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Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW)
Sonic the Hedgehog, Vol. 12: Trial by Fire
ROAD TRIP!!! Sonic's friends hit the pavement for some much needed R&R after months of constant excitement, but a hero's work is never done!
Amy, Jewel, Tangle, and Belle are heading off on a well-deserved camping trip. Between Dr. Eggman, Dr. Starline, and the Deadly Six, life has been stressful, so they're hoping to get a little peace. Unfortunately, a dangerous wildfire has other plans. Can our heroines extinguish the flames--and the group tension--before it burns out of control?
Then, the Chaotix are on the case! Central City has been turned upside down by unmanageable traffic and bizarre elemental upsets, but Vector, Espio, and Charmy are sure to uncover the truth. Plus, Sonic, Tails, and Belle may have found a way to free the Badniks from Eggman's control, but a sudden interruption forces the team to prepare for their greatest challenge yet!
Collects Sonic the Hedgehog #45-49.
Amy, Jewel, Tangle, and Belle are heading off on a well-deserved camping trip. Between Dr. Eggman, Dr. Starline, and the Deadly Six, life has been stressful, so they're hoping to get a little peace. Unfortunately, a dangerous wildfire has other plans. Can our heroines extinguish the flames--and the group tension--before it burns out of control?
Then, the Chaotix are on the case! Central City has been turned upside down by unmanageable traffic and bizarre elemental upsets, but Vector, Espio, and Charmy are sure to uncover the truth. Plus, Sonic, Tails, and Belle may have found a way to free the Badniks from Eggman's control, but a sudden interruption forces the team to prepare for their greatest challenge yet!
Collects Sonic the Hedgehog #45-49.
121 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 14, 2022
192 people are currently reading
139 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 25, 2024
ngl I never liked Chaotix when I was a kid but now that I'm an adult with a developing Sonic hyperfixation and a brain cell, I am a fan... so that's cool
September 9, 2022
Amy, Belle, Tangle, and Jewel head off on a girls' trip to unwind, only to find that their campsite is heating up, and not in a good way. Then, the Chaotix go in search of trouble in Central City, but find Rough & Tumble instead, before Sonic and Belle investigate a friendly Motobug, leading them right into the build-up to issue 50!
The last few volumes of Sonic have kind of deflated me a little; the drama hasn't really been there, nor have the stakes. This volume corrects that, thankfully. Even while keeping the stakes relatively low, at least compared to the world-ending drama of the Metal Virus or Neo Metal Sonic arcs, it pours in the character work by teaming up characters we don't usually see together, and making them work together in new and unexpected ways. Belle has been a great addition to the cast, and continues to play a vital role in the proceedings here.
The Chaotix issue is a nice change of pace, while Rough & Tumble continue to be more amusing than they have any right to be. I'm surprised IDW haven't thought of launching a Chaotix book alongside Sonic, I feel like they're different enough to be able to hold their own. And then the final story sets the stage for issue 50 - while the Imposter Syndrome mini-series does most of the heavy lifting, issue 49 moves everyone into position for everything to come to a head next time around.
Sonic's picking up speed again, just in time for the big anniversary issue. This volume reminded me of why I was enjoying the series after a few lacklustre volumes, and hopefully it can keep that momentum going into issue 50 and beyond.
The last few volumes of Sonic have kind of deflated me a little; the drama hasn't really been there, nor have the stakes. This volume corrects that, thankfully. Even while keeping the stakes relatively low, at least compared to the world-ending drama of the Metal Virus or Neo Metal Sonic arcs, it pours in the character work by teaming up characters we don't usually see together, and making them work together in new and unexpected ways. Belle has been a great addition to the cast, and continues to play a vital role in the proceedings here.
The Chaotix issue is a nice change of pace, while Rough & Tumble continue to be more amusing than they have any right to be. I'm surprised IDW haven't thought of launching a Chaotix book alongside Sonic, I feel like they're different enough to be able to hold their own. And then the final story sets the stage for issue 50 - while the Imposter Syndrome mini-series does most of the heavy lifting, issue 49 moves everyone into position for everything to come to a head next time around.
Sonic's picking up speed again, just in time for the big anniversary issue. This volume reminded me of why I was enjoying the series after a few lacklustre volumes, and hopefully it can keep that momentum going into issue 50 and beyond.
January 8, 2023
Ah, the dreaded forest fire arc...we meet again.
I really didn't like this arc when it was first released in single issues and I still don't like it here. It's a very simple vacation-gone-wrong story and it takes waaaay too long to resolve. It also doesn't help that this arc focuses on side characters who aren't very compelling individually and aren't given enough focus here to flesh out their current struggles. Amy doesn't feel stressed at all, Tangle *really* shouldn't be here given Mimic is on the prowl again, Jewel's reservations about taking over The Restoration could have been a whole issue, and at this point I really feel like they've dropped the ball when it comes to Belle as a character. She's rarely of any use, constantly the butt of jokes about how clumsy she is, and while the farewell letter she gets from Mr. Tinkerer is sweet, it comes out of absolutely *nowhere* attached to a random robot introduced this volume. Its a bizarrely sudden resolution to Belle's grieving and I wish the letter and robot had been teased much sooner. It's not like there wasn't time for it. This character arc has been stretched over the past *3* volumes!
