I’ve read a lot of the newer Sonic comics, but I’ll admit that I have not really experienced most of the classic ones. The first volume of the archives is a good start since it brings some of the first Sonic comics that were ever written! It’s an interesting change of pace from the modern issues and you can definitely tell that things have changed. Luckily, these issues still hold up pretty well.
Giving you a plot summary can be a little tricky though. It’s not as if these stories really had a whole lot of continuity back in the day and they’re all self contained stories. They are also really short stories. One of them features a battle between Super Sonic and the Universalmander, which was pretty cool. I can’t say that I expected to see any of them so early. Another story has Eggman hire a pretty powerful monkey with explosive coconuts to take out Sonic and the Freedom Fighters once and for all.
Sonic is as cool as you would expect. He’s always got a good pun at the ready and he doesn’t mind breaking the fourth wall when necessary. He’s ultimately confident and his personality actually hasn’t changed all that much when compared to the newest issues. He doesn’t have to worry about a lot of different dramas and side quests so he’s totally devoted to showing off and using his super speed to mess with Eggman. This is how you write a main character!
The Universalmander is probably the strongest enemy that Sonic has ever faced up to now. Sonic still defeated him with incredible ease as he just jumped right through the poor guy, but we can’t forget that Sonic did need to use the power of the Chaos Emeralds first. I don’t believe that anyone will give Sonic a real run for his money for a while, so this was good enough for this fighter. You gotta love the name though!
One of the enemies had explosive coconuts, but there isn’t much to say about him. I remember him from the games and even Sonic DX has a variation of this opponent. Throwing things is cool…but not very effective against an opponent as fast as Sonic. The other Freedom Fighters don’t get much of a role yet. Antoine is already starting to feel sorry for himself because the other never ask for his advice. (Little does he know that they always try, but he’s too lost in his thoughts to hear them) Sally is already the tactician of the group, but the plans are all fairly basic since Sonic likes to be direct. She’s not really a fighter yet. Tails is still in the kid phase. He doesn’t really seem to understand what’s happening and everything is a game to him. He gets the heroes into a pretty dicey spot by mistake. (And he gets mad at Sonic in 100 issues for treating him like a child!) I’m definitely glad that Sega severely changed his design later on since the brown just didn’t work for him.
Eggman is the main villain of course and he’s pretty solid. It was cool to see him literally feed his minions to the scrapper. This guy isn’t playing around. Naturally, Eggman mostly takes the brunt of every joke, but he takes them in stride. His minions always comment on his round shape, but he ignored them and just goes about his business. Of course, he did destroy some of his minions so I guess the insults may play a part in that. I’m don’t care for any of Eggman’s minions at this point so it’s good to see Eggman thinning out the ranks. He does get a good shot on Sonic when he throws him around through the pinball machine. Even then, Sonic is too busy making puns to really be in any danger, but at least the mad doctor got his kicks. This was definitely how his comic relief era started and I’m happy to say that it works better for him than his rivals in Wily and Bowser.
It’s pretty cool to see how the comics have changed. This same series is still going on today as the series nears its 300th issue. (In about 30 issues) These were definitely simpler days for the heroes and we don’t have any extra hedgehogs. I’m sure that Metal Sonic and the others join the crew soon, but the issues are still fun. There really isn’t a lot of action in it, but this one is really more of a fun comedy. Breaking the fourth wall becomes pretty regular after a while and the characters continue to trade insults and puns.
The art is a little rough around the edges, but it’s still pretty good. The attention to the details can really make some scenes have an extra punch and the action scenes that we do get are pretty great. Just one look at Sonic’s speed is enough to make you feel a little bad for the villains. They really don’t stand a chance at all.
Overall, This is a solid start to the Sonic comics. I doubt that the writers could have ever dreamed that it would get so popular. Archie has done a great job with Sonic throughout the years. This collection may not be quite as intriguing as the new Sonic Universe and Saga collections, but every good franchise must start from somewhere. The issues definitely hold up from the good ole days. They are more comedy based so that could be a turn off for some, but the humor is very well done. The collection is also very short so you are able to go through it rather quickly. I imagine that you can currently buy it for a very low price and it’s worth it. You can proudly say that you own the very first Sonic comic that started the epic comic franchise that we see today. It’ll be fun to see if the change to the modern times is very sudden or so subtle that I won’t even notice. We shall see!
