BY JENNIFER M. CONTINOWe've got all the details about the latest spin-off series featuring comics' favorite groundhog's pals and frenemies taking center stage in
Archie's Sonic Universe series. We've got
Mike Pellerito, Archie's Vice-President/Managing Editor (and also the editor of the Sonic series). Writer
Ian Flynn and artist T
racy Yardley! On tap to learn everything Sonic.
THE PULSE: Who or what is Sonic the Hedgehog -- aside from a super fast hedgehog. What makes him tick?IAN FLYNN: He’s a hero, plain and simple. He’s endowed with these incredible abilities and he uses them exclusively for helping others and fighting to liberate Mobius from the Eggman Empire. He’s got a bit of an attitude, but if I could run at Mach 1 and carve through reinforced steel with my hair, I suppose I’d have a bit of an ego too.
TRACY YARDLEY!: As the penciler on the book, I have a slightly less intimate understanding of what makes Sonic Sonic, but I'll throw in my two cents. I think that he's someone who lives in the moment and never hesitates to help others. He loves action, adventure and even danger. He'd rather be fighting a killer robot or snatching a friend from the jaws of death more than anything. I guess you could say he's a thrill junkie. When you can run faster than the speed of sound, I think it would be hard not to be. He's an exceptional person, and while he has a bit of a cocky attitude about it, he doesn't hold it over anyone's head.
MIKE PELLERITO: Sonic is one of the last “heroes” left in comics. So many books the heroes have gotten so dark. Sonic is fun, cool and he always does the right thing, or tries to anyway. He is a hero because he has to be, because he can, because he is needed to be.
THE PULSE: Why do you think this video game character has evolved to such a point that he's got not just one but several comic book series?
IAN FLYNN: Two reasons, and the first is he’s accessible. The premise really hasn’t changed much at all – super-fast colorful animal fights big-bellied mad scientist/tyrant. Sonic’s story is about following your own path and fighting the forces of oppression and conformity, and I think that’s something everyone can get behind. The other reason is he’s fun. He has his share of drama and angst, but it doesn’t weigh the character down. He’s a very light-hearted, positive force and I think that makes him appealing.
TRACY YARDLEY!: Sonic and his world are just plain fun. The visuals are bright and easily accessible to a wide audience. The stories are packed with action and interesting characters. Cartoon animals fighting a mad scientist and his army of robots is a great concept and it allows for elements of science fiction, fantasy, action and romance. Sonic comics have it all.
MIKE PELLERITO: What do can you add to what those two wrote? Look when superheroes came on the scene they were brightly colored do-gooders that were the coolest thing kids had ever scene. Sonic and his universe does the same brightly colored adventures of real heroes for modern readers.
THE PULSE: What do you personally like the best about this character and his eclectic cast of friends and foes?
IAN FLYNN: It’s an altogether fun read. I like superhero books, and the Sonic cast has all those elements – brightly colored characters with incredible abilities having fantastic adventures and battles. At the same time it doesn’t take itself too seriously – we’re dealing with talking animal-people after all. There’s enough flash and razzmatazz to be a light read, and the book takes itself seriously enough that you can get invested in reading it. It’s a wonderfully balanced book, and I’m proud of that.
TRACY YARDLEY!: I like that Sonic is fun. He's never too serious, or dark. He knows right from wrong and sticks to his morals. Sonic doesn't take himself or the world too seriously and has a bunch of friends who are there to help out when things get a little too serious.
MIKE PELLERITO: It changes every few issues. When first editing the book there was a group of favorite characters and that has changed and continues to do so. The Sonic books always keeps things moving, the storylines always evolve. So many readers are not just kids but 20-something, 30-something and people who read it with their kids because it reminds them of what superhero comics were really like.
THE PULSE: For those who don't know a lot about it, what is the Sonic Universe going to be about?
