#jeff powell

Super Mondo Mega Mutts #1 (July 15, 2026)

What If? World War Hulk -February 2010- Marvel Comics

What if Thor entered World War Hulk?

written by Michael Gallagher

illustrated by Patrick Spaziante

letters by Jeff Powell

Say What? World War Hulk

written by Mike Gallagher

illustrated and lettered by Dave Manak

Knuckles the Echidna Volume 2 issue 1 AU Publication Date: 14th April 1997 Price: $2.70

Spinoffs. No self-respecting media can live with them. No self-aggrandising media can live without them. And for those of us who lived through the space year that was 1997, corporations were chomping at the bit for a slice of those sweet spinoff dollarydoos.

Best place to start and witness such influence would be, arguably, the cinema. After Baz Luhrmann's blockbuster remake Romeo + Juliet spent weeks atop the box office, the majority of March was a bitter struggle between Wes Craven's thriller Scream and Cameron Crowe's football drama Jerry Maguire. A fascinating if ultimately pointless grudge match between two distinct genres. For all their efforts, neither claimed victory when by month's end, a film 20 years their senior blasted both off the map. The Star Wars Special Editions had arrived.

The promotion (and merchandise deals) was huge. A New Hope proved an instant hit, swiftly followed on 10th April by The Empire Strikes Back. Everything old was new again, and the re-hits just kept coming. Audiences pounded the pavements, eager to revisit Jurassic Park when its sequel The Lost World saw release on 29th May (only a week after its US premiere, a then-impressive feat). Superhero buffs ignored the winter freeze to watch Batman and Robin on 26th June, a film often lauded yet pulled respectable numbers and local reviews at the time.

Speaking of space, following a successful campaign through latter 1996, the Oddbodz were back. Smith's Chips and Glow Zone launched their second series of 61 collectable glow-in-the-dark cards featuring a myriad of wacky, wicked and occasionally controversial space-themed characters. If gross-out humour wasn't your speed, ripping into packs of Thins, Ruffles, Cheetos or Doritos chips instead offered adventures in a galaxy far far away with official Star Wars 3D Magic Motion and Techno Tazos.

After the toyline's initial launch in January, Beast Wars had successfully put Transformers back on the map, though kids would have to wait at least three more months to see their favourite characters in animated action. To Channel 7's credit, they at least gave the program a decent timeslot. More than can be said for Channel 9's decision that April to broadcast the all-new Star Trek: Voyager season 2 and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 4 at the ghastly time of 11pm weeknights.

In spite of the former losing 30 minutes off its timeslot, the rivalry between weekday morning children's entertainment continued between Agro's Cartoon Connection and Cheez TV. Both were banking on the spinoff craze, and viewers waking up 14th April could choose between the premiere of Power Rangers Zeo episode 'Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise', or the premiere of Earthworm Jim episode 'Darwin's Nightmare'. For the musically inclined, American rockers No Doubt had enjoyed 8 weeks atop the music charts with the third single on their third album, 'Don't Speak'. At least until April saw them bumped off by Aussie pop prodigy Savage Garden and their third single 'Truly Madly Deeply'.

But of all the spinoffs to arise and bedazzle locals, after three years of development and an exclusive preview party the night prior, SEGA World Sydney opened its doors at 4pm on Saturday 22nd March 1997. Touted in print and on TV as "Australia's Largest Indoor Theme Park!", it offered hours of unrivalled entertainment and programs for Sydneysiders and visitors alike. Anyone who could afford its hefty entry fee lost themselves in all the games and rides they could handle (except Mortal Kombat, which was pulled last-minute). An escape into pixilated fantasy guaranteed to forget their real-world troubles for several hours. Mundane adult things like Victoria and Western Australia's brief yet brutal summer bushfire seasons where 3 lives and some 59 homes were lost. Or how after one year into the top job, captain conservative John Howard faced international anger over comments at the United Nations General Assembly, and local anger over casual dismissing threats by extreme right-wing rival Pauline Hanson's One Nation party.

