Just your friendly reminder that Sonic The Comic’s 20th Birthday is less than a fortnight away!

If you need to keep a track of when the big day is, head over to the STC Online page and check out the handy countdown timer at the top of the page!

Here are just SOME of the things you can expect on the big day:

• Sonic The Comic issue 261!  Featuring a story written by STC legend Nigel Kitching with art by the iconic Nigel Dobbyn!
• At least one episode of Sonic The Podcast!  We have two episodes ready to go and have plans for episodes as far as the end of the first year of STC’s Sonic stories.  Depending on how much of our allocated monthly file space we have, you can expect either a Sonic episode with regular hosts L. T., Shay, Stiv and new regular host STC-O artist Pete Murphy or that same Sonic episode and a Tails episode with L. T., Shay and Stiv!
• Assuming I can get my finger out, you can look forward to seeing the premiere of Speed Reading: 20 Years of Sonic The Comic!  This documentary/feature takes a look back at the favourite memories of lots of STC fans and current and former STC-O team members as they recall what it is that made them a fan and what keeps them coming back for more.  And, maybe, if I’m lucky enough, I can get a sneaky hint or two of what you can expect in the coming twelve months…

There are bound to be loads of contributions from the talented fans of Sonic The Comic so be sure to keep your eyes peeled!

In the meantime, be sure to check out the following pages for all the info you could need leading up to the big day:

Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Message Zone

Get ready for something special, Boomers!  May 29th is just the beginning of STC’s 20th birthday celebrations…

Check out the Read More for more info!

Read More

On the 29th of May this year, Sonic The Comic is 20 years old!  This is an amazing milestone and one that can’t go uncelebrated- and it’s the STC Online team’s intention to make that celebration a big one.

There are loads of ways you guys can get involved in celebrating STC’s big anniversary.  Now here are the easy ones: head over to STC Online’s Tumblr and follow them and, if you’re on Twitter, make sure you’re following @Megadroid_STC.

Next, get yourself over to the Message Zone and join up- the forum always needs new members to discuss STC and Sonic, as well as all manner of things!  More than that, though, be sure to head over to Sonic The Comic Online’s homepage and read up on any issues you may have missed- you don’t want to miss a single bit of action going into Issue 261 this May!

As always, Sonic The Podcast is here for you guys to celebrate STC’s big one!  We may not be official, but we’re still going to be a part of this birthday party!  You can follow us on Tumblr, Twitter, Libsyn, via RSS and on iTunes or email us at STCPodcast@Live.co.uk

If you’re feeling creative, I’m sure the guys at STCO will love some fan art or other contributions- send it to them via Tumblr or the Message Zone.

Lastly, I want you guys to get involved with AMOSTC.  What I want is for each of you to send me something detailing either your fondest STC/STCO memory or your first issue- what was it that grabbed you?  What made you stick around for the rest of the comic?  I’ll be doing something similar to my Advent Calendar for the 20th Anniversary and I’d love to be able to incorporate you guys in some way.  If there’s anything you want to send then please do!

Sonic The Comic enjoys a passionate section of the Sonic fanbase, but we’re also one of the quietest corners of that fanbase.  Let’s make a ton of noise and get ourselves heard for this big birthday!  More news as it comes, Boomers!

(From STC #9 “Back to Reality” - Script by Nigel Kitching, Art by Richard Elson, Lettering by Elitta Fell)

As spotted by STC-O editor Stiv and writer/artist Seumidh MacDonald, ladies and gentlemen, may we present to you:

BumPenisPig.

(From STC #39 “Sonic No More” - Script by Nigel Kitching, Art by Ferran Rodriguez, Lettering by Ellie De’Ville)

It’s “Break Your Neck To Work Day” in the Freedom Fighter’s secret base.

Just in case you were worried I had run out of art snafus to poke fun at!

This is a post I’ve wanted to do for a good long time. Do please note this is long and image heavy.  No credits for each image because the focus is the art and they’re all the same artist, but I’ll give issue numbers and story titles.  If you’re looking on the Dashboard, give the pictures a click to expand them to get a proper look.

