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Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW)
Sonic the Hedgehog, Vol. 9: Chao Races & Badnik Bases
Fan-favorite artist Evan Stanley takes over as writer! A new storyline begins, perfect for new readers, as Sonic races to help a friend in need! Hold on to your chili dogs, Sonic fans! The Metal Virus is gone, but things aren't back to normal. Omega is damaged, and his allies turn to Sonic for help. The only way to rebuild him is to trade parts with a mysterious champion Chao racer, so it's off to the races for Cream, Cheese, Amy, and Rouge! They'll have to keep up their winning streak or surrender Cheese to Clutch's evil... clutches! Meanwhile, Sonic and Tails are being watched by a mysterious figure in Dr. Eggman's seemingly abandoned base, but when Rouge's team calls for help, will this shadowy character prove friend or foe? Please keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times, folks, this is going to be a bumpy one! Collects IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog issues #33–36.
97 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 12, 2022
212 people are currently reading
206 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 8, 2022
It's a trip to a snowy Zone for the unlikely pairing of Cream and Rouge, while Sonic and Tails infiltrate an Eggman base in hopes of cutting their enemy off at the pass before he unleashes something even more devastating than the Metal Virus. But from the shadows, Doctor Starline watches and waits...
This is fun. After the doom and gloom of the Metal Virus, it's nice to get back to more straight forward, lower stakes Sonic adventures at least for a little while. Cream and Rouge together has some surprising results, and Sonic and Tails' friendship always brings a smile to my face.
There's some forward threading of plots here as well, with bits and pieces feeding into the Bad Guys mini-series, which in itself is part of the march to issue 50.
Otherwise it's mostly inoffensive Sonic stuff, with a few familiar faces like Omega appearing to keep things interesting.
This is fun. After the doom and gloom of the Metal Virus, it's nice to get back to more straight forward, lower stakes Sonic adventures at least for a little while. Cream and Rouge together has some surprising results, and Sonic and Tails' friendship always brings a smile to my face.
There's some forward threading of plots here as well, with bits and pieces feeding into the Bad Guys mini-series, which in itself is part of the march to issue 50.
Otherwise it's mostly inoffensive Sonic stuff, with a few familiar faces like Omega appearing to keep things interesting.
June 2, 2021
Some professionals were really part of the same fanfiction community as me growing up and it shows.
January 8, 2023
We go back to basics this volume as Evan Stanley takes the helm on both writing AND art!
Just like Ian Flynn, Evan got her start in the Sonic fan fiction community and her knowledge of the characters and franchise shines through here with lots of old and modern badniks returning and a Chao race featuring all sorts of fun Chao designs from the Adventure series!
Her voice for Sonic is different than Ian’s, but ultimately in character and I have nothing but praise for the way she writes the rest of the cast. Cream and Rouge’s dynamic is interesting since they’re polar opposites, and Evan got a ton of laughs out of me with Omega’s angry rants and ravings. I also have to mention she did a phenomenal job writing Shadow. I still don’t like his insane superiority complex and how he must always prove he’s the best through combat, but Evan does a great job showing his softer side with his disgust at the Chao cages and him feeding the Dark Speed Chao at the end of the book. This is the most likeable he’s been since the comic began and that can’t have been an easy task given the direction Sega wants to go in with the character.
Old favorites aside, we also get a new characters in the form of Clutch the Opossum, a black market salesman, and Belle the Tinkerer, who’s the closest thing Eggman made to a Badnik when he was still Mr. Tinker. Her relationship to Eggman is clearly a hard subject for her and I’m looking forward to seeing how her “father” reacts to her presence down the road. Clutch has a cool design, making himself look bigger and more intimidating with his large fur coat and he cements himself pretty firmly as a horrible person with all the caged Chao he forces to race for him. He fills in a nice niche in the series since we don’t have many characters linked to the criminal underworld and I hope we see him sooner rather than later.
All around, a great start and a nice chill story after the bombastic Metal Virus Saga. If you’ve been passing on the previous volumes because of *ahem* “global events”, this is definitely the one to pick up.
Just like Ian Flynn, Evan got her start in the Sonic fan fiction community and her knowledge of the characters and franchise shines through here with lots of old and modern badniks returning and a Chao race featuring all sorts of fun Chao designs from the Adventure series!
