Retronauts Episode 459: Sonic the Hedgehog comics

A publication history more tangled than Krudzu

There's this anthropomorphized spiny mammal with blue fur and red sneakers who runs really fast, collects rings, and fights a mad scientist by curling himself into a ball. That's about the entirety of my Sonic the Hedgehog knowledge; I played the first game a lot, I thought that live-action movie from the start of the pandemic was OK, but I've never touched any of the extended media or followed the character that closely.

Thankfully, our own Stuart Gipp has a much deeper connection with Sonic, and that's in part due to his readership of the many comic books which bear Sonic's famous name. So many, in fact, that there are significant differences between the depictions of Sonic and his extended universe of pals and rivals in these books, particularly when comparing those written & drawn in the United States versus those produced in the United Kingdom.

Joining Stuart for this journey are Dave Bulmer of Sonic the Comic the Podcast and Bobby Schroeder from Thanks, Ken Penders. I don't know if this qualifies as "educational" but I certainly learned a lot from listening to their conversation!

Description: You know Sonic from his video games, but did you know he has also appeared in the most debased medium known to mankind: Comic books? In the interest of science, Stuart Gipp assembles a crack team of Sonic comic experts (Bobby Schroeder and Dave Bulmer).

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Artwork for this episode by Leeann Hamilton and editing thanks go to Greg Leahy.