Comments on Sonic Comic #29 (spoilers)

From: Ron Bauerle <BAUERLE_at_engr.erie.ge.com>
Date: Sun, 24 Sep 1995 20:57:49 -0400 (EDT)

Here are my comments on Sonic 29, FWIW:

I'll let somebody else summarize all the plot and credit details...

Spoiler alert:

Well, I see they know how to give green eyes to _somebody_ (namely, Dulcy).
Now if only they'd get Bunnie's right...

And isn't it convenient that the portable de-roboticizer would have only
_one_ charge left (and of course I assume they can't figure out how to
recharge it or anything...)

I'll let somebody else comment on how Antoine was holding Bunnie...

Why should Sally have volunteered to be roboticized when Uncle Chuck's
already there? Or was this story set before he had regained his will?
(Maybe the next issue will clarify this - Uncle Chuck's on the cover...)
While I appreciate the comic's move towards the Sat. AM Sonic, I wish they'd
note how it fits into the continuity, sort of like the Gargoyles comic is
doing (or at least _was_ doing) with respect to the daily show.

I don't know whether to be glad or disappointed at them not showing Sally's
roboticization - by not doing so, they spare us a possibly horrific sequence;
but OTOH this might have given the story even more drama... And of course
the widget that was supposed to preserve her free will "fell off" during the
process - again, how convenient. Why didn't Rotor clip it to her or
something? (Or even stick it _in_ her ear?)

Odd that the process preserved all of Sally's coloring...

And while they at least showed _some_ struggle on Sally's part to obey
Robotnik while roboticized, given her intense feelings for the Freedom
Fighters (and presumably Sonic), I'd've thought she'd've struggled a bit
harder and longer (maybe we can blame it on the shock of being
roboticized)...

But the art by Mawhinney and Koslowski was excellent as usual...

The fan art isn't too shabby this time out (fanboys check out Sally's
outfit); but I wouldn't think Bunnie and Sally are into tattoos and pierced
ears, and Bunnie's _left_ arm is the robot one, not her right...

Now onto the Tails story:

That was a rather lame escape by Tails: using fur from his tails to clog up
the roboticizer??? They didn't look too threadbare after he got out, and I
would think anything that could handle a whole two-tailed fox could handle
whatever loose fur he could shake off...

I also find it hard to believe Tails' tails are strong enough for him to
pull out a mechanical tree by the roots and swing it like a golf club (but
it was still amusing :^)).

That bit about "robbing me of my _innocence_" was a bit much - at the risk
of getting a bit crude, just how realistic _was_ that Fiona automaton? (And
note that the letter column for this issue has a quasi-explanation for Tails
being 10 not 5, but 10 is still a bit young for this sort of thing, isn't it?
Or do Mobians hit puberty quicker than we do?) And again, Tails' comment
about "my lost youth" was a bit overdramatic; while it may be true, I doubt
most people recognize the loss of their youth *when it happens* - I'd say it
takes years for it to sink in (and for us toon fans, maybe it never does :^)).

And another cliche: the nearly-instantly-rusting-out-when-wet-robot; I
could've believed a short-circuit, but not rust. And I don't know whether
to applaud Fiona's final tear as a nice touch, or sneer at it as yet another
predictable cliche...

But the art by Manak and Harvo was fairly good; Tails really did look
half-dead when Fiona was about to dunk him for the third time (although he
seemed to make a typical toonish quick recovery from it :^)). I hope they
do as good a job in the Tails miniseries...

Tidbits from the letters page: I'll let Dan Drazen flame the continuing
office humor; Dylan is revealed to be a porcupine (then why didn't they name
him Patrick or Percy or something?); Antoine is said to be 18 (then isn't
Sally a bit young for him? But he sure doesn't _act_ 18...); and Boomer was
a former nickname for Rotor supposedly because of his voice (O-kayyyy...).

I suppose all the above seems a bit harsh; I'll confess I've been in a bit
of a bad mood this weekend due to various things (not having a life being
part of them), but I still think the observations above are valid. Also,
I'd rather have flawed stories like the above that at least try to live up
to the Sat. AM Sonic, then the lame ones of the earlier days that weren't
much better than the daily shows.

RDB
Received on Sun Sep 24 1995 - 21:10:26 PDT