Overall 7/10
Update! Star Lord got some extra power when he got a gem in a recent comic and he was even able to take Thanos down. I’m not sure if I agree with the outcome, but his extra powers definitely score him the win here. Star Lord wins.
It’s time for another batch of Mega Man comics! Mega Man has been a consistently good comic series just like Sonic The Hedgehog and that doesn’t change with this volume. It is a little light on the action, which can be a little sad, but we do get some foreshadowing at things to come. To be honest, we probably got a little too much foreshadowing, but it’ll be nice if it all happens at some point.
The first two parter is about the origin of Proto Man. Dr Light built him after the government wanted to see some progress on their funding. Unfortunately, Dr Light got a little too excited about the concept and he became friends with Proto Man. His coworker…Dr Wily, quickly showed Dr Light the error of his ways. Unfortunately, Proto Man short circuited during the demonstration. Fixing him would be tricky and he may have lost some of his personality. Dr Light doesn’t help matters by complaining to one of his friends that he wishes he could take out part of Proto Man’s rebellious streak. Proto Man streaks off and Dr Light quickly claims that he was kidding. (A little too late for that…) Now, Proto Man has to come to terms with the fact that he is dying. It’s pretty emotional.
The next issue is about Roll and her friends as they head to the Beach. Their vacation is quickly interrupted when they notice that a ship is sinking. They quickly call in Oil Man and Splash Woman. Now, they have to try to save everyone before it is too late. Unfortunately, Tempo is one of the robots on the scene and she isn’t very good at this kind of thing. If only Mega Man was around!
The final comic features a lot of time travel. Mega Man gets thrown into the future and he continues to accelerate during the years. We get scenes from Mega Man and Bass, Mega Man 7, Mega Man 5, and so on. He has to find a way to stop going further into the future if he wants to even stand a chance at living through this. It’s a fun comic full of homages, but it can be a little dicey for fans who just want to see what’s going to happen next. It’ll really take years to adapt all of this, which is a little sad, but I can only hope that these events will occur soon.
So, this was a pretty solid volume. I will admit that I did have two main problems with it. The first is the startling absence of Mega Man. He doesn’t really get to appear until the final comic. I’m all for the side characters getting their own plots, but we really need Mega Man to get a larger role. He deserves it and I have to say that he’s more interesting than the others. Even Proto Man lacks the raw ability that Mega Man has at his disposal. Mega Man basically steals the show once again when he re appears.
The other would be the fact that there isn’t a whole lot of action in this volume. There is no actual villain for the first three comics and the final issue with Mega Man is the only exception. That one definitely had some pretty solid action scenes, but they all get interrupted before the fights can really get going. That’s a little disappointing right? I want a full fight where we really get to see how Mega Man stacks up!
Mega Man’s role may have been small, but it was definitely a good one. He essentially stole the show and showed why he is a natural born leader. It can be a little sketchy to see Mega Man lose his cool so quickly in the time travel story since he was supposed to have already gone through that character development, but maybe he’s just going to end up being the next Sonic. I’m cool with that, as long as Mega Man continues to rack up those wins. He is really the only hope for the heroes at the moment since the rest of them aren’t very powerful.
Proto Man is really in his human persona for most of the collection, but he’s a pretty good character. I don’t blame him for leaving during the first misunderstanding, but he shouldn’t have left the second time. He’s a hero through and through. Proto Man kept trying to help everyone even when he was dying from the effort. He’ll be a good partner for Mega Man down the line, but that likely won’t happen for a while. His ending is definitely hinting at the reverse.
Tempo was easily the worst character in the batch. She’s pretty worried the whole time and she really lacks confidence. She’s still a robot master though so she needs to act as one. It’s not like she couldn’t survive a fall from a super large height. These robots are super durable after all and she mostly spent the whole time embarrassing Roll. She has no role in the comics so far so I’m hoping that she’ll develop into a good character. I’m hoping….