Be it stage shows, costumed cameos and all types of merchandise featuring their antics, fans of Sonic, Tails, Sally and Robotnik were in paradise. Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for a fifth member of the cast. For someone who enjoyed strong popularity and a species originating right there, SEGA World put the bare minimum effort into giving Knuckles the Echidna his own time to shine. A remarkable oversight undoubtedly leaving young fans wondering where that embattled echidna was hiding. As luck would soon have it, they needn't look far.

Nestled comfortably among the shelves between Sonic issues 45 and 46 came Knuckles: The Dark Legion. Sales had proven strong enough (or at least stronger than Tails and Sally's comics) to warrant the development of a second miniseries. Exciting in its own right, only amplified when exclusively announced through AOL in January 1997 it would evolve to a fully-fledged ongoing spinoff. No longer was trotting off to the newsagents exclusively a Friday end-of-month treat. Knuckles' arrival meant a mandatory Monday mid-month booster for us deprived of Mobian adventures.

Over the course of its 32 issue run, Knuckles the Echidna was, much like Endgame two months later, once praised as a pinnacle of Archie Sonic. Fans adored the series, giving ol' Rad Red his own unique mythos and adventures. While Sonic naffed around aimlessly in a post-Robotnik world, we saw Knuckles as the cool, 'mature' comic. He had stakes. He had drama. Quite a turnaround after the heavy criticism its writer took in late 1996 over Sally's leaked demise. Within months he was described as "a kewl writer!", or "one of the ONLY "good" and "balanced" writers Archie has", or how they're "so much better then sonic comics now its not funny." with "all the good villains and family members." Fans swarmed en mass to his WWWBoard, creating their own stories, characters and entire websites tied to the Brotherhood and Dark Legion. Not everyone agreed on the book's mission statement "Why does everybody liek it so much? All it is really is a bunch of Penders' characters running around with slight appearacnes by Chaotix and occasionally knuckles himself.", but it made a lot of other people happy. Enough for both The Dark Legion and Lost Paradise reissued as 'back catalogue' orders to selected comic book stores in late 2004.

And just like Endgame, those nostalgic memories have since dissipated when adults reflected on his tales with matured, scrutinous eyes. We grow. We learn. We reevaluate on what was once adored as adolescents, realising perhaps those good times weren't all that good. Maybe the series and characters were fine in concept but lacked competent execution. Maybe our childish expectations meant they were never good to begin with and the critics were right all along.

The youthful, creative glory days from the late-90's to mid-2000's of Knuckles of an Echidna, Kragok Comics, Echidna Gals, Dark Legion HQ, Echidnapolis, Knux Redux, Tisha-Li's Dark Legion Camp, Kensuke Aida's Julie-Su Shrine, Echidnoyle, Shattered Moonlight, Knuckles 9000, Kiri Megami's Chaotix Hideout, Darkest Mysteries, and of course True Red's mighty Knuckles Haven have long passed.

It's from learning said past our futures are forged, but do any of these characters have a future? Do they even deserve a future?

Or maybe it's just best they're all forever banished to the Twilight Zone of cultural irrelevance.

Next Time: For years I said it wouldn't be done. Yet promises, like the hearts and cheekbones of fictitious rodents, were made to be broken. Will May's hedgie rectrospect-y truly be worthy of such hate? Or have revisionists painted a far worse picture over the past two decades?

Sabrina the Teenage Witch (2000) #68: "Wish You Were Here"

Story Credits

Writer/Pencils: Tania del Rio

Inks: Jim Amash

Colors: Jason Jensen

Letters: Jeff Powell

Editorial Team

Editor: Victor Gorelick

Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Ongoing) #110: "One For All: A Tale of Princess Sally"

Writer: Karl Bollers Pencils: J. Axer Inks: Andrew Pepoy or Pam Eklund Letters: Jeff Powell Colors: Josh & Aimee Ray

Shane Bailey on the first issue of The Devil’s Bride, by Sebastian Girner, John Bivens, Iris Monahan and Jeff Powell, published by Vault Comics: It’s a perfect way to tell the story of a woman haunted by her own past while attempting to avenge a bloody legacy so she can become something new.

