List of Sonic the Hedgehog printed media facts for kids
Sonic the Hedgehog, the super-fast blue hero, has appeared in many different types of printed stories! These include exciting comic books, special adventure books where you choose the story, and even novels.
Contents
Sonic's Comic Book Adventures
Sonic the Hedgehog has starred in many comic books, each telling unique stories about him and his friends.
- Sonic the Hedgehog (This was a special comic released in 1991 to promote the first game. It appeared in magazines like Disney Adventures!)
- Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics, US) 1992–2017: This was a very long-running comic series in the United States.
- Sonic the Comic (Fleetway, UK) 1993–2002: A popular comic series from the United Kingdom.
- Sonic the Comic Online (This continued the stories from Sonic the Comic after it stopped printing.)
- Sonic Adventures (La Sirène, France) 1994
- Knuckles the Echidna (Archie Comics, US) 1997–2000: This series focused on Sonic's strong friend, Knuckles.
- Sonic X (Archie Comics, US) 2005–2009: Based on the Sonic X TV show.
- Sonic Universe (Archie Comics, US) 2009–2017: This comic explored stories about many different characters in the Sonic world.
- Sonic Boom (Archie Comics, US) 2014–2015: Based on the Sonic Boom TV show and games.
- Sonic Comic (Japan) 2016
- Sonic Forces Digital Comic (US and Japan) 2017
- Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW Publishing, US) 2017–present: This is the current main comic series for Sonic in the US.
In the UK, there were also short comic strips in Sunday newspapers and special Christmas annuals. These often featured funny, stand-alone stories instead of long, continuing plots like Sonic the Comic.
Choose Your Own Adventure: Gamebooks
A series of six Sonic the Hedgehog Adventure Gamebooks were published in the UK. In these books, you make choices that change how the story unfolds!
- Book 1 – Metal City Mayhem, James Wallis (ISBN: 0-14-090391-7)
- Book 2 – Zone Rangers, James Wallis (ISBN: 0-14-090392-5)
- Book 3 – Sonic v Zonik, Nigel Gross and Jon Sutherland (ISBN: 0-14-090406-9)
- Book 4 – The Zone Zapper, Nigel Gross and Jon Sutherland (ISBN: 0-14-090407-7)
- Book 5 – Theme Park Panic, Marc Gascoigne and Jonathan Green (ISBN: 0-14-037847-2)
- Book 6 – Stormin' Sonic, Marc Gascoigne and Jonathan Green (ISBN: 0-14-037848-0)
Sonic's Manga Stories
Several Sonic the Hedgehog manga series have been published in Japan. Manga are Japanese comic books. As of 2023, these have not been officially released outside of Japan or in other languages. Fans have also made their own dōjinshi (fan-made comics) about Sonic.
Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic (1991)
This was a short, three-chapter manga released to promote the first Sonic the Hedgehog video game. It was given out with the Japanese magazine Mega Drive Fan. It introduced some ideas that weren't used in the game, like Sonic having a rock band. This manga was the first time Vector the Crocodile appeared!
Sonic the Hedgehog (1992-1994)
From 1992 to 1994, Shogakukan published a Sonic the Hedgehog manga. It was written by Kenji Terada and drawn by Sango Morimoto. The story was about a hedgehog boy named Nicky who could transform into the superhero Sonic the Hedgehog. This manga also featured Miles "Tails" Prower and Doctor Eggman. It even introduced Amy Rose and Charmy Bee before they appeared in the video games!
Dash & Spin: Super Fast Sonic (2003-2005)
Dash & Spin: Super Fast Sonic is a manga series drawn by Santa Harukaze. It was printed in the Japanese manga magazine CoroCoro Comic. This magazine is famous for publishing manga based on video games, like Super Mario Bros. and MegaMan NT Warrior.
Dash & Spin contains many short, often funny stories. These were collected into two books called tankōbon. The first book came out in July 2003, and the second in February 2005. The stories are often very silly and full of physical comedy. Many Sonic the Hedgehog characters appear, including Sonic, Tails, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Doctor Eggman.
