Sonic the Comic
Sonic the Comic issue #50
Issues	223 (Finished)
Original Run	1993 - 2002
Publisher	Egmont Publishing (Formerly Fleetway)

Sonic the Comic was the UK's official Sega comic which published fortnightly from 1993 until the publication ended in 2002. The comic featured comic strips about Sonic the Hedgehog, alongside supporting strips about other Sega properties.

[edit] History

[edit] Format

At the start of the comic's run the standard format was 4 comic strips, the larger 7 page comic dedicated to Sonic, plus 3 supporting comic strips 5 pages in length. Often these stories would be multi-part and span several issues.

In the earlier years of the comics run, the supporting strips varied greatly with a different variety of stories such as the more serious Streets of Rage and Shinobi strips, and the comedic Decap Attack strips. Over time, the supporting comics moved away from the other Sega properties and instead were strips about the supporting Sonic cast such as Tails, Knuckles and Amy Rose.

The rest of the comic would be dedicated to games news, reviews, hints and cheats aswell as readers letters and artwork pages. The comic also featured regular contests, posters, and free gifts on the cover.

[edit] Re-prints and Publication End

In 1997, in order to reduce costs, the page count was reduced which lead to the loss of the news, reviews and game tips pages. Furthermore, in issue 133 which was published in 1998, as is Fleetway's policy with publications that reach 5 years in age, one strip of the four strips in the comic was given over to re-prints of older stories already printed in the comic. Later on, from issues 155 and 157, the other 2 supporting strips were also given over to re-prints so that the only new content was now the main 7 page Sonic strip.

Finally, from issue 185, the comic went full reprint meaning that the only new content was now the front cover of the issue. This apparently happened at short notice, so short that even one of the two writers on the comic at the time, Nigel Kitching, did not know that issue 184 would be the last with new material until requesting an extension for the next arc of stories he was writing for the comic. The comic continued to print full reprints until the publication was ended at issue 223.

[edit] Specials

Alongside the main publication, periodically special editions were printed such as the Sonic Summer Special and Sonic the Poster Magazine.

[edit] Strips

[edit] Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog was the main strip and the one that ran constantly throughout the comics lifespan, the stories varying from contained, one-issue stories, to multi-parters spanning several issues.

After a small run of self-contained stories, from issue 8 the main back-ground story which ran throughout the rest of the comic was established. During issue 8, Sonic revealed his past to Tails, Johnny Lightfoot and Porker Lewis via the Omni-Viewer in the Special Zone. At the end of the comic, Dr. Robotnik hacked the Omni-Viewer and used it to transport the group 6 months into the future, during their absence Dr. Robotnik was able to establish his rule over the vast majority of the Planet Mobius. This was the set-up for Sonic setting up his freedom fighting group and trying to free the planet of Robotnik's rule.

As time passed, the group was joined by Amy Rose, and were frequently aided by other supporting characters such as Tekno the Canary, Knuckles and Shortfuse. The comic, aswell as having it's own completely unique stories, also had several stories based around the Sonic games of the time such as Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic Adventure, the latter would be the last game adaptation to feature in the comic before the publication ended.

[edit] Main Characters

[edit] Heroes

• Sonic the Hedgehog
• Tails
• Knuckles the Echidna
• Amy Rose
• Johnny Lightfoot
• Porker Lewis
• Tekno the Canary
• Shortfuse the Cybernik
• Vector the Crocodile
• Espio the Chameleon
• Mighty the Armadillo
• Charmy Bee

[edit] Villains

• Dr. Robotnik
• Grimer
• Commander Brutus
• Dr. Zachary
• Super Sonic
• Metallix
• Trogg
• Captain Plunder
• Nack the Weasel

[edit] Non-Sonic Strips

In the earlier years of the comics run, the supporting strips were about other Sega games and properties. These strips were:

• Decap Attack
• Ecco the Dolphin
• Eternal Champions
• Golden Axe
• Kid Chameleon
• Marko's Magic Football
• Megadroid
• Mutant League Football
• Rocket Knight Adventures
• Pirate STC
• Shining Force
• Shinobi
• Streets of Rage
• Wonder Boy

[edit] Issues

[edit] Spin-Offs

[edit] Sonic the Poster Magazine

[edit] Specials

• Sonic the Summer Special
• Sonic Holiday Special (1995)
• Sonic Holiday Special (1996)
• Knuckles Knock-Out Special