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Writers, Artists, and other individuals who make Archie Sonic


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I'm not normally one for the official material, but I was asked to make this thread for a place the site members can discuss facts, opinions, and other aspects of those who make the Archie Cannon of Sonic. With all the Penders/Flynn bashing going on I would like to make it clear that you should make a constructive argument, not to come off emotionally half-cocked. Let's get make some great points here and show what the real Sonic fandom can discuss.

Do not limit this to character portrayals or bad/good writing and direction, but also the artwork through the years and such.

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I enjoy artist jennifer hernandez' work, particularly with regards to interaction and reaction shots (such as those in homesick and waves of change) and the consistency exhibited from panel to panel. which I personally feel is immensely better than the artwork of Jon grey which existed during the infamous slap back in issue 134.

For example, the pencils from waves of change:

waves_of_change__page_1_by_chibi_jen_hen

And (an admittedly humorous edit of) the infamous slap:

c73.png

 

In 134 You can tell what jon's intention was, but in trying to convey emotion through these hyper-stylized visuals, it actually hinders the impact of the scene by turning the characters into caricatures.

Now with Jen and waves of change, there's still style, but it's kept in check so as to keep the scene on track with the context of the situation. By toning it back it holds more weight, sonic's initial shock and subsequent indignation at the situation looks organic, and as the reader you can follow along and feel yourself engaged even if the writing isn't steller.

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17 minutes ago, Prince By-Tor said:

I never liked that art style from 134 era; a few comics had it and the overly cartoonyness and exaggerated squash and stretch was too much. Heck, even the first 15-18 issues of the comic was better drawn at times, and it was meant to be slapstick and cartoony, like from AoStH.

 

I agree, no offense to Jon, but his style just didn't mesh at the time. He could draw sonic, but he couldn't really draw 'SONIC'.

 

I feel that archie sonic artists have always been linked to the direction of the writer in charge at the time, especially with regards to what sort of tone the writer is trying to achieve. With gallager he was trying to strike a balance between SatAM and AoSTH, so the artists at the time were going for that sort of look. penders/bollers on the other hand wanted it to be a 'serious comic' like that of DC an Marvel, so we got artists who were more stylized than grounded given more free reign than they should've been. And lastly with flynn he desired for the games and the comics to be closer than before (this before the mandates mind you), so the art staff went in the direction of sonicX and official SoJ style.

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Even at that Tracy Yardley and Spaz have always done well no matter that direction du jour. Though I will say I'm partial to the issues 20-75 and then the more detailed ones in the 100-159 era.

http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/archiesonic/images/5/5d/Sally_futureversion01.png/revision/latest?cb=20090811052203

My favourite style.

http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/archiesonic/images/f/f7/SallyAcorn02.png/revision/latest?cb=20100201034423

My second favourite style.

48a130f0b5bb736fd753f2783dcc45fc.jpg

My third favourite style, by Tracy Yardley.

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1 hour ago, ToaArcan said:

Yardley used to have a problem with really big mouths in the early FLynn era.

Though to be fair, the Sonic series as a whole suffered that quite badly for a while (well, Adventure did anyway). It's not an excuse, of course, but it's...amusing, to say the least.

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Boy where do I even begin? I mean I got a LOT to say, though that's normal for me after all. :P

When it comes to writers, while their are the main 4 show runners, that begin Michael Gallagher, Ken Penders, Karl Bollers, and Ian Flynn, there are other writers throughout the comics over the years that did some work in making it to what it is today, or at least having a few notes here and there so on that behalf I'll just point out every writer possible from each era if I can, why would I harm myself like this? Well your about to know me then from seeing this so let me begin.

