Best of Sonic the Hedgehog was an onging series of graphic novels published by Archie Comics, featuring SEGA's mascot video game character Sonic the Hedgehog. The series contained specially selected favourite stories chosen by members of the creative team.
After nearly twenty years of comics, specials and mini-series, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG has told hundreds of stories! Through the laughs and thrills, the action and adventure, the highs and lows, some stories stand out among the rest – presented here in this thematic graphic novel collection! From the titanic clash of “Mecha Madness” to the universe-shattering epic “Order from Chaos,” join us as the Archie Comics Sonic team picks their favorite stories from the history of the series! Don’t miss out on this deluxe collection available for the first time in soft cover – a must-have for any Sonic fan! Plus all-new cover art from Patrick “SPAZ” Spaziante and insights from the Sonic creative team!
Publication Dates and Featured Issues[]
Volume 1: Comics[]
(Hardcover: May 2012, Softcover: January 2013)
"Rage Against the Machine" (StH: #39) and "Mecha Madness" (SMM) (chosen by writer Ian Flynn)
"Endgame: For Whome the Bell Tolls" (StH: #50/SSS#6) (Chosen by artist Patrick 'Spaz' Spaziante)
"Order from Chaos"(StH: #168, #169) (Chosen by artist Tracy Yardley!)
"Future Tense: Part 2" (StH: #215) (Chosen by artist Jamal Peppers)
The first two volumes where first released as hardcovers, with Volume 1 later being re-released as a softcover, and Volume 2 having a softcover planned but ultimately cancelled.
The initial line was to continue with a third volume subtitled "Rivals". However it was delayed several times before being completely removed from future release listings. Had it been released, it would've been the first volume to be released directly to softcover.
Volume 3 Rivals' stories were also likely moved into Best of Sonic Ultimate Edition as it features stories based around Sonic's rivals such as, Knuckles, Shadow, and Scourge
Volume 1
The cover art looks to be three dimensional, but it was actually created two dimensionally by artist Patrick "Spaz" Spaziante.
Metal Sonic appears on the cover despite not appearing in any of the featured stories of that volume. The closest thing to Metal Sonic that appears in the book is Sonic's roboticized form, Mecha Sonic.
Despite appearing on the cover, neither Mammoth Mogul nor Chaos appear in any of the volumes featured stories, though Mogul was one of those featured in the original line-up below.
Oddly, the Amazon listing for this volume lists an almost completely different set of stories for the book, only one of which matches what appears in the actual book. This implies that the story selection may have been changed at the last minute. The reason for this is unknown, though it is possible that the reason is due to the lawsuit with Ken Penders as "Don't Call it a Comeback", "I am the Eggman", and "From the Inside Out" all involved Penders-originated characters (Robo-Robotnik and Geoffery St. John, respectively) The originally listed stories where:
"Sonic Riders" (StH#163-#164) (It's worth noting that a footnote in Volume 5 of the Sonic Universe Graphic Novel Series stated that the story would be appearing in this book, again implying a last minute change)
Like Volume 1 before it, a softcover edition of this volume was planned for release after it's initial hardcover release. However it was one of the many graphic novel releases to be notoriously delayed in the first quarter of 2014. It's initial release was to be in February 2014, before being pushed back several times eventually to September 2014, before finally being cancelled. Its originally intended February release was promoted in Sonic Super Special Magazine #10 where a selection from "Babylon Rising: Part 1" was printed. The softcover edition also appeared in the "upcoming releases" section of proceeding graphic novel volumes, and was even available on the Archie Shop for pre-order for several months.
The majority of the stories printed in this volume are, in fact, an omnibus of the stories printed in the first two books, with the exclusion of "Endgame" and "Order from Chaos" from book one. The remaining stories, not published in either book, are believed to be the stories planned to be included in the cancelled "Rivals" book.
One of the pin-up images in the book is the cover art of the cancelled Knuckles Archives Volume 6.
This volume of Best of Sonic uses lower quality and non-glossy paper.