SEGA Forever Commissions New “Sonic R” Art by Sonic The Comic’s Rich Elson

Click here to see the high resolution artwork!

SEGA Forever, SEGA’s nostalgic social media machine, has shared cool new art by Sonic The Comic’s Rich Elson depicting Sonic and his friends in the classic SEGA Saturn/PC game Sonic R. Elson is probably the most well-known artist from the British Sonic the Hedgehog comics, so this is sure to delight our European readers.

It has been noted to us that this is the first time Rich has drawn some characters like Sonic R‘s Metal Knuckles and Tails Doll. It’s great to see Rich creating new Sonic art, and who knows… if fans make enough noise maybe we can see more new art or reprints of Rich’s classic content.

For more content like this, make sure to follow SEGA Forever on all major social media platforms.

Cook & Becker announces Space Channel 5 fine art print

Cook & Becker (who once joined us on a Swingin’ Report Show to discuss their Sonic the Hedgehog art book) have just announced a new SEGA-inspired art print! The latest SEGA art print is inspired by the Dreamcast classic Space Channel 5. Created by artist Veronique Meignaud, whose past work includes Dishonored, Far Cry, Wakfu and Child of Light, the print features star reporter Ulala in stunning futuristic colors.

Those who subscribe to the Cook & Becker newsletter can reserve a low or specific number edition, with the window closing on Sunday, July 8th at 23:59 CET. After that we presume the prints will go on sale to the public. You can browse Cook & Becker’s SEGA selections here.

Experience the Yakuza 6: The Song of Life “Essence of Art” exhibit opening night in newly released videos

Last weekend, SEGA opened their Yakuza 6: The Song of Life “Essence of Art” Exhibit at Gallery Nucleus in Los Angeles. While the event looked like a blast, it was missing our presence as well as the presence of countless Yakuza fans from across the globe. Thankfully, SEGA has bottled up the experience in two videos giving a recap of the event (above) and presenting the full live art and Q&A stream (after the break).

The Yakuza 6: The Song of Life “Essence of Art” Exhibit runs from March 17, 2018 – April 1, 2018 at Gallery Nucleus at 210 East Main St., Alhambra, CA 91801. The gallery is open from 12:00PM – 8:00PM, Tuesday – Sunday and is open to the public with free admission. More details are available at the official event page.

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life releases April 17, and comes in a fancy Essence of Art Edition and an After Hours Premium Edition.

Miles “Tails” Prower character designer Yasushi Yamaguchi creates new artwork to celebrate the character’s 25th anniversary

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Seen above (click for high res version) is new art from Yasushi Yamaguchi aka Judy Totoya, the character designer of Sonic the Hedgehog’s trusty sidekick Miles “Tails” Prower. Yasushi’s design came out of an internal competition at STI where numerous designs were submitted, including a rocket-powered turtle named Boomer, but in the end Yasushi’s two-tailed orange fox named Miles Prower won out. As Tails turned 25 years old with the 25th anniversary of the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in November, 2017, Yasushi decided to create new art to celebrate. Yasushi also revealed some facts about the character’s creation, seen after the break!

Sonic the Hedgehog comics returns in April 2018, Ian Flynn confirmed as writer

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The IDW Sonic Comic Town Hall panel has just went down, where they discussed the future of the Sonic the Hedgehog comics. If you guys didn’t hear, SEGA ended their license agreement with Archie comics, who prior to this IDW deal had been publishing Sonic the Hedgehog comics since April 6, 1993. Seems that IDW knows that April is  an iconic month for Sonic the Hedgehog comics since the first IDW Sonic the Hedgehog issue will be launching on April 4, 2018! IDW also confirmed that they will be publishing the book weekly throughout April (which means 4 issues then after April it will go back to monthly. The release dates for the first four issues are as follows:

  • Issue #1: April 4, 2018
  • Issue #2: April 11, 2018
  • Issue #3: April 18, 2018
  • Issue #4: April 25, 2018

