Sally's Redesign (What really happened)

Before anyone says anything,


No this comic doesn’t state that Archie Publications (and staff that appeared on the comic) cannot handle criticism from the fandom – they’re more than capable of doing so!

No this comic doesn’t bash the idea that fans of the comic (especially the passionate ones) don’t have a moral right to share their opinion and concerns about things that may have changed in the series.


All I’m sayin’ is: give the guys a break man.


If you don’t understand how business works at the corporate level, if you don’t understand the fact that SEGA has complete priority (and almost full control) in the decisions it wants for its sub-franchises (whether it be cartoons, films, toys, comics etc…), there really is no point in arguing, well, to a degree that is.


I’m happy to see that there are some rather passionate fans out there that will go to the minute detail about Sally’s redesign and why it’ll affect their reading experiences – they do make a genuine point. More bonus points to the ones who could understand the situation and felt that they need to make a say (in a mature and compassionate manner) before changes are officially implemented.


Comics are an art and we read them cuz we love art! And if we get into the nitty gritty comics (or graphic novels) are sequential art that drive a compelling story (or narrative for the fancy pants out there). “But Elson comics are a visual medium, mess with the visuals and the creators should get screwed – it’s as simple as that!!” Yes I get what you mean fan #2099 but there is more to the situation than you think. Sure it’s complicated but you just have to be patient about it, and if you want to make a say do it politely at the very least.



Nevertheless I’m confident that Paul, Ian, Tracey, Mike (and other creative staff involved in the production of Sonic Archie comics) have discussed this extensively before the public announcement at NYCC2012. [link] I can imagine what their power chat discussions were like – it would have been pretty amusing, a lot of excitement, and yet at the same time a challenging and rather scary experience (more because of the pressures to impress and satisfy fans with the new changes, and well, hoping that fandom hate wars don’t happen from changes made to the series – the inevitable will happen though).


They’re just humans, they’ve got a job to do (and want to do a good job while at it) and that is to entertain the best they can to the people who love reading their stuff and to also make money out of the business (which is selling comics AND maintaining rights that SEGA has lawfully implied them to follow).



Secondly I’d to say the following after reading all the crap that’s been following from ‘OMG! WHAT HAPPENED TO SALLY!?!’: “Why can’t the fans just get along, embrace change and move on with life (knowing that it’s not really up to Archie Publications to exercise what they really want in the comics – again I emphasis: ‘to a certain degree’ on that matter due to copyright guidelines they’ll have to follow from SEGA’s game plan).”


The Sonic fandom can reveal some crazy and complicated fans sometimes (fortunately there are some really cool ones out there who are otherwise), it’s almost reminding me of the time when fans of the video game went haywire over the fact that Shadow came back alive in Sonic Heroes after Sonic Adventure 2. Listen to The Sonic Hour (by the Joscelyne brothers from The Sonic Stadium) and you’ll see the lighter side of all the negativity that happened back then. Like Ian said it’s just easier to just go with the flow, it’ll be more fun that way.


So yeah, that’s my two cents.
I’m gonna have my fun and just enjoy what’s been given to us, it’s nothing compared to surviving a warzone or national crisis – bless those who are caught in the storm of Hurricane Sandy.


Note:

• I give props to for spotting a reference from 's Ghosts of the Future comic - it's been a running joke as of recent. I didn't even write this little note yet and Mystic still spotted it! lol I asked Evan prior to posting this comic to see if there's anything she wanted to add for extra dialogue on Panel 9 - hence it ended up with "I don't like pants". What made this reference a little more difficult to spot is the fact that it connects with what's said on Panel 8 - someone's already mentioned about pants... But the fan in the crowd that didn't like the pants actually referred Silver the Hedgehog in GOFT. Psych!


• I give brownie points for spotting a Bone reference on this comic.