IAN FLYNN: SONIC UNIVERSE is going to be about the other characters, locations, time-lines and worlds that revolve around Sonic – his universe. Our first arc will be capping off a three-book tie in that saw the finale of the SONIC X book. This arc will be focusing a lot on Shadow the Hedgehog, the formation of Team Dark, and looking at how things are run on the other side of the world. We’ll also be doing a story that focuses on Knuckles the Echidna, who’s been without his own book for a long time. We’ll be diving back into his rich backstory and putting a new spin on things. Fans of the games can look out for appearances by Gamma and Omega, while the comic fans can look forward to more villainy from Dr. Finitevus and the return of an old Freedom Fighter group.
TRACY YARDLEY!: Sonic Universe will focus on the supporting cast of characters featured in the Sonic video games and comic books. Sonic will show up now and then too, but this is a chance for all the other charactes like Shadow, Knuckles Blaze and others to have bigger story arcs and to help flesh out the world that Sonic lives in.
MIKE PELLERITO: Big stories. Universe will be a series of 4 issue story arcs. We might adjust it as time goes on, but the first year or longer is laid out that way. The first arc gives Shadow (he’s like Sonics’ Wolverine for comic fans) his own starring role. Then we have a huge arc going into a surprise direction. If you watch the TV show 24, think the Sonic series is the weekly show, a long story that folds out over time, years even. While Sonic Universe would be the movie spin off, 4 issues of a big story, then onto the next massive story.
THE PULSE: Why do you think those characters deserve the spotlight in this kind of book instead of just giving them a story in the pages of the Sonic series?
IAN FLYNN: Shadow and Knuckles have so much to them – so much potential – that they could easily host their own books and their own stories. But when the title of the book is “SONIC THE HEDGEHOG,” it makes it hard to share the spotlight and tell all their stories. What’s really exciting about SONIC UNIVERSE is we still get to tell Sonic’s adventure and we get to explore the other top-billers.
TRACY YARDLEY!: Lots of Sonic's supporting cast are as popular as he is. The fans always want to see more of Shadow and Knuckles and now there will be more room to tell their stories. The regular Sonic the Hedgehog comic has 22 pages to work with every month and a rather large cast to fill those pages with. Of course, Sonic has to get plenty of "screen time" so that leaves everyone else off to the sidelines. Now they will have a chance to take center stage.
MIKE PELLERITO: It is the readers’ call. The demand is massive. We still get fan mail, boatloads from everywhere and everyone. You can read it in our letters pages. Sonic is one of the biggest video game characters ever. All these characters have been dealt with in people homes for years. Add in all the comic stories the brilliant people who worked on them and the demand is there. Only a hand full of solo characters can hold multiple monthly titles right now. Superman, Archie, Spider-Man, Batman and Sonic is on that list!
THE PULSE: Speaking of the Sonic series, how is what's going on here related to those ongoing series? Will you be fleshing out any back-stories or will you be doing stuff here that comes into play there?
IAN FLYNN: Some of it will be fleshing out supporting cast members and really giving them a chance to shine. Some of it will be wrapping up loose ends from days gone by – such as Sonic and Shadow’s first meeting and the fate of E-102 Gamma. And both titles will be happening in the same universe, and pretty much concurrently. Something we’re trying to do is make both books stand-alone and accessible, but strongly interconnected. So if you’re only reading one title you won’t be completely lost, but if you pick up both you’ll get the full picture. (Then again, it’s double your monthly dose of Sonic – how could you say no?)
TRACY YARDLEY!: Some of the stories seen in Sonic Universe will tie in directly with what's happening in the regular book. But we'll also see new characters and settings and stories that stand by themselves. With the possible exception of "what if" type stories, all of the stories in Sonic Universe will take place in the same world as the regular series.
MIKE PELLERITO: We are working on a massive Sonic Enclypedia, and there are hundreds of characters, and with the Sonic Archives (which we have had to reprint several volumes already, and Sonic Select the older stories are easy to read and readers want new stories on these characters they are discovering the first time.
THE PULSE: Does Sonic even appear in these pages? If so, how is this different from the two ongoing series?
