Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 22 [Comic Review]

After last month’s ‘Wait…where’s Cream?’ moment, issue 22 takes us back to Restoration HQ to find out exactly what went down. How did this affect the story? Let’s find out!

Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 22
IDW Publishing
Story: Ian Flynn
Art: Priscilla Tramontano
“The Last Minute, Part Two”! As the Metal Virus spreads faster and faster, it’s getting harder for the Restoration to keep up… good thing they’ve got Amy Rose keeping relief efforts organized! Just as long as nothing happens to the Restoration base, everything will be… Oh… That might be a problem. The second of three simultaneous adventures! Can Amy keep the Restoration and refugees from the Metal Virus safe? Someone’s trying to let Zombots in… but who?! Don’t miss the Halloween variant cover by Nathalie Fourdraine!

As always, I’m starting with the cover. I got Cover A by Ryan Jampole. It’s a nice, colourful piece that foreshadows what we’re about to see in the issue. Cover B by Diana Skelly is a darker one, that also reflects the events of the issue. My favourite this month though is Nathalie Fourdraine’s Cover RI. It’s a Halloween-themed piece with the core cast all dressed up.

Moving onto the interiors, Priscilla’s art is really kinetic. The action scenes have some real movement to them, and the characters have plenty of suitably over the top facial expressions on display. There were maybe a few panels where things felt a little off, but that’s more to do with my finding it odd when you can see a Sonic style characters’ lower eyelids.

The story was built around the concept that things are getting rough. Amy Rose is tired, working herself to the bone to keep things in check, and they’re all running out of space thanks to having nowhere else to take survivors. Those cramped conditions prove to be their downfall though, as it meant that an infected person managed to get in. Once they turn, all Hell breaks loose. I won’t spoil who, but in the end, we lose two more characters to the virus. On top of that, Zavok and his crew are getting ready to make a move too.

This all played out really well. The opening scenes set the edging-towards-hopeless tone well, and once the infection hit, we got all the action and sentimental moments you’d hope for. Most importantly, it also set up the importance of the next issue, as the heroes now only have one hope left: that Sonic makes it back with his data analyzer intact. Where that’s interesting is that you’d think it should be definite, but it may not be. Zavok being involved means there’s another way the virus could be controlled, but the heroes don’t know it. I do expect Sonic to come through but it’s nice seeing that there’s the possibility of failure.

Overall, this was another strong issue. The glossy colours really popped, and the story sped along nicely.  As such, I give this a 4 out of 5.