This year, the iconic blue blur of Sega’s gaming empire celebrates 30 years of rollin’ around at the speed of sound. He’s had his highs and lows, and not just because of all those loop-de-loops across myriad video games. But Sonic comes into his third decade looking toward high hopes for the future — and his comic book iteration is cooking up a treat.
Kotaku can now reveal the first look at IDW’s special one-shot comic celebration for Sonic’s birthday, releasing this winter. Sonic The Hedgehog: 30th Anniversary Special is an 80-page bumper book gathering new creative talent to tell three new stories about Sonic and his pals.
Alongside longtime Sonic writer Ian Flynn — and artists Mauro Fonseca, Reggie Graham, Aaron Hammerstrom, and Thomas Rothlisberger — the 30th Anniversary Special will include stories written by The Babysitter Club’s Gale Galligan, and by Justin, Travis and Griffin McElroy, stars of The Adventure Zone actual-play podcast as well as My Brother, My Brother, and Me.
Check out a few more variant covers for the issue below, as well as a look for the deluxe edition of the issue releasing later this year — which features bonus material including a new story by Galligan, scripts, and a cover gallery — and the cover of Sonic the Hedgehog: The IDW Collection, Vol. 1, an $80 oversized hardcover collecting the first 12 issues of IDW’s Sonic series also releasing in June.
Flynn, alongside Hammerstrom and Graham on art, will write “Seasons of Chaos,” which sees Sonic go on the hunt for the titular Chaos Emeralds with his friends Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Mighty, and Ray. Galligan, teaming up with Rothlisberger, will invert the usual Sonic lens to focus on his villainous foe, Doctor Eggman, in “Dr. Eggman’s Birthday,” highlighting that this is also his 30th birthday. Lastly the McElroys will work with Fonseca to answer the age-old question: what happens when the fastest being alive tries to get behind the wheel of a car? The answer might not be Sonic Team Racing in “Sonic Learns to Drive”!
Sonic The Hedgehog: 30th Anniversary Special will release this June alongside Sonic the Hedgehog: The IDW Collection, Vol. 1; the deluxe edition of the special, retailing at $25, will launch October 5.
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