IDW and SEGA also confirmed that Ian Flynn, who took over writing duties on Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog since issue 160 back in March of 2006 will back as head writer. While Ian Flynn is the only name that has been confirmed for IDW’s Sonic the Hedgehog comic, they did give attendants of the Sonic Comic Town Hall panel a printed copy of Tyson Hesse Sonic the Hedgehog artwork. Maybe teasing him returning to the Sonic comics? IDW also said they are aware of fans wanting to see the return of the Freedom Fighters and told them to stay tuned. As far as content goes, IDW confirmed that they are allowed to use anything from the Sonic the Hedgehog games and has confirmed that there is no Sonic Forces comics in the works ‘as of right now’. As far as original characters, IDW said they may create some and are considering crossovers.

You can read the press release after the jump.

[Via: TSSZ News]

Check out these pics of the Persona Twentieth Anniversary FES event

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The Persona Twentieth Anniversary FES event is being held at the 3331 Arts Chiyoda art museum. The folks at Anime Now have posted a large gallery of photos from the… uh… gallery. The event is being held to recognize the 20th anniversary of the first Persona’s release in 1996 and will conclude on December 18th, 2017. However, tickets are now sold out, so these pictures will likely be your only chance to scope them out.

Not only will you find official artwork, accessories, and merchandise from the series; but you’ll also see Morganna and Teddy roaming, as well as Persona artwork from professional manga artists. Winners from a fan art contest on PIXIV are also on display. It looks like one hell of a gallery.

This is just a fraction of the images Anime Now posted. Be sure to check out their full report for the rest.

SEGA and Cook & Becker to team up to release the Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary Art Book

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Via the Cook & Becker blog comes the awesome news that SEGA has teamed with the art dealer to release a Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary Art Book. The book will cover Sonic’s entire history and will include design sketches, official illustrations, in-game and pixel art, promotional art and box art. The book will also contain never-before-seen artwork and will have interviews with designers and artists who worked on the series. Pre-orders have not yet opened, but Cook & Becker expect pre-orders to open wordwide in October or November with the ship date set as early 2017. There will be two versions, a Standard Edition and a Collector’s Edition.

Not to toot our own horn, but back in July of 2015, we interviewed Aaron Webber and when asked what sort of Sonic merchandise we’d like to see, we asked for a Sonic the Hedgehog art book. Aaron sounded genuinely interested in making such a thing happen. So, you’re welcome and Aaron… can we have a free copy of the book?

Sonic and SEGA print collections from Iron Gut Publishing announced for the UK, art event revealed

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Iron Gut Publishing has announced via a press release that they will be creating art prints for SEGA’s Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, as well as other SEGA IPs including Shinobi, Golden Axe and Streets of Rage. The collection is timed to release alongside Sonic’s 25th anniversary, and Iron Gut Publishing promises an art event which will feature the upcoming prints. At the moment, this is UK only. No word on if those from outside the UK can import the prints.

It is also worth noting that “art collaborations” were revealed last month at Tomy’s booth at New York Toy Fair. This seems to be what that Sonic poster was referring to.

Iron Gut Publishing, the company that specialises in creating limited edition art collections for global brands have signed a UK license with SEGA® Europe Ltd.

The art collection will feature the iconic video game character Sonic the Hedgehog, as well as a host of other classic brands from the SEGA video game portfolio including Golden Axe™, Streets of Rage™ and Revenge of Shinobi™.

2016 is the 25th anniversary year of Sonic and we will be organising an art event to celebrate this which will showcase the collection to fans. The event will allow us to drive awareness and increase visibility of both the brand and collection available.– Anthony Marks, M.D Iron Gut Publishing.

Framed products will be available from bricks and mortar stores and unframed for mail order and online sales. The range will be available from Q2 2016.

