Starting next year, the twelve-part story is set to run through Mega Man, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Sonic Universe, with a script by Ian Flynn, the writer of both Sonic and Mega Man, and art by Patrick "Spaz" Spaziante, who has worked with Flynn on both books. It's the first-ever meeting of the two characters and a book described by editor Paul Kaminski as a "big budget movie" that's "making history," so for fans of the games and Flynn's comics (of which we're both here at CA), it ought to be a pretty big deal. That's why we spoke to Flynn to find out a little more about what readers are in store for -- and whether or not he wrote this story as fan-fiction when he was a kid.
ComicsAlliance: Half of the fun of a crossover is seeing the difference between the characters, but how do you see Sonic and Mega Man fitting together?
Ian Flynn: They're peanut butter and jelly – fundamentally different, but excellent together. Sonic's live-in-the-moment, carefree attitude doesn't necessarily mesh with Mega Man's focused (and sometimes naïve) sensibilities. But they're both selfless heroes at their core, and that heroism is ultimately what will shine through.
CA: How much of it is based on a mutual love of the color blue and a mutual hatred of evil doctors?
IF: Righting the wrongs of the doctors come first – but the blue is a pretty sweet perk.
CA: You're obviously a fan of both series. Is this something you've wanted to do since you were a kid?
IF: I never dared to dream I'd get to do a project like this. Sure, it's something everyone wants to see happen, but I didn't think I'd see it, let alone get to be such a big part of it. The minute we announced Mega Man was coming to Archie, the requests for a crossover came pouring in. I'm really excited that we're getting the opportunity to do this.
CA: Along those same lines, I have to ask, is this something you've tried before? Is there a Sonic/Mega Man crossover fanfic by a young Ian Flynn floating around out there? And if so, how stoked is your 13 year-old self that you're getting to do it for real now?
IF: Haha – no. And that's not an invitation to go snooping for fanfic. Please. I was young and stupid once.
CA: With these two franchises, there's a ton of stuff to bring in, both from the dozens of video games and, in Sonic's case, more than ten years of comics. Was it hard to trim down what you wanted to bring in, or did you decide to go all out with it?
IF: Not at all. The Sonic books actually set a wonderful precedent in ways we could bring the two worlds together and call upon the characters and history of both. Aside from that – what "trimming?" This is THE crossover event! We've piled on as much as possible!
CA: Is it along the lines of the traditional fight-then-team-up story? And if so, who has the edge? Keep in mind that I'm a die-hard Mega Man partisan before you answer.
IF: When you've got two of the most powerful, fun heroes in video games meeting up, of course you want to see how they measure up against each other. But they're heroes, and heroes always fight the bad guys, right? If you want to see whether or not the Blue Blur and Blue Bomber collide, and who would come out on top, you'll just have to read!
No one asked for this.
Why??!
No one asked for this.
Why??!