Roll gets her own comic and it’s good to see her get a big role. I do wish that it had been a combat role since I’m sure that she can quickly be modified to fight. Still, this was good enough I suppose and she got to prove that she’s great at rescue operations. Dr Light tried to stop her, but nobody can really stop a robot master when they get serious. If Roll had not been around, things definitely would have gotten dicey.
Splash Woman and Oil Man are really just guest stars in the rescue comic. They have some pretty good team work and their abilities do go together pretty well. They don’t seem to be very powerful, but things could change. In the future comic, we see that Splash Woman is fighting Mega Man since the hero seems to have been framed. Of course, Mega Man is holding back so that he doesn’t hurt her.
Dr Light is a main character I suppose, but he’s pretty unlikable for the most part. He doesn’t want Roll to live up to her full potential and it’s really his fault that Proto Man is gone. We also find out that he (possibly) installed the engine wrong, which is why Proto Man is dying. He’s technically a nice guy, but he’s way too oblivious at some points and there’s no reason to really become a fan of his. He’s just too distant and protecting of the heroes..even though they already surpassed him.
Bass is the main reason why the final comic is epic. He has finally arrived! It’ll be quite a while before he gets a role in the main series at this point so I’ll take what I can get. He has a quick fight with Mega Man and then he proceeds to talk tough the whole time. He doesn’t back down from anyone and that’s what I always liked about Bass. I’m not sure if I’d say that it’s my favorite interpretation of the character, (Giga Mix portrayed him better) but it’s not bad. Hopefully Bass gets some big roles in the future.
The art is pretty solid as always. Everything is very clear even if it’s a little on the bland side. The artist may need to add some effects to spice up the battle scenes. They’re just a little too clear…even for me. Of course, that is what makes them so easy to read so it’s a mixed bag. Either way, the art is definitely very good.
Overall, This is another good batch of Mega Man comics. It may have been the weakest entry in the series, but it can only go up from here. You can definitely draw a lot of similarities from the Mega Man comic series to the Sonic one. Both of them are very up beat and the personalities of Sonic and Mega Man are starting to get a little similar. This is the kind of comic that’s easy to pick up and read at any time. The plot is pretty light after all as there are no plot twists or big cliff hangers. I do expect the next batch to have a lot more action though since I don’t want the series to start losing steam. I have heard that the crossover with Sonic is pretty awesome though so I can’t wait to read it! Bass is on the cover of that one so I’m confident that he will get a roll. I definitely recommend this collection and the story is fun enough that you can get past the lack of action.
Overall 6/10
How many of you clicked on this one thinking that it was a review for the film? No worries, I already reviewed that one. This is the comic version where it originally took place. I’m sure that there are many tie ins and stories to flesh out the event, but this is the meat of the Arc. It’s only about 2-3 comics long so it’s fairly short, but you can definitely see some of the similarities. It’s good to finally read the famous event and we’ve also got a few stand alone issues here as well.
The first issue is a very large recap told from Cyclops’ point of view. He explains how Professor X has merely been using the X Men this entire time and he never saw it until now. The Professor was unreasonable and now Cyclops has taken a leave of absence. The Professor doesn’t seem to notice how upset Cyclops is, but Cyclops is keeping to himself. Will Cyclops ever join the team again? Only time will tell. This is all after Phoenix died in the Phoenix saga so he is definitely under the weather.
The next comic is the first big mission for the X Men without Cyclops. It’s Nightcrawler’s birthday and it should have been a happy one, but one of his presents blows up and destroys him. Professor X calls in Doctor Strange to see if any magic was involved. (I guess he suspected magic for some reason…) Strange announced that Nightcrawler’s soul is gone and they follow him into the depths of Hell. Doctor Strange believes that there is something wrong with the place since it has changed a whole lot, but he can’t quite put his finger on it. Ah well, it’s time to go save their friend!
The Days of Future Past arc starts off in the future. We see that the resistance isn’t doing so well and the Sentinels are just too powerful. Franklin Richards, Wolverine, Shadow Cat, and Storm are some of the last fighters still alive. They decide to use Rachel’s abilities to send Shadow Cat back in time to stop the madness before it ever begins. Rachel Summers is able to transport Shadow Cat’s mind into the past and she must stop Senator Kelly from being assassinated. Will the Xmen believe her and can time really be changed!? Meanwhile, the future X Men may be doomed on their end since changes in the past don’t always affect the future…but create new futures.
