Sonic The Hedgehog #38 out this week from IDW Comics features Sonic falling through space. Luckily for him, Amy, and Tails it becomes apparent this is all just a trick by Dr. Eggman. This wild ride deeper into enemy territory was created by Evan Stanley (writer and artwork), Bracardi Curry (artwork), Matt Herms (colorwork), and Shawn Lee (lettering).
Summary
Sonic, Amy, and Tails are stuck in a mysterious new Eggman base. Each room holds a challenging surprise and the hallways don’t make any sense! Can they figure out how to escape unharmed?
Writing
A better feel for Evan Stanely’s style is apparent with this second arc of the Sonic The Hedgehog IDW series. It prioritizes the attention to character emotions and how they react to events in the world around them more. A prime example of this comes from Tail’s overwhelming joy from the curiosity of what is happening around him. This aspect mixed with Stanley working on results in authentic emotional moments.
The downside to this style is sometimes the world-building can suffer. This issue is for the most part two groups infiltrating an enemy base. While Sonic’s group is focused on the strange happenings of the base, Tangle and Belle investigate hoping to find out more about Belle’s past. Instead of building to a monumental change for Sonic’s world, the more likely outcome seems to be we know a little more about Belle. Seems a bit less grand in scale compared to events of the Battle for Angel Island or the Zombot storyline.
Artwork
The artwork by Evan Stanley and Bracardi Curry blends so well there is no noticeable change in style from panel to panel. The pair focus on body language such as Belle’s tight movements to show how timid she is. At the same time, there is a lot of attention to fast action scenes moving along at a smooth pace.
The colorwork from Matt Herms improves the quality from the previous issue. Gone are the distracting burgundy backgrounds and instead, blacks and blues are used to create a sharper look to the layout. It helps to give the illusion the characters are falling through a void.
The lettering by Shawn Lee focuses on adding a volume to the voices from panel to panel. Special care is used to show speech as being whispered or through electronic devices. Also, the use of breaking up a sound effect starting in one panel and ending in another makes perfect sense for showcasing teleportation.
Conclusion
Sonic The Hedgehog #38 seems like a return to form compared to the previous issue. Yet, the overall lowkey plot of the story may make the audience long for the grander storylines previously in the run. Maybe Sonic The Hedgehog will have to use the Chaos Emeralds to stop the moon from falling or something in the future.
