I finally got my care package from Alessandro...

From: Fred Sloniker <lazuli_at_u.washington.edu>
Date: Fri, 24 Feb 1995 21:50:19 -0800 (PST)

...who, as you may or may not have been aware, promised to send me
photocopies of some of the Fleetway Sonic comics so I could
compare/contrast to the American version. Along with the pages, I got a
pack of Panini stickers (mostly small chunks of screenshots, like a water
monitor and the victory pose of Sonic and Tails from Sonic 3) and a card
offering a tip for Sonic 2. All in all, it was a very nice thing to get
in the mail.

And now, what makes this of relevance to the list:

* The drawing in the Fleetway comics looks little like the Archie comic
or the cartoons. If I had to draw an analogy to anything Americans might
have seen, the only thing that comes to mind is the painting of Sonic,
Knuckles, Tails, and the gang in the Sonic 3 hintbook. Not quite
on-model, but okay-looking except for a few goofs (everyone has five
digits, for instance, and the characters introduced for the comic look
too much like humans with animal masks). Not better or worse, IMHO, but
certainly different.

* The style of the stories is completely different; they seem to be aimed
at a slightly older audience, and thus instead of the relentless
slapstick of the Archie comics, we get superhero-style plots, complete
with three-issue slugfests. Also, since the stories are based more
closely on the games, they sometimes read a little like transcripts of
role-playing game sessions, i.e., rather dull when you're not controlling
the protagonist.

* The basic plot is similar, but not identical, to the SatAM cartoon.
The major difference is the change in supporting cast characters; instead
of Sally, Bunnie, and the rest, we have Amy Rose (the pink hedgehog from
the Sonic CD game), Porker Lewis (a cowardly pig with technical skills
who reminds me vaguely of Antoine, but isn't nearly as annoying), a male
rabbit (whose name I never did see), and Kintobor (a floating holographic
head who looks like the generic egghead professor and is apparently
intended to be Robotnik's good counterpart). The base of the resistance
is also a sophisticated underground bunker, complete with TVs and various
electronic gear.

If anyone wants more details, feel free to ask me (or him, of course).

Oh, by the way: that was a very sneaky thing to do, Alessandro, packing a
cliffhanger into that envelope. (:3

                                ---Fred M. Sloniker, stressed undergrad
                                   L. Lazuli R'kamos, FurryMUCKer
                                   lazuli_at_u.washington.edu

"This is obviously some use of the word 'safe' which I was not previously
aware of." --Arthur Dent

Received on Sat Feb 25 1995 - 00:47:32 PST