Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 261 is the two hundred sixty-first issue of the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series published by Archie Comics.
Official solicitation[]
- 'Waves of Change,' Part Two! Sonic, Amy, and Rotor - in the deep sea and in deeper trouble! When their new friend Coral has run afoul of her government, will Sonic and the Freedom Fighters stand by her side? Or will they risk becoming fugitives? Then, in 'The Light in the Dark,' Sally's simple raiding plans take a turn for the worse! Featuring new cover art from Sonic superstar Ben Bates and a hilarious new 'Is it Summer Yet??' Variant cover by Tracy Yardley! and Matt Herms!
Featured stories[]
Waves of Change Part Two: Current Events[]
- Writer: Ian Flynn
- Pencils: Jennifer Hernandez
- Inks: Terry Austin
- Colors: Gabriel Cassata
- Letters: John Workman
- Assistant Editor: Vincent Lovallo
- Editor/Executive Director of Editorial: Paul Kaminski
- Editor-in-Chief: Victor Gorelick
- President: Mike Pellerito
- Publisher: Jon Goldwater
- Special Thanks to: Anthony Gaccione at SEGA Licensing
Synopsis[]
Sonic, Amy, Rotor, Pearly, Razor, and Chao are met by the Meropis City Guard, led by Captain Striker the Mantis Shrimp. Striker is upset that the priestess Coral has brought outsiders to their holy ground. Razor, Coral's friend and defender of the temple, argues that the matter is irrelevant and that she has better authority to decide who visits the temple, but Striker retorts, saying that he is just trying to cover up her failures. When Coral arrives from the temple, Striker asks her where the ancient Chao, Aquarius, is, as her reincarnation is due. Upon hearing that she has yet to emerge, contrary to his claim that the evolution should have taken minutes to complete, he quickly orders his comrades to arrest her and the others and to take them to the city's king and queen. Sonic steps in and suggests it would be better that they would be "invited" to join Coral. Despite Razor preventing them from taking her away, Coral surrenders, on the condition that someone remains in the temple. Striker notices another of Coral's friends, Pearly, and, confirming that she is a trained apprentice, settles that she will stay in the priestess's place. Rotor volunteers to stay with Pearly to keep her company, giving him more time to study the temple. Striker calls one of his comrades, Echo, to keep an eye on them, before taking the rest to the city.
Entering Meropis, Sonic the others quickly learn that it's inhabitants are on edge, dimming the beauty of the underwater Metropolis. They are then brought before King Puff and Queen Angelica, who demanded an explanation for their presence and for Coral's actions in bringing them there. The conversation eventually leads to Coral's difficulties in maintaining the shield, a particular danger given the presence of Dark Gaia's Minions and the constant threat of Akhlut and his division of the Egg Army, which the royals blame on Coral's ineptitude. Sonic speaks up in her behalf, trying to convince them that Dr. Eggman is to blame, but his tale of a broken world is rejected. When Striker reveals Aquarius' failure to emerge from her cocoon and Coral mentions that she was contacted by a spirit, the king and queen are fed up, and strip Coral of her office. While they almost immediately begin contemplating a replacement-either a former candidate or their own traveling daughter-they agree to let Coral stay the night in the shrine with the Freedom Fighters, but order them to leave the following morning.
Upon learning the news, an argument breaks out between Sonic and Rotor, the former wanting to help their new friends while the latter has their global mission as top priority. However, Amy suggests a compromise: taking Coral, Razor, and Pearly aboard the Sky Patrol. Pearly overhears this news and relays it to Coral and Razor, but Coral is worried about leaving the shrine unattended. Razor then convinces her to perform the rites a final time, and reveals to the Freedom Fighters that he's willing to leave if Coral is. Unfortunately, the stress of her situation disrupts Coral's concentration during the rites, and her emotional breakdown coincides with Meropis' shield collapsing. No longer impeded, the minions swarm the city from the Anostos Rift, forcing Striker and his guardsmen to take action. The Freedom Fighters and Razor are then forced to contend with the monsters as they enter the shrine.
