10 weird and wonderful Archie Sonic stories that hold up today

In my recent <a href="https://medium.com/@ponett/i-read-every-sonic-comic-by-ken-penders-and-theyre-wilder-than-you-could-ever-imagine-1f9dd05ae433" rel="noopener">retrospective on Ken Penders’ run on Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog and its spinoffs</a>, 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. <h1>1. Mecha Madness</h1> Sonic #39 and Sonic & Knuckles: Mecha Madness Special. Writer: Michael Gallagher, Penciler: Pat Spaziante <img alt="" src="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:700/1*D344kjJgsUxMD7Md5EWstQ.png" style="height:537px; width:700px" /> 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? <a href="https://ponett.medium.com/10-weird-and-wonderful-archie-sonic-stories-that-hold-up-today-44df6d3a2fcb">Learn More</a>