- Back to: Sonic the Hedgehog Presents: Princess Sally.
Sometime in 1994, Sega asked Archie Comics for a three-issue comic book mini-series revolving around Princess Sally Acorn, as they were supposedly interested in developing a video game about the character. Ken Penders and Mike Kanterovich, two writers on Archie's various Sonic the Hedgehog publications, were therefore tasked with submitting an outline for such a series by Sonic the Hedgehog editor Scott Fulop.[1] The two writers were interested in portraying Sally as an independent and capable heroine in said series.[2]
The first pitch
Penders and Kanterovich's first pitch for the series revolved around Sally finding her mother, Queen Alicia Acorn. She would've served as the series' main antagonist, being the roboticized ruler of a Robian horde living in the sewers of Robotropolis (which would have resembled those of New York City[3]). The writers were hoping to establish her as a threat to both Dr. Robotnik and the Freedom Fighters.[1]
Sega rejected this pitch with no explanation, however, and the two thus had to start over.[1]
The second pitch
The writers' second pitch for the series was inspired by the 1991 film Thelma & Louise and saw Sally teaming up with Bunnie Rabbot to fight Robotnik and his minions.[1]
This pitch was once again rejected, however, prompting the two to ask Fulop about Sega's wishes for the series. Fulop asked Sega's licensing department about the matter, and got a response detailing that Sally and Robotnik were the only pre-established characters who were allowed to appear in the series. This information prompted the writers to begin working on a new pitch which adhered to these guidelines.[1]
The final pitch
The third and final pitch began with the premise of Sally training new Freedom Fighter recruits, after which the writers came up with the idea to introduce a new character who'd be a love interest to Sally and a rival suitor to Sonic the Hedgehog. This character eventually evolved into Geoffrey St. John.[1]
While this pitch was accepted by Sega, Archie themselves were reluctant to publish the series, as they assumed that their Sonic publications' target audience of boys aged 6-12 would not be interested in it.[4] After the series' eventual publication, Archie did little to promote it.[5]
References
| Archie Comics ongoing series
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| Free Comic Book Day issues
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| Single Compilations & Digital Exclusives
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