Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 81 is the eighty-first issue of the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series published by Archie Comics.
Official solicitation[]
"City Of Dreams", "All You Need Is A Bit Of Chaos" and "A Rose By Any Other Name"[]
- The mysteries of the Hidden City of The Ancients continue to obsess the heroes: Are the citizens of this pocket environment hostile or friendly? Could they be the answer to Planet Mobius' secret origin? Will Sonic and the others from Knothole Village be ambassadors of peace or will they be forced to mobilize for conflict? Meanwhile, in the Knuckles story: In pursuit of the evil Dr. Robotnik (who stole shards of the Master Emerald), Knuckles follows him deep into the mysterious Cat Country where he finds the Mystic Ruins. Time is running out as the grounded Floating Island is invaded by Cat People. And in the backup solo story, Amy Rose gets used to her new body... and her new powers?
Featured stories[]
City of Dreams[]
- Writer: Karl Bollers
- Pencils: James Fry and Nelson Ribeiro
- Inks: Andrew Pepoy
- Colors: Frank Gagliardo
- Letters: Jeff Powell
- Editor, Art Director & Story Outline: J. F. Gabrie
- Managing Editor: Victor Gorelick
- Editor-in-Chief: Richard Goldwater
Synopsis[]
Amy reflects on recent events while Nate Morgan introduces the Knothole Freedom Fighters to the artificial underground metropolis of the ancients: Station Square. The local police quickly surround the group of mobians, but the lieutenant in charge of the squad recognizes Nate. Sally explains that they have come to warn them about a threat to the city. The lieutenant explains that they will need to speak to the mayor, but suggests they rest at a local hotel for the night.
The next day, Mayor Bullyani assures the Freedom Fighters that they have not had any problems with Dr. Robotnik and offers to take them on a tour through the city on their Elerails. The group eventually splinters; Amy goes on a shopping spree, Tails takes the Tornado out for a joyride and Sonic hangs out with the human girls by the hotel pool. Meanwhile, Sally asks the mayor why his people have not made contact with the outside world. Bullyani explains that their city had been self-sufficient and had no reason to interact with the rest of Mobius. He goes on to say that this has changed and offers a handshake to Sally.
Appearances[]
Characters:
- Amy Rose
- Dr. Eggman (mentioned)
- Knothole Freedom Fighters
- Maximillian Acorn (mentioned)
- Mayor Bullyani (first appearance)
- Nate Morgan
Races and species:
- Human (first appearance)
- Mobian
- Overlander
Locations:
- Prime Zone
- Mobius
- Emerald Coast (mentioned)
- Soumerca
- Mystic Ruins (mentioned)
- Station Square
- Casinopolis (first appearance)
- Station Square Hotel (first appearance)
- Mobius
Items:
- Ring of Acorns (fantasy)
- Sonic's sneakers
Vehicles:
- Elerail (first appearance)
- Tornado
Misc.:
- Kingdom of Knothole (mentioned)
Trivia[]
- The opening spread of this story contains an artistic oversight, where Amy's knee is drawn poking through her dress in a suggestive manner. Her knee is edited out of all reprints of this story.
- The rapid transit system presented in this story is based on the main transport between Station Square and the Mystic Ruins in Sonic Adventure.
- Several pieces of graffiti seen on Station Square's subway system feature references:
- One can be seen reading "Spaz is God", a reference to artist Patrick Spaziante.
- A second one can be seen reading "32X", a reference to the Sega 32X add-on for the Sega Mega Drive.
- Another one can be seen reading "NES", a reference to the Nintendo Entertainment System.
- Even though Mayor Bullyani is a human he is erroneously shown with four fingers in this story.
- Background characters resembling Chun-Li and Cammy from the Street Fighter franchise, as well as Archie Comics' Jughead Jones, can be seen around Station Square.
- At the end of this story, Sonic is erroneously drawn accompanying Sally, Bunnie, and Nate Morgan off of the Elerail instead of Antoine.
All you need is a bit of Chaos[]
- Writer: Ken Penders
- Pencils: Steven Butler
- Inks: Pam Eklund
- Colors: Frank Gagliardo
- Letters: Vickie Williams
Synopsis[]
The previous night, Dr. Robotnik fed Chaos the Master Emerald shards he retrieved from the destroyed Chaos Chamber. Chaos began to grow, but soon stopped. Baffled, Robotnik analyzed his emerald shards and realized that most of the shards he had acquired were actually pieces of the Chaos Chamber's gemstone walls. He thus sent his E-100 Series robots to retrieve the remaining Master Emerald shards, as well as tasking them with retrieving an amphibian.
