Sonic HQ News - 07/2000

Sonic the Comic 184 - Ed 14:30 pm 07-03-00

The last issue of "Sonic the Comic" to feature an original story is now on sale. It will be available until 11 July 2000. This is effectively the death of the comic. Future stories will feature an original cover by Richard Elson, accompanied by reprint material selected by current Managing Editor Steve MacManus.

COVER (features spoiler): http://freespace.virgin.net/ed.reynolds/stc/stc184a.jpg

POINT OF NO RETURN
Script: Nigel Kitching
Art: Richard Elson
Lettering: Ellie De Ville

Robotnik has lured the terrible Chaos creature to his mountain retreat and gathered the Chaos Emeralds allowing him to grow into the almighty Perfect Chaos. Despite the pleas of assistant Grimer, it is clear that Robotnik has NO PLAN - he has gone completely insane and believes he is setting up the end of the world. He may be right. Sonic, Knuckles, Tails and Amy seemed to be at the mercy of Perfect Chaos when Super Sonic and Ebony arrived. A far cry from his days as a world-destroying demon of incredible Chaos energy, Super Sonic's energy is now almost up and he needs the Chaos Emeralds to regenerate. He leaps into Perfect Chaos, a clash of the Chaos creatures that need the Chaos Energy to survive. PICK UP THE LATEST ISSUE FOR THE STUNNING CONCLUSION! Not to mention some BIG surprises!

Also:
WIN SONIC ADVENTURE ACTION FIGURES! Courtesy of Bandai UK, the STC folk have 30 Sonic action figures, and thirty additional figures of either Knuckles or Tails models to give away.
SONIC VS SUPER SONIC Past cover artwork from script-hume Nigel Kitching reproduced in full 'widescreen' view. Previously seen in part on the cover of issue 86.
KNUCKLES: TOTAL CHAOTIX Part 6 Concludes today! Nack has betrayed Knuckles and Chaotix to the sinister Brotherhood of Metallix, but finds that the Brotherhood are just as treacherous than he is. (Script: Nigel Kitching; Art: Richard Elson; Lettering: Elitta Fell - originally printed in issue 58)
TAILS: SMALL CHANGE Tails is shrunk to the size of an ant when Grimer's jealous cousin Slimey uses his shrinking ray. How can Tails stop Slimey's enormous robot from destroying the village when he's busy avoiding dewdrops? (Script: Lew Stringer; Art: Bob Corana; Colour: Steve White; Lettering: Tom Frame - originally printed in issue 88)
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: DIY DANGER Comedy story in which Sonic encounters Rodger Bodge, a rabbit obsessed with DIY. It soon becomes clear that it's worth Sonic's attention when Bodge's fixed-up bridges and Troopers become a danger to himself and others! (Script: Lew Stringer; Art: Bob Corana; Colour: Nigel Dobbyn; Lettering: Tom Frame - originally printed in issue 103)
And - Data Zone flashbacks for new readers! Graphic Zone readers' art - Printed pictures win a Sonic digital watch!

Price: £1.35

More 'Sonic the Comic' information is available at: STC: STEM

Color Cover of Sonic 89 released! - Bumper 11:30 am 07-03-00

Say hello to Sonic 89's color cover, just released! And from the look of things - the rumors may be true and someone may be getting the boot out of Knothole Village...

"Thicker Than Water"
"Return To Albion - Part Two"
Writer(s): Karl Bollers & Ken Penders
Penciler(s): James Fry & Steve Butler
Inker(s): Andrew Pepoy & Pam Eklund

The heroes deal with the disastrous results of last issue's major turmoil, and in the process face their own inner turmoil as well. Princess Sally is among the hardest hit, keeping a vigil for her ailing father, King Max - while Sonic blames himself for King Max's condition. Meanwhile, Doctor Robotnik has returned to see the damage his headquarters has suffered. Marshaling forces of Shadow Bots and Robians, he plots his revenge, even as Sonic ponders the Sword of Acorns' alleged ability to restore the Robians' own free will....And in the backup story, Knuckles and friends return to Albion, where many surprises await them - including Antoine discovering his roboticised father, General D'Coolette there.