In This Issue, a Warrior meets her Queen and we see a bloodier version of the start to Titanic 

The Forgotten Queen #1 Written by Tini Howard Illustrated by Amilcar Pinna Colored by Ulises Arreola Lettered by Jeff Powell

My interest in and reading of Valiant has been a rollercoaster over the past year as the buyout from DMG and various editorial shakeups took place. Currently I am cautiously optimistic about their product. The relaunch of Valiant was to me the successor of the old Wild Storm U, which informs one of my constant criticisms of the publisher that they are very straight-white-guy centric. That seems to be getting a bit better with their recent and upcoming books. You have Vita Ayala with artists Raul Allen and Patricia Martin on Livewire. Kevin Grevioux is writing Bloodshot: Rising Spirit. Jody Houser recently wrapped another, delightful, Faith mini. And you have this book, The Forgotten Queen, written by Tini Howard with art by Amilcar Pinna and Ulises Arreola, and letters by Jeff Powell. The four issue Queen miniseries focuses on Vexana aka the War-Monger, a foe of the Eternal Warrior seen in Matt Kindt’s run on Unity. Queen shirks pretty much all the usuals of a Valiant book: a series about a woman of color, written by a bisexual woman, with an artist of color, and, the thing that caught my eye, it’s queer! I can count the number of major LGBTQ+ character in the Valiant U on pretty much one hand – most of them are women, one of them is dead - but, hey progress.

As previously mentioned the War-Monger was a villain from Matt Kindt’s run on Unity, appearing in issues #19-22 (volume 6 “The War-Monger”.) You don’t really need to read that to start this, just know the Unity squad eventually gave her some cement shoes and tossed her in the ocean to finally stop her. That not so final resting place is where Queen begins in the present as an archaeology team with a mysterious baker are hunting for Vexana’s armor. The scenario echoes the start of Titanic, which the creative team give a bit of an ironic twist to.

To tell the story of Vexana, Howard employs a bit of a nesting doll like structure of split narratives and flashbacks as we see War-Monger work her way up till Late Antiquity and a meeting with Genghis Khan. The use of narration make sense within the issue but also gives moments a bit of a tell more than show appearance at times. These moments are more flashes than extended sequences, that when mixed with Pinna and Arreola’s art make for a solid montage. Pinna and Arreola make one page with a sort of graphic black-figure style (Greek pottery) to track Vexana’s passage through time and the monotony.

One of the things Howard, Pinna, and Arreola, are doing is quintessential superhero comics and an upside to the story universe model of narrative. They are using something created by Matt Kindt and a bevy of artist, that was pretty much forgotten. They are picking up these pieces and adding to them. By changing the characters position in the narrative structure from antagonist to protagonist, we get a whole new perspective on the character. Cecil Castellucci and Adriana Melo are doing something similar with Granny Goodness and the Furies in Female Furies.

Amilcar Pinna and Ulises Arreola make for some striking art, it isn’t super stylized but Pinna shows strong framing and perspective while Arreola gives it solid palette. There’s a realism to things but it’s just turned up a few notches. It comes at you on the credits page, the first page you see after the cover, with a not quite pinup of Vexana making a mocking face at the reader. I’m struck by the fierce look in her eye in contrast to the mocking tongue extension. The art team emphasize Vexana’s gaze throughout the issue as she makes those around her passions boil over. As she is being led out of Genghis Khan’s camp for the first time Pinna and Arreola give her this sort of playful look as she riles them up, she knows she is better than everyone for a hundred miles and is toying with them. The creative team showing Vexana enjoys the chaos she sows isn’t revelatory but there is greater sense of ownership and reason behind it, due to her position as the protagonist of this story. It adds a bit of texture to the character, and makes the moment she looks upon the woman falls for land even better. You see that transformation in her eyes.