Well for one there's Michael Gallagher of course, whose work on the comic consists of comical stories rather then a narrative story arc or anything like that, and for a time when it started out it was fine. I mean nothing ground breaking but nice funny comics that weren't really offensive or any negative way, some feel good comics to brighten up your day. More mysteriously enough is the creation of the Downunda Freedom Fighters, Athair, and the infamous Ancient Walkers along with Tails given the major role of being The Chosen One, which has had no context to those concepts to this very day. Though he did leave the comic eventually he did show up every once in awhile, such as in issue 180, while he did stick around for a long time he ended up giving the reigns to the comic to Ken Penders...
Before you go to that part however, it should be noted that he's worked on MAD Magazine, and has had extensive work done with Marvel, such as a run on Guardians of The Galaxy back in the day, he seems to pop up working with Marvel every now and then.

Ken Penders...there have been a lot of things said about him, especially considering his actions and not to mention his writing as it's been pointed out in recent times, like it or not though he's the reason why the comic's world and background was the way it was, and he's of course also the reason why it was completely destroyed. I have looked into this man and his work far more then any sane human being should, to the point of several moments of psychotic episodes even. @_@
He would praise and go up and down about his inspirations from Jack Kirby, Silver Age Comics, and Star Trek, which is fine as those are some great pieces of fiction you can read, sans how insane the Silver Age can be. However there is something that must be understood, that being Penders thinks he understands the writing and worlds, but rather takes it in the complete, opposite direction of what they are in terms of Meaning and Morality. I would go so far to say that he's ironically the very antithesis of Jack Kirby, his works end up being very uncomfortable on how Sexist, Racist, Atheistic, and Morally Twisted when you look back and read them. Yet he will sing that he was the savior of the comic and say how revolutionary and progressive it is, it's astounding just how utterly insane he acts. At times I have to convince myself it isn't real or is a part of the biggest practical joke in comic book history, yet I fear that is not the case. However his works made the backdrop of what the comic's previous world was, whether that was a good or bad backdrop is up for the history books now.

Angelo DeCesare however I feel is underrated when it comes to his contributions in Archie Sonic that were early on in the series, as far as I know he's a recurring writer for Archie Comics. His stories in the comic we're mostly side stories and more Character Driven Stories rather then the main plot. However I feel that if he would have been given a bigger role as a writer things could have been better overall. In some other time and place it was Angelo instead of Penders that became the head writer, I mean he's pretty much his opposite when you think about it, if the comic could've lasted whose to say it would have, nobody knows. As I was typing this I did find this interesting article about him that I believe must be him, sounds like a really nice guy, check it out and read it here.
http://wizardworld.com/angelodecesare.html

Frank Strom, whose background is yet again unknown, even more so then Angelo. However most noticeably he was the one who created Monkey Khan and the Dragon Kingdom, which offered more to the world of Mobius rather then just an Echidna Fest. The early issues really could have used more world building. His previous works come from DC Comics, stuff for Cartoon Network in Comics, and stuff that shouldn't really be mentioned for a good reason. Was very surprised about that last part, hence why I'm not linking his work biography. o_o

Mike Kanterovich is an enigma that should be looked into more, he's an early contributor to the comic, but only co-worked with Penders Exclusivity. From what I can remember he's the guy that BROUGH Penders on the comic in the first place, after the early issues before 50 he left and let the fate of the comic be under Penders capable hands...worked out well didn't it? He's had many issues penned by him from Marvel actually.

Dan Slott is an interesting case, as he's mainly known for his Marvel works even to this day in the past and present for his work on Spider-Man, and yet when he wrote for Archie Sonic the only thing he contributed was Zonic, the Zone Cops, and a bunch of parody zones. Why is that exactly considering how extensive his work has been over the years? The only thing I could conclude is that Dan Slott did not care about his work at Archie Comics, and for Sonic just decided to goof around and make parodies, which is just a waste really.