There’s also a comic involving the Alpha Flight. Wolverine never officially left them so he has to go and clear things up. Unsure if this will end up being a peaceful venture, Professor X tells Nightcrawler to go with him. This turns out to be a good move since the Wendigo is in the area and he’s not going to be satisfied with anything short of a win.
Finally, we have a Christmas issue. The X Men all head to their respective homes to enjoy their Christmas break while Shadow Cat has to stay at the mansion since she has nowhere to go. She takes her mind off of this by working in the danger room, but she hears a crash. A dangerous creature that looks like a Xenomorph has broken into the mansion and it’s headed for her. This monster is as smart as they come and it’s very powerful as well. This could be Shadow Cat’s final Christmas!
That was definitely a decently good batch of comics. It wasn’t quite as action packed as usual and I did miss Cyclops, but we still got our share of fights. The best issues were definitely the Days of Future Past ones even if it did feel like there was a lot of plot hax. The saving Nightcrawler comic would probably be last despite the guest star as that one didn’t even have much of a physical enemy to defeat. You always need someone to punch!
The art is pretty good and you will be reminded of the 90’s Xmen TV show. The Uncanny roster is pretty good although I would have liked to see Cyclops a little more. It’s easy to discern what’s happening and things never get too chaotic. This collection is fairly short and it doesn’t crack 200 pages, but it’s still a decent amount of value. 5-6 comics is the norm for most of the shorter comic collections anyway. Just take a look at any New 52 collection or recent Marvel book and this is the size.
Shadow Cat may as well be the main character of the collection since she plays a big part in the Days of Future Past arc while getting her own Christmas comic. She’s a decent character, but I can’t say that she really does anything to set herself apart from the crowd. She’s mostly just trying to fit in during this stage and she hasn’t really mastered her powers yet. We do know that she will be a lot tougher in the future though and there’s no reason to dislike her right now. She just needs a little more personality and she’ll be set.
Dr Strange doesn’t look that good this time. He’s the Sorcerer Supreme, but he’s really getting pulverized in the magic battle by this new entity. He puts on a brave face and he does get some good magical blasts off, but it’s heavily implied that he is being toyed with. Professor X called him into protect the X Men, but it appears that this is not what really happened. It was surprising to see him on the losing edge since Dr Strange is all but invincible in the older comics. Not even he can beat cosmic entities I suppose.
Wolverine is as good as always. He still launches right at the opponents and he was critical in the mission to save Nightcrawler. It’s easy to see why he became a fan favorite and he was definitely the best character in the collection. Protecting his friends is his first priority even if he won’t admit it and he’s probably the most experienced fighter on the team. His healing factor isn’t as good as it is in today’s comics, but it’s good enough for him to be a threat. I really had no complaints with him.
Storm is faced with the pressures of being team leader so she’s pretty stressed out for most of the comics. She’s also wary of a new dance instructor who is helping Shadow Cat and I’m sure that there is a reason behind this. Hopefully she remembers to keep her guard up. Storm is a pretty powerful fighter, but her abilities completely depend on her location. She’s not very good at fighting in closed placed since her powers need space in order to work properly. As a last resort, she is very good at hand to hand combat. She has one of the toughest ordeals in the collection since she is forcibly turned into a snake and changing back is pretty painful. She’s doing a decent job at being team leader, but there are times when we can all admit that Cyclops is missed. Hopefully she can keep the members together until then.
Colossus serves as the nice member who has a rage out moment every comic for shock value. He definitely talks a good game, but Colossus is typically outmatched. It would be good to see him use his super strength a little more effectively, but it never works. Either he’s paired up with someone that can absorb physical attacks like the Blob or he’s fighting a Sentinel who can just blast him away. Colossus is still a good character, but he needs to fight more and talk less when the going gets tough. He has potential to be one of the X Men’s all time heavy hitters after all.
