Many fans who have played through the video game series of Sonic the Hedgehog have probably heard of the very popular, long-running comic book series based off the blue blur. Written, drawn and published in America, and often thought of as the spiritual successor to the popular Sonic the Hedgehog SatAM TV show, the comic book similarly holds a large international following of fans.
However, for many fans of the series, subscribing to the comic itself was a bit of an issue for many. Up until last year, subscriptions for the comic were exclusively made for only US and Canadian audiences. This left many fans in the international market, particularly the UK, Australia and New Zealand out in the cold. Many a time, obtaining a certain comic issue was reliant on one’s ability to find an issue in a comic book store before they all sold out. In 2010, Archie announced that they had finally decided to provide international shipping and an international subscription service. As a long running Sonic fan, I immediately jumped on board, wanting to get in on this phenomenon. I was happy it was finally getting the international treatment.
However, only one short year later, Archie has decided to revoke the international subscriptions, again restricting releases to the US and Canada only. At the same time shipments of the comic books to Australian stores have also been discontinued, and I would wager, to many other countries as well. This has left many international fans high and dry when it comes to their comic book fix. As a fan of the comics and the story told within them, I have to say I’m particularly disappointed by this decision, and I know many others are likely to feel the same way. Checking through the subscription pages of the Archie website revealed that only the mainstream Archie comic would still receive international shipping treatment. For those who currently hold outstanding international subscriptions, all issues up until the 1 year from purchase date will still be honoured, but that news is likely to be of little solace to the weeping masses.
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| Â This brings a tear to my eye… |
Once again, living in Australia seems to give us the short end of stick when it comes to fandom…