At last I get to Karl Bollers, whose work has been quite polarizing during and after his time has passed from Archie Sonic. Before the comic he too worked for Marvel in some degree, though not as much as previous writers before him, but enough. He was handed the whole series while Penders went on to write the Knuckles Comic. Bollers is the only other major writer next to Penders to contribute a lot with the background of Mobius and a number of Characters that we're either fan favorites or extremely infamous.  His plans for the comic as well we're very head turning too, and the way he took many characters into an unfamiliar direction was both strange and to many infuriating. This is the guy who made the slap, and made Sonic indirectly responsible for the death of Billions due to EVE's actions. Half way through his run and from what he planned made the series out to be some kind of parody or version of The X-Men in a way, though thankfully his plans didn't go that far. There has been rumors of conflict between Bollers and Penders during that time, and eventually Bollers jump ship to Marvel on a more regular basis when he was given a chance and never looked back. Many of his choices and why he wanted to do them remains unknown to this very day and is one of the biggest mysteries in Archie Sonic, just what was Bollers Perspective during that Chaotic Time? Well from what I can tell he ain't talking, and seems like he just wants to move as far away from it as possible, can't exactly blame him but perhaps one day he could shed light on the subject. Also a little known fact is about the writer Benny Lee during Bollers Era, it's Bollers under a different name. Just to warn you under that name the stories are going to be rough to read through.

I'm down to the last two main writers in the comic so far, that being of course the married duo of Ian Flynn and Aleah Baker.
To be fair it was Ian at first who worked on the comic and became the main head writer despite being a mostly unknown at the time when he first debuted, thing is for years he tried to break in on Archie Sonic and was once a fan on forums and comics way back in the early 2000's. He made a number of fan comics before his Official Debut on Archie Sonic, during that time being known as Ian Potto (Coincidentally sharing a similar name scheme like me when it comes to online handles. XD). He made one reboot comic under the title Ultimate Sonic, similar to the Marvel Ultimate Universe which debuted at the time, a comic about Bean, Bark, and Big. Then of course there is the rather infamous and nowadays Archaic Fan Comic of his, Other M. A Comic where Sonic of the Archie Sonicverse is transported by Eggman to another world that flips over what he knows, where Knuckles and Tails are villains while Fiona is a Freedom Fighter alongside him. While it does have some interesting concepts and ideas the writing and especially the artwork is very rough and has not aged well. The first 15 or so issues were rather rough when Ian debuted at Archie Sonic as well, and involved a lot of clean house that Flynn had to do, as in kill off a bunch of characters. He did seem to somewhat get his groove on though in later issues, though fan reaction ended up as mixed to positive...until the Reboot.

When the Reboot happened everything went to complete chaos in the Archie Sonic Fandom, though many tend to forget that it is not Ian's fault for that happening, however he is the one who made the comic partially in the direction it's been going to this very day, for better or worse. However since that happened it has lost many of it's former readership because of it and due to Sega's mandates as well. I can;'t find it but he does have a sort of manuscript regarding the differences between pre and post-reboot, as well as it saying why Sally and Sonic don't work together along with how Sonic doesn't need the Freedom Fighters, they need him. That was the worst thing I ever saw from him, and yet I wonder as a result of literally dropping over a 100 issues of planned content and starting from scratch that Flynn is disillusioned with Archie Sonic, along with the mandates of Sega and the fandom in general. I wouldn't be surprised if he held a contempt for all of them at this point and is just doing as much as he can with the book to make it enjoyable to not only himself, but to what fans are left along side newly gained ones.

I don't know too much about Aleah Baker, yet she has somewhat recently become a writer for some of the stories lately, her writing tends to be pretty good and lets you care about the characters that are mainly in the spotlight of that story, in that case Clove and Cassia. She not only created them but also 3 of the 4 Ninja Brides, the Aquatic Mobians, Relic the Pika, and the redesigns of Mighty, Ray, and the unseen redesigns of Saffron and Hershey. I do enjoy her work, though I do think it is slightly hampered due to mandates as well. If both of them we're free of those mandates I'm sure their writing could really shine, however due to how the comic is nowadays I doubt that can happen as of now, yet I do wish them the best of luck even though I'm not really interested in the comic in recent times.

