brotherhood in combating Robotnik. Remember, these are the same role models who thought nothing of lying like rugs on the floor to the Overlanders when Queen Alicia's ship crashed on the island all those years ago. I prefer the way Steppenwolf played it with the Overlanders in "Childhood's End" (K25): "Sorry, that's none of your business, and unless you respect our neutrality your cerebellum is gonna get a hot foot!" Spectre asks Sally: "Are your people willing to engage [Robo-Robotnik] using every means available including the latest in munitions technology?" He may as well be asking: "Are you willing to BECOME Robo-Robotnik in order to defeat Robo-Robotnik?" EEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHH!! Sorry, wrong answer. Oh, and by the way, just so you know that your trip was a complete waste of time, there's nothing we can do for your mother, either. It's not a good meeting when Knuckles catches up with Sally after the session with the Brotherhood is adjourned. And we come upon YET ONE MORE story gaff. "Did your father tell you everything when you were growing up?" Knuckles asks in a very effective moment that's spoiled only by the fact that between the ages of 5 and 15 Sally didn't HAVE a father! Hello!! He was trapped in the freakin' Zone like Ken said eleven pages back! The plot hole ruins one of the better moments in the story. Anyway, after some reminiscing and an admission from Knuckles that his mitts are essentially tied, Sally heads back for Knothole. Not a feel-good ending. HEAD: I wanted to like this story; I really, really did! But I can't believe the lapses in the narrative! I could have swallowed the bit about Sally getting the Easter egg treatment if they'd just left out that smirking text block that went along with it. Having Sally try to rehabilitate her father's reputation was also poorly handled because, up until now, King Max simply hasn't DONE anything that MERITS the readers' forgiveness of him for acting like a Class One Jerk. He may talk the talk, but I look at the King and frankly I'm not seeing any "fruits worthy of repentance," to quote John the Baptist (Matthew 3:8). And the scene on page 18: isn't this the same Knuckles who undertook the quest to find the Sword of Acorn in "In Every Kingdom There Must Exist A Little Chaos"(S42) because he believed that he and Sally had both lost their fathers and he didn't want Sally to go through that all over again? THAT motivation I could believe! I can only attribute the quality of this story to the possibility that Ken's mind was elsewhere when he was working on it, possibly on the stories for Special #11 or on problems with the Lost Ones. There's still a good story in here without the built-in blunders, but my disappointment in the end product is such that you could cut it with a chainsaw. Head Score: 5. EYE: While the "Fistful of Letters" credits the team of Mawhinney and Koslowski with the "guest art," they don't mention that this is also Mawhinney's own "Big Goodbye." With Art's departure, the last definitive link with the SatAM series (on which Mawhinney worked as storyboard artist) has been severed. But I was seriously impressed by Frank Gagliardo's coloring throughout. It's most noticeable in his coloring of Sally's hair (and I don't mean the dye jobs on page 10, either!). This is the first time I've seen her with shading and highlights, and he even gives the same treatment to Knuckles's dreads, adding a dimensionality I've never noticed before. Definitely a strong contender for Best Story Art for 1999. Eye Score: 10. HEART: Ken Penders has played with the theme of Head Versus Heart before. He hinted at it with Charmy's dilemma in the Chaotix Caper arc (duty to his people versus hanging with the Chaotix), and it was a barely discernable subtext in "Endgame" where everyone but Dulcy couldn't give Sonic the benefit of the doubt WRT Sally's demise. But Ken has never been as up-front with the theme as he is here. Yet it isn't just Knuckles who feels that he doesn't have any options. Now that Daddy is back in charge, Sally's options are limited as well. You know how it is: once the grown-ups start calling the shots, the fun drains out of everything. Including this story. I'm not one to take my cue from the opinions of others: they have their take on a Sonic or Knuckles issue and I have mine. But I get the distinct impression that those who've commented on "My Special Friend" to date all agree on one thing: they hate the ending. OK, maybe "hate" is a little strong, but I'm still waiting to hear from anyone who thought it was a good thing, a positive development. Still, knowing Ken Penders's work, I get the sneaky suspicion that this was one of those pro-wrestling- type "turns" which he intends to rectify with time. Except that now that Knuckles faces corporate downsizing after the King of the Hill arc, time is a luxury that Ken may no longer be able to afford. And who caught Sally's line on page 15 about how it's getting harder to keep Queen Alicia on life support? So far, Karl Bollers hasn't even HINTED that that's happening. Face it, he hasn't gotten a heck of a lot of mileage out of that particular angle. This, then, could represents Ken Penders's drawing a line in the sand WRT the Queen's fate. It'll be interesting to see whether Bollers picks up on it, or (what's more likely) whether he'll continue to treat Queen Alicia as a piece of set decoration if not ignore her all together. And if she's not dealt with before Sonic #79, it's a good bet that the latter strategy will prevail and she'll remain in limbo for the duration of the "Sonic Adventure" story arc. Heart Score: A severe drop from a hopeful 10 at the beginning to a totally bummed 4 by the last page. Off-Panel: Hey, I complimented Gagliardo's work BEFORE I saw how pumped he was! Fistful of Letters: Aside from the latest development in the game of Musical Creatives, word that SEVEN ISSUES of Sonic and Knuckles comics, starting with S79, will be given over to essentially plugging the "Sonic Adventure" game for the Sega Dreamcast. I'll probably be coasting those months. Letters, blurbs, Find Your Name, and Art: Looks like Frank Strom has gotten the Monkey off his back...no, wait, I think that's Monkey Khan in a Charmy suit about to give Espio a boot to the head.