Sonic the Hedgehog: Winter Jam (Family Comic Friday)

When you're not expecting anything holiday related and there's little bits of pieces of yule tide charm sprinkled throughout the story, in my opinion, it's considered a Christmas Miracle!

When Dr. Eggman's latest plan to destroy Sonic and friends results in the villain becoming obsessed with reality TV, his android henchmen Cubot and Orbot decide to take matters into their own han-, er, claws. By kidnapping Sonic, Tails and his pals from their sunny digs at Green Hill, the robots place them into a frosty arena for the Winter Jam games. With the promise of a Chaos Emerald for the winner, 4 teams are made, competing in events such as holiday decorating and snowball fighting to some rather disastrous effects. Oh the things robot lackeys will go to in order to get their boss back into fighting shape.

Other than the original 1980s Sonic the Hedgehog video game, my knowledge on the franchise is rather small. Sure, I've read a couple of Free Comic Book Day offerings and a Halloween special since then. Due to my passing knowledge on the subject, I don't know enough to really enjoy them. I felt a tiny bit better on this book thanks to recognizing Tails and Dr. Eggman. But that was about it. Still enough, there was a goodly amount of things in this book to enjoy. 

It helped that writer Isamin Omar Ata wrote this story in a way that you don't have to know a ton about the world of Sonic the Hedgehog to enjoy this book. As long as you know that Dr. Eggman has a passion for making things rough for Sonic and pals, you should be fine. Though I'd really like to know more about some of those supporting characters like Froggy, Big the Cat and others. That being said, this book could make a good introductory offering into the world of Sonic the Hedgehog without having to spend a ton of cash on a video game to find out if the youngster in your life is a fan or not. $4.99 is a wiser investment and it promotes reading!

This Winter special was rather wacky instead of violent. I've seen Looney Tunes more dangerous than this book. I know from some of those past issues about Sonic that there can be a lot of fighting, usually involving robots and bombs. Well, there's plenty of robots in this book but no explosives. A flamethrower used for non-violent acts doesn't count, does it?

I had to re-read a couple of sections to make sure I understood the full story. But I pretty much understood the overall plot. A cold weather read that will delight readers aged 8-13; both for fans of the video game and the uninitiated. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.