I'll have to get to the artists at another post here, but I hope you find this post here about the writers very enlightening, though I can't read their minds and know for sure what's going on with them those are my interpretations for the writers over the years on Archie Sonic. I'm not sure if the comic has much of a future, but we'll see what happens to the very end, it's gone on this long for a reason after all, well actually I'd say it was perfect, planet aligning timing in the comic's history that is why it's stuck around for so long, either way I want to hear what you guys think about the writers, till my next post. :)

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I've found Aleah Baker's work to be pretty bad. Spark of Life was terrible and her stories for Clove and Cassia just don't work in the setting that Ian created for the reboot. They're predicated entirely on the logic that nobody knows the Freedom Fighters, that Sonic is the only famous face, and their first appearance has them not recognising Sally and co. However, Ian has stated all along that the FF are still world-famous, and it's not just Sonic that's well-known. In a world where Bunnie is a world-famous cyborg, there's no reason why people would go to Eggman for cybernetics when they clearly already despise him.

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1 hour ago, ToaArcan said:

I've found Aleah Baker's work to be pretty bad. Spark of Life was terrible and her stories for Clove and Cassia just don't work in the setting that Ian created for the reboot. They're predicated entirely on the logic that nobody knows the Freedom Fighters, that Sonic is the only famous face, and their first appearance has them not recognising Sally and co. However, Ian has stated all along that the FF are still world-famous, and it's not just Sonic that's well-known. In a world where Bunnie is a world-famous cyborg, there's no reason why people would go to Eggman for cybernetics when they clearly already despise him.

When it came to Aleah Baker's work I was mainly talking about that last page with Clove and Cassia as that emotional part that was pretty good, I'd say it is only because it was one of the few moments with actual emotion the comic has had for quite awhile, when you're stuck reading borderline status quo for nearly 3 years since this Reboot has been makes you starved for any kind of emotional connection, which the comic barely has nowadays.

Actually forgot about Spark of Life, didn't even remember that she wrote it. xD
Two Steps Back, One Step Forward? I dunno, though you do raise a good question on how the Freedom Fighters weren't recognized by them, it's been awhile since I read those stories, other then that one part I just mentioned I barely remember or care about anything about the Reboot, which is just sad really as I originally had some hopes for it.

You raise a very interesting point on why anyone would work for Eggman though, granted some sources like Sonic Underground have dabbled into it but the main thing is I guess is that people ally with him despite being a complete nut job because they don't seem to think Freedom Fighters and the like can win in the end, so other then those crazies who either actually believe in Eggman or those who want power of their own ally with hiim to get some piece of that pie are some reasons on why I think some people end up with him.
...which raises a LOT of questions really, at least the whole Dark Egg Legion thing was Eggman usurping the weakened Dark Legion Echidnas and forced many others to join him or else, that and the weak willed  who joined the moment he knocked on their doorstep like the Platypus Mobians or Bunnie's Uncle with Former Robians.

So in a Reboot World closer to Sega Sonic's Canon, with a Sonic that's basically from the games, how DID it get so bad that Eggman got people to join him and his Eggman Empire anyway? Did Sonic and the Freedom Fighters just screw up big time? See this is why I would have preferred that they just started from Sonic 1 and go on from there, now it's pretty much too late. -_-

That Origin Story Arc coming up just further aggravates me as they should have just started off with that, since the whole memories from the Pre-Reboot can't ever be followed up on made that in the first Story Arc completely pointless, granted there was no real way to win other then flipping Penders the bird but hey at least it wouldn't be a mess like it is now with no real backgrounds or attachments to these new versions of characters we're familiar with.

So ehh, I don't hate the Post-Reboot, I'm just board with it as it can't offer me and others who feel the same way a comic that we liked or at least tolerated it to see how messed up it can get, I know I'm not the only one here who thinks that but hey if others enjoy it that's fine, but there's much better stuff out there.

