Sonic the Hedgehog: The IDW Collection, Vol. 1 by Ian Flynn

Sonic the Hedgehog: The IDW Collection, Vol. 1 Reviews

• 
  Ronyell

  
  
  Introduction:
  
  So, let me tell you guys my history with “Sonic the Hedgehog” through the comic books. I grew up reading the Archie “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic books when I was a kid and I always enjoyed reading that series because that series tended to get pretty CRAZY and I LOVED IT! So, I was totally devastated when the series got cancelled after running for over 200 issues (which is quite an impressive feat for a comic book series based off a video game property). So, for many years, I thought that “Sonic the Hedgehog” would never come back to the wonderful world of comic books…until one fateful day, IDW announced that they were going to do a new “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic book series that featured the same writers and artists from the Archie series! At first, I was a bit hesitant about this announcement since I loved the Archie Comics and I did not want to see my precious series be replaced after all of these years. But the moment I picked up this first collection of IDW’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic book series, I was immediately HOOKED! I never thought that this series could actually be so good!
  
  What is this story about?
  
  Taking place after the events of the latest “Sonic the Hedgehog” video game “Sonic Forces,” the series starts off with Sonic the Hedgehog trying to take down Dr. Eggman’s remaining robot armies after the Doctor’s defeat in “Sonic Forces.” Along the way, Sonic meets up with some old friends (Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Silver) and some new friends (Tangle and Whisper) and they all help Sonic with taking down Dr. Eggman’s remaining robots. However, it turns out that Dr. Eggman had mysteriously vanished after the events of “Sonic Forces” and a new threat is actually the one controlling the robots.
  
  Who is really behind all the robot attacks and what happened to Dr. Eggman?
  
  Find out in this volume!
  
  What I loved about this story:
  
  Ian Flynn’s writing: So, for those of you who do not know, Ian Flynn is one of the original writers from the Archie “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic book series, meaning that he has been writing for this series for over 10 years! So, when I heard that he was coming back to write for this series, I was beyond excited since I loved his work in the Archie Comics. Ian Flynn has once again done a fantastic job at writing this collection of stories. I just loved the way that he portrayed each character, especially Sonic, Tails, Amy, Whisper and Tangle. I especially loved the numerous moments between the characters, especially between Sonic and Tails as we get to see their brotherly relationship with each other. I also loved the fact that Ian Flynn fixed a lot of the things that were controversial from the “Sonic Forces” video game (as that game seems to be extremely hated by the fans). For one thing, he made Tails into a braver and more enjoyable character like how he was portrayed in the “Sonic Adventure” games and I appreciated the fact that Ian Flynn fixed Tails’ character since Tails is one of my all-time favorite characters from the “Sonic the Hedgehog” franchise. Another set of characters that I really started to take a shining to are Tangle and Whisper. These are two new characters added for the comic book series and I already love these two characters! I just loved the way that these two characters were introduced into the story as they felt like they been a part of the Sonic cast for years, despite the fact that they are new characters. Also, this is a question I tend to ask myself:
  
  “WHY WASN’T SONIC FORCES WRITTEN THIS WAY?”
  
  One of my biggest gripes with the game “Sonic Forces” was how the story was so clunky and I was disappointed that we did not have any plot points about how the characters felt about the bleak situation they were dealing with in the game. In this new comic book series however, we actually get some good insight on how the characters felt about the events of “Sonic Forces,” like how Tails was worried that something bad will happen to Sonic again and whether or not he will break apart again. I just loved that moment between him and Sonic when they were talking about that situation and I just wished that “Sonic Forces” took the time to showcase such relationships between the characters.
  
  
  
  The artwork: OH, MY GOODNESS! Probably the best part of this collection was the artwork itself! The artwork was done by several different artists who each brought something truly creative to the series. The artists are Tracy Yardley, Adam Bryce Thomas, Jennifer Hernandez and Evan Stanley. My favorite artwork in this collection is from Adam Bryce Thomas, Tracy Yardley and Evan Stanley. Adam Bryce Thomas’ artwork is probably the most epic out of the entire collection as I loved the way that the action scenes are drawn out and I loved that fact that his artwork has a more serious feel to them. Tracy Yardley’s art is a nice throwback to the Archie Sonic the Hedgehog comics since he was an artist from the Archie Comics. Evan Stanley’s art is so fun and amazing to look at since I loved the way that the characters have comical expressions on their faces whenever something funny or shocking happens to them.
  