IAN FLYNN: Sonic will definitely be popping up on occasion. He differs from his SONIC X counterpart in that SX-Sonic was even more care-free in a much less threatening world. The Sonic that will be showing up in SONIC UNIVERSE will be the same – mostly. I don’t want to ruin the surprise of our second story arc, but you’ll see that it features a slightly different Sonic; Sonic at a different stage in his life, if you will.
TRACY YARDLEY!: Sonic will show up in Sonic Universe (the book has his name on it after all), but he'll mostly stick to his own book and make room for other stories in Sonic Universe.
MIKE PELLERITO: Sonic is in these stories, the second arc he is the complete star. But it is a Sonic book, he is the “king” of his own universe.
THE PULSE: Some characters are going to be appearing in these pages for the first time ever, give PULSE readers a taste of a few of the video game cast that will be debuting in these pages, please!
IAN FLYNN: I already let slip that E-123 Omega will be making his debut, didn’t I? We’ll be having a number of characters who’ve only shown up once returning; namely Blaze the Cat, Marine the Raccoon and Silver the Hedgehog. And we can’t very well have Team Dark without the G.U.N. Commander leading the charge, now can we?
TRACY YARDLEY!: Blaze the Cat, Marine the Raccoon, and Dr. Eggman's killer robot, E-123 Omega all make appearances within the first 4 issues. Anyone else who shows up is a surprise for now.
THE PULSE: What are the challenges of working on an eclectic cast like this?
IAN FLYNN: Mostly its just keeping track of them all. We have the entire SEGA cast at our disposal plus all the Archie originals over the past 200-something issues. Every single one of them has a fan, and it’s quite the juggling act to give everyone some page time.
TRACY YARDLEY!: Well, all I really have to worry about is drawing them. But there are quite a few characters to remember. Although, after pencilling more than 1000 pages of Sonic comics, I've got them down pretty well.
MIKE PELLERITO: it is a big job, but with guys like these and the entire staff it always works out so well.
THE PULSE: What, outside of the game and the characters, has influenced you the most as you've created each story?
IAN FLYNN: I’ve been focusing on building each story off all that’s come before. The Sonic books have such a rich, deep mythos that I don’t have to look far to find some thread of thought and follow it to a great new story. This world, this universe, just keeps building upon itself.
TRACY YARDLEY!: Outside of the art found in the games, my biggest visual influences come from Japanese manga and anime, classic American animation like Looney Tunes, as well as brilliantly illustrated French/Belgian comics such as Spirou and the Smurfs.
MIKE PELLERITO: The people working on it, the readers and even the people in the office. We have done this book longer than most companies have been around. Ideas spring up, and throwing any idea to Ian and Tracy is like trying to catch Sonic at super speed. They take it and make something unbelievable.
THE PULSE: What other projects are you working on?
IAN FLYNN: On the SONIC front, I’m busy with the fallout of the big #200 anniversary issue and getting SONIC UNIVERSE up and running, plus another project that I probably shouldn’t even be hinting at yet. Then I’ve got a four-part story showing up in SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH #101-104 that will be looking at Salem before he was a cat, before he was a world-conquering wizard, and when he was a boy out for adventure. And then there’s another “super”-secret project I’m cooking up with the fine folks at Archie. When I get a chance to breath I’ll be working on some original comic material for self-publication.
TRACY YARDLEY!: I work out of my home and have four children and a wife in college, so I hardly have time these days to even work on Sonic, though I manage it somehow. Sonic is my bread and butter and it tastes pretty darn good.
MIKE PELLERITO: Now I’m involved in so much beyond Sonic. Sonic, Sonic Universe, Sonic Archives, Sonic Select, Ian’s work on Salem (the artist Chad is doing a great job), Archie & Friends, more Freshamn Man Year, New Look, a new line of Archie Graphic novels Archie & Friends All-Stars and the list goes on. Jen, anything you want to talk about in the Sonic “Universe” or the Archie galaxy we got it for you!
The first issue of Sonic Universe is due in stores this month.
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