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On July 7, 2016 at 6:10 PM, ToaArcan said:

I've found Aleah Baker's work to be pretty bad. Spark of Life was terrible and her stories for Clove and Cassia just don't work in the setting that Ian created for the reboot. They're predicated entirely on the logic that nobody knows the Freedom Fighters, that Sonic is the only famous face, and their first appearance has them not recognising Sally and co. However, Ian has stated all along that the FF are still world-famous, and it's not just Sonic that's well-known. In a world where Bunnie is a world-famous cyborg, there's no reason why people would go to Eggman for cybernetics when they clearly already despise him.

I honestly don't see how spark of life was that bad. As for cassia and clove I don't think it's under that predication. 

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Spark of Life was an overall "meh" story that could've been much better if they just did a few things differently, hyped up as a mystery that Baker never intended to answer. Any edge that the Nikki backstory had was lost when they decided to make Nikki look completely different to Nicole and leave them with basically no actual connection, something that could've been rectified if they'd just made Nicole the spitting image. THat would make it far more tragic, if Ellidy had come close to saving her, but seemed to have not succeeded. Instead, Nikki just straight-up dies, some of her traits are passed on, and Nicole looks nothing like her because... reasons? 

The Phage story can be blamed on the cover letterer, who decided to make a point of "WHO IS PHAGE!?", but, since Baker had no intention of answering that question, it looks like the big reveal is "Eggman Minion #586", just like every other new villain. 

The conclusion of the story was also a letdown- Nicole gets her own Super mode... and has the most unnaturally non-plussed reaction ever, and then uses her powers to shut a door in Phage's face.

 

As for Clove and Cassia, they know Eggman is a monster, they hate working for him, and they don't want to be there. If they know about Bunnie, why don't they go to Chuck? Furthermore, their introductory story has them failing to recognise the team that went to Crystal Cave, which included Sally and Tails. Baker wrote them as people who do not know that the FF exist, Evan Stanley gave them a backstory that fit with that, but that isn't the universe that Flynn is writing. In his stories, even the most physically underwhelming of the FF are famous enough that Breezie wants them on TV (Tails doesn't have any feats now that SEGA retconned everything he did outside of his mechanical skill, and Amy is a normal person with a fancy weapon), and Vector refers to the organization as "World famous", while the FF have used their status as an appeal to trustworthiness during the world tour arc. In a world where Bunnie is famous, any reason to go to Eggman for cybernetics is void- They can be acquired through a morally-justifiable means, and even if one is a villain, it still robs Eggman of a chance to screw them over. 

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 Love to see the both of you write reviews for the Arc and see your diverse opinions on detail. We have a whole section for it on the site. ;)

 

Anyone have any more in depth critique on the present artists' depictions of the characters and their general style? What about the redesigns?

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  • 7 months later...

Oh gosh to go through every artist in Archie Sonic will take some time, though I can indulge on my overall views on the Reboot's Style and the Freedom Fighters Redesigns.

Now regarding the Reboot's General Style...well actually I can sort of sum up how the art has been during Ian's tenure in the comic, now a major problem with Archie Sonic before Ian Flynn came aboard was the lack of consistency and I'm not just talking about the writing this time. The art style could be all over the place from great covers to terrible artwork for the actual comic. Thankfully we had Spaz and Dawn Best during that time which whenever they were apart of issues made looking at the comic bearable despite the writing going all over the place. When Ian Flynn and Tracy Yardley came aboard they finally brought along something the comic desperately needed, consistency.

Say what you will about other artists since Flynn's era but they kept everything flowing rather smoothly which was a breath of fresh air, even after the Reboot it kept a constant flow. Before the Reboot they even kept in mind regarding older characters like the Iron Queen adapting them for the newer art style, After the Reboot though they decided to stick with a style much more closer to the Sega Games with no touches and hints of the Comic as it was before. Perhaps this was due to mandates from Sega and Archie, or wanting to wipe the slate clean from what came before. While it too has remained a consistency this too raises a number of problems.

