Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 36
IDW Publishing
Story: Evan Stanley
Art: Evan Stanley
Colours: Reggie Graham
Strap on your snowshoes, an avalanche is headed straight for White Park Chateau! Sonic and the gang are going to have to act quickly if they want to save the White Park guests and stop the hooded figure from getting away with Tails! Join Evan Stanley for the action-packed conclusion of “Chao Races and Badnik Bases”!
Evan Stanley’s first full arc comes to an end here, and the final issue begins with a nice selection of covers. Cover A by Dan Schoening and Lis Antonio Delgado is a nice, kinetic piece, and the version I got. Meanwhile, Nathalie Fourdraine’s art pops again on cover RI, putting some focus on Dr Starline. Cover B by Reggie Graham is my least favourite of the three. It’s not bad, but something about Shadow’s body pose on it feels off to me.
What we got here was an exciting finale to the arc. Picking up where we left off, Starline gives Sonic and Shadow a choice: stop an avalanche threatening the entire chateau, or save Tails and Rouge. Like he says, it’s cliché, but it’s a good plan. From there, we get to see an attempt at stopping the snow, some robotic battles, and some hedgehog and bat on duck violence. Everything moves along at a blistering pace, and it’s interspersed with strong dialogue that feels very on-brand for the characters.
It’s that feeling that makes this such a strong issue too. Everyone acts the way they should, from Shadow’s stubborn drive to Rouge’s attitude, all the way through to Amy’s strength, and Sonic and Shadow’s interactions. Omega was also a blast in this issue, providing some nice humour during the battles. Finally, Starline continued his growth from the Bad Guys spin-off. Yes, he overreaches a little with his plan, and he doesn’t quite achieve his goal the way he wanted, but he takes what victory he does get, and pushes forward from there.
The internal art is very strong in this issue too. Evan has an excellent eye for body poses, ranging from Shadow advancing on Starline in a very Sonic Chronicles sorta way to some fantastic facial expressions on the ladies. Reggie Graham colour work adds to this nicely and really helps make the art feel alive.
Evan Stanley has proven here that she’s a wonderful successor to Ian Flynn as head writer, and this first full arc from her is more than worth a read. This issue gets the full 5 out of 5 from me.
Matt Doyle Media 