For many Sonic the Hedgehog fans in the UK, one of the best ways of relaxing with the blue blur outside of the computer games was by reading the fortnightly Egmont Fleetway production, Sonic the Comic. ‘STC’ inspired both children and teenagers with a gripping storyline inspired by the Mega Drive games, coupled with occasional leaps beyond the confines of the joypad to expand on the background of the characters.

We’re very honoured to announce that two of the influential masterminds behind STC will be joining us at the Summer of Sonic 2009 convention. Nigel Kitching was the writer of many issues that changed the pace of the comic throughout its 200-odd issue run, and is revered for creating a canon storyline that benefits and complements the computer game series. He now contributes to the main cartoons in kid’s magazine Toxic.

Nigel Dobbyn is an illustrator and worked on the Tails and Knuckles substories that accompanied the comic’s primary Sonic strip. His artistic style drew a lot of darker influences into the Sonic comic universe, but still reflected the light-hearted nature of Sonic’s friends as they would journey to alternate dimensions facing their own moral challenges. Nigel now works on other comics including Spiderman and Friends and 2000AD.

The STC duo will be at the Summer of Sonic enjoying the festivities and willing to chat to adoring fans on the day! We will have a Question and Answer panel with the two Nigels early in the afternoon too, which will seek to learn more about the processes of comic making, their time with Sonic the Comic and their past experiences. Feel free to bring along any old comics you have to get their signature – there will be a dedicated Signing booth for all of our guests to use during the day.

Learn more about Nigel Kitching here, and catch up with Nigel Dobbyn’s thoughts on his blog.