We are excited to exclusively announce a new Sonic Boom comic book series from publisher Archie Comics. The series will be written by Ian Flynn with art by Evan Stanley.

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Sonic's entire video game franchise received a makeover for the upcoming games Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric for Wii U and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal for Nintendo 3DS, not to mention Sonic's new TV show on Cartoon Network. The comic book will feature adventures of Sonic and his allies as they appear in the new game.The first issue will have four variant covers featuring the different characters that link up when you put them next to each other.A whole lot more will be revealed during next week's San Diego Comic Con 2014, but to tide you over until then, we conducted an email interview with Flynn and comic editor Paul Kaminski to get some more details about the upcoming comic, out this October. They talk about how the characters' personalities have changed, what the stories will be about, and what villains we can expect to see.Take a look at what they had to say, then let us know your thoughts on the upcoming Sonic Boom comic in the comments!

The Sonic Boom comic takes place within a new branch of the Sonic Universe that, in addition to the games Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric for Wii U and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal for Nintendo 3DS, will include a first-ever CG-animated TV series on Cartoon Network! The comic stories are stand-alone adventures packed with all the action and comedy of the Sonic Boom global initiative!Sonic is still pretty much what you’d expect – quick-witted, playful, and snarky. Tails is likewise very much the same as he’s been in the current games – an equal partner in Sonic’s adventures. Knuckles has gotten a bit goofier, but his friendly rivalry with Sonic remains. Amy has traded in her total fixation on Sonic for being the sensible one of the group… mostly.It’s everything you know and love about the cast already, only with a fresh twist on design and personality. I would say Sonic and Tails are the most unchanged from the modern iterations of the characters, with a few notable design differences.Well, of course Sonic is the star (I mean, his name’s in the title and stuff) and Knuckles, Amy and Tails are all key members of the core cast just like always. Now, “Sticks” is the newest addition to the crew, and we couldn’t wait to get her into the mix alongside these other staples of the Sonic world! It’s always such an exciting opportunity when Sega presents us with a new character to write and draw in the comics and Stick’s personality makes her a great addition to the core cast!Eighty pages. (nyuk-nyuk) The first arc sets the comical, whimsical tone for the series. It’ll explore the character relationships – as well as have a reoccurring giant, killer robot.The emphasis for this series is centered squarely on FUN. Lots of stand-alone adventure, but with some over-arching stuff going on from issue to issue that builds up to some REALLY awesome happenings a little later on down the line. The first story arc sets the stage, shows you Sonic’s world, and introduces you to the heroes and villains, all while kicking the action and antics WAY up!Dr. Eggman will definitely be showing up, but it’s too early to comment on Metal Sonic. As for any other game characters – classic or modern – that’s up to SEGA! We play in the sandbox they provide.[Archie Comics] never shies away from a chance to build on the mythology of the games and game characters we introduce in comic book form – there will be loads of surprises as this series roles on, I can guarantee you that! As for Eggman, oh boy will he be involved!I’m really excited to be writing the series since it’s a very different Sonic than our other books, Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Universe. It’s a more casual read with a focus on comedy and adventure than an on-going action-adventure drama. I think anyone will be able to grab any issue and enjoy themselves.If you’ve never picked up a Sonic the Hedgehog comic book before, this is definitely the place the start. The Sonic Boom comics will be more stand-alone than our sister titles (available monthly at fine retailers near you plugplugplugplug), so new readers will have a super easy (and fun!) time plunging into the stories without having a lot of back-story involved.Stay tuned, true BLUE-ievers!

Joshua is IGN’s Comics Editor. If Pokemon, Game of Thrones, or Green Lantern are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter and IGN