For many readers, their introduction to Richard Elson’s Sonic art was the 1992 Sonic the Hedgehog Annual. These annuals are not part of STC continuity (except, it is generally agreed, the Shinobi story) but we’re not concerned with that when the art looks this good. Fleetway were obviously well underway with planning for STC at this point and Elson will have definitely caught their eye with art of this calibre.

From “Cartoon Concerto” in the same annual. Apologies for the low resolution image. This Sonic is small, cute and cheeky looking.

From issue 8’s “Super Sonic”, Richard’s first issue. His art absolutely set STC on fire as it was of a much superior quality to almost everything that had come before on the lead strip. Richard had four consecutive issues on the lead strip on his first run and it’s my very firm belief that these issues with Nigel Kitching’s stories and Richard’s art are what saved STC from an early death.

From the same issue, Sonic’s back, which is a weird sort of pine cone at this stage. As you may well note, it doesn’t actually match the front and Richard was one of the artists that later instituted a much better rear-view of the hedgehog. Obviously, we don’t see Sonic from the back very much!

For issue 9’s “The Origin of Sonic”, Richard went with an unusual colouring style that he never used again. It made the colourful world of the Special Zone pop out in a unique way.

Issue 18 gave us “Casino Night Part 1” which is monumentally important to STC’s early days. Nigel K had been pushing for multiple-part stories on the lead strip for quite some time and finally got his wish. The success of this story led to Nigel later being allowed to write the five-part “The Sonic Terminator” as well as, naturally, many other multiple-part stories throughout STC- the comic later had Sonic-universe stories that ran for as many as six parts, the legendary “The Return of Chaotix” being one such story. Anyway, the point is, this is lovely and so is the art- at this point, Elson’s finding his own niche for drawing Sonic. His limbs are a little longer and Sonic’s a little more expressive, with the cheekiness being lost a little bit.

And here’s his back from the same issue. Still a pinecone.

Issue 33 introduces Knuckles to the main comic in the suitably titled “Enter Knuckles Part 1”. Sonic’s spines are now more of a “Christmas tree” shape, which is how he’d be seen from the front and back for a good long while now. The colouring is just a notch darker too.

Issue 45’s “Day of the Death Egg” is utterly fantastic and here’s Sonic’s “Christmas tree” spines from behind. This is a from-behind design that influenced many STC and STC-O artists in drawing rear-views of Sonic.

By the time we get to issue 76’s “The Big Decision”, Sonic is a little darker again and also somewhat shinier.

In the incredible issue 100’s “The Final Victory Part 1”, we get a few good shots of Sonic. This one seemed like a good candidate. Note the extra detail on the gloves and footwear compared to earlier issues.

By the time we get to issue 104 and “Flickies’ Island Part 1”, Richard was most likely considering a change in the way he drew Sonic- which we’ll see shortly. In light of this, note how Sonic seems more compact and squat here, which would later be offset by…

…The upwards spines. As seen here in “The Evil Empire Part 1” from issue 108. This was a design change implemented so Sonic matched the box art to Sonic 3D. It is one of the less popular Sonic design choices from over the years.

Sometimes the upwards spines look very strange, as seen here in this picture from issue 118’s “Best of Enemies Part 3”.

Issue 130 is legendary and iconic, and it’s a fine example of Richard’s early foray into computer colouring. The colours are vibrant but perhaps just a little too vibrant. Sonic’s also quite shiny in a lot of these stories. And those upward spines!! This is from “Showdown Part 3”.

They really messed with Sonic rear-views. His head doesn’t look entirely attached here. This is from the same story as above.

This is from issue 135’s “Roots Part 1” and is a fantastic example of Richard’s art from around this time. He’s getting more practiced with the computer colouring, as you can see.

This might just be the ULTIMATE Richard Elson pose. One arm back, fists clenched, mouth in an O. Every artist has their standards to fall back on and this one never failed to create a sense of urgency in whichever character made it. This is from “Secret Enemy Part 2” in issue 144.

Nigel Kitching coloured this one from issue 147’s “Earth Attacks Part 2”, but I had to post is because those spines are noticeably different. Very short.

Similar sort of image of the spines to the one above here, from issue 157’s “No Escape Part 2”, as coloured by Richard himself this time.

Issue 160’s “Knightmares” gives us a great rear-view that shows off those upward spines. Nearly done with them now.

Ooh, this is interesting. In issue 175’s “The Coming of Chaos”, the spines are down again and Sonic’s shiny in a different way. But here’s the likely reason why the spines are back down:

At the end of the story, Sonic’s spines change design drastically so Sonic could match his Sonic Adventure appearance. Some readers have commented that they aren’t terribly keen on this change and I’m one of them, but that’s because I’m a traditionalist when it comes to Sonic’s design and I understand this was a necessary move to tie in with the game.

Here’s issue 176’s cover to show the new spines better. Also new eyes. And also teeth (those, mind you, weren’t a regular thing!).
I’ll spare you dozens of Elson covers from this point on until STC’s demise as, naturally, there’s not much difference between them. But I’ll finish with this, two versions of the cover from issue 256 (which, you may remember, I actually proudly own the pencil art to!):

The cover as coloured by Matthew Allen Smith.

And as coloured by Pete Murphy. I prefer this version, personally.
Even after STC’s original demise, Richard’s Sonic continues to evolve. One thing is a constant, however, throughout his tenure: he’s one of the greatest artists to ever professionally draw Sonic the Hedgehog, perhaps the greatest.

The Night Before Christmas
First published in Sonic The Poster Mag Christmas 2007 edition, uploaded 21 December 2007
Script by Ed Reynolds, Art by Jin Chan Yum Wai, Lettering by Mike Corker



It’s Christmas Eve and Sonic is a Buddy’s Bistro, waiting for his friends. He’s evidently been waiting a while. Big suddenly remembers he had some messages to give Sonic. It turns out that basically none of his friends can make it except Amy, who will be late. Meanwhile, patrons of the restaurant are freaking out because Sonic’s here and, of course, he’s facing a smear campaign right now. Suddenly, a loud explosion is heard from outside. Sonic decides to check it out.



It turns out it’s the Chaotix Crew, making a bodge job of one of their experiments. Charmy, by the way, is hilariously bound and gagged to the Christmas tree. Vector the rappin’ croc explains they were trying to reproduce the same sort of space-time manipulation Santa employs but he apparently miscalculated. Espio and Mighty try and convince Sonic he should introduce Santa to them all, but Sonic’s not interested in Chaotix’s wacky schemes.



Sonic returns to Buddy’s Bistro and finds, to his horror, Amy and Big being attacked by the member of The Family! Sonic Spin Attacks this new terror right in her stupid, stupid face. However, Amy starts freaking out and tells Sonic to calm down- this isn’t a member of The Family, she’s Amy’s friend! She’s a design consultant who has come up with a radical (read: awful) image change to ingratiate Sonic to the fans he’s lost. Apparently she’s also suggested a celebrity wedding of Amy and Sonic because people love a celebrity wedding. Unfortunately, the art doesn’t make it clear exactly how much of a joke Amy is having at Sonic’s expense here. Regardless, Sonic storms off in a huff and to clear his head from the obscene number of dialogue bubbles floating around this page.



Later, outside, Sonic bumps into Tails, who he jokingly accuses of lazing around. Tails, however, is keeping watch over a peaceful protest at the request of Police Chief Bodger. It seems members of D.R.A.T.* (*Doctor Robotnik Appreciation Tribe. Damn it, sorry, I couldn’t help it) think Robotnik’s imprisonment is unjust as he is clearly mentally ill. To be fair, they have something resembling a point, even though they’re bonkers. Sonic is ready to fight the protesters, but Tails urges him not to bother them as they’ve been behaving and they have a right to their clearly completely mental opinions. Realising he won’t find any here, Sonic whizzes off in search of fun.



Sonic returns to Control Centre to find a print-out from Kintobor, saying he’s gone offline to update his system. Sonic decides to check in on Porker and Knuckles. Porker says the only reason they didn’t invite Sonic to their party is they thought he’d find it boring. Sonic emphatically agrees. That is, until Knuckles teases him and suggests he’s afraid to fight him. Sonic seems excited and ready to hang out with his rival until Porker announces Tikal has fixed the karaoke machine and he and Knuckles both dash off (which is a great non-sequitur gag, I can’t imagine for the life of me how Tikal learned to fix a karaoke machine, though I like imagining the ancient echidnae had one). Sonic is now officially alone on Christmas. Too bad he got Johnny killed.



Sonic decides to watch some TV. He channel surfs and sees: a debate about whether or not he’s safe to remain on Mobius; weather reports of a huge blizzard coming his way; an advert for a pro-Robotnik biography; a superhero show where a thinly veiled parody of him is attacking; and a consumer interest program about how Sonic merchandise is doing appallingly this year. Sonic turns the TV off and goes to sleep. The last page speaks for itself:



I like this story. There are, however, two details I don’t like about it, so I’ll go into them here:

I have to be honest, I am not a fan of Chrysalis in most of her appearances. Some of you may remember I liked her more in the single panel in which she appeared in issue 252, where Jamie J gave her a better line than basically anything she’d said up to that point and Phillip Chapman drew her wonderfully- in most of her other appearances, she’s fairly annoying with her quips (she reminds me of that friend we all have who thinks they’re so witty and hilarious when, really, they’re just an arse) and generally drawn like the doodle of a bug we’ve all done in the margins of our homework. Still, though, new recurring characters are better than relying heavily on old ones so I’ll take it!

Secondly, the baddies, The Family and Kane. I just… don’t care. I’m really, awfully sorry, guys. That’s not to say they haven’t been well written. The actual stories they’ve been involved in have included some brilliant ones, including some STC-O favourites of mine. I just think from a general plot standpoint, they’re not particularly interesting (The Family) or believable (Kane). It’s interesting, really, The Family is definitely a Stringer-esque clan of villains, whereas Kane is more of a Kitching-esque creation. I do think STC-O is right to use new villains, I absolutely do. The Family is well-written, as I said, it’s just they showed up from nowhere and all of a sudden we’re meant to be afraid of them- yet they haven’t really done anything to earn that. Likewise, Kane leading a smear campaign against Sonic is a brilliant idea, but the problem there is twofold. Firstly, I don’t think the story would turn into an arc like it has in the print comic. I’m just not sure it’s worth the hassle. I don’t see how the end of the arc can be anything other than Sonic clearing his name, putting us back at square one. Secondly, I just can’t believe Mobius would fall for it. It’s Sonic the [censored]ing Hedgehog. Who is seriously stupid enough to believe the KBC slander? He’s saved the planet like a bajillion times, yet all of a sudden Amy is falling for this crap and Tails just plot-conveniently doesn’t tell her what’s really going on?

Truth be known, I think the real problem is the comic’s scheduling. It’s so long between issues, it’s immensely frustrating people are still falling for it. It can’t be helped and I don’t hold it against anyone. It’s just a shame both this storyline and the Family storyline have been going on forever and, unfortunately, seem to have been pushed aside in favour of random adventures rather than closure.

Regardless, that’s my little Christmas moan over! Looking back over these stories, I think it’s fair to say some of them are better than I recall. That said, some of them are definitely worse than I remember, so that doesn’t do much for the cause. However, my final summation is this: I’m glad STC did Christmas stories, regardless of the quality. At least that meant the occasion could be marked appropriately and, in some cases, even very well.

‘Tis the night before Christmas and, all through this thread,
Not a rabbit is stirring, ‘cause Johnny’s well dead.

Merry Christmas, Boomers.

Guardian of the Ice Palace
First published in Sonic The Poster Mag Christmas 2006 edition, uploaded 24 December 2006
Script by Ed Reynolds, Art by Steve Saywood, Lettering by Charles Ellis



We open on a snow-covered… mountain range?! Has the world gone mad? Sonic and Tails are doing their darndest to make it through a harsh blizzard with the intent of reaching the most feared place on Planet Mobius: Robotnik’s sock drawer! Alright, it’s not really. It’s the Ice Palace of Mobius. But it certainly looks pretty enough. Tails is naturally apprehensive, but Sonic points out it was his decision to tag along when he could have stayed with Porker eating mince pies. Tails mentions that a lot of people think the Palace is cursed- naturally, Sonic is sceptical.



Sonic chastises Tails for worrying- and for going on about it. However, when an enormous dragon shows up from the water surrounding the bridge our heroes are standing on, Sonic gets excited- huge monsters mean it must be Christmas!



After almost becoming dragon food, Sonic attacks with speed and ferocity, with an unrelenting attack on the dragon. However, it doesn’t matter how hard Sonic attacks, the dragon isn’t phased. In fact, it headbutts Sonic full force and sends our blue hero plunging towards the icy cold water below. Realising Sonic can’t swim (KNOW YOUR SOURCE MATERIAL, BOOMERS) Tails has a mini-panic.



Sonic falls deeper and deeper into the water and looks as though he’s losing consciousness. However, Tails (who can swim) rescues him from the deadly dragon and pulls Sonic through a passageway to safety.



Sonic regrets not staying home with Porker himself. The two heroes find themselves in a massive library and Sonic remarks that you’d have to be a nutter to want to live with a dragon like that. However, a group of the Palace’s resident appears- they aren’t nutters, they simply didn’t want to be found. Tails recognises Friday, the leader of the group, as an explorer that went missing.



Friday tells the heroes that they were studying the Palace years ago, but then Robotnik chose that moment to take over the planet. Honestly, you turn your back for six months and your arch-nemesis enslaves the globe. With no way past Robotnik’s Troopers, the explorers turned to the ancient texts of the Palace, which spoke of a guardian- the dragon we already met. Unleashing it to protect themselves, they unfortunately rendered themselves unable to leave. Presumably there’s a nice kitchen with lots of food in it, then. Sonic decides he’ll use a Whirlwind Attack in some sort of plan that Tails isn’t interested in- Tails cuts him off and says he has a better idea, which is a bit cheeky because he didn’t know what Sonic was going to say.



Tails leads Sonic to concentrate a Whirlwind Attack on one spot in the wall of the Ice Palace, the friction eventually burning a hole through to the other side, making an exit to the ocean. Which, to be honest, could easily have been Sonic’s plan, smart-arse fox. Before the exit can be finalised, however, the dragon lunges up at Sonic- Tails lifts Sonic out of the way and the dragon crashes through the newly made exit. Sonic is initially concerned that Tails has unleashed a dangerous monster into the ocean, but Tails reminds our hero that that the dragon came from there in the first place and is now back home where it belongs- just like the explorers can now be. Sonic is happy that everyone gets to go home for Christmas.

Pretty good story, this one, though the conclusion is sort of rushed. The pacing is pretty much fine aside from that, though. There’s some excellent dialogue that really captures the feel of the original STC. Good stuff. Elsewhere in this issue, we get the Ancient Relic Zone, with loads of info on the original story arc plans for STC-O- really interesting and insightful stuff!

Planet In Peril!
First printed in issue 171, cover dated 15 December 1999-11 January 2000
Script by Lew Stringer, Art by Richard Elson, Lettering by Ellie de’Ville

So here we are, on the verge of STC’s final year in print. The comic is in a reasonably tragic state compared to its glory years at this point. I could go on and on and on about how stupid and short-sighted the Humes That Were Ultimately In Charge were with those stupid reprint strips. I have every faith that we could have easily seen Richard Elson, Nigel Kitching, Lew Stringer, Bob Corona and Nigel Dobbyn still turning out new strips for us on a fortnightly basis even now had the people at the top not been so stupid. Isn’t Archie’s comic enough proof of that? Even in Sonic’s ebb years as the DreamCast was dying on its overpriced arse, he was still a popular and beloved character and, sure enough, the storm was weathered and he’s now more popular than ever (if not as big a figure in the public-consciousness). I remain, to this day, completely baffled that STC had to meet the fate it did. But that’s another tale for another time.

