Re: Who's that squirrel? (#24) (spoilers)

From: D.M. <quozl_at_netcom.com>
Date: Fri, 5 May 1995 01:42:35 -0700 (PDT)

Here I go again, replying to another of Ron's posts with my unique POV... :)

> >Date: Thu, 4 May 1995 19:04:33 -0400 (EDT)
> >From: "Erich Schulman (KTN4CA) -- Team OS/2" <acme_at_use.usit.net>
>
> >This question pertains to Archie Comics Sonic issue #24 and would be
> >considered to contain a spoiler if you want to know nothing at all about
> >the story before reading the comic yourself. My copy finally arrived today.
>
> Here's a form feed for extra protection :^)
> 
> >Does anyone know the name of the squirrel attacked by "Sally" in the
> >beginning of the story?
>
> No, but she is kind of cute (no Buttermilk Slappy though...)

Cute, yes, but a bit on the young side for me- I think she's about 12 here..

> This gives me an excuse to offer my review of this issue:

And my um, comments thereof follows.... Be prepared: I'm not kind today!

> When Hedgehogs Collide!
>
> written by Mike Kanterovich and Ken Penders
> Pencils by Dave Manak (Chapters 1 and 2) and Art Mawhinney (Chapters 3 and 4)
> Inks by Harvo (??) (Chapters 1 and 2) and Rich Koslowski (Chapters 3 and 4)

In general, not very well drawn in alot of spots, though there were some
good points, though... Writing could've been better, too. Nowhere *near*
the calibre of work put into the Princess Sally miniseries,
unfortunately! :(

> The story opens with Sonic, Sally, Antoine, and Tails all mistreating
> various members of Knothole (which is somewhat oddly shown as kind of a
> medieval village - various vendors selling stuff in the "town square", etc.
> Also, Antoine's mischief involves a sports car - since when does anybody
> run around in motorized vehicles?)

I was rather bothered by these two factors, myself, considering (a)
they're in our future, and (b) Knothole has always been, in the DiC
cartoons (my exposure, natch), to be a makeshift rebel compound, and not
a self-contained community.... Considering Archie is taking up the reigns
in presenting the Sonic universe after the cancellation of the DiC
cartoons, and the big draw is *coming* from the DiC SatAM audience, it's
disconcerting at best....

> Chapter 2 reveals that these 4 are really the evil imposters from the
> alternate universe seen previously in issues 11 and 19. Apparently
> Robotnik is a "kindly ol'... grade-A wimp!", and the SWATbots do all the
> work, so life is boring (at least for bad guys like these). So they
> decided for kicks to come to "our dimension" (rather handy how they can hop
> on the "cosmic interstate" whenever they want) and make trouble for our
> heroes. Drooling fanboys should note that this chapter has a few shots of
> the evil Sally in leather... Also, that Tails and Rotor have facial
> stubble; I didn't know furries could do that :^)

Chapter 2 was an overall improvement after Ch. 1- In the beginning, at
least. There *are* certain .fandom-esque notes to be made here,
particularly of Sally (as mentioned) and of course, Sonic's desk! Turning
the scene upside-down and read from left to right we have:

     Sonic Sonic Sonic Sonic
       + + + +
     Sally Bunnie Nicole Sonic

The first, obviously was no surprise and the second caught me off-guard,
not expecting seeing something I suspected being confirmed (yeah, I know;
alternate world, but there are parallels between the two Sonics,
including interests and egos!); however, I was *totally* surprised by the
latter two, and had me ROTFLing! :) (But then again, Sonic *does* love
himself!- It's Nicole that caught me off-guard here! :) )

> Chapter 3 begins with a major continuity glitch as Sonic, Tails, and
> Antoine come through Rotor's "Timespace Matter Projector" (TM) back from
> "negative reality", but couldn't "pierce the ZONE OF SILENCE where Robotnik
> exiled Sally's dad KING ACORN!" ???? Nice exchange between Sonic and
> Nicole here...

Mediocre chapter here.....

[....]

> The "Sonic art" pinup is nothing special.

Agreed.....

> Part 4 has the imposters attack again, but this time wearing their
> "leathers"; the villagers _still_ don't get it... The first panel shows
> a rabbit mother and her son running away from them. This is as good a
> place as any to note that Bunnie doesn't appear in this issue :^(

This chapter had some considerable improvement overall, notably in the
art, notably in this splash page... And yes, Bunnie is conspicuous by her
absense in this comic. I think it's probably because the issue is a
regression to the style of the *syndicated* DiC cartoon, which the comic
series was initially based on..

> The imposters decide to attack a band of "poor innocent gypsies" who,
> natch, are our heroes in disguise. We get to see how handy Sally is with a
> bow and arrow, then your basic fight scene as everybody goes hand-to-hand
> (paw-to-paw?) with their counterparts. However, they are too evenly
> matched, so Sally yells "Change partners!" and this does the job.

Third .fandom-esque note: Sally *in* a skirt- Then she takes the skirt off!

> The story ends with our Sonic telling evil Sonic "game over - you lose!"
> and he gets the reply: "Shows how much YOU know, pretty boy! I got what I
> came for! A fight!" and then he faints. Sally asks Sonic how he can live
> with himself, and he replies "Confidentially, Princess, it ain't easy!"

The fight was so-so; the ending was a typical Sonic statement, though it
would've been something he would've been more upbeat about...

Frankly, I didn't care much for the story. OK, I've been spoiled rotten
by the SatAM DiC cartoon, and the Princess Sally miniseries, and most of
the fanfic written *so far* has been better than *this*.... Come on,
fellas! I'd rather have the quality of the Princess Sally miniseries over
*this!* :(

> The announcements section on the letters page has a plug for the Sonic &
> Knuckles comic, plus the fact that the 25th issue will be an adaptation of
> the CD Game featuring Mecha Sonic!! Covers for both are shown; with I was
> more enthused about either...

Same here....

> Nothing special in the fan letters, but the reply to one notes that the
> Tails mini-series will be on sale next fall. (Do they mean _this_ fall?)
> (actually, it was probably _last_ fall when they wrote that, so this fall
> was really last fall's next fall - have I lost everybody yet? :^)
> There was a nice exchange between Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck along that line
> one time - I wish I had a transcription of it.)

"Ah-hah! Pronoun trouble!" :)

> That's it; I hope this was worth the half-hour it took me...

That's okay- I just went through 1-1/2 Art Of Noice CDs typing this
reply.... That's an hour, mind you..... (OK, so I'm slow... Nothing new
about *that*....)

.....Quozl!


--
  //////======////////// |Dennis M. Falk |221 Huntoon St.|TTA/Animaniacs/WB
 / _at_ ) \\\\\\\\\\ |aka "Quozl Mephit"|Eureka, CA |TaleSpin/CnD-RR
*___(_____(___| |(quozl_at_netcom.com)|95501-4115 USA |Fifi/Babs/Minerva
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Received on Fri May 05 1995 - 04:46:35 PDT