Mainly everyone has a stock body structure because of this, regarding the new characters and redesigned character you can tell what sort of shapes they take and are based on from the Sega Cast with very few exceptions. A lot of characters end up loosing their uniqueness of their designs because of that. Which translates to having noodle or cylinder limbs, I dunno there's something about the Modern Style of Sonic that seems a bit too smooth at times, unlike the Classic Style which had some sharp points and edges to them. Then there's the Adventure Style which you could argue lasted up until Sonic Rush I want to say as the foundation of the modern style was seen in Advance 2 & 3, granted the Advance Games had decent art as far as the Sega Style can go but still after Unleashed it's lost the edge that Sonic Adventure 1 debuted with it. Mind you The Adventure Games artwork had more of a graffiti style to it making it feel looser yet move well, it's kinda hard to explain the art style of Sega Sonic as it's changed over time as the changes are small but gradual over time.

Because of this there's a very easy structure to the Reboot's Style that's shown, the biggest gripe of it all is the lack of detail to it which hinders the medium of the comic and makes it harder to feel for them, which makes it even worse when it feels like the writers are always holding back.

Now regarding the Freedom Fighters, they had the biggest changes in the Reboot out of any character so much that you could call them entirely new characters. The thing is though and what is over looked is they didn't receive a redesign, they gained Two Redesigns. One regarding their past in terms of the Classic Style and then one in the Modern Style.

Rotor's Modern Style looks much more bulkier and stronger, though that wouldn't be much of a problem it does take away any sort of growth from the chubby Walrus we knew. This "Battle Mechanic" look is okay but not really noteworthy, although I do miss the hat. His Color Scheme is very reminiscent of Rotor in the very beginning of Archie Sonic, and what's funny is that his Classic Style seems almost the same as his original look while a bit shorter.

Antoine's style is very simple and does not change much at all, his Classic Style has a hat while his Current Self doesn't. He has red boots which complement his now Mango Fur, yet he lost his iconic jacket. Honestly I have no idea what to make of Antoine's new designs as they just don't fit him. They look nice but I think they would fit a different or new character rather then Antoine himself.

Bunnie has an odd contrast between her Classic and Modern Design, both are rather similar in color scheme and appearance with her Classic Variant having tacky pink bows on each of her ears. However the main difference between the two is that her Classic Self retains rather bulky but familiar Robotic Limbs much like those of Early Archie Sonic and SatAM. Now as seen in her Origins story much like the Pre Reboot she had to undergo surgery and gain new robotnic limbs, which make up her Modern Design. Honestly it's what I like the least about her new look, she looks like she has pipes for limbs now. :/
Also she gained a pony tail, it's alright I guess.

As for Sally Acorn herself, her design out of all the characters is the most drastic change out of any of them. In all appearances she has a much less distinct muzzle almost appearing at times as if she has none, color scheme is much brighter and she looks a lot younger due to the Sega Style they've adapted for her. Honestly you could almost confuse her for a whole new character if it wasn't for her red hair. Her classic appearance sports a similar hairstyle to her Original Design and to be fair she does sport a familiar looking vest akin to the Original Sally, where she differs is wearing an outfit sporting tennis shoes, shorts though they seem to be a bit baggy a bit and a sleeveless black shirt. Honestly her Classic outfit ain't that bad although I think the black shirt should be some sort of color as it seems rather featureless and bland for Sally. Her Modern Design sports a new hairstyle with a zipped or buttoned up vest, tighter running shorts, and now has boots on with a new design although they are still blue. I've been very polarized by her new look and the addition of more clothing as well, I think some optional clothing for Sally could work though but for in the Reboot don't sit right with me, I'd say her black clothing is for stealth but she has white highlights to them so that kinda defeats the purpose, otherwise it just looks dull. It might just be me but I think her fur coloring is too bright and looks a little washed out sometimes, but really the biggest gripe I have with her new design is that it just doesn't feel like Sally to me, I often nickname this design as "Sally's Younger Sister" because really that's the thought that comes to me when I think of it.
Also I have to mention her Ring Blades she now uses at all times, which I like to dub the Baraka Blades. xD
They aren't bad but their design leaves much to be desired as the rings themselves have no features to indicate the Blades which does bug me, I do kinda like them though however it's not known nor explained how they can be used. Obviously we know that they are lifted from Mecha Sally before the Reboot, though how they look when used seems rather awkward as they are though I can see how they could be useful. Oddly enough King Nigel Acorn has a similar set of rings which make a more hold-able Energy Sword and Energy Shield as well.