Nightcrawler doesn’t look very good. His sob story is pretty dicey. He murdered someone by mistake since he had meant to spare the person, but he then says that he would do it again if need be. He’s also a little…petty in some issues. He tells the team to their faces that he was almost disappointed since he thought they had forgotten his Birthday. Not really the best thing to say aloud. He’s also the weak link of the team, which means that he is beaten up in just about every comic. The Wendigo takes him out in one shot and the team is forced to go into a fake hell to save him. He definitely gets the team into a lot of trouble and he’s just not very likable here. At least he is trying to make friends with everyone and he’s a nice guy; Nightcrawler just needs to work on his abilities and get his priorities straight.
Cyclops has finally learned to make his own decisions and the character development is good for him. He’s in a pretty sad mood the entire time, but it’s excusable due to the previous circumstances. He seems to be performing odd jobs as he walks across the world and I’m sure that he’ll be back to pwning as the X Men leader in no time. The Wendigo made for a decent villain in one of the stand alone comics. He’s definitely as tough as always and he defeated Nightcrawler pretty easily. I’ve never really considered him to be a match for someone like the Hulk, but he’s definitely played off to be that strong. If his strength were to increase like the Hulk’s, then it would be more of a fight. Still, he may be the toughest villain in this collection.
Professor X doesn’t get a huge role this time. He tries to help out when chaos breaks lose in Days of Future Past and he’s quickly caught up on the events thanks to a quick mind scan, but he forgot to actually use his abilities and Mystique quickly took him out. That was definitely a poor showing by the Professor and we can only hope that he will keep his guard up from now on. He still seems like a pretty good leader, but the X Men definitely trust him a lot less than they used too. I guess it is hard to trust someone who can read your mind so it’s always going to be tough for the Professor. Let’s hope that he can prove his loyalty to them when the time comes.
It’s really good to see the classic Sentinels back in the spotlight. As cool as it is to see the newer variations, nothing beats the classics. It’s really nostalgic to see them tossing the X Men around and they definitely get a lot of props in this collection. One blast is able to completely overwhelm Wolverine’s healing factor and take him out for the count and Colossus was similarly defeated in quick succession. I don’t really believe that these guys would end up taking out the Avengers and Fantastic Four, but they’re still fun villains to have around. There are thousands of them after all so they can’t lose right!?
N’Garai is the name of the demon that attacked Shadow Cat. It’s just one of the N’Garai of course as the name only refers to the species as a whole. That guy was definitely pretty brutal and it was a lot more durable than I would have guessed. Aside from plot convenience, Shadow Cat really had no chance against him. Thanks to his soul damaging abilities, the N’Garai can actually damage the opponent through their intangibility. That’s a pretty nifty ability to have. I would say that this creature is instantly cooler than the Brood and it’s probably in the top 3 best random Marvel aliens that has no mind. So, only counting the beasts that can’t talk and are basically like monsters.
After reading Days of Future Past, I am surprised at how well known it is. I guess the plot was definitely very unique at the time, but it’s just so short. I was expecting it to be at least 5 issues. We still had the President Assassination plot at least and it’s essentially a condensed version of the film with different characters. It was a good two parter to be sure, but not quite legendary. At least we got a classic team fight between the Brotherhood and the X Men. Those are always pretty fun.
I can’t say that I cared for the hell comic all that much. It’s always interesting to see how it is portrayed of course, but it’s mostly lacking in action. Colossus mentions that hell is one of the reasons why he doesn’t believe in God, since it would mean accepting such a place as real. It’s an intriguing point since it almost sounds like he does think there is a God, but he doesn’t believe it because of hell. Meaning…that he does accept that God exists, but doesn’t accept Hell. Can’t really go halfway though since not believing in it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. It was a little sad to see that Nightcrawler had no comeback during their debates and he was quickly silenced each time. He needs to prep his answers ahead of time I suppose. The other comics were pretty standard, but fun adventures.
Overall, This is a pretty solid batch of comics. They definitely aren’t quite as action packed as usual, but they’re pretty good. I think they could have been a little more engaging at times since the Days of Future Past arc was pretty interesting while the others were really just there. I enjoyed them of course, but you weren’t very intrigued by what was happening. The fights were fun and that’s just about it. The Alpha Flight don’t really make you think about anything deep and the Christmas comic was just a fun chase. I still say that a little more action would have helped. I recommend this collection to all X Men fans and especially if you haven’t read Days of Future Past before. If you have, then it’s time to check out X Sanction for more future conspiracies!
Overall 6/10
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