Issue 19

Issue 19 is the nineteenth edition of Sonic the Comic, the UK's official SEGA comic. Released on the 5th February 1994, at the price of £1.10, the issue contained four original stories (two of them new), as well as several features and a competition to win Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog videos.

Strips

Sonic the Hedgehog

Casino Night is a 2-part story written by Nigel Kitching, drawn by Richard Elson and lettered by Elitta Fell. Sonic and Porker Lewis have been strapped to the tracks of a rollercoaster and, with no plan, it seems like the end of the heroes. As the Marxio Brothers squabble over whose idea it was, Sonic frees the heroes by loosening the ropes and follows the villains as they flee to the heart of the Casino Night Zone. Sonic reveals the device he is after is a disruptor designed to make the Zone's machines pay out, but when Grouchio Marxio crushes it, Sonic then reveals that he was just playing for time while Porker did the job manually. As the Zone's central computer explodes, Sonic and Porker speed off to survive another day.

Eternal Champions

Eternal Champions is a 6-part story by Michael Cook, with art this part shared by Brian Williamson and Steve White, Tom Frame supplying the lettering. 1994 Tokyo sees Nakano congratulate Tashida for stealing Bio-Key secrets from the government. The festivities don't last long, as the building is infiltrated by Shadow Yamoto, quickly followed by the other eight Champions. The band of misfits easily dispose of the hired guards and discover the paperwork they feared - bio-key technology has been invented, the technology responsible for the creation of The Overlord. United as one, the team must destroy the research before it is too late.

Shinobi

The Art of War is a 6-part Shinobi story by Alan McKenzie, Jon Haward and Ellie de Ville. The Neo Zeed building stands tall in the centre of Tokyo, fully protected by licensed guards and requiring a code and a card to get in. A newspaper vendor contemplates having to get around the security, before heading home and taking off his disguise to reveal Joe Musashi! A flashback to his training sees Musashi's sensei warn him that his enemies will not follow the ways of bushido, which became apparent later when he was killed by poison. Eager to find Naoko, Musashi takes a glider and flies to the very top of the Neo Zeed building and abseils down.

Tails

The Land Beyondis a 4-part Tails story by Kitching, with art from Dave Windett and John M Burns with lettering by Steve Potter. The battle in the goblin home land begins, with Errol Blackthorn persuading Tails to fight the enemy. After Errol proves too tough for the foe, Tails reveals he may have exaggerated his letters back home. In The Labyrinth of Trogg, Errol claims to know his way around but first runs into a monster before being chased off a cliff. Tails rescues him and they soon land in the pit of a chained-up Shirob and a very hungry beast...

Features

The Control Zone, hosted by Megadroid, excitedly welcomes Boomers to the new stories this issue, as well as encouraging people to buy the current Eternal Champions Special and the forthcoming Sonic the Poster Mag 3. There's also news on Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in both the Review Zone and the News Zone. Next to this is a response to the competition that asked readers what they'd do with the Belt Clip free gift from Issue 13. The five best answers won a Pirate TV T-shirt. The Sega Charts are largely Sonic-focused, with Sonic the Hedgehog CD topping the MCD chart and Sonic Chaos still on top for the 8-bit charts. Sensible Soccer has risen up to take the lead for the Mega Drive.

As mentioned, the Review Zone is a Sonic 3 special, with Vincent Low extensively covering the new game, Zone by Zone. The News Zone continues this by introducing Knuckles the Echidna and stating the game is ready to buy next week (and for some reason saying Sonic the Hedgehog 2 outsold music albums from Madonna and Simply Red). Elsewhere, Skitchin' is announced, the arcade sensation of Mortal Kombat II and an incentive and competition from Midland Bank (now HSBC).

The Q Zone is a Street Fighter II special, where an unknown 'Game Guru' lists the complete special moves for six of the characters. Finally, Speedlines sees letters on a possible Sonic the Hedgehog 4 ("a l-o-n-g way off", more than Megadroid thought!), a Decap Attack fan, a Badnik database and a surly customer unhappy with the price rise. All Speedlines entries won a Tomy Sonic the Hedgehog Water Fun Game.