Credit:Worlds of Westfield

Sonic HQ RA News - Tristan 21:35 pm 07-02-00

Hello, I'm back with a brand new RA Edition. To listen to it, click here for a streamed RealPlayer broadcast, or hereto download the whole thing.

I'll be back either tomorrow or Tuesday, since it is the long Indepdence Day holiday here in the USA, with a special Long Weekend News. For now, enjoy the RA News.

Sonic Underground - Egguman 22:54 pm 07-01-00

In response to the article below, Sonic Underground is still being shown on Canada's Teletoon network regularly.

It seems also that they usually show the cartoons in the correct order.

Sonic Underground To Make A Comeback? - WB 21:57 pm 07-01-00

The SU Rumor mill is stirring and it seems Sonic Underground may be poised to make a return - but sadly, for its American and English fans, the American version may not be coming back anytime soon...

The Sonic Underground mailing list has been getting reports that either 40 new episodes or the myserious "Lost 25 Episodes" as noted by Ben Hurst earlier in its inception may be in production for a premier in South Africa and POSSIBLY in Australia. These two countries are the only two currently showing it regularly as its only shown in the US sporadically on Toon Disney and on again off again on Diggit in the UK and YTV in Canada. South African commercials are supposedly saying that a new season is on the way - where the toon is said to have had its best popularity. Ben said months ago that there were 65 written episodes, but only 40 showed here in America (65 is the regular syndication packet for a show, 40 for syndicators that want it cheaper). The remaining episodes were dubbed by SU fans as "the Lost 25", and if theres any full truth to the story - then the Lost 25 would be in the new season. We'll see when South Africa does its premieres. ^_^

We havent heard from Ben Hurst on the situation, but then again he may not know. We'll send him an email asking him - but overall it would be a decision made by DiC and Sega. The policy of not premiering a cartoon in the origin of the country it was produced in (SU was produced in France, so it would make more sense to premiere it in France or Europe altogether) is not practiced very often, but it has been known to be done before. We'll keep you posted more on the subject as we find out. And if this does mean the premier of "the Lost 25" in another country it brings up much questions concerning the new rumored Sonic cartoon as well as the status of SU in America and England....

We'll keep you posted! ^___^

Source: Sonic Underground Mailing List

Sega Changes Advertising Campaign - WB 16:36 pm 07-01-00

In lieu of recent events concerning Sega's ANYTHING BUT ad campaign - it seems Sega is going back to the good old humor of thier old ads.

People had recently complained that Sega's ads just werent cutting it. Sonic Adventure and Resident Evil got decent coverage ad wise, but it had seemed that on Television and other ads of print medium, Sega had been giving its games the short shrift - specifically with the recently realeased Space Channel 5 and upcoming Seaman.

After Space Channel 5, only two 'In the Box' ads remain, World Series Baseball 2K1 and Seaman; the new commercials, beginning with NFL 2K1's this fall, will retain the trademark Sega humor, but will focus on the gameplay and quality of Sega's wonderful lineup. Sega acknowledges that two to three seconds of in-game action just isn't enough, and plans to sort out a mix of around 50% gameplay, 50% new ad concept per thirty-second spot. Naturally, the company's hesitant to reveal its new concept so early, but it's said to be flexible enough to keep the comedy for some games but approach others straightforward. Case in point--Sega already plans to sell Shenmue more like a movie than an actual game, sporting perhaps a trailer-esque mix of voiceovers, in-game action and cut-scenes.

Sonic Adventure 2 Music Encoded! - WB 16:15 pm 07-01-00

Thanks to Sonic HQ staff member Shayne Thames (aka Manic - Fanfics/Cartoons) we now have a copy of the music played in the Sonic Adventure 2 online trailer! The music is available in both RA and MP3 form so that you can listen to it.

