Sonic the Comic Issue 126


 * Editor: Deborah Tate
 * Designer: Gary Knight
 * Managing Editor: Steve MacManus
 * Production: Sarah Colley
 * Marketing Manager: Douglas Pocock
 * Advertising: Stephen Goldsmith

Sonic - "The House on the Hill"

 * Script: Nigel Kitching
 * Art: Richard Elson
 * Lettering: Tom Frame

Synopsis
One morning on Verdant Hill in the Emerald Hill Zone, Sonic and Tails find a spooky old house that has mysteriously appeared overnight. Sonic decides to check it out, but when Tails hesitates Sonic accuses him of thinking that the house is haunted, "full of ghousts and ghoulies!"

Inside, they find the house dusty and strewn with cobwebs. The door slams behind them, and Tails comments that there's no wind. Sonic insists that there's nothing to be scared of, and that it's obviously some kind of trick by Doctor Robotnik. "We're probably caught in another of his deadly death traps... so relax, will you?"

Tails spots something ethereal in the other room, and Sonic realises that Tails thinks he sees a ghost. However, no sooner has Sonic insisted that there are no such things as ghosts than five ghostly creatures appear and call to them. Sonic tries out his Spin Attack, only to pass right through and crash into the wall on the other side. Full of bluster, Sonic tells the ghosts to try their best since they don't scare him, but Tails begins to suspect that the ghosts are trying to communicate through their moaning.

The ghosts run off and Sonic and Tails give chase, but while passing through the rooms of the house the world seems to distort and Tails thinks they're in another dimension. When the house returns to normal, they are in a room full of malfunctioning pipes and machinery, and Tails thinks he is beginning to understand what's going on. He takes a wrench and bashes one of the pipes, causing the five ghosts to become solid: they are actually five aliens who travel between dimensions. The house is actually an interdimensional vehicle bought from 'Honest Lew's Budget Dimensional Travel'. They were caught between dimensions when their Matter Transformer broke down, but now Tails has fixed it. While between dimensions, they tried asking for help, but their voices were too distorted.

Now that everything's fixed, the aliens start arguing over which one of them gets to set the controls for their next trip. Sonic and Tails quickly leave and watch the house disappear. Tails wonders which dimension they'll go to next, but Sonic doesn't care as long as they don't come back to Mobius!

Appearances

 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Five interdimensional aliens

Trivia

 * The aliens claim they bought the house from 'Honest Lew's Budget Dimensional Travel'. Lew Stringer was one of the main writers on Sonic the Comic.

Tails - "Desert Fox"

 * Script: Lew Stringer
 * Art: Nigel Dobbyn
 * Lettering: Gordon Robson

Synopsis
Stand-up comedian Willie Waddle is stranded in the middle of the Scorchio Zone, a hundred square miles of barren desert. He sees a shape flying towards him and panics that it's a badnik, but fortunately it's Tails come to rescue him. Willie tells Tails that he used to specialise in making fun of Doctor Robotnik, the idea being that the best way to deal with a bully is to make him a figure of fun. After one of his shows, Willie was offered a free holiday by a walrus travel agent, who turned out to be Robotnik in disguise. Robotnik dropped Willie in the middle of he desert, leading Willie to decide to give up telling jokes. Tails protests, saying that if Willie gives up then Robotnik has beaten him, and goes to take Willie back for his act that night.

Suddenly, they are attacked by a Sandworm badnik, which catches Tails by surprise and knocks him out of the sky with its lasers. Willie starts to run away while the badnik is busy, but realises that he can't just abandon Tails after the fox came so far to help him. He rushes back and tells the badnik a joke, distracting it long enough for Tails to get back to his feet and destroy the badnik. With Willie's confidence restored, Tails flies Willie back to the Comedy Club. Willie's jokes about Robotnik are a huge hit... although after actually hearing some of Willie's pun-laden jokes, Tails thinks maybe he should have left him in the desert. "Only joking!"

