Issue 71 is the seventy-first edition of Sonic the Comic. Released on the 3rd of February 1996 at the price of £1.20, the comic contains four original stories, several features, a free gift of a Valentine's Day card and an Amy Rose pin-up.
Contents
- Control Zone
- Sonic the Hedgehog - The Return of Chaotix: Part 5
- Graphic Zone
- Decap Attack - The Bride of Chuck D. Head
- Knuckles the Echidna - The Graveyard: Part 3
- Q Zone
- Sonic's World - Brute Force: Part 3
- Speedlines
- Next Issue
Strips
Sonic the Hedgehog
The Return of Chaotix is the longest named Sonic strip to date, written by Nigel Kitching, drawn by Richard Elson and lettered by Ellie de Ville. Sonic, Porker Lewis and the Chaotix Crew have travelled back in time to stop the Brotherhood of Metallix taking over Mobius, just in time to witness Sonic's transformation from brown to blue. Holding the rotten egg, Sonic puts it back where it came from and travels 24 hours into the future, to make sure Doctor Kintobor turns into Doctor Robotnik...
Decap Attack
The Bride of Chuck D. Head is a complete story by Kitching and Tom Frame. Chuck D. Head and Igor are trying to kill each other as usual until Professor Frank N. Stein shows them Daphne, a new bride for Chuck! Igor tries to steal her for himself, until he realises she was created with a werewolf brain...
Knuckles the Echidna
The Graveyard is a 4-part Knuckles story set in the Kohenyu Graveyard. Written by Kitching, drawn by Nigel Dobbyn and lettered by Elitta Fell, the action begins with Knuckles imprisoned in a skeleton by the Spirit of the Herd. Close to being killed, Knuckles manages to escape and launches at the ghost, to no avail. Knuckles tries to get a new Master Emerald whilst being chased by skeletons, until he notices the Soul Crystal, the only thing keeping the Kohenyu around.
Sonic's World
Brute Force is a 4-part story featuring Johnny Lightfoot and Commander Brutus. Written by Lew Stringer, drawn by Carl Flint, coloured by Dondie Cox and lettered by Steve Potter, the story follows Johnny as he tries to fight Brutus' new Badnik army. The rabbit fights well, before leading them to the Cotton Factory Zone to destroy themselves. Unfortunately, Johnny is captured by Brutus and subjected to the Mind Scanner, revealing his secrets to the robot.
Features
The Control Zone, hosted by Megadroid, introduces Boomers to this Valentine's issue, asking people who they sent the free card to. There's also news on next issue's free gift of Scratch 'n' Sniff stickers. The Sega Charts are almost identical to last issue, with only Soulstar rising to the top of the Mega-CD list. Elsewhere, FIFA Soccer '96, Mickey Mouse 2 and Star Trek: Generations stay top of the Mega Drive, Master System and Game Gear charts, respectively.
The Graphic Zone is named the Cupid Zone in keeping with this issue's theme. The pictures see Sonic, Tails, Doctor Robotnik and even Megadroid finding love, with the artists winning a pack of Crayola Overwriters. The Q Zone is Part 1 of a Beavis & Butt-Head special, giving a walkthrough of the game's early stages. Speedlines has one reader spot an art mistake, one wishing Sonic and Amy would get together and another loving the Decap series. Published letters won the writers a Sonic & Knuckles disposable camera.
Staff
- Deborah Tate - editor
- Audrey Wong - assistant editor
- Gary Knight - designer
- Carl Flint - cover art
- William Potter - editorial assistance
- Richard Burton - managing editor
- Gary Bell - marketing manager
- Sarah Colley - production
Timeline
The previous issue of Sonic the Comic was Issue 70. The next issue is Issue 72.