Tag: Thomas Rothlisberger

Super Comics: Sonic Imposter Syndrome – #4

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

Sonic: Imposter Syndrome, as well as Sonic the Hedgehog (the comic book series) and all the images you see in this recap, are owned by IDW and SEGA of America

I’m probably sounding like a broken record, but IDW’s Sonic series is always better the further away it is from Sonic himself. The mainline series has had its ups and downs, but the mini-series have always been some of the best writing we’ve seen from IDW’s run with the characters, and that is still the case with Imposter Syndrome; especially after Issue 49 which just felt like a bridge to whatever Issue 50 is gonna be. Does the final issue put the cherry on top of an already great mini-series, or will this be an even direr warning that Issue 50 might be an overhyped disappointment? Let’s find out!!

We begin the issue with Starline, Surge, and Kitsunami standing on the literal precipice of their greatest victory. For Starline that is to invade the Egg-base below and take over his mentor’s empire and for the other two, it’s to stab Starline in the back as soon as he thinks he’s won. Things go quite well right out of the gate, though that’s not much of a surprise given Eggman’s penchant for aesthetics over functionality, and the trio dispatches a number of goofy-looking and overly complicated robot minions. A few gun turrets or some land mines might have been a better use of resources, but Eggman will be Eggman and it’s not like he has anything better to do with his time. Speaking of whom, Eggman is swiftly made aware of the attack on his home and is baffled that it’s not being perpetrated by someone on his already extensive enemies list.

“Somebody ring up Reverse-Flash, Zoom, and that guy with the freeze ray.”     “Sir, I keep telling you that the CW isn’t-”     “YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH AND DO AS YOU’RE TOLD!!”
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Super Comics: Sonic Imposter Syndrome – #3

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

Sonic: Imposter Syndrome, as well as Sonic the Hedgehog (the comic book series) and all the images you see in this recap, are owned by IDW and SEGA of America

This mini-series has been one of the best things we’ve gotten from the Sonic comics in quite some time as it has genuinely interesting characters with a sense of depth to them that leaves the rest of the cast looking like paper cutouts. I’m guessing at least some of that has to do with this series focusing entirely on original characters and not SEGA mascots, but whatever the reason is I’ve found myself looking forward to these issues more than anything in the main series; and that includes the Chaotix finally getting a story arc! Was that anticipation worth it for this third installment, or will I be rushing back to Sonic by the time we’re done? Let’s find out!!

Right off the bat, this issue gets dark as we watch a series of video diaries from Dr. Starline where we hear his unfiltered thoughts and see the depths of his cruelty. His rage at Eggman is uncomfortably apparent at the start only to be tamped down by his insistence on self-control which is probably good for his blood pressure but not so much for Kitsunami and Surge who are in fact watching these videos along with us. Whatever these two may have done or the toxicity of their relationship, you can’t help but feel for them as they watch the one person they know in this world calmly talk about them as pawns in a game they are forced to participate in.

See, this is why you don’t watch drama channels. You just get all worked up with nowhere to direct that negative energy!
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Super Comics: Sonic Imposter Syndrome – #2

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

Sonic: Imposter Syndrome as well as Sonic the Hedgehog (the comic book series) and all the images you see in this recap are owned by IDW and SEGA of America

We’re back with another issue of one of the many Sonic mini-series that IDW has put out since they started the main series! For the most part, they’ve proven to be fertile ground to test new ideas and get a tad bit daring with things that perhaps wouldn’t fly as well with the SEGA branded characters, and so far this series has proven to be no exception to that rule! After such a fantastic first issue, can they hope to follow it up with something just as good; or perhaps even better!? Let’s find out!!

The issue begins with the “final test” that Dr. Starline alluded to at the end of the last issue; the one that he had to use his Hypnotic Glove Powers to convince Surge and Kitsunami to go along with. Still, the not-so-good Doctor is perhaps overestimating his ability to control the situation as Surge has been difficult to control and this mission doesn’t exactly play to her strengths. The three are infiltrating an Eggman base to take it over with as little fuss as possible which means Starline is going to upload a bug in the mainframe that will somehow give him full control of the base while the other two take out the comms tower to prevent an alert from being sent to Eggman. Of course, having one of your facilities go offline seems about as suspicious as a blaring an alarm would be, but who even knows what Eggman pays attention to on a day-to-day basis? Heck, he’s probably still playing around with his VR headset from the last time we saw him! What this mini-series has done so well is to explore both Surge and Kitsunami as genuinely flawed characters that don’t feel limited by the brand. I can’t say exactly how stringent SEGA has been with the content of the IDW books, but it definitely feels like the original characters have much more room to emote and feel negative emotions which is far more compelling than Sonic’s usual TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL attitude. Surge is both sympathetic and despicable as her entire existence is just to be a tool for Starline but she lashes out at Kitsunami who is just as trapped as she is. It makes the journey more interesting if a character already has flaws that simply switching sides wouldn’t fix and at this point, it could easily go either way whether she and Kit will stay evil or eventually see the light.

