IDW Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 1

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* Cover A
* Cover B
* Cover RI-A
* Cover RI-B
* Cover RI-C
* Cover RE-Diamond
* RE Gamestop
* More Fun Games
* Spencers RE
* Tidewater
* 2nd Print
* 3rd Print

## "Fallout - part 1"

**IDW Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 1** is the first issue of IDW Publishing's Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series.

## Official Solicitation

**SONIC'S RACING INTO A NEW ADVENTURE!** After defeating the evil Dr. Eggman's latest plot, Sonic is racing around the world to shut down the robotic Badnik forces that are still attacking villages. But it's a big job for one hedgehog - even Sonic! Fortunately, he'll have some help from his best friend: Tails!

### *"Fallout" Part One*

* **Written by**: Ian Flynn
* **Pencils by**: Tracy Yardley
* **Inks by**: Jim Amash & Bob Smith
* **Colors by**: Matt Herms
* **Letters by**: Corey Breen
* **Edited by**: Joe Hughes & David Mariotte
* **Published by**: Greg Goldstein
* **Special thanks to**: Anoulay Tsai, Mai Kiyotaki, Aaron Webber, Michael Cisneros, Sandra Jo, and everyone at Sega for their invaluable assistance

#### Synopsis

Sonic the Hedgehog had been battling Dr. Eggman for a long time with past known battles including Dr. Eggman piloting his Egg Viper, Egg Emperor, Egg Dragoon, and the latest version of the Death Egg Robot. After Sonic managed to defeat Eggman in their last battle; however, the doctor disappeared. Unfortunately, his robot forces remained, and so Sonic traveled the world to help stop the various robot uprisings.

Sonic came across a town that was under attack from various Badniks. He came across civilians in need, one of which attempted to fend off the attacking Badniks to save a group of civilians, but was easily knocked down by an Egg Pawn despite wielding a Wispon. Sonic appeared just in time to save the brave young man and comment that he knew someone who put a Wispon to good use, which was a nod to one of the Resistance members during Eggman's previous attack. Sonic then ran by the town's militia and told them of the man he just saved and that he needed their aid. Sonic then came across some civilians trying to escape from some Moto Bugs, and he defeated them with ease.

Sonic then started to have a little bit of trouble against some Egg Hammers, but Tails appeared and saved him just in time. The two teamed up and took down all of the robots with a mix of attacks, which included the Spin Dash and Rolling Combo. After Sonic and Tails started overcoming the horde of robots, the robots attempted to escape the town, so while Sonic took care of the remaining Egg Hammer, Tails closed one of the town's gates just in time to prevent the robots from leaving, which caused them to crash into the gate and get destroyed.

Afterwards, Tails noted that the attack seemed coordinated, which was unlike previous Badnik attacks from other areas. When Sonic suggested it might be Dr. Eggman, Tails did not believe so, as Eggman was known for making sure they knew he had returned before attacking. Sonic decided to continue doing what he had been doing, but Tails expressed his worry over the thought of Sonic losing again, to which the blue hedgehog promised to be more careful. He also suggested that Tails follow him just like old times. Initially, Tails wanted to, but then he decided it was more important to help the town that they had just saved rebuild and recover. Sonic commented on Tails' decision by calling him a class act and stating that they would bash robots again some other time, to which Tails agreed.

Unbeknownst to the two of them, a Flapper watched Sonic travel away from the town, which had someone watching the visual feedback and planning their next moves. The unknown mastermind planned to lead Sonic towards Amy Rose.

## Key Events

* Dr. Eggman is revealed to have gone missing after his and Sonic’s last encounter in *Sonic Forces*, but his robots are still active.
* Sonic and Tails work together to defend a local village from a group of Badniks.
* Tails deduces that someone is using Eggman's robots for their own purposes.
* While Tails stays behind to help the local villagers fix their town, Sonic runs off to face more Badnik groups.
* At one of Eggman's bases, a mysterious figure plans to deploy another Badnik horde on another neighboring town, in hopes of crushing both Sonic and Amy Rose.

