By Robert Ramos

Growing up, I was always a Sega and Sonic the Hedgehog kid, never Nintendo and that loser plumber. Of course, with the downfall of Sega, which led to me having to branch out and go to Sony and blah blah.  At any rate, it’s quite a feat that after 27 years (Happy Belated Birthday, by the way), Sonic is still a beloved franchise, and character, and nonetheless thriving. As a result, we’re given nuggets in the form of comics to indulge upon. Indulge I did.

Off the bat, one of the first things I appreciated about this book was that I was able to jump in and be in the loop thanks to the “previously” section. As a [random] reviewer, I like to be in the know of things instead of being completely lost and giving you guys a review based on limited to no knowledge of the subject material. Sure, I could just assume, but why do that? That’s just me, though. Anyway, Sonic’s all-time nemesis Dr. Eggman (Robotnik for the rest of us) has been reformed going by the moniker Mr. Tinker. That’s right. He’s lost his memory and is now just your neighborhood handyman. Even though Sonic and the Chaotix can attest to Eggman not being a villain anymore, Shadow and Rouge aren’t buying it. They’re skeptical as to why he’s building an amusement park by the name of Eggman Land if he claims to have no recollection of his previous self, name included.

As I mentioned in my Archie Superteens review, I’m familiar with Ian Flynn’s writing. He does an excellent job here in writing these characters, something that he proved with his previous stint in Sonic the Hedgehog from Archie Comics. He continues with his ability to capture the essence of everyone all the while delivering an engaging story with good pace. Flynn has peaked my curiosity, and I am excited to see what he has in store with this “reformed” Eggman. Honestly, I wouldn’t know who better else to given the job to when it comes to writing a Sonic comic.

The art was overall pretty solid. Bright and poppy and true to form. The team did a bang job with tying everything together. It was never a mess, and I was truly able to get the sense of high-speed action and movements Shadow and Sonic as they zoomed around.

This book was without a doubt a surprise. The cliffhanger at the end did its job, and I know I’ll be back next month. Hell, I’ll even go a step further and read the previous issues. These are characters I love and grew up with. Even at the ripe age of 30, this is a franchise I adore and try to instill in my son. Granted, that’s a lost cause, but it doesn’t stop me from giving all the love. 

Score: 4/5

Sonic the Hedgehog #6
IDW Publishing