Overall they're designs are quite an oddity as they removed a number of their iconic appearances by removing and adding things in, what puzzles me the most is how their "Classic" Designs are for the most part much more similar to their Original Designs yet use the smoother yet much less detailed "Modern" Designs. Honestly I think the Freedom Fighters lost more then what they gained with the new designs, in this case simplicity does not mean quality in this case. Some fans actually do like their new designs and they have every right to like them as I can see some of the appeal of them, I did try to like them but I at best I think they are Okay Redesigns, at worst they don't remind me or look like the Freedom Fighters I know. The redesigns of Sonic Adventure worked because they added much more color and details to the characters, granted Amy and Eggman's designs were changed the most yet did not contradict what came before nor made them unrecognizable, those designs had a balance to them which updated the characters rather well.

It has been around 18 years since Sonic the Hedgehog as a Series has had a major change to their designs, the overall basis from Sonic Adventure 1 still stands as a standard that became streamlined yet lost it's edge over time. I would say that it's about time Sega went over the characters and finally update them properly, I only hope that they wouldn't be afraid to add more details to them and make everyone more distinct. Besides Eggman needs a new tailor and Amy Rose has worn that same old rag for so long it's about time she got something new. XP

You know I think I understand why the Modern Style of Sega Sonic lost it's edge to me, it's because Sega promotes it as a "Timeless" design much like that of Classical Cartoons...or Classic Sonic even if you perfer. They still have the gloves of that by-gone era of Cartoons when every Toon had a pair on, no exceptions other then Robots. I mean Classic Sonic's era I think can pass off as Timeless due to how in tune of that era of Cartoons it is when it was first made at that time albeit I think that was a subconscious choice during the making of Sonic 1 and so forth. Yuji Uekawa who has been the character and overall art designer for almost to just about every Sonic Game I think is a pretty good artist as the overall character designs are done very well despite how I can sometimes have grievances regarding their limbs. I mean you got to Sonic Channel regarding wallpapers and such and they look very well for the style, actually considering the rough sketch sort of thing they got going is appealing to me.

I don't have an issue with the artist whose been at the helm of Sega Sonic's designs, I mean those are fine but I think needs to be rearranged again like how they did so for SA1 to refresh it. I'd be all for that, however regarding the Archie Comic as it is now I think for the art and designs overall they take far too much from Sega Sonic's style. I feel that they imitate it rather then mastering or understanding it completely sometimes, as I feel the Freedom Fighters should have had been looked over I think. Now the artists of this era's Archie Sonic aren't bad artists, they can fumble but I know that they are good folks that can make great art, however I feel that they limit themselves in body structures that they really don't need to do. Because the art Yuji Uekawa makes has no real guideline, every artist has their own style that can change over time, I feel that maybe Sega and Archie are trying to tell these artists that these characters have to look a certain way or they are trying to be too loyal to the art from the Games.

There is such a thing as being too loyal to the original material and I think the art of the Post Reboot Archie Sonic is an example of that which hurts the comic, the artists themselves need to draw more like themselves yet strike that balance for consistency, it's hard to do but it's possible. I think some Egg Bosses hit that stride like Cassia and Clove as they are very distinct among a lot of characters both new and redesigned (I think Clove stole Sally's snout. :P ). They just need to be less loyal to the games regarding the art, rather they need to stop being just like Sega Sonic and be Archie Sonic, they're own style that while has inspirations from the games can also stand on it's own and be distinct. STC is a good example of that regarding the artists of that comic, it takes good balance to draw a beautiful looking comic, as it takes a good writer to write a Great Comic or anything really. This can apply to any medium, it's hard to explain but I hope I did a good job doing so.

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