Tizoc
Member
Presented by Sciz, Tizoc, Dark Schala & Bean
Introduction:
“Worlds Collide” is a 12-part comic book crossover event between Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man comic series.
...
Okay, for those of you still with us, this is really exciting, and we say that without a trace of sarcasm. Fans have drawn parallels between the two series for years:
But that'd all be so much cruft if the comics were rubbish. No, what makes this exciting is that it represents a crossover between not just the two franchises, but between three of the best comic books running today (Sonic has two). They're nonstop character-driven fun, full of color and lighthearted comedy even as they weave in action and drama. And like all great kid-friendly media, they're littered with gags for the older fans while never talking down to the actual target audience. Being sourced from beloved video game franchises just makes them that much better.
Here's the rundown on what you're getting into:
...
Okay, for those of you still with us, this is really exciting, and we say that without a trace of sarcasm. Fans have drawn parallels between the two series for years:
- Both feature evil roboticists trying to take over the world
- Both have similarly clichéd supporting casts (the loyal canine companion, the dark double, the sometimes friendly rival, the requisite supportive girl)
- Both have a legacy of great music and wildly variable quality
- The heroes both share some color of the spectrum or something
- In recent years, they also both have series coming out of Archie Comics, the independent publisher that just won't die.
But that'd all be so much cruft if the comics were rubbish. No, what makes this exciting is that it represents a crossover between not just the two franchises, but between three of the best comic books running today (Sonic has two). They're nonstop character-driven fun, full of color and lighthearted comedy even as they weave in action and drama. And like all great kid-friendly media, they're littered with gags for the older fans while never talking down to the actual target audience. Being sourced from beloved video game franchises just makes them that much better.
Here's the rundown on what you're getting into:
The Blue Blur
Nope. I distinctly remember the Sonic comic being as bad as the games. Worse.
And there was a time when you were right, when the series' standards let plots through like "Sonic goes to high school, no really", "Knuckles' extended family goes through vaguely sociopolitical relationship drama", and "let's spend a year showing off the future where everyone has kids and nothing of interest happens because the writer forgot that plots require conflict". Then that writer got canned, ironically right around the time Sega was busy releasing Sonic '06; and Our Lord and Savior Ian Flynn was brought in and promptly spent the next two years cleaning up the last guy's mess. Ian's an ascended fan (as is most of the art staff these days), and while he's not without his own foibles, he understands what makes the series tick and what makes for good storytelling in general. It also helps that he revels in dredging up stuff like the Battle Bird Armada and the scrapped band from Sonic 1's sound test as opposed to inventing loads of new faces.
These days the comic is the fun and engaging series described earlier, where the setting occasionally hits up places from the games and even Shadow and Silver are genuinely good characters. No, seriously. That's why the Sonic Universe spinoff book even exists. All the other characters that everyone hate in the games got their own book where Sonic barely even shows up because they're written well enough to carry it on their own.
But isn't it still based on the old cartoon with Freedom Fighters and stuff?
Sort of. At this point it's an amalgam of characters, ideas, and locations from the cartoon, the stuff worth salvaging from prior years of the comic, and just about anyone and anything you can think of from the games. It's weird, but it works.
For the purpose of Worlds Collide, it doesn't matter, because the crossover features game characters only. You don't have to care what a “Mobotropolis” is or why the creepy chimera wizard-king is evil (It makes sense in context).
And there was a time when you were right, when the series' standards let plots through like "Sonic goes to high school, no really", "Knuckles' extended family goes through vaguely sociopolitical relationship drama", and "let's spend a year showing off the future where everyone has kids and nothing of interest happens because the writer forgot that plots require conflict". Then that writer got canned, ironically right around the time Sega was busy releasing Sonic '06; and Our Lord and Savior Ian Flynn was brought in and promptly spent the next two years cleaning up the last guy's mess. Ian's an ascended fan (as is most of the art staff these days), and while he's not without his own foibles, he understands what makes the series tick and what makes for good storytelling in general. It also helps that he revels in dredging up stuff like the Battle Bird Armada and the scrapped band from Sonic 1's sound test as opposed to inventing loads of new faces.
These days the comic is the fun and engaging series described earlier, where the setting occasionally hits up places from the games and even Shadow and Silver are genuinely good characters. No, seriously. That's why the Sonic Universe spinoff book even exists. All the other characters that everyone hate in the games got their own book where Sonic barely even shows up because they're written well enough to carry it on their own.
But isn't it still based on the old cartoon with Freedom Fighters and stuff?
Sort of. At this point it's an amalgam of characters, ideas, and locations from the cartoon, the stuff worth salvaging from prior years of the comic, and just about anyone and anything you can think of from the games. It's weird, but it works.
For the purpose of Worlds Collide, it doesn't matter, because the crossover features game characters only. You don't have to care what a “Mobotropolis” is or why the creepy chimera wizard-king is evil (It makes sense in context).
The Blue Bomber
There's a Mega Man comic?
There is! It's only got two years behind it compared to Sonic's twenty, but it's the only place where the franchise is still alive with its dignity intact. Ian Flynn pulls writing duties here as well, and consequently the series has a lot in common with his work on Sonic with respect to tone and humor. Unlike Sonic, though, Mega Man is religiously devoted to the games as source material. That isn't to say that it's a slave to the numbered titles; Ian happily pulls in characters from Battle & Chase and Rockman Gold Empire while adapting elements of Super Adventure Rockman in the background. But the original characters and concepts introduced thus far supplement the games rather than supplanting them.