  
  
  What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:
  
  One of the problems that I had with this collection was that I wished that the world that Sonic lived in was established a bit more. Now, as a long-time fan of the “Sonic the Hedgehog” series, I am already familiar with the world of “Sonic the Hedgehog.” However, if you are a new reader to this series or you are just getting into the “Sonic the Hedgehog” series, chances are you are going to be a bit confused about how certain events played out, like how did the war started in the first place? Also, one of the artworks from this collection was a bit off from the rest of the artwork. That artwork came from issue three and even though I did like the artwork from that issue, it stood out from the other artwork in the collection as the other artwork were smoother in style, while the artwork in issue three had more bolded lines for the characters.
  
  Final Thoughts:
  
  Overall, “Sonic the Hedgehog: The IDW Collection Volume 1” is a fantastic collection of stories that “Sonic the Hedgehog” fans will greatly enjoy! If you were a fan of the Archie Comics or you just want to jump into the “Sonic the Hedgehog” franchise through the comics, then you should definitely pick this collection up! Now, I am waiting for the second collection to come out soon!
  
  Review is also on:
  Rabbit Ears Book Blog
  
  
• 
  Will Brown

  I read this book first when IDW just started publishing this series as single issues, then a second time when those issues were collected as trade paperbacks, and now a third time as those paperbacks have been collected as an extra large, hardcover omnibus, and I still enjoyed reading it!
  
  Ian Flynn's voice for these characters has been unrivaled for over decade. Even though this series is occasionally hamstrung by how much of the old games they are allowed to mention, Flynn does a phenomenal job introducing us to these characters in ways where readers new and old can get sense for their personalities and relations with the other cast members, even if we don't know their full histories.
  
  The artwork from veteran artists Tracy Yardley, Adam Bryce Thomas, Jennifer Hernandez, and Evan Stanley has an expressiveness and fluidity perfectly suited for this series, and the fact that it's now in an enlarged format in high quality makes it even easier to appreciate their work. At just $40, this is the definitive way to experience the beginning of the IDW Sonic comics, and gets a strong recommendation from me.
• 
  Kaytea Ferguson

  Of course this was incredible
• 
  Violet

  I've never really read much Sonic lore in the past, so I thought I'd start by reading the new IDW series. And yo! It's really, really good! The art is amazing, so dynamic and action packed! The characters are all on point, and the story and villains are really well developed. I'm so excited to read more of this, so glad the second HC collection just came out so I don't have to wait. Also Tangle may be my new favorite character, she's so gay! (Whisper is a close second)
• 
  The Spooky Jedi

  Great first volume with lots of set up for the future
• 
  Hugo Merckx

  Love the art and a very fun story
• 
  Joey K

  ‼️PEAK FICTION‼️🗣️🗣️🗣️
• 
  Jacob

  A preface: I grew up reading the Archie published Sonic the Hedgehog comics, and those were actually my first venture into comics. So Sonic the Hedgehog comics hold a very special place in my heart, and it's why it took me so long to read the IDW published series; I was worried it wouldn't be as good and would ruin my childhood.
  Luckily I had nothing to worry about.
  This collection is amazing. While some of the characters from the Archie comics didn't make it (because legal bullshit), most of my favorites are here. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Shadow (the OG edgelord) all make it in. The artwork is amazing, its intense when it needs to be, but comical in certain panels (there's a ton of funny faces and gags in the backgrounds). The artists did a great job. The story is fun and quick, which is how a Sonic story should run. Metal is an awesome villain and they really did a good job making him look cool and terrifying.
  My rating: Way Past Cool.
  I'm very excited to keep reading the series and see it's future.
• 
  silas☆

  i love silver the hedgehog. he’s like. a son to me
• 
  myguy mg

  This book is so funky i loved it ive been getting into sonic and figuring out how to draw sonic and this book is a collection of a bunch of comics to varied art styles and after chapter art is really good i couldn’t recommend it enough
• 
  Dre

  Pretty much what you'd expect from a Sonic comic book collection. Laughs, adventure, and super Sonic speed.
  
  Also I appreciate how iconic the Sonic voice actors are as I imagined most of their voices in my head while reading, particularly Mike Pollock's Dr. Eggman voice. ♥️
• 
  lauren sherree

  Gotta go fast!
• 
  Rumi Louis

  This book is about Sonic and his friends trying to figure out what happened to Eggman and what is going on with Eggman’s robots. Eggman has suddenly disappeared after a battle that he had with Sonic and now his robots have started going rogue and no one knows why or how. Before they were just mindless and didn’t cause any harm but then they have been going to different cities and towns destroying anything they see in their path. Sonic goes to these places and defeats these robots while trying to figure out who is the mastermind behind all this. His friends also help with saving and protecting the city. Later in the book Sonic and his friends find out it’s an old enemy of theirs who’s controlling the robots! So, Sonic and his friends team up and beat the enemy together!
  
