Staff Picks (April): Sonic — Mega Drive-One Shot

Twenty-five years ago the blue blur, Sonic the Hedgehog, blast processed his way onto Sega's 16-bit Sega Genesis (Mega Drive for Sega fans outside the USA) and made video game history. That was... twenty-five years ago. While I may be feeling a little older by this startling revelation of my lost youth, it doesn't look like Sonic wants to slow down.

Our favorite hedgehog was the personification of Sega's counter culture revolution against Nintendo's domination of the video game industry in the 1990s. Where Nintendo titles were family friendly, Sega titles were full of edgy arcade action like Altered Beast. While Sega didn’t topple the Kyoto-based behemoth, they did give them a run for their money with the Genesis and Sonic became a game mascot to rival Nintendo's Mario. Since his inception Sonic has appeared in numerous video games, animated cartoons, and, of course, he has his own comics.

Archie Comics is celebrating Sonic's 25th-anniversary with the Sonic: Mega Drive One-Shot. Written by veteran Sonic scribe Ian Flynn (Sonic, Mega Man) in combination with art that looks like it would have been right at home in a vintage game manual by Tyson Hesse (The Amazing World of Gumball) this title looks like it is shaping up to be a love letter to Sega fans from the 90's.

—Matt Demory

Publisher: Archie Comics Item Code: APR161265 Release Date: 07/06/16 SRP: $3.99