On the Current State of Sonic

Yes, it has become very bland indeed. Even Fleetway has started to dry out, with the bizarre and pointless filler tales that have begun to crop up and 10+ plot points crawling at a snail's pace. (What ever became of Tekno/Shorty? Who exactly is "Ichunemon"? Will Rouge ever be redeemed? How far is Robotnik from winning? What became of Zachary? and loads more.) I only feel that Archie is going to get even worse as time goes on. I already saw the warning signs around the 200 mark (the much more SEGA-ized tone, characters being introduced by the payload, abrupt endings to various sub-plots, characters vanishing without explanation), but now it's clearly jumped the shark, and will probably only get even worse, perhaps until it is on the level of the current games in sheer idiocy. What's even sadder is that Sonic and Mega Man seem to be the only things Archie has left, as Archie himself has gone the way of The Fairly OddParents with constant mediocrity, and all their traditional superheroes are in a state of limbo, and Sonic the Comic: Online is now my last bastion for Sonic remaining, with SEGASonic having taken a massive turn for the worse with Lost World, Archie becoming blander and blander as time goes by, all the TV shows having long kicked the bucket, the Jazwares toys being of horrid quality, and the manga and books being long out of print.

I will give Boom a chance, however, both the game and the show, and have also taken an increased interest in both viewing and producing fan-work, especially the creation and sharing of fan-characters (i have at least 5 that can be considered main), but also fan-fiction, hacks, fan-games, custom toys, 3D models, etc. That is how my spirit as a Sonic fan remains alive. Why does it remain alive, you must ask? I've been with him since the early days of my life. My first experience with him? Playing the original on Genesis. When I was 2 or 3. I also procured dolls of Sonic and Knuckles at a young age. Though I no longer have these two particular plushies, it began a trend of me snowballing a collection of Sonic plush, leading up to my latest acquisition of a Great Eastern Rouge the Bat, which I find adorable. One notable item is my handmade Blaze the Cat plush, whom with her cute smile, knitted texture, and googly eyes, is likely far cuter than any official Blaze plush will ever be.

I take some relief in that New Archie is merely run-of-the-mill at best, rather than truly horrendous like the early years of Archie, and much of Fleetway's absolute worst stories, such as the Time Zone arc and most of the very earliest material, were. I also find Dash to be an okay game. I somewhat fear that Sonic will eventually crumble to dust under the hyperjapanocentric Sega-Sammy chimera, with the Lara-Su Chronicles and STC being the only things left. That is why I will support the Lara-Su Chronicles, and why I do support, and also produce many fan works. Compared to the rushed mess that is Lost World, Sonic taking the Skylanders route sounds outright appetizing.