  There were so many things that I just loved about this book! First was the art and illustrations of it. Everything was just amazing about the art. The style the colors and the expressions! Not only that but the fact that it wasn’t just one art style there were many! There were about 3 art styles in it! This whole book was just a big collab with many artists! Another thing that I loved was how the story progressed It went from a big fat mystery trying to be solved into an awesome battle scene in the end! There were also side stories that I enjoyed! They didn’t have any meaning to the main plot, but it was nice, and it would give you a short breather from all the excitement! Something I didn’t like though was the fact that some characters weren’t portrayed properly. They seemed as if they were the whole new person in the book than they were before. I’m not saying it’s bad that they changed but the fact that they went from a cool badass to a whole loner is just off-putting to me.
  
  I feel like people who are into adventurous and mysterious comics would enjoy this book. Also, the people who are into Sonic. But honestly, this book can be for anyone it has a lot of stuff that any person would enjoy unless they aren’t into comic books at all.
  
  The author who wrote this book is also the person who helped write the story for the game Sonic Frontiers and many other Sonic comic books!
• 
  Chloe

  The IDW Series is a godsend for Sonic fans who want consistent characterisation, villains that feel threatening and an overall solid 'Sonic' story. Ian Flynn's dedication to writing Sega's wrongs or character notes that got swept under the carpet is a daunting challenge, but the IDW universe manages to reference most of them while maintaining its own story. The adorable art and dynamic illustrations are perfectly aligned with the writing, its just a testament to liscensed/adapted property into comics.
• 
  Russell Pearce of Sector 2814

  Considering I'm not really the core demographic for this book, I still found myself enjoying it. My one major gripe is that the first few issues rely heavily on knowledge of some of the latest games that I haven't really played. However, once the story starts rolling, they do a pretty good job of getting you caught up as needed. One huge strength of this series is fantastic artwork. I ordered volumes 2 and 3, so I will be reviewing them in the near future as well.
• 
  Highland G

  Fun read that had lots of nostalgia throwbacks from sonic games and other franchises like pokemon or digimon. It takes a few issues to get going as it introduces us to the characters but once its going, about 50% is fast paced action and the other 50% sarcastic and quipy conversations.
  No previous reading needed but you may want to have a basic understanding of who Sonic is before jumping in.
• 
  R Nyan

  As a sonic fan this is my first ever sonic comic and I got everything I expected from the comic! Amazing illustrations and character interactions. Definitely invest in this series if you’re a sonic fan looking to read some comics!
• 
  Mark Dickson

  At this point I don’t remember why I stopped reading this series because this was an absolutely rollicking adventure from the first page to the last. With such a large cast, they each still feel present with strong characterisation. And all of the new characters too!
• 
  Chris

  Outside Sonic, Tails and Knuckles... the core group of characters are not interesting. This tries to bring in way to many people to take on Metal Sonic. I wanted a more mature take on Sonic this is just bland. Gave it one more star just for not having that stupid fishing cat man from the games.
• 
  Jessica

  The illustrations are pretty good, but the plot dragged a bit too long in parts. I do recommend this book for fans of sonic, but not really young children. This is of course my personal opinion due to the violence.
• 
  Leslie Carnahan

  Growing up with the Archie comics in the 90's, I was a little hesitant to start this. But man oh man does this team take pride and care with this franchise. Wowowow. Wonderful! So glad I have book 2 next to me so I can binge this as well!
• 
  SomewherePerhaps

  Poggers
• 
  Danica

  So much fun. Even not knowing all the characters, they still had such personality. And the plot twists were fun. It was a great comic to read with my little one who loved the new Sonic movies.
• 
  Brendan Ferraro

  It was very enjoyable, great artwork! Highly recommend if you are a fan of sonic.
• 
  Electroclan17

  This was a fun take on the 3D Sonic Story.
• 
  Seán Leneghan

  Gotta go Fast! 🦔💨💨 This book is a blast! I won't go into too much detail, but from start to finish, you'll find amazing battles, an evil impersonator and two new friends for sonic. 5 stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