View CommentsSonic NYCC 2017 IDW Event QnA+Ian Flynn

San Diego, CA (October 8, 2017) —  Sonic the Hedgehog™ and IDW Publishing are excited to reveal today that fan favorite scribe, Ian Flynn, has come on board to take the blue blur and his friends in a fresh, exciting direction.

“I’ve been a SEGA® kid for life, and Sonic has been my career for over a decade,” said Flynn. “I’m overjoyed to keep running with the little blue hedgehog, and especially excited to be expanding my relationship with IDW at the same time. I can’t wait to show you what I’m made of as we reach for the stars and explore the endless possibilities!”

“Ian has a strong connection with both the character and the fans so there was no hesitation in bringing him on to launch this new Sonic series,” said Sonic the Hedgehog editor Joe Hughes. “Not only is he a great writer, but he genuinely loves these characters. His pitches have been nothing short of amazing and we are very excited to get this out to the Sonic community who have been supportive from day one.”

“When we partnered with IDW a couple months back, Ian was undoubtedly our first choice to take the helm and scribe the new comic series,” said Michael Cisneros, Licensing Specialist at SEGA of America. “His uncanny knack for capturing the spirit of Sonic is evident not only in his work, but in the hearts of our very vocal and devoted fan base. We couldn’t be more pleased to have him setting the stage for many years of compelling storytelling.”

A new era of Sonic comics will begin next April with a four-week event. IDW will be moving at Sonic-like speeds to publish the first four issues of the new series in the span of four weeks. Those issues will be written by Flynn with a team of artists joining him to be announced at a later date.

• Crossovers were asked. It will be a while. Maybe a year. They want to get the current series established first.
• Previous writers coming back? “There may or may not be some creators you know and love”.
• SEGA does impose certain “restrictions” on the characters, but the comics allow for the freedom to do things they can’t do in the games. Primary job is to “tell the best stories possible”.
• The Freedom Fighters returning? “Stay tuned”. They’re aware of the demand, though.
• The comics will start completely fresh with issue #1.
• “We’re specifically making this world built in a world IDW controls separate from the games”. Aaron is at the event. He added more to say there might be occasional tie-in with a game, but stay tuned.
• They made a big deal about the comics being a fresh start with characters and they’re telling brand new stories. It was their answer to multiple questions.
• Modern Sonic is the focus. No multiple versions of Sonic running around, including Classic Sonic.
• SEGA’s restrictions are not that high. They just want to make sure that they do things properly without jumping the shark.
• IDW’s thoughts on Sonic the Comic: “For now, we really want to establish a new Sonic comic. Our focus is on something new and exciting.”
• Aaron says that “things happened” on why the Archie era story arc suddenly stopped the way they did, but he says that sometimes these kinds of things happen. “There are reasons – trust us. I wish we could go into more detail. It’s tough for us too.”
• Will IDW have its own Sonic Universe? “We’re taking nothing off the table, but we’re focusing on the brand-new series right now.”
• They may create some original characters.
• “How many of you would want to see a Sonic Forces comic?” Crowd cheers. “Good to know, we’ll pass that on.”
• There was a question about backstory on the characters in Sonic Forces. Aaron’s answer: “wait and see”.
• Open to audience reaction: how would original IDW characters factor into the stories? TONS of support for annoying sidekicks.
• Creative process for the comics? “Ian has an incredible imagination – he could write these comics forever.”
• Apparently Ian had his pitches ready for IDW immediately.
• “We can use anything from the games.”
• Ken Penders was brought up, asked if he was behind this. Only answer? “I don’t know who that is”.
• There will be new artists. Wait and see.