Sonic The Hedgehog Issue 46 [Comic Review]

Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 46

IDW Publishing

Story: Evan Stanley

Art: Matt Froese & Gigi Dutreix

Colours: Reggie Graham & Heather Breckel

The ROAD TO #50 continues here! Enjoy a TEN-ISSUE long adventure leading up to the EPIC SHOWDOWN in milestone issue #50

This is not a drill! In “Trial by Fire,” part two by Evan Stanely, forest fire threatens the ecosystem and the campers-luckily, Amy, Tangle, Jewel, and Belle are there to help! The Heroines must overcome their differences and work together to save the day.

Evan Stanley’s all-girl adventure continued here with the heroes in peril. The covers are very good this month, with Jennifer Hernandez’s Cover A being a real stand-out ibn capturing the feel of the hero team. Cover B by Ryan Jampole is a fun piece showing Tangle, belle, and a Moto Bug on the hunt for the missing child from the last issue. Cover RI by Nathalie Fourdraine is far darker in feel, showing belle among the flames. With the last issue leaving it looking like Belle may be responsible for – albeit accidentally – for the fire, this is quite a poignant piece.

The story was what I had hoped for when I said in my review for issue 45 that this should be more perilous. In terms of Belle, we got to see her befriend a Moto Bug and link up with Tangle to look for Ashe, the park ranger’s missing son. There was a lot of good here, including a brief glimpse at the two new villains that have been shown as getting a new spin-off soon. My favourite scene was the attempt to jump the Moto Bug over a ravine, resulting in both Belle and Tangle using their respective abilities to clear the distance. Plus points also go to Belle’s nose and Tangle’s wonderful reaction to it.

The other pair of Amy and Jewel had fewer pages to work with, but what they did was worthwhile. Amy essentially placed herself in an enforcer role here, at least initially, as she sued brute force to take control during the fire-related panic. She then became a supporter for Jewel, encouraging her to step up to the plate. Despite her doubts, Jewel of course do so, and hopefully, that will b a means to prove to herself that she’s more capable than she thinks. I enjoyed there being some nice fire safety referenced here too with the beginnings of a firebreak being put in place.

Overall, I thought this issue did a good job of keeping the story moving. There are still questions to be answered: Who are the two new villains? Why is the Moto Bug helping the heroes? What will happen to Belle’s team given the events of the final panel? It’s all good stuff though, and I’d say this is on par with the last issue, even with a slightly different feel. This is another 5 out of 5 for me.