Her voice for Sonic is different than Ian’s, but ultimately in character and I have nothing but praise for the way she writes the rest of the cast. Cream and Rouge’s dynamic is interesting since they’re polar opposites, and Evan got a ton of laughs out of me with Omega’s angry rants and ravings. I also have to mention she did a phenomenal job writing Shadow. I still don’t like his insane superiority complex and how he must always prove he’s the best through combat, but Evan does a great job showing his softer side with his disgust at the Chao cages and him feeding the Dark Speed Chao at the end of the book. This is the most likeable he’s been since the comic began and that can’t have been an easy task given the direction Sega wants to go in with the character.
Old favorites aside, we also get a new characters in the form of Clutch the Opossum, a black market salesman, and Belle the Tinkerer, who’s the closest thing Eggman made to a Badnik when he was still Mr. Tinker. Her relationship to Eggman is clearly a hard subject for her and I’m looking forward to seeing how her “father” reacts to her presence down the road. Clutch has a cool design, making himself look bigger and more intimidating with his large fur coat and he cements himself pretty firmly as a horrible person with all the caged Chao he forces to race for him. He fills in a nice niche in the series since we don’t have many characters linked to the criminal underworld and I hope we see him sooner rather than later.
All around, a great start and a nice chill story after the bombastic Metal Virus Saga. If you’ve been passing on the previous volumes because of *ahem* “global events”, this is definitely the one to pick up.
June 20, 2023
A nice filler adventure with some low stakes as each of the main cast goes about on different adventures that all kind of connect. Funny seeing Chao races as being part of the main plot and it was funny seeing Cheese being helpful instead of just being a cute mascot cheerleader.
January 22, 2022
We love feminism in this house!!
September 20, 2024
I'm still a little unsure about the new art style. I did like though that some of the characters got new outfits for a while. The action was a lot harder to track than the former comics.
This is also the first (but not last) instance where Shadow holds Sonic bridal style. They might be playing into shipping, but honestly, I don't care. I eat up every second of it.
At first, Shadow felt one-dimensional, but it was aided somewhat by the cute scene with him and the chao
This is also the first (but not last) instance where Shadow holds Sonic bridal style. They might be playing into shipping, but honestly, I don't care. I eat up every second of it.
At first, Shadow felt one-dimensional, but it was aided somewhat by the cute scene with him and the chao
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 21, 2023
Definitely my favorite!
June 5, 2025
This is a very nice slower plot without the same tension that the last arc had, I don't believe this sets up any major arc however but it's still a nice contained story
June 16, 2025
A nice little low-stakes adventure after the emotional rollercoaster that was Metal Virus. Always nice to see Shadow being his emo self and the dynamic between him and Rouge.
July 30, 2025
Hell yeah baby we got the Shadow Chao up in this!!
August 7, 2025
Solid, fun comics.
January 21, 2023
The absolute best. Fun breather after the metal virus. Rouge, Amy, and Cream on a chao racing road trip full of adorable moments and fun character interactions between characters that aren’t usually seen together!
February 26, 2022
I've said this before, but I love what IDW's been able to do with the Sonic series, giving actual personality to characters like Amy and Shadow, including the CHAO in a more prominent role (this has a chao race), and having the sleekest artwork, baby.
There are some panels where you know the artists are just having fun, showing off that artistic prowess. So much character in the artwork and the expressions!
Not to mention the story for this volume was super fun! We even get some "in-character" teamwork from Sonic and Shadow. The new characters the writers create are genuinely fun and add new dynamics. Also, loving the humor overall.
Whatever y'all are doing, keep doing it - from a long time Sonic fan.
There are some panels where you know the artists are just having fun, showing off that artistic prowess. So much character in the artwork and the expressions!
Not to mention the story for this volume was super fun! We even get some "in-character" teamwork from Sonic and Shadow. The new characters the writers create are genuinely fun and add new dynamics. Also, loving the humor overall.
Whatever y'all are doing, keep doing it - from a long time Sonic fan.
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March 12, 2022Loved this
September 20, 2022
not bad, belle is a good new character but overall this felt almost more like filler than the start of a new arc. there just wasn't much to it
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews