We're just now diving into the "Worlds Collide" crossover, and Archie wants to remind us that all things must come to an end. Kotaku brings us our first look at the last two issues of Mega Man and Sonic's adventure: Sonic Universe #54 (Part 11) and Sonic the Hedgehog #251 (Part 12).
Along with the two standard covers, we've also got a look at the third "Evil Friends Forever" variant for Worlds Collide part 12. A campfire scene with marshmallows and a scary story... it's so quaint, so good.
Source: Kotaku (thanks to Mega Monthly for the tip!)
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ReplyDelete@Prof. Megaman: Because God forbid Ian Flynn be allowed to have any fun at all writing the goddamn comic, or try to expand the MM-verse even a tiny bit.
ReplyDeleteOn topic, I was wondering if Megaman'd get his own Chaos Emerald-fueled(?) Super form. Looking forward to the circumstances that lead to that transformation.
Is that Slash Man in the EFF variant? So will that previous part really have ALL Robot Masters!?
ReplyDeleteI hope Sonic will face Quick Man, Turbo Man and Nitro Man!
@RADIX:
ReplyDeleteYou're right. He should be allowed to do whatever he wants. Just because he's been charged with scripting a book based on a game franchise that remains a favorite of millions even after two and half decades, doesn't mean he's obligated to do anything that would please any of those millions, particularly the ones with I.Q.s in the triple digits.
BTW, a chaos emerald-powered Super Megaman... way too transparent a plot element. Flynn knows it too, otherwise he'd be so proud of thinking it up he'd keep it under wraps.
When he's not stroking his ego, indulging his taste for low-rent manga style comedy/melodrama or shoe-horning esoteric references into his monologues he utilizes the paint-by-numbers approach to writing that has become a favorite of 9-year-old fan-fic writers everywhere.
Getting my first issue today! :D I hope it's a good one! From what I hear I will not be disappointed.
ReplyDeleteLoving these covers! The middle one is adorable!
@Prof Megaman: Right because everyone wants a comic book that essentially does the plot of all 10 games which had next to no plot and next to no characterization for any characters that wouldn't survive to the next game and ended up being the same thing EVERY TIME.
ReplyDeleteGive him time. Once he gets more characterization and settles in, the book should improve. I'd rather get some original stories and fresh takes out than just c+p of the non-existing game plots like the first couple of issues.
Also not really. Almost every single fan-crossover of Sonic involves guest characters gaining 'Super' status. Even if it wasn't on the cover, it would have been expected. And you theory kind of falls flat since... you know... he merged Yellow Devil and Chaos but has that blatantly on one of the covers.
@Anon 11:33 AM
ReplyDeleteHe's had two years to "settle in". How many mulligans are you going to give the guy?
@Professor Megaman: ...because it's not like the comic is an ALTERNATE CONTINUITY TO THE GAMES or anything. And it's certainly not like there's plenty of reasonable MM fans who appreciate the comic BECAUSE it's not a boring rehash of the games, and touches on themes that the games (with their minimal storytelling) aren't likely to ever dwell upon. (Case in point, the debates on whether or not sentience in robots is a good idea--which took precedent over the "robo-shipping" in #22, might I add).
ReplyDeleteAnd "too transparent a plot element"...really? You've got a crossover of two well-known VG series and you DON'T take advantage of both series' unique elements in any way whatsoever? What was the point of writing a crossover, then?
And not keeping the Super forms under wraps somehow means Ian's not proud of thinking it up? By that un-logic, I should never have posted any of my own art or concepts because "obviously", wanting people to look at and discuss it with me means I have no self-respect whatsoever. I can only begin to imagine how draconian your standards are.
All you had to do was say "I personally could not maintain interest in the comic". Not insult it, its writer, and its audience (a good deal of whom are young kids) and brush off as many counter-points to your argument as possible.
@April 12, 2013 12:19 PM anon: Yes 2 years for a monthly comic that not only already had to fully establish Megaman, Roll, Dr. Light, and Wily, but also the 8 Powered Up Robot Masters, Yellow Devil, the Megaman 2 Robot Masters, and god knows what else at this rate like Robot Masters from 9 and 10 and Ra Moon but also the world that they live in since Capcom never bothered to. So you know what? I'm willing to give him a little bit of breathing space, especially after how people were saying the first couple of issues were too slow and c+p.
ReplyDelete@Prof. Megaman.
ReplyDeleteOh boo-hoo-hoo. How dare the writer be forced to bow to the parent company mandates!
How dare he try to tell original stories to build on the world of Megaman beyond what we've seen in the games!
How dare he not use every four issues to cover a game story! It's not like the classic formula would ever get old, being shoved back to back like that.
How DARE he give Megaman a super form! Being a robot, it only makes sense that he'd not even try to draw power from the ultimate power sources in the universe!
How DARE he put references to other things that fans like in his work! Memetic references can't ever be worked in without being shoehorned!
Yeah, you're kind of a whiner. Suck it up or go be a cranky old man somewhere else and let the rest of us enjoy our professional quality fanfic.
(BTW, read the comics you told me you took issue with on DA. Didn't see anything wrong. Eggman and Wily were hilarious together. Putting the plot on hold played out just like the Genesis wave did in the Sonic comics. Oh wait. You also hate Sonic Comics. Never mind.)
Obviously Prof. Megaman preferred to see a Super Hyper Mega Man and Super Hyper Roll from Marvel vs Capcom instead of a Super Super Megaman. ;P
ReplyDeleteI simply don't understand where all this tolerance is coming from.
ReplyDeleteI want to like the Sonic/Megaman comics. I'm not out to hate on things, I simply wish they weren't so objectionable.
Flynn is a lousy writer and a tool. There's a reason he'll never win an Eisner Award.
These comics are (like most modern comics) a gimmick. A gimmick to boost book sales. I can't fault them for wanting to make money, I'd just prefer it if they did so by making a quality product rather than peddle garbage to undiscerning consumers.
Archie is the Wal-Mart of comics and Flynn is their bargain-bin Michael Bay.
If you hate the comics, then stop reading them and go read something else. Trolling comment boards on the Internet does nothing but make you look like a tool. It's clear you don't enjoy reading them, so why waste everyone's time repeating so ad nauseum?
ReplyDelete@Prof. Megaman: Short answer is that they're enjoyable comics and you're nitpicking the hell out of them.
ReplyDeleteLonger answer is that Ian is much better than you give him credit for. (If you want badly-written drama, go look at the mess that Archie-Sonic devolved into near the end of Penders' and Bollers' run) The MM comic admittedly got off to a rough start (pacing problems), but it picked up almost immediately after; Ian's demonstrated that he's pretty good at developing characters (and having them be likeable) and tying plot elements (existing and new) together in logical ways.
The "melodrama" you claim (elsewhere) the comic suffers from really isn't. It's got its dramatic moments, surely, but they generally don't last any longer than they should.
I'm sure someone can explain their enjoyment of the comic better than I can, so I'll just end this post by pointing out: Even though you say you're not out to hate on things, you've insulted Ian's writing ability in nearly every post of yours, and described the comic itself in rather unflattering terms. Bit of a disconnect there.
@Prof. Megaman: I simply don't understand where all this INtolerance is coming from. Stop judging a book by its cover, do you even know if it is going to be good or bad? What's wrong with the 2xSuper Mega Man? Would you prefer to see Sonic using Rush's Super Adapter while Mega Man uses... what? Beat? Eddie? Tango? Maybe Auto?
ReplyDelete@5:31 Anon
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly, that would be freaking awesome.
I don't have to eat dog waste to know enough not to try it.
ReplyDeleteWisdom and common sense account for a lot.
If they're willing to allow multiple artists to draw the book, why not give someone else a crack at writing it? It could prove quite redeeming.
@Prof. Megaman: Just drop the damn argument already if you're not going to listen to anyone.
ReplyDelete@RADIX:
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm listening. But why should the opinions of a few scrupulously devoted fan boys alter my opinions of comics I've read and grown to loathe?
I'm not going to force myself to like something just to be included in the majority. I'm a staunch independent thinker in that regard.
@Prof. Megaman: Oh, so now you're (possibly) insulting the rest of us because we like something you don't. That's nice.
ReplyDeleteDisliking a freaking comic book does not make you better than me or anyone else here. No one was trying to "force" you to like is, we were just trying to point out the flaws in your reasoning and why we don't think it's as bad as you claim it is. Would I have told you "all you had to do was say 'I personally could not maintain interest in the comic'" if I was "forcing" you to like it?