[Via: GoNintendo]

Check out the Cook & Becker limited edition Shenmue art print

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We posted a few months ago that Cook & Becker had the first collection of its limited edition SEGA prints up on their shop, consisting of games like Jet Set Radio, Phantasy Star and more. Now they have posted up a limited edition art print of the famous Shenmue.

“I’m so excited that Shenmue 3 is finally happening! I wanted to capture the moment just after Ryo’s father Iwao is killed by Lan Di. In the game the scene stops with Ryo cradling Iwao and screaming “No!”. I wanted to imagine a shot where Ryo is standing just outside the dojo where is father was just killed. It is cold and very early in the morning. Snow is falling. The morning light is still weak and only some of the wood interior is catching light from the outside. Ryo’s pose already hints at him seeking revenge.” – Tom Sweeney, Artist behind the piece

The art piece is available in 24×47 inches and in a smaller 16×31 inches. Each art print is hand numbered and the user has the option of picking the number of their print from 1 to 100. Not only that, the artist, John Sweeney has stated that he would donate his proceeds of the piece to the Shenmue 3 Kickstarter for those of you who purchase a copy before July 17th, so picking up an extra art piece will in fact support the creation of Shenmue 3. Win, win?

Art of SEGA: Valkyria Chronicles

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The end of our art contest is fast approaching, so it’s time we inspired you with some of SEGA’s more recent work!

In a generation dominated by brown grim-dark games, Valkyria Chronicles was a game that dared to look drastically different. When other games were focusing on trying to look realistic, Valkyria Chronicles was utilizing visuals inspired by canvas paintings, comics and storybook, to produce a beautifully fantastical world.

SEGA holding a ‘illustrate a mascot’ competition

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Have you ever sat around the house saying that you could make a better mascot character than Sonic the Hedgehog? Well, now is your chance to put SEGA in their place. SEGA Raw (hosted by Nagoshi) will air live on NicoNico Douga and they want fans to submit designs for a mascot character that will promote the show.

They are looking for something that incorporates the spirit of SEGA. What will you win? All the products SEGA makes of your character and Nagoshi’s autograph. Want to know the rules? Hit the jump.

Panzer Dragoon Artist Jean Giraud (Mœbius) Has Passed Away.

French artist Jean Giraud has sadly passed away today at age  73. He died of cancer.  Jean earned world fame through his uniquely beautiful art style and worked on many comic books and films including Alien, Tron, The Fifth Element and even Star Wars. Sega fans will know his artwork from the fantastic 1995 game Panzer Dragoon released on the Sega Saturn.

Jean’s art was no doubt one of the biggest influences on the Panzer Dragoon series and went a long way in shaping its beautiful, melancholy world. I’ve personally always been a fan of his art, he created barren yet beautiful landscapes like no other. He will be missed. Rest in Peace, Mœbius.

 

Sonic 2 logo made out of 24,651 beads


If you guys didn’t know, I have an addiction to Reddit. Yesterday, Reddit user synbios16 posted his Sonic 2 logo (picture above), he made it out of 24,651 little beads. Just for scale he put one bead on the right and the Sonic 2 cartridge on the left. I have to say, that would look good hanging on any wall.

Valkyria Chronicles 2: World Artworks Book is coming to America

Valkyria Chronicles has some amazing art, so its good to see the Japanese artbooks get American releases. This is going to be the second Valkyria Chronicles artbook that publisher Udon has published in America. The first art book released had art from the first title, this new one is going to be based on the PSP sequel.

If you guys want to pre-order the art book, you can do so on Amazon. The book is listed for $31.24, with a release date of April 10th, 2012.

Check out our new review score cards!

Check out our review cards. These cards will now go on the bottom of our reviews to display scores. I hope you guys like the art. The artwork for the Amigo heads was done by our forum member, Radrappy. Thanks for submitting!

As for the design of the card, that credit goes to our lovely staff member, Barry The Nomad. Tell us what you think! See the rest after the break.