Planet in Peril is the first part of Lew Stringer’s final arc on STC and the penultimate arc in the comic’s print run. It’s the last time we see spikes-pointing-upwards Sonic, too, which is nice. Sadly, that means we get wacky-bendy-spikes-and-green-eyes Sonic soon, and that’s not so nice. As Stringer’s swansong, he couldn’t have gone out on a higher note.



We open on a snow-covered Emerald Hill Zone. What else? Tails says it looks like it’s going to be a peaceful one and maybe Robotnik has been moved by the Christmas spirit. Sonic, of course, isn’t convinced. And rightly so- Robotnik is thrashing around his new base in one of the new Zones created in the aftermath of the Shanazar arc, demanding Sonic’s death. Grimer, scared of Robotnik’s rage, agrees, saying that with Sonic gone, Robotnik could rule Mobius once again. Shockingly, Robotnik says he doesn’t care for that any more.



Robotnik has had enough of being beaten by Sonic and figures that maybe he should just destroy Mobius and have done with it all. Suddenly, the Plax creatures Sonic fought in issue 159 show up, saying Robotnik must be the Great Destroyer their legends speak of! The Plax also want to destroy Sonic and all other non-Plax life on Mobius. Robotnik, satisfied by this, decides a team-up is in order.



At the Control Center, Sonic and Tekno respond to an emergency call from horribly-out-of-place-3D-Kintobor. Kintobor has picked up a disturbance in the force. I mean, sorry, no, he’s picked up a disruption in the planet’s energy patterns. At this moment, he shorts out wildly and isn’t seen again until STC-O starts up, so we don’t have to look at his ugly face any more. You wouldn’t believe how happy I am that STC-O has limited resources whenever Kintobor’s in a strip, that 3D looks dreadful and unemotive. And suddenly he’s solid green? Never mind. Sonic hears screaming outside and he and Tekno dash down to calm everyone and assure them it’s just a storm and nothing to worry about. Tekno, though, thinks something evil is in the air.



Suddenly, a huge Christmas tree topples over, forcing Sonic to dash to save the lives of two of the Emerald Hill Folk. Tekno inspects the tree and sees it’s dead- it died rapidly, as a result of some sort of anti-life virus. Sonic is shocked, but not quite as shocked as when a huge living snow monster appears from behind and threatens Sonic will be next to die.



Sonic is somewhat nonplussed, but the snow monster is a tough cookie to beat. He tries a Spin Attack and, for a moment, it seems to work. However, the monster reappears beneath the now-assembled Freedom Fighters (actually, is there a name for them post-100?).



Tekno uses her expositor—sorry, scanner—and realises the monster is actually made of millions of nanobots. He’s also quite angry and nearly swats Tails out of the air (a fun Christmas game involving Tails, it would seem). Sonic decides to pull an old STC favourite out of his bag of tricks and goes for his Speed Coccoon attack, encircling the monster. It seems to work, too, as the monster shorts out and is destroyed. Sonic is glad he won, though he clearly had no idea his attack would actually work.

A little later, once the dust (snow?) has settled, Sonic assembles his friends to discuss their next move. Realising this attack has all of Robotnik’s hallmarks (a robot monster attacks the Emerald Hill Zone and tries to kill Sonic? Got Robotnik written all over it, that does), the gang decide to move out and track down the blubbery doctor and stop him. Suddenly, Shortfuse shows up to recount his origin story and join the gang. He looks really good when Elson draws him, I have to say. Sonic tells Tails to look after the Emerald Hill Zone while the rest of the gang move out. Tails wishes them luck, but Sonic is grim- he doesn’t think Tails realises how serious the situation is. If they fail, there may not be an Emerald Hill Zone to come back to.