## Appearances

*Characters*

* Sonic the Hedgehog ***(First appearance)***
* Badniks ***(First appearance)***
	+ Egg Pawn ***(First appearance)***
	+ Flapper***(First appearance)***
	+ Motobug ***(First appearance)***
	+ Super Badniks ***(First appearance)***
		- Egg Hammer ***(First appearance)***
* Avatar ***(Mentioned)***
* Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik ***(Mentioned)***
* Neo Metal Sonic (voice)
* Resistance ***(Mentioned)***
	+ Miles "Tails" Prower ***(First appearance)***
	+ Knuckles the Echidna ***(Mentioned)***
	+ Amy Rose ***(portrait)***

*Locations*

* Sonic's Dimension ***(First appearance)***
	+ Sonic's World ***(First appearance)***
		- Green Hill ***(First appearance)*** ***(flashback)***
		- Vista View (unnamed in this issue) ***(First appearance)***
		- Final Egg ***(First appearance)*** ***(flashback)***
		- Eggman Land ***(First appearance)*** ***(flashback)***
		- Eggman Empire Fortress ***(First appearance)*** ***(flashback)***

*Items*

* Wispon ***(First appearance)***
	+ Cube Wispon ***(First appearance)***

*Vehicles*

* Egg Emperor ***(First appearance)*** ***(flashback)***
* Egg Viper ***(First appearance)*** ***(flashback)***
* Death Egg Robot ***(First appearance)*** ***(flashback)***
* Egg Dragoon ***(First appearance)*** ***(flashback)***
* Final Fortress ***(First appearance)*** ***(flashback)***

*Moves and Techniques*

* Boost ***(First appearance)***
* Copter Combo ***(First appearance)***
* Homing Attack ***(First appearance)***
* Rolling Combo ***(First appearance)***
* Spin Attack ***(First appearance)***
* Spin Jump ***(First appearance)***

*Misc*

* Eggman Empire ***(First appearance)***

## Other Features

* **Sonic Letter Squad**: Sonic Letter Squad is a section where the comic staff can post fan artwork and fan letters that have been sent in to them. This edition also includes a series introduction message to the readers.
* ***Skylanders* #1 - Free Digital Ashcan**

## Quotes

* **Sonic**: (after retreating into into a manhole) ““Hedgehog.” Noun. A burrowing animal.”

## Background Information

* While the actual story is unnamed in the issue itself. The title comes from the graphic novel volume in which it is reprinted.
* This issue currently has the most alternate covers, with 16 covers overall.
	+ The **WonderCon** variant is a **Convention Exclusive** that was available at Wonder Con 2018 at the IDW booth.
		- Released at the convention on March 23, 2018, it is the first book in the series to be released, 12 days ahead of the official launch date on April 4.
		- It features Tracy Yardley's B cover with a black and white background.
	+ The **A cover** is the first piece to the 4-part panoramic connecting cover art by Tyson Hesse.

* Upon first being revealed online, despite officially being the **B cover**, Tracy Yardley's cover was mistakenly labeled as Cover A in the top left corner of the cover. This was later corrected upon release.

* Nathalie Fourdraine made her comic debut with her **RI-A** . Retailers received this variant in a 1:10 ratio to copies ordered

