Issue 48

Issue 48 is the forty-eighth edition of Sonic the Comic. Released on the 18th March 1995 at the price of £1.15, the issue contains four stories, one new, as well as several features.

Strips

Sonic the Hedgehog

Mystery of the Sandopolis Zone is a 2-part story set within the Sonic 3 & Knuckles story arc. Written by Nigel Kitching, drawn by Richard Elson and lettered by Ellie de Ville, the story sees Captain Plunder raising the Lost Pyramid of Sandopolis. The gang are distracted by the pyramid's Stone Guardian but Sonic and Knuckles the Echidna soon find Plunder and the Sky Pirates looting ancient treasure. The pirates are eventually foiled by ghosts and Knuckles ends any more treasure-hunting by sinking the building under the sand.

Shinobi

Power of the Elements is a 7-part Shinobi story by the usual cast of Alan McKenzie, Jon Haward and Tom Frame. Joe Musashi has been captured by Air, but the "old man" proves to be too much for Oyabun Mitsugi and the Yakuza, easily evading them and escaping through a skylight. The Four Elements purposely do not interfere and, after the gang are shown to be completely ineffective, Mitsugi orders them to bring Musashi back in chains.

Tails

Zonerunner & The Big Freeze is the second Zonerunner story, the script written by Mark Eyles with art from Roberto Corona and Brian Williamson, lettering by Steve Potter. Tails is woken by a Floater Drone in the Marble Garden Zone, a holographic message from Sab stating that The Flock are in danger. Tails takes the drone and returns to a dilapidated Chemical Plant Zone and discovers the Flock's hideout to be a wreck. The fox also comes face to face with Sol Furic, a sheep supposedly involved in the explosion.

Captain Plunder

Captain Plunder & His Sky Pirates! is the first solo Captain Plunder story, with writing and art by Kitching and lettering from Elitta Fell. After being left behind on the Robotnicus, Plunder is being put on trial live on television. The entire trial is a fix and Plunder is sentenced to death. In prison at the Highview Corrective Centre, awaiting his hanging, Plunder is bullied by Mister Gullets. Fortunately, he meets fellow inmate Simpson the Cat who knows of a secret exit.

Features

This issue's Control Zone, hosted by Megadroid, introduced Boomers to this issue's stories and features. Megadroid also gets people excited about the 50th issue in a month's time along with a free gift. The feature also lists the winners of the Virgin Compo from Issue 41, identifying the hidden Badnik to be a Chopper. The Sega Charts are almost unchanged, with Micro Machines '95, FIFA International Soccer and Robocop V Terminator still top of the Mega Drive, Mega-CD and Master System charts, respectively. Only the Game Gear list saw a new leader, with Sonic the Hedgehog 2 moving up to top the chart.

The Review Zone saw three games covered by David Gibbon. The unoriginal The Pirates of Dark Water received 83%, while Rock & Roll Racing got 81% despite having nothing wrong with it. The winner was The Smurfs with 87%, the only problem being its difficulty. In this week's News Zone, JJ Hunsecker reports on the Sega Saturn and planned Sega Neptune. There's also news on Tails & The Music Maker for the Sega Pico.

The Graphic Zone returns this week with variations of Tails, including an extremely basic one with Tails in a snowball. Owners of published pictures received a Sonic 2 Badge. The Q Zone was a "Tips & Cheats" special, offering help on The Lion King, Earthworm Jim, The Incredible Hulk and Battlecorps. Finally, Speedlines sees Megadroid answer letters on subscriptions, Knuckles tattoos and technical information on the Saturn. As well as pictures of Sonic dressed as a pirate and the Red Power Ranger, all submissions earned a Tomy Sonic the Hedgehog Water Fun Game.

Staff

Richard Burton - managing editor
Deborah Tate - editor
Gary Knight - designer
Audrey Wong - assistant editor
Carl Flint - cover art
Rob McMenemy - publisher
Sarah Colley - production
Tom Glenister - advertising

Timeline

The previous issue of Sonic the Comic was Issue 47. The next is Issue 49.