FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MAMARONECK, NY – May 7, 2007

Catch More Of Sonic The Hedgehog’s Earliest Adventures In Sonic The Hedgehog Archives #5

In November, 2006, Archie Comics offered Sonic readers both new and old the opportunity to relive the earliest adventures of their favorite hero with the release of SONIC THE HEDGEHOG ARCHIVES #1. A second volume followed in December, with a third slated for May, and a fourth in June. Reactions are in and everyone agrees: this new classic reprint series is a hit! Fans are jumping at the chance to travel back in time to where it all began. Back in 1993, Sonic the Hedgehog sped his way from video games to comic books. Almost 200 issues later, "the blue blur" can lay claim to having the most successful comic book career of all video game heroes. Now, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG ARCHIVES, a thrilling series of upscale reprints, lets you revisit Sonic’s early days in a premium yet affordable format. These special 5 x 7 & ½ inch editions contain 112 action-packed pages, faithfully re-colored and printed on superior stock, with a low cover price of only $7.49 US! Picking up where the SONIC THE HEDGEHOG ARCHIVES #4 left off (which reprinted the original Sonic series issues #13 through #16), SONIC THE HEDGEHOG ARCHIVES #5 brings fans these classic tales from issues #17 through #20 – including the first… and last appearance of Julayla, an early, important event in Sonic mythology! Stories include:

* “Gorilla Warfare/The Apes of Wrath” (issue #17): Robotnik sends King Gong to do battle with Sonic, but when the 800-pound gorilla-bot meets Sally, he decides he’s a lover, not a fighter!
* “Sally’s Crusade Part 1: First Star I See Tonight” (issue #17): A mysterious orb falls from the sky… what does it mean for Princess Sally?
* “Wedding Bell Blues” (issue #18): Sonic & Sally’s “wedding” brings Robotnik into the open… precisely the result the ruse was intended for!
* “Sally’s Crusade Part 2: In the Still of the Night” (issue #18): Sally is called to the bedside of her dying mentor Julayla… is the mysterious orb from the previous installment somehow connected?
* “Night of a Thousand Sonics” (issue #19): It all starts with one Sonic Cyborg stepping through a dimensional doorway in the Great Forest. Before it ends, the battle will involve thousands of Sonics, bots, Robo-Robotnik and even an uneasy-alliance between the original Sonic and the real Robotnik!
* “That’s the Spirit!” (issue #20): When an anti-matter explosion renders Sonic invisible, Sally and the others think that he has died and become a disembodied spirit.
* “Deadliest of the Species: Prologue” (issue #20): The lead-in to the popular Princess Sally mini-series. The intrigue starts here, as Sally comes face-to-face with Geoffrey St. John, who identifies himself as part of the rebel underground!

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG ARCHIVES #5, ships 8/29. 112-page, full color paperback, $7.49 US. SCRIPTS: Mike Gallagher, Angelo DeCesare, Mike Kanterovich & Ken Penders. ART: Dave Manak & Art Mawhinney. Colossal cover by Spaz!