“I’m the Vegeta in this situation and you’re, AT BEST, a Krillin. Do we understand each other!?”     “Actually I see myself as more of a Gohan-”     “WHAT WAS THAT!?”     “Nothing!”
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Super Comics: Sonic Imposter Syndrome – #1

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 1 Comment

Sonic: Imposter Syndrome as well as Sonic the Hedgehog (the comic book series) and all the images you see in this recap are owned by IDW and SEGA of America

Comic book continuity is a truly terrifying thing and probably why all those Marvel characters are much more popular in movies and TV shows than they are in the comics themselves.  I’m been following IDW’s Sonic the Hedgehog series since it launched, and even I find myself having trouble keeping up with everything.  Granted, there’s a much smaller ecosystem for keeping in the loop of individual comic issues than for blockbuster movies, but I didn’t realize there was a new mini-series out until fairly recently; and don’t even get me started on that 30th Anniversary thing!  Clearly, there are some changes I need to make in how I keep up to date on these things, but regardless of all that we’ve got a new set of stories set in the Sonic the Hedgehog universe and to be honest, I’ll take any break from the lackluster Forest Fire storyline that IDW is willing to give me!  Is this the start of an exciting new chapter in the growing Sonic Universe, or are we drifting too far away from what makes the series work in the first place?  Let’s find out!!

The issue begins with Starline making another one of his video logs as he explains that his grand scheme is finally coming to fruition!  For months’ worth of issues, Starline has been taking steps and making moves that have slowly been moving him towards some sort of goal that we could only have speculated on before now.  That all changed after he bootlegged that code from Belle a few issues ago, and now we get to see that his ultimate plan was… knock-off Sonic and Tails clones!  Sure, we already have Metal Sonic, and I’m pretty sure that Tails Doll is around somewhere, but this is good ol’ Archie Comics cheesiness and for how short a time we have to get to know them, I think they did a GREAT job here introducing the characters and giving them well-defined personalities; particularly Surge the Tenrec who… actually, she kind of looks familiar doesn’t she?

“Original Character; Do Not Steal!”
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Super Comics: Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW) – #43

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

Sonic the Hedgehog (the comic book series) and all the images you see in this recap are owned by IDW and SEGA of America

We’re back with another issue of Blue Bomber Monthly, and yes I know; this is coming out late once again.  It’s been a busy few weeks, especially with the recent AEW Pay Per View, but rest assured that I will ALWAYS find my way back to Sonic before too long!  The last issue left our heroes in quite a desperate situation with one of them kidnapped by Dr. Starline and the head of The Restoration locked in a safe room to stave off The Deadly Six! With the last episode doing a great job to build the stakes, can this issue give us a payoff that takes full advantage of that effort?  Let’s find out!!

Now I’ve accused some issues of barely moving the story forward, but this is one of the most blatant examples of that as it all takes place in one location for one fight scene; though as surprising as it may be to hear this, I think they ACTUALLY managed to make it work here!  I certainly haven’t been the kindest to the action as depicted in this series and even when it comes to this issue I will still say the artwork is a bit flat for the high octane spectacle we see, but what makes it different is that they do a darn good job of telling a compelling story throughout; not one that advances the overall narrative, but enough to keep the action interesting all the way through.  It starts where the last issue left off as Sonic had finally arrived to face off against the Deadly Six right as they’re about to break through The Restoration’s final defense; leaving him as the only one stopping them from getting to Jewel, Tangle, and Whisper inside.  Sonic needs to hold them off for as long as it takes Tails to get there with some Anti-Zeti science thingies he’s developed, and he’s gonna have to do it without backup because SOMEONE waited too long to call an Uber!

“We should have taken the train.”     “CAN IT, TRIANGLE HEAD!!”
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