Appearances

 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Willie Waddle
 * Doctor Ivo Robotnik
 * Sandworm badnik
 * Comedy Club patrons

Decap Attack - "Mother"

 * Script: Nigel Kitching
 * Art: Nigel Kitching
 * Lettering: Ellie de' Ville

At Castle Frank N Stein, Prof is morose because his parents are coming to visit and he can't stand it. Prof's bombastic mother and diminutive father arrive, but without Igor. Prof's mother explains she had Igor arrested when he tried to steal their bags; Prof explains that he sent Igor to the railways station help them with their luggage. Chuck thinks it's great that Igor is at the police station, although actually he was sent tyo casualty after Prof's mother beat him with a shovel. Chuck realises that Prof's parents are crazier than he is.

Moments later, there is a scream from the laboratory. Chuck and the Prof hurry there to find Prof's mother staring at one of Prof's creations on a gurney. Chuck insists it's not as bad as she thinks, which she says is a relief since she thought her son had been robbing graves so he could build a monster out of dismembered corpses. "Actually," says Chuck, "when you put it like that, it is as bad as you think!"

Prof's mother goes ballistic. She asks how he could do such a thing, and demands to know why he puts on his ridiculous accent. He says that all important mad scientists talk that way, and that he is a genius, although his mother says he's not a genius, he's a very naughty boy. The Prof reminds his mother of the time when he was twelve and brought the neighbour's cat back to life, but his mother points out that he didn't need to give it two heads. She says there's only one thing for it, and immediately sets to work fixing his creation: "Your voltage is way too low and the amino acid levels are all over the place!" Prof says it's just like when he was a boy: he never gets to do anything for himself.

"Ah," says Prof's father, "nobody brings 'em back from the dead like your mother!"

Double Sonic - "Taking the Plunge, Part 1"

 * Script: Lew Stringer
 * Art: Mick McMahon
 * Lettering: Gordon Robson

Synopsis
In the depths of the ocean on Planet Mobius lies the undersea Zone of Trituna. It is visited by Agent X, who arrives in a submarine with a message from Doctor Robotnik. A fish named Trouty and his friend lead Agent X to their Zone Leader, Sharka Khan, who tells Agent X to make it quick since he doesn't want to miss the start of Kippernation Street. Agent X presents a deal from Robotnik: if the people of Trituna side with Robotnik and destroy Sonic, then Robotnik will let Sharka Khan rule a couple of surface Zones when Robotnik returns to power. Khan scoffs, knowing they cannot survive on the surface, but Agent X gives them a serum that Robotnik has created that will enable them to breathe on dry land. Keen to live somewhere not so damp, Sharka Khan accepts the deal.

The next day, in the Beanson Coast Zone, Sonic is called to the beach, where a variety of anthropomorphic sea creatures appear to challenge him. He dodges Eelton John's electric blasts, then smacks the eel against a rock, only to be caught by Stara. Jaws Michael comes to finish him off, but Sonic throws his starfish captor into Jaws Michael, knocking them both out. Crab Sea Nesbitt attacks Sonic next, but proves to be just as useless when Sonic whips up a tornado around him. The sea creatures appear defeated, but Stara says that Sonic has yet to meet their strongest team member: the gigantic Jimmy Whale!

Appearances

 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Agent X
 * Trouty
 * Trouty's friend
 * Sharka Khan
 * Eelton John
 * Stara
 * Jaws Michael
 * Crab Sea Nesbitt
 * Jimmy Whale
 * Beanson Coast Zone residents:
 * Mouse
 * Dogs
 * Parrot

Continuity

 * Agent X previously appeared in "Root of All Evil" in Sonic the Comic #122 and #123.

Trivia

 * This story is full of puns. The Beanson Coast Zone is a play on the phrase "beans on toast", the show Kippernation Street is a reference to the soap opera Coronation Street, and most residents of Trituna are named after musicians or other celebrities, as follows:
 * Sharka Khan - Chaka Khan
 * Eelton John - Elton John
 * Jaws Michael - George Michael
 * Crab Sea Nesbitt - Rab C. Nesbitt
 * Jimmy Whale - Jimmy Nail

Other features

 * Control Zone
 * Speedlines
 * Pin-Up - Sonic & Tails
 * Graphic Zone - Water-Power