After a breakneck first year that tore through Mega Man 1, Powered Up, and Mega Man 2 in succession, the series has since slowed down and started really digging into the characters and narrative that begin to crop up around Mega Man 3. It's spent the second year casually juggling heartrending tales (Proto Man's tragic origins) with goofy side stories (the budding rivalry between Guts Man and Concrete Man) and high action (a terrorist attack at a robotics convention); all while slowly building a serious conversation about the role of advanced robotics and artificial intelligence in society. It’s really truly excellent stuff.
It's strictly a Classic series affair so far, but the creative staff have repeatedly said they'd love to take on some of the other subseries if there's enough fan support.
There is! It's only got two years behind it compared to Sonic's twenty, but it's the only place where the franchise is still alive with its dignity intact. Ian Flynn pulls writing duties here as well, and consequently the series has a lot in common with his work on Sonic with respect to tone and humor. Unlike Sonic, though, Mega Man is religiously devoted to the games as source material. That isn't to say that it's a slave to the numbered titles; Ian happily pulls in characters from Battle & Chase and Rockman Gold Empire while adapting elements of Super Adventure Rockman in the background. But the original characters and concepts introduced thus far supplement the games rather than supplanting them.
After a breakneck first year that tore through Mega Man 1, Powered Up, and Mega Man 2 in succession, the series has since slowed down and started really digging into the characters and narrative that begin to crop up around Mega Man 3. It's spent the second year casually juggling heartrending tales (Proto Man's tragic origins) with goofy side stories (the budding rivalry between Guts Man and Concrete Man) and high action (a terrorist attack at a robotics convention); all while slowly building a serious conversation about the role of advanced robotics and artificial intelligence in society. It’s really truly excellent stuff.
It's strictly a Classic series affair so far, but the creative staff have repeatedly said they'd love to take on some of the other subseries if there's enough fan support.
...and just to give a taste of what the comic features:
Video previews of each issue of Mega Man released so far (courtesy of Bean) are here. Check them out since they’re edited very well and offer an excellent insight into what the comics are like. Just click the picture! (or click here!)
More specifically, it has (click the pictures for a legible version):
More specifically, it has (click the pictures for a legible version):
- Nods to the fanbase
- Bros
- Woodman being a boss
- Headshots
- Hyadain
- Scientific Mysteries
- Green Biker Dude’s backstory
Now Finally, Worlds Collide
And so we return to the main event: a four-month crossover extravaganza from April to August that spans across Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Universe, and Mega Man. Sonic's about to meet a whole bunch of robots he can't just bop, Drs. Wily and Eggman are about to discover the joy of having a B.F.F., and somehow our azure heroes are going to have to get along long enough to deal with the machinations of the newly-minted Evil Friends Forever before both worlds fall to their robot army.
SonicGAF's been looking forward to it for months, as has MegaGAF (disclaimer: MegaGAF is mostly comprised of SonicGAF), and we hope you'll be along for the ride.
With Regards to Spoilers: Please use spoiler tags for the issue that is released in its own release week, you may stop using spoiler tags after two weeks have passed and the next part of the story has been released.
The schedule is as follows (all dates represent comic shop availability):
SonicGAF's been looking forward to it for months, as has MegaGAF (disclaimer: MegaGAF is mostly comprised of SonicGAF), and we hope you'll be along for the ride.
With Regards to Spoilers: Please use spoiler tags for the issue that is released in its own release week, you may stop using spoiler tags after two weeks have passed and the next part of the story has been released.
The schedule is as follows (all dates represent comic shop availability):
Prologue:
Part 0 - Sonic/Mega Man Free Comic Book Day 2013 (May 4th; contains pages from Sonic #247 & Mega Man #23, though neither issue has much to do with the crossover.)
Act One: Kindred Spirits:
- Part 1 - Mega Man #24 - April 10th
- Part 2 - Sonic Universe #51 - April 17th
- Part 3 - Sonic the Hedgehog #248 - May 1st
- Part 4 - Mega Man #25 - May 8th
Arc Two: Into the Warzone
- Part 5 - Sonic Universe #52 - May 15th
- Part 6 - Sonic the Hedgehog #249 - May 29th
- Part 7 - Mega Man #26 - June 12th
- Part 8 - Sonic Universe #53 - June 19th
Arc Three: Chaos Clash
- Part 9 - Sonic the Hedgehog #250 - July 3rd
- Part 10 - Mega Man #27 - July 10th
- Part 11 - Sonic Universe #54 - July XXth
- Part 12 - Sonic the Hedgehog #251 - August XXth
The crossover arc issues can be purchased digitally from websites such as Comixology, or if you prefer mobile, Archie's own iOS/Android comics app. If you're old enough to remember what print is, hit up your local comic shop or check out any surviving newsstands and major bookstores. If you're after variant covers, comic shops are the way to go.
If you want to catch up on the series in general (ie: not as part of this comic crossover) and be up to date with it, you've also got options:
If you want to catch up on the series in general (ie: not as part of this comic crossover) and be up to date with it, you've also got options:
- Sonic the Hedgehog: Back issue availability is a bit scattershot, to say the least. Ian's run begins with #160, but the trade paperback reprints are only up to #82. A more recent reprint line, "Sonic Saga", picks up at #162, but the two available volumes only run through #172. Most everything from #211 on is available digitally, however.
- Sonic Universe: TPB volumes only cover up to #16 at the moment, but the whole series is available digitally.
- Mega Man: Issue #1-16 are available across four TPB volumes, with volume 5 due out in May. Again, the whole series is available digitally.
Covers:
Variant Covers:
