In my recent retrospective on Ken Penders’ run on Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog and its spinoffs, I was very negative, because reading his comics is often a nightmare. But Ken wasn’t the only writer, and focusing exclusively on him doesn’t paint a full picture of the series.
In this shorter followup, I’d like to highlight ten stories that stood out to me in the much-maligned first thirteen years of the series. Most readers will tell you to skip to Sonic #160, when the reigns were handed to the ever-popular creative duo of Ian Flynn and Tracy Yardley (who are still doing phenomenal Sonic work at IDW today). But thanks to stories like these, I’m glad I gave the earlier issues a fair shake.
1. Mecha Madness
Sonic #39 and Sonic & Knuckles: Mecha Madness Special. Writer: Michael Gallagher, Penciler: Pat Spaziante
If there’s one story arc everyone remembers as being cool as hell from early Archie Sonic, it’s “Mecha Madness.”
The story goes like this: A couple issues prior, the Freedom Fighters had invented a gizmo that could allow a Mobian to retain their free will when roboticized. Thus, Sonic had an idea: why not stick one of these gadgets on his person, let Robotnik turn him into a robot, and then use his new super-strong robot powers to finally beat Robotnik once and for all?