Re: What about the war?/ Happy N Y

From: Dan Drazen <drazen_at_andrews.edu>
Date: Mon, 1 Jan 1996 15:33:00 -0500 (EST)

>
> This message might offend some people, so, if it offends
> you, I am sorry in advance.
>
> Anyway, here it goes:
>
> Why do the writers make Robotnik tell stupid jokes? Why jokes at all? He's a
> madman who is allways in a bad mood. People in a bad mood (or, do to some
> accidents involving the hedgehog, is in a terrible mood) dont tell jokes?!
> Especially not _BAD_ jokes! And I think I saw some of you write that
> Bloodlines (I loved that story) was too depressing. Well, of course it's
> depressing! Wars are allways depressing! There's a _HOLOCAUST_ going on for
> _at_#!%$# sakes! I mean, some stories write about a group that goes out
> to plant bombs in a factory, the group is having fun, and the group is
> allways happy. WHAT ABOUT THE _WAR_?! Also Robotnik. Why is he portrayed as
> being so stupid? (Lot's of stories I have read have that) If he's an idiot,
> Than the whole Mobius is made up of idiots! Robotnik, an "evil GENIUS",
> outsmarted the whole world, and thus
> became the "planet's overlord". Why doesn't anyone (or at least
> only a very small amount of people) pay any attention to these
> things!?
> Thank you for listening and helping me get this off of my back.
>
> HAPPY NEW YEAR KNOTHOLE!
> Hopefully this little message will be the New Year's resolution :'{
>
> "If it ain't blue, don't get it!" - ME (A rule I try to follow)
>
> Dmitry (Sonic Fan) Murashchik
> COLLECTOR/WRITER/SCULPTOR.
>

I know what you mean. My very first post to rec.arts.animation dealt
with this topic. I gave it the subject line "Schizo The Hedgehog" and
it concerned the difference in mood between the syndicated cartoon
series (wherein Robotnik is largely a buffoon) and the weekend animated
series that ran on ABC (wherein Robotnik has more of a Darth Vaderesque
air about him).

This schizophrenia continues even in the comics. While some writers
(such as Kanterovich and Penders in the Sally Miniseries) can take the
"fight" in Freedom Fighters seriously, other writers like DeCesare and
Gallagher have to keep the jokes coming. I've traded posts on this
subject with Paul Castiglia at Archie Comics (who used to work in
editing the comics before moving on to other Archie work and leaving
Sonic in the editorial hands of Scott Fulop). Paul left the impression
that the comics have to pass review from representatives of SEGA who
insist that the material be kept "light." But there's a difference
between banter with a humorous edge, and going into some mindless
joke-telling mode. Many of the Gallagher/Manak stories fit the latter
description.

Personally, I'm convinced that the Sonic team at Archie believes that
their primary readership consists of 8-12 year old boys. As a result,
they are not about to explore some of the harder realities of the
conflict. "That's The Spirit" in Sonic #20 came as close as they ever
have: still, the way the story was told and supported by Manak's artwork
undercut the poignancy of the plot [the freedom fighters believe that
Sonic is dead]. The Tails 2-part story "Growing Pains" in #28 and #29
was an even greater example of what could go wrong: quite aside from the
flaws in the story *per se*, it was hard to take Tails' heartbreak
seriously when he was stuck with such melodramatic prose.

Until such a time when SEGA authorizes an illustrated novel featuring
Sonic, I don't expect the situation to change at Archie any time soon.
In the meantime, those of us who aren't hesitant to deal with such
things can always post fanfic.

And I'm not just saying this because of your kind words about
"Bloodlines," either!
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|| |\__-- /\ _- || Daniel J. Drazen
|| | / __ _ || drazen_at_andrews.edu
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|| | o| 0|__ --_ || Custodian of one of the Sonic
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Received on Mon Jan 01 1996 - 15:41:02 PST