Issue 81

Issue 81 is the eighty-first edition of Sonic the Comic. Released on the 26th of June 1996 at the price of £1.20, the issue contains four original stories (one of them new) as well as several features and a competition to win Sonic the Hedgehog 2 jacket patches.

Contents[]

Control Zone
Sonic the Hedgehog - Running Wild: Part 2
Review Zone
Chaotix Crew - The Fundamental Four (story)
Graphic Zone
Tails - Shock Tactics!
Q Zone
Sonic's World - Revolution: Part 3
Speedlines
Next Issue

Strips[]

Sonic the Hedgehog[]

Running Wild is a 3-part story by Nigel Kitching, Richard Elson and Ellie de Ville. Super Sonic has returned and wants Amy Rose dead. His first attacks sees him destroy Bob Beaky's Travelling Circus, but the Freedom Fighters are struggling to escape. Another attack sees him crash into a cliff, but he survives. When Johnny Lightfoot tells Tails to fly for help, it gives Amy Rose an idea. Moments later, Super sees the biplane flying away and shoots it down in flames. As Super turns back into Sonic in his hilarity, he's mortified by the destruction all around him.

Chaotix[]

The Fundamental Four is a 2-part story written co-written by Kitching and Nigel Dobbyn, drawn by Dobbyn, coloured by Gina Hart and lettered by Elitta Fell. Chaotix have been captured by the Fundamental Four and are about to be liquidised. The moment is postponed by the arrival of Charmy Bee and a swarm of bees. Hydran is cut in half, Gravel is melted and the mixed pair are thrown into Squall. Charmy finishes things off by burning up Flare and the rest use the heat to turn the Fundamental Four into a pot. Vector the Crocodile isn't impressed and kicks all the bees out.

Tails[]

Shock Tactics! is a complete story written by Lew Stringer, with art duties shared by Mike Hadley and Steve White, Tom Frame lettering. Tails is still defending the Casino Night Zone from Badnik attacks, but Max Gamble isn't convinced he's doing it fast enough. Keen to destroy them all at once, chimps Mark & Sparks place Tails in a Badnik suit and he follows a group of real ones to their hideout. Tails' tails give him away and he resorts to 'Plan B', electrocuting the Badniks between two pylons. Gamble is still livid, but the citizens tell him to stop bullying their heroes.

Sonic's World[]

Revolution is a 4-part story by Stringer, Kitching, John M Burns and Frame. Amy and Johnny have been turned into Badniks by Commander Brutus and Shortfuse the Cybernik has met his match. Things are evened up when Shortfuse frees Johnny and Doctor Robotnik climbs into his War-Armour for a final showdown.

Features[]

Megadroid introduces this issue's stories and features in the Control Zone and there's news of the Sonic Holiday Special 1996 hot on the heels of the Knuckles Knock-Out Special. Winners are largely different in this week's Sega Charts; Toy Story remains the Mega Drive champion, but X-Men: Children of the Atom is a new entry atop the Saturn chart, Rebel Assault re-enters at #1 and Sonic 2 is the new Game Gear leader.

Chris Jones covers the Review Zone, awarding both Saturn game The Horde and Mega Drive Brian Lara Cricket '96 82%. This issue's Graphic Zone is the "Chaotix Zone" featuring pictures of Chaotix (and even some combinations of all of them). Publised images won artists a pack of Crayola Overwriters. The Q Zone has a Hollywood theme, with hints coming for games that were once movies. These include Alien 3, Aladdin, Batman Returns, Toy Story, Star Trek Generations and Star Wars.

Speedlines includes letters about a "Sega Sonic & Knuckles disposable camera tester" (the prize on offer this issue), the demise of the Master System chart and the ubiquity of Knuckles the Echidna.