This is a great story. Planet In Peril/Game Over/whatever you want to call this arc is one of Stringer’s finest moments on STC and one of the highest points of this era of the comic’s life, if not the highest. There’s one problem, though: it’s not a Christmas story. There’s a Christmas tree and Tails says it’s Christmas. Other than that, this is simply a winter story. I’m loathe to say this is disappointing, given the quality of the story, but it’s a shame there couldn’t be anything more festive in it.

And that’s it. Well, sort of. You see, in the 2001 Christmas-dated issue, 222, there were no Christmas stories. By then, of course, STC had sadly become just another kids’ comic on the shelves. I’m sure the reprinted tales from past issues had the same effect on a generation of kids that they had on many of us when we read them for the first time, but with no new stories to drive it and only a fan art and letters page in between, STC had now lost everything that set it apart from its competitors.

But don’t be sad, Boomers! In May 2003, some wonderfully talented people unveiled to the world a little webcomic known as Sonic The Comic Online. I won’t waste your time with an in-depth examination because that’s another tale for another time. That said, I really think it’s worth showing gratitude at every opportunity to the STC-O team for their hard work and dedication to keeping alive what foolish executives couldn’t. STC-O has had its ups and it’s had a fair few downs, too. But, by and large, it is the best possible continuation to Sonic The Comic.

With that said, we have two more stories to go.  One for you to look at tomorrow (and it’s a brand new post- I never got around to typing this one up when I first did this thread on the STC-O forums!) and one last story on Christmas Day.

Dream On
Script by Lew Stringer, Art Credited to Roberto Corona and John M Burns [More likely Carl Flint], Lettering by Tom Frame

The credits are all screwed up this issue, this one’s got lots of Carl Flint’s hallmarks in the art but Corona and Burns get the credit.

Amy and Tekno are travelling between dimensions as part of the increasingly tiresome Ring of Eternity arc. They head towards a bright light and arrive at their destination. Tekno’s scanner is showing static, though, and the landscape is bizarre. The ground, for one thing, seems to be a sort of snow made out of toys!

The feisty females see a Little Green Man running away from something in terror. Amy and Tekno try to get him to calm down and he says Christmas will be the death of him. Amy wonders how Christmas can kill anyone and, to everyone’s shock, giant embodiments of the season tower over them and a snowman splats down with a huge fist (bit of a fist theme this issue). The LGM goes running off to chase a present. Amy says this is a nightmare and Tekno realises what’s going on. Of course she does. Sigh.



Tekno says they really are in a nightmare as she’s realised her scanner isn’t showing static, but brain waves! Realising they can’t wake the LGM up without risking fading away themselves, the two of them decide to try and cheer him up. They do this by basically saying “Cheer up, it’s okay, really”. The LGM cheers up, satisfied that even though he can’t afford presents for his family, they’ll be happy to spend Christmas with him.



With the LGM’s mind at rest, Amy and Tekno warp away to their next destination. In his bed, the LGM is awoken by his son and daughter. The son hands him a letter- it’s a job offer for work in the new year! All the same, the LGM is confused that the letter was delivered on Christmas Day. Outside, we see the man responsible- Santa, of course.



Amy and Tekno materialise in their next destination- or so it seems, until they realise they’re on Mobius! The Ring of Eternity appears and tells the girls this is a Christmas reward for their successes. However, after Christmas is over, the Ring will have even more missions for them, some of which are more dangerous than ever. Dangerous enough, perhaps, to make you turn into a killer!??!!??!?//// Amy says the two of them can cope. At a big Christmas party with all her friends, Sonic asks Amy how inter-dimensional travel is. Amy says sometimes it can be a real nightmare. Because, you see… never mind.

Reeeeeally throwaway. Everything is fixed in an instant, without any real effort from the girls, and Tekno is annoyingly capable. There are some really good Ring of Eternity stories, in spite of it all. This is one of the weaker ones.