Thanks Shayne!

Real Audio Theme
MP3 Audio Theme

Ken Penders WANTS YOU !!!! - WB 15:41 pm 07-01-00

Sonic Super Special #14 spoilers are light in this post - so beware if you haven't gotten it.

For those that don't already know, as we posted last week, Sonic Super Special #14 was released Wednesday and has already met with some numerable discussion on its day of release. With this book Ken Penders has seemingly wiped away all of Knuckles continuity in one big stroke! I wont spoil it any further than that, but so far a lot of people have been VERY happy with this one (minus the short Zone Wars story), as this story has reset Knuckles to his roots presented when he was first introduced. Now Ken Penders wants your feedback on how it went and what you thought. As he posted on his message board:

I thought for sure with all the clamoring for Knuckles to get his own book again that I'd hear more commentary -- pro or con -- regarding SONIC SUPER SPECIAL #14. I put it everything but the kitchen sink just to let everyone know no matter what the format, I'm still able to make the stories a continuation of what has gone on before.

So head over to KP's message bard and tell him what you thought of the decison to "wipe the slate clean" so to put it. Was it achieved well, or done badly? The link to the message board is below.

Source: Ken Penders' Message Board

Sonic Adventure 2 - Worldwide Release; Sonic Shuffle Net None? - WB 14:59 pm 07-01-00

The word seems to be going around that Sega and Sonic Team are planning for a worldwide simultaneous release of Sonic Adventure 2 on December 10, 2000.

And in other news - recently Gaming Age and other websites posted a story that said Sonic Shuffle would have no internet capabilities whatsoever. Well thanks to Sega X, this story has been rightfull debunked and this is what they had to say....

The rumor behind Sonic Shuffle's online support has just gotten even stranger. Earlier today our Sega PR contact e-mailed apologizing for yesterday's information. She then told us that, "There are no internet capabilites in the game [Sonic Shuffle]. Sorry about the confusion." To be doubly sure, we contacted Sega a second time for re-confirmation, and ultimately, what we discovered was not uplifting. As it now seems, Sonic Shuffle will not be bundled with on-line capabilities, corroborating the company's official link for the game, which originated this controversy.

Originally, Sonic Shuffle was announced to come with networking support as one of SegaNet's primer titles this Fall.

And what does www.sega.com have to say about it - they still have full net support up. :OP So we'll see what happens when it happens

So Hsu Me !!! - WB 14:41 pm 07-01-00

Electronic Gaming Monthly must REALLY like Sonic The Hedgehog.

He's been on thier covers more times than any other character, he's gotten more coverage by them than any other videogame magazine, and this month he and his arch-nemesis Doctor Eggman make an appearance in EGM's monthly comic strip - "The Adventures of Hsu and Chan!"....Well...a reasonable facsimile of Sonic anyway - you see, this guy is really Arnie the Ground Squirrel - and that blue stuff is mousse! ^_____^

Take a gander at the strip by clicking the panel on the left, and when you're done head on over to "Evil Monkey Productions" and give Hsu and Chan Tanaka's creator Norman Von Scott a hollar! Tell him what you thought of it.

Daily Radar Top 100 - [DCX]Liquid Rain 13:18 pm 07-01-00

Daily Radar has just posted what they think to be their top 100 games/series of all time. While most of them deserve to be there, they completely ignored some of the more insanely good Sega franchises. Sonic clocked in at 19th place, far below Mario (1st), Metal Gear (2nd), as well as Tetris (6th), Street Fighter (10th), Pac Man (11th), Tony Hawk (12th), and Half-Life (15th). This is what they had to say about the Sonic Series:

While this series is certainly nowhere near as deep as the platform originator Mario, go back and play it today and you'll find a solid, highly enjoyable platform game. Nintendo may have been the innovator, but Sega polished the concept to a new level with the Sonic series.

Hmph. Flames can be sent by going to this page.

<- DCX Liquid Rain ->

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