Sonic the Hedgehog (ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ Sonikku za Hejjihoggu) resp. Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic (ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ ストーリーコミック Sonikku za Hejjihoggu: Sutōrī Komikku) was a manga published in Japan between June and July 1991 in the Japanese magazine Mega Drive Fan.
It was created to promote the release of Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Mega Drive. Volume 1, for instance, specifically mentions the game and has Dr. Eggman playing it as "practice" for taking his revenge on Sonic.
Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic has numerous connections to the Sonic the Hedgehog game, such as having Dr. Eggman in search of the Chaos Emeralds, and features the various Zones from the original game. It also features Sonic's animal friends as background characters, the first appearance of humans other than Eggman, and Dr. Eggman is seen piloting his Egg Mobile-H.
The story naturally features the Japanese elements of the Sonic backstory, and has little or no connection to the early Sonic canon established in America and Europe. For example, Dr. Eggman is shown to desire the Chaos Emeralds because their energy will allow him to boil the world's largest egg, and Western concepts such as Dr. Ovi Kintobor and the ROCC are not mentioned.
It also features concepts that appeared in early versions of the Sonic the Hedgehog game, but which were dropped for the final release. For example, Sonic is shown to be the lead singer of a band that also includes a rabbit, a parakeet and a crocodile. Also, some of the Zones have different names from the final game, e.g. in Volume 2 the Spring Yard Zone is called the "Sparkling Zone" and in Volume 3 the Scrap Brain Zone is called the "Clock Work Zone".
A miscolor of Sonic appears on the cover of Volume 1: Sonic's arms are blue (they should match the color of his muzzle and belly), his nose is also blue, and his eyes are completely black, but in the interior and on the covers of the other volumes, the artwork is correctly colored.
All three of the covers have Sonic the Hedgehog standing in the same pose for all manga covers.
Shogaku Ichinensei ·Shogaku Ninensei (1, 5, 6) ·Shogaku Sannensei ·Shogaku Yonensei (The Adventures of SONIC the Hedgehog) ·Shogaku Gonensei (Sonic Hurry to the Rescue???, Eggman Uses Sport's Day to Set Up a Trap...Don't Lose, Sonic!!,) ·Shogaku Rokunensei ·Corocoro (Big Dreams Make Sonic Propel Forward!!, Big Dreams Are My Energy!, Come On, Guys! Let's Daaance!!, A New Buddy, Tails, Enters the Stage!!)