And defending something you like doesn't automatically make you a "devoted fanboy". What fanboy would ever admit that the things they were fans of weren't perfect?
In my case, my anger primarily stems from your less-than-admirable attitude (and all the negative emphasis you've placed on the comic not being exactly like the games, because I've more-or-less always felt that all the various alternate continuities and oddities helped to make the MM series so rich and interesting, but I doubt you care about that). Bashing the comic for not adhering to your specific preferences and acting like your're being totally objective in your dislike when you clearly aren't is bad enough, but implications of superiority just make it all worse.
@Prof
ReplyDeleteReally, at this point. I think you're just jealous that Ian gets paid for writing "fanfiction", while you're stuck doing commissions on DA.
We're having fun. We don't need everything to be exactly perfect. This is the sort of thing we dreamed about for years growing up. Why get angry about it?
Really, even though we're all indulging our childhoods, you strike me as the most immature person here. It's one thing to be promised ice cream and complain when you're given crap in a cone, or nothing at all. It's another thing entirely to offered vanilla ice cream, and then throw a tantrum because you wanted rocky road.
Go whine somewhere else. We're trying to enjoy our cones in peace.
@Prof. Megaman: To be honest, I don't think I can trust your sense of taste when it comes to comics, seeing as how you unironically like comics written and "drawn" by that untalented hack Andrew Dobson.
ReplyDeleteThere are no "flaws" in my reasoning. I see very real flaws in Flynn's writing style. So many that I can't bring myself to buy the comic even as a throwaway indulgence.
ReplyDeleteI say I don't like it and I think those who do have poor taste in comics and limited exposure to literature, you say I'm wrong.
Whose argument is flawed here? I'm not wrong for disagreeing with you. There is no right or wrong on either side. I think Flynn has the writing ability of an egocentric teenage weeaboo.
I could simply leave it alone, but if everyone did that, all entertainment mediums would sink to intellectual stimulation level of a bug zapper.
You want a "fact"? The raucous voice of dissent is the only weapon the masses have to oppose greedy corporations who suck the quality and production costs out of everything they peddle. You want to passively accept the decline? Fine. Just don't expect me to stay quiet about it.
@Prof.
ReplyDeleteFunny that you can see SO many flaws in Ian's work, but you still follow that hack Andrew Dobson, like SMM89 said.
Admittedly, I read Dobson's work for a while too, before I caught on to how rude, stuck up, lazy, mean spirited, and unchanging his art and writing was. Looking at your gallery, I can see why you like him.
Give me five real, serious flaws in Ian's writing, and we'll see if you've got point, cause right now, all I hear is, "You're all idiots because you like something that I don't like for vague reasons. I'm so much better than you neurotypical plebeians."
@Cyberguy:
ReplyDelete#1. Flynn makes every character in his books talk the same way, which I assume is the way he talks and thinks. #1 no sense of characterization.
#2. The plots are slow in the set up and anticlimactic in the payoff.
#3. Flynn has no visual aesthetic and needs to rely on excessive use of monologues to bypass scenes best interpreted visually.
#4. Flynn has a tendency for mimicking the kind of romance, humor and melodrama found in anime I wouldn't touch with a 50-foot pole.
#5. Deus Ex Machina. And all the excessive use therein.
And for the record: "Jealous"? Of Flynn? HAH! Yeah, that's exactly what I dream of, taking a large paycut and having pompous Editors and Editors-in-Chief breathing down my neck all so I can be worshiped by tweens with Asperger Syndrome.
@ Prof. Megaman:
ReplyDeleteSuch hate!!
On a webpage, no less!!!
Seriously, things like this are why I believe some people should not be allowed on the internet. While I understand that many people are very protective of things they love, there are limits.
I was reading Sonic when the series first started. I've read every issue. I have no problem with Flynn's writing.
This is a comic geared towards kids and tweens. Hardcore fans may read it, but both Sonic and Mega Man are for that age range. Holding these comics to adult comic standards is not only a mistake, it's downright stupid. Also, taking to a blog's comment section to vent your obvious lack of nerdgasm at this crossover is stupid, too. We're two issues into it, for God's sake. Give it some time. But if you really un-subscribe, I doubt Flynn (or much of the internet, to be honest) would miss you.