Sonic's Novels
Sonic has also starred in many novels, telling longer stories about his adventures.
- Stay Sonic by Mike Pattenden: This book expanded on Sonic's origin story, which was first mentioned in a promotional comic. This background was used in many later UK Sonic stories, including Sonic the Comic. The book has both fiction and helpful tips for the Sonic 2 video game levels. It also included interviews with British celebrities and even a fictional interview with Sonic himself!
James Wallis, Carl Sargent, and Marc Gascoigne wrote four more Sonic novels under the name "Martin Adams." These books were based on the origin story from Stay Sonic.
- Book 1 – Sonic the Hedgehog in Robotnik's Laboratory 1993 (by Sargent): Sonic tries to save his friends from Dr. Robotnik's lab.
- Book 2 – Sonic the Hedgehog in the Fourth Dimension 1993 (by Wallis): Sonic and Tails try to stop Robotnik from changing history. They meet special scientists who protect time and space.
- Book 3 – Sonic the Hedgehog and the Silicon Warriors 1993 (by Wallis): Robotnik traps Mobians (the animal characters) inside a huge computer system. Sonic and Tails have to battle characters that are like other video game heroes.
- Book 4 – Sonic the Hedgehog in Castle Robotnik 1994 (by Sargent): Robotnik creates a robot copy of Sonic and hides in a spooky castle, protected by creatures like those from horror movies.
Michael Teitelbaum also wrote a series of Sonic novels:
- Sonic the Hedgehog 1993
- Sonic the Hedgehog: Robotnik's Revenge 1994
- Sonic the Hedgehog: Fortress of Fear 1995
- Sonic the Hedgehog: Friend or Foe? 1995
- Sonic & Knuckles 1995
- Sonic Xtreme 1996
- Sonic Activity Book 1995
Sonic X novels published by Grosset & Dunlap:
- Meteor Shower Messenger – Paul Ruditis 2005
- Spaceship Blue Typhoon – Diana Gallagher 2005
- Aqua Planet – Charlotte Fullerton 2006
- Dr. Eggman Goes to War – Charlotte Fullerton 2006
- Battle at Ice Pallace – Charlotte Fullerton 2006
- Desperately Seeking Sonic – Charlotte Fullerton 2007
Kiel Phegley wrote pocket-sized novelizations of the Sonic the Hedgehog live-action films:
- Sonic the Hedgehog: The Official Movie Novelization 2020
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2: The Official Movie Novelization 2022
Other Printed Adventures
Sonic has appeared in many other fun books!
- Where's Sonic? and Where's Sonic Now? were books similar to the Where's Wally? series. Each page had a different puzzle inspired by levels from the Sonic games, where you had to find Sonic and other hidden things.
- Look and Find Sonic the Hedgehog was another book like Where's Waldo. Each page was a puzzle with hidden objects and characters from the SatAM TV show, but set in locations from the Sega Genesis games. (ISBN: 0-7853-1139-4)
- Ladybird Books published other children's books, including puzzle books, a coloring book, and picture books like Robotnik's Oil and The Invisible Robotnik. Sonic the Story explained how Sonic changed from brown to blue.
- Golden Books published a series of children's picture books with art by Art Mawhinney. Some titles include Up Against a Wall, The Secret Admirer, and Sonic's Shoes Blues. These books were very popular, selling hundreds of thousands of copies!
- In the UK, two Sonic the Hedgehog yearbooks were published in 1991 and 1992. These books had one-shot comics, often showing Sonic stopping Dr. Robotnik's plans. They also included Sega game reviews and fun Sonic features, like a pretend interview with Sonic!
- Two softcover books with early comic strips from Sonic the Comic were published in the UK in 1994. They were called "Sonic the Hedgehog Beats the Badniks" and "Sonic the Hedgehog Spin Attack."