* The **RI-B** **cover** was done by 3D model artist, Rafa Knight. Retailers received this variant in a 1:25 ratio to copies ordered.
	+ Concept art for Rafa Knight's variant cover was done by Aaron Hammerstrom.
	+ Rafa was not paid for making the cover, even after requesting that Aaron be credited as well.
	+ The **RI-C cover** by Kieran Gates is reminiscent of *Modern Sonic* official artwork. Retailers recieved this variant in a 1:100 ratio making it one of the rarest variants.
	+ The "**More Fun Games**" variant is a **Retailer Exclusive** to More Fun Comics and Games by local artist Devin Kraft.
	+ The **Diamond Retailer Summit** variant is a **Retailer Exclusive** that was given as part of the "Thank You" pack to attendees of the Diamond Retailer Summit 2018.
		- It features Tyson Hesse's A cover with a black and white background.
	+ The **C2E2** variant is a **Convention Exclusive** that was available at C2E2 2018 at the IDW booth.
		- It features Tracy Yardley's B cover with a partially black and white background.
	+ The "**Superstar**" variant by Edwin Huang was a **Convention Exclusive** given as part of a gift package to VIP ticket holders at Tidewater Comic Con 2018.
		- Its art featured an update version of that used for Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog #272
		- Edwin was glad he was able to do an updated version due to the previous iteration having so many errors.
	+ The "**GameStop**" or "**Crash Course**" variant is a **Retailer Exclusive** that comes with the IDW's Sonic The Hedgehog: Crash Course Board Game only from GameStop.
		- It features Kieran Gates' RI-C with a black and white background.
		- Printed on a smaller format to fit within the game box.
		- The game was originally scheduled to be released on July 25th, 2018, but was delayed several times until December, 2018.
	+ The "**Spencer's**" variant is a **Retailer Exclusive** that was given as a gift on FCBD 2018 at Spencer's Gift Stores with the purchase of a limited edition t-shirt featuring Adam Bryce Thomas' B cover for issue #2.
		- Many locations had an extremely limited supply receiving only 1 or 2 packs containing 4 t-shirts (S,M,L,XL) and 4 comics.
	+ The **2nd** and **3rd** **Printing** variants feature Tyson Hesse's A cover with a white background. The 2nd printing has a red box and the 3rd has an orange box.
	+ The Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 1-4 Box Set contains 5 unique covers including 2 issue #1 variants
		- It includes a **Virgin Cover** of Tyson Hesse's A cover allowing a unobstructed image when connecting the covers.
		- It also includes a **Sketch Cover** which can be used to sketch your own art or used for signing by your favorite artist.

* Dynamic Forces released a limited number of CGC graded copies with high ratings of 9.6 or 9.8 of the **A cover**. Due to the place holder image, there was some confusion as to whether this was a unique cover variant or not.

* This is the second American Sonic comic publication to sell out upon its release, prompting a second printing. The first such publication to do so was Archie Comics’ Sonic: Mega Drive one-shot special.
	+ Additionally, it is the first American Sonic comic to sell out twice, prompting a *third* printing.
* Issue #1 is the best selling regular single issue of a North American Sonic comic, having 21,632 copies ordered by retailers according to Comichron. It sold another 3,331 copies in reprints for a total of 24,963.
	+ The previous record holder was Archie's Sonic Boom #1 with 17,228 copies ordered.

### Cameos & References

* The first page shows flashbacks to four different occasions in which Sonic battled a notable Eggman mech from various games. This includes the Egg Viper (*Sonic Adventure*), the Egg Emperor (*Sonic Heroes*), the Egg Dragoon (*Sonic Unleashed*) and the Death Egg Robot (*Sonic Forces*).
* Despite following shortly after the events of *Sonic Forces,* the Egg Pawns resemble their *Sonic Heroes* design.
* Upon saving a militia member, Sonic returns his Wispon and mentions that he once knew someone who "...put it to good use." This is likely a subtle reference to the "Rookie", the player's avatar character, from *Sonic Forces.*
* All the militia members featured are based on species available for avatar creation in *Sonic Forces.*
* Tails displays a genuine fear that Sonic might get caught off guard or become seriously hurt again. This is like a reference to Sonic being captured and imprisoned on the Death Egg in *Sonic Forces.*

## Gallery

### Other Variant Covers

Second PrintingThird PrintingBox Set -
Sketch VariantBox Set -
Virgin Variant

## External Links

1. ↑ https://www.newsarama.com/38304-idw-publishing-april-2018-solicitations.html
2. ↑ Aaron Hammerstrom on twitter
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/ironpinky/status/997622101061271552
4. ↑ http://www.comichron.com/monthlycomicssales/2018/2018-04.html

*IDW Sonic Comics*