In the present, Knuckles flies into the Mysterious Cat Country, having lost sight of Robotnik's ship. He spots the Mystic Ruins and is struck with a sense of deja vu, wondering if echidnas once lived there. Knuckles finds scattered shards of the Master Emerald on the ground nearby and sticks them in his gloves, but feels as if someone nearby is watching him.
Meanwhile, the Chaotix are transported from the Floating Island to the shores of the Mysterious Cat Country by the inhospitable Felidaes. A white cat tells the others that she will ask the queen how to deal with the prisoners. When she arrives, the other cats greet her as the "Cat Queen" and place upon her the royal cloak. With her royal garment reclaimed, she explains that they will use their prisoners as an example to outsiders who wish to harm them.
Appearances[]
Characters:
- Badnik Horde
- E-100 Series
- E-101 Beta (first appearance)
- E-102 Gamma
- E-103 Delta (first appearance)
- E-104 Epsilon (first appearance)
- E-100 Series
- Chaos
- Chaotix
- Dr. Eggman
- Felidae
- Queen Hathor (first appearance)
- Razorklaw
- Sonic the Hedgehog
Races and species:
Locations:
Items:
- Chaos Emerald
- Spectro-Analyzer (only appearance)
Trivia[]
- According to writer Ken Penders, this story was originally intended to be published as part of the Knuckles the Echidna comic series, had it not been cancelled after issue 32.[1]
- Knuckles erroneously calls the shards of the Master Emerald "Chaos Emeralds" in this story.
A Rose Plucked[]
- Writer: Karl Bollers
- Pencils: Chris Allan
- Inks: Harvo
- Colors: Frank Gagliardo
- Letters: Jeff Powell
Synopsis[]
Amy finishes up her shopping spree, amazed by how much fun she is having in an "Overlander" city, when she spots, Birdy, a green Flicky, being chased by a robot. The robot shoots the Flicky down, causing it to crash into Amy. Fearing that Dr. Eggman might be after the poor bird, Amy tries to scare the robot away when the Piko Piko Hammer appears in her hand.
Amy uses her new hammer to destroy the robot, but two more identical robots appear and gang up on her. They quickly grapple Amy and kidnap her, flying off into the sky. The Flicky flies after them, hoping to rescue its savior.
Appearances[]
Characters:
- Amy Rose
- Badnik Horde
- E-100 Series
- ZERO (multiple) (first appearance)
- E-100 Series
- Birdy (first appearance)
Races and species:
- Human
- Mobian
- Mobini
- Overlander (mentioned)
Locations:
Items:
- Piko Piko Hammer (first appearance)
Trivia[]
- The name of the this story is based on a famous line said by Romeo in the balcony scene of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
- Some of Amy's lines from this story are taken directly from the opening of her own storyline in Sonic Adventure.
Off Panel[]
- Writer: Michael Gallagher
- Pencils: Dave Manak
- Inks: Jim Amash
Synopsis[]
Mendez-Gabrie complains to Sonic, saying he got in trouble for misusing the copier. Sonic asks why Mendez-Gabrie is upset at him. Mendez-Gabrie explains that Sonic has a distinctive butt, showing him the photocopied image of a mess of spines.
Appearances[]
Characters:
- Archie Andrews (portrait)
- Justin Freddy Mendez-Gabrie
- Richard Goldwater (mentioned)
- Sonic the Hedgehog
Races and species:
Items:
Other features[]
- Sonic-Grams
- Find Your Name In Print
- Sonic Fan Art
- Sonic Checklist
Quotes[]
- Knuckles: Someone was either careless or in a real big hurry to leave these behind! The question is -- which one? That's for better brains than mine to figure out, I guess! I'm getting a headache playing detective!
- Amy: Hey, you big lug -- didn't your maker teach you manners?
- E-100 Alpha: VRRRRT
- Amy: I guess not!
Trivia[]
- Sonic’s pose on the cover bears a resemblance to a piece of artwork from Sonic Adventure.
Gallery[]
Preview pages[]
Gallery |
---|
References[]
- ↑ Ken Penders on Twitter. Twitter (18 February 2020). Retrieved on 18 February 2020. "Ken Penders: Little known fact: the KNUCKLES segments featured in SONIC issues 79 through 84 were originally intended to be published in KNUCKLES issues 33 through 35, and would’ve marked the debut of Stephen Butler as regular artist for the series."
External links[]
- Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 81 at Mobius Encyclopaedia, the Archie Sonic wiki.
- Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 81 at Sonic Retro