Appearances[]
Characters:
- Aquarius
- Coral the Betta
- Crusher the Chao
- Dark Bat (multiple)
- Dark Eel (multiple)
- Dark Fright (multiple) (first appearance)
- Dr. Eggman (mentioned)
- Freedom Fighters
- King Puff (first appearance)
- Meropis City Guard
- Nightmare (multiple)
- Northern Oceans Egg Army (mentioned)
- Akhlut the Orca (mentioned)
- Pearly the Manta Ray
- Princess Undina (mentioned)
- Queen Angelica (first appearance)
- Razor the Shark
- Tikal (mentioned)
Races and species:
- Chao
- Dark Gaia Creature
- Human (mentioned)
- Mobian
- Echidna (mentioned)
Locations:
- Prime Zone
- Sonic's World
- Northern Oceans
- Great Blue Realm
- South Ocean
- Anostos Rift (first appearance)
- Chao Garden
- Eusebes Shrine
- Meropis
- South Ocean
- Great Blue Realm
- Northern Oceans
- Sonic's World
Items:
- Air Charm (x3)
- Ancient Ruin
- Chaos Emerald (mentioned)
- Piko Piko Hammer
- Ring
Vehicles:
Misc.:
- Dark Gaia energy
- Mystic Melody
- Shattered World Crisis (mentioned)
The Light in the Dark Part Two[]
- Script: Aleah Baker
- Pencils: Evan Stanley
- Inks: Terry Austin
- Colors: Gabriel Cassata
- Letters: John Workman
Synopsis[]
Following the previous story, Sally, Tails, and Antoine open a large door and are astonished by the sight of crystals covering the rest of the cave; with Tails comparing the inside of a geode. They soon discover many of Eggman's badniks destroyed trying to continue their excavation due to the lack of ground to traverse. Sally hands Tails Nicole's computer to help him search for the Chaos Emerald, as his ability of flight makes him the most able to traverse the dangerous path.
He finds the Emerald and the team prepares to leave while the security system is still inactive. However, Sally has second thoughts of leaving a natural wonder they just found to its destruction when Eggman continues digging for nothing, although it would allow them to continue finding the other Emeralds undetected, as was the original plan. Despite Nicole's objections due to the lack of the crystals' value, she soon agrees with Sally seeing the caves from outside her compute with her own eyes.
With the security system reactivating, Sally modifies her plan: they would make sure Eggman knows they escaped with the Chaos Emerald he was trying to find, leaving the caves alone.
Appearances[]
Characters:
- Badnik Horde
- Dr. Eggman (mentioned)
- Freedom Fighters
Races and species:
Locations:
- Prime Zone
- Sonic's World
- Northamer
- Crystal Cave (first appearance)
- Northamer
- Sonic's World
Items:
Vehicles:
- Sky Patrol (mentioned)
Misc.:
- Shattered World Crisis (mentioned)
Trivia[]
- In this story, Antoine's word balloon is mistakenly directed at Sally. This is evidenced by the presence of his accent in his dialogue.
Off Panel[]
- Script: Aleah Baker
- Pencils: Adam Bryce Thomas
- Inks: Rick Bryant
- Colors: Steven Lisefski
Synopsis[]
Off Panel
The Off Panel shows What-If scenario if the Freedom Fighters were in different positions during the Waves of Change story: Sally and Nicole stay on Sky Patrol, playing chess while the others go on their missions, with Nicole declaring Checkmate before the game even starts; Sonic, Amy, and Rotor travel to the cave, but are stranded in the Crystal Cave. Sonic sarcastically asks if anyone want to spontaneously learn how to fly; and Cream, Bunnie, and Big are at the shores of the South Ocean, with Bunnie and Cream relaxing in their swimsuits while Big fishes Razor out from the water.
Appearances[]
Characters:
Races and species:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Trivia[]
- If one were to look closely on the main cover of this issue, Big Mother and Titan minions from Sonic Unleashed make a cameo in the background.
- Tracy Yardley stated that he attempted to draw Dr. Eggman shirtless for the variant cover.[2]
Gallery[]
Cover artwork[]
| Gallery |
|---|
 Regular cover concept  Regular cover concept  Regular cover layout  Regular cover colors  Variant cover colors  Variant cover inks |
Interior page artwork[]
| Gallery |
|---|
 Page one colors  Page two inks  Page three inks  Page six inks  Page seven colors  Page eight inks  Page eleven inks  Page twelve inks  Page thirteen inks  Page sixteen colors |
Preview pages[]
| Gallery |
|---|
 Page one  Page two  Page three  Page four  Page five |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 admin (11 June 2014). On Sale Today – June 11th. Archie Comics. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021.
- ↑ Tracy Yardley on Twitter. Twitter (12 June 2019). Retrieved on 12 June 2018.
External links[]
- Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 261 at Mobius Encyclopaedia, the Archie Sonic wiki.
- Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 261 at Sonic Retro