We get a quick story with the Chaotix who are always a delight, and then dash off to the milestone of issue 50, and man I'm glad I know where this is going because otherwise I might have jumped off for a bit. I'm all for slower, less-caffienated stories in my action books, but there better be some substance to make up for it. The characters aren't compelling, the action isn't interesting, the art is great, but after 3 volumes of mediocre stories I'm ready to move on to something else. Thank goodness Sonic: Impostor Syndrome exists.
I really didn't like this arc when it was first released in single issues and I still don't like it here. It's a very simple vacation-gone-wrong story and it takes waaaay too long to resolve. It also doesn't help that this arc focuses on side characters who aren't very compelling individually and aren't given enough focus here to flesh out their current struggles. Amy doesn't feel stressed at all, Tangle *really* shouldn't be here given Mimic is on the prowl again, Jewel's reservations about taking over The Restoration could have been a whole issue, and at this point I really feel like they've dropped the ball when it comes to Belle as a character. She's rarely of any use, constantly the butt of jokes about how clumsy she is, and while the farewell letter she gets from Mr. Tinkerer is sweet, it comes out of absolutely *nowhere* attached to a random robot introduced this volume. Its a bizarrely sudden resolution to Belle's grieving and I wish the letter and robot had been teased much sooner. It's not like there wasn't time for it. This character arc has been stretched over the past *3* volumes!
We get a quick story with the Chaotix who are always a delight, and then dash off to the milestone of issue 50, and man I'm glad I know where this is going because otherwise I might have jumped off for a bit. I'm all for slower, less-caffienated stories in my action books, but there better be some substance to make up for it. The characters aren't compelling, the action isn't interesting, the art is great, but after 3 volumes of mediocre stories I'm ready to move on to something else. Thank goodness Sonic: Impostor Syndrome exists.
September 7, 2023
A nice addition to the series. 3 of the 4 comics do not star Sonic. There's two great issues about a forest fire, starring Amy, Belle, Jewel and Tangle. Another issue stars the Chaotix Detectives. That was my least favorite in this volume, but it's always nice to see the support characters getting featured.
The community suggests reading the Imposter Syndrome mini-series before diving into the final issue. That isn't included in this volume. I didn't find it confusing to continue. The last comic has more of Belle's story and ends with a cliffhanger.
I've been pleasantly surprised how much I've enjoyed this IDW series. The art is always great, and I love the variant covers shown in these collected editions. At the time of this review Sonic Volume 12 was available on Kindle Unlimited.
The community suggests reading the Imposter Syndrome mini-series before diving into the final issue. That isn't included in this volume. I didn't find it confusing to continue. The last comic has more of Belle's story and ends with a cliffhanger.
I've been pleasantly surprised how much I've enjoyed this IDW series. The art is always great, and I love the variant covers shown in these collected editions. At the time of this review Sonic Volume 12 was available on Kindle Unlimited.
September 25, 2022
better than previous issues, pacing feels better too. it does a good job building up what's to come and (partially) introduces surge and kit, some pretty fun characters
after a bit of a lull in idw sonic, things are finally picking up again
after a bit of a lull in idw sonic, things are finally picking up again
December 24, 2024
Belllllle 😭 I love all the girls so much. Sonic and Tails were really good too! Super hype for the coming showdown, hope my library gets the next volume soon because otherwise I might just have to buy issue 50 myself
October 24, 2022
Love it! IDW really knows what it's doing with the Sonic franchise.
December 13, 2025
I grew up in the 90s with the original Archie Comics Sonic the Hedgehog run. I am very confused.
There are so many new characters, how do you keep them straight? Also Sonic was only in this for a tiny bit. In addition these are not very episodic. There is a continuity that seems to require starting from the beginning.
Thankfully it looks like they're putting this series up on webtoons so I will definitely be checking it out there.
There are so many new characters, how do you keep them straight? Also Sonic was only in this for a tiny bit. In addition these are not very episodic. There is a continuity that seems to require starting from the beginning.
Thankfully it looks like they're putting this series up on webtoons so I will definitely be checking it out there.
January 28, 2025
This was pretty fun! I like the detail of Vector going along with Rough and Tumble’s rhyming as Vector is pretty big on music. I can’t lie seeing Vector be more of a father figure to Charmey was adorable.
December 24, 2024
for some reason i found myself really enjoying charmy even if he was only on a few pages i was like man i like that little guy Alot
enjoyable volume overall!
enjoyable volume overall!
January 28, 2025
La carta de Mr thinker. 😔
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 28, 2025
Yay, the beginning of another long-arc higher-stakes adventure! I'm in!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews