Lanolin: The New Sally? - Sonic Speed Reading 

“How weird it is to pair a sheep and wolf together” The second character introduced to work alongside sonic is a FOX! It’s what this series does!

I’ll watch this later but her design looks pretty cool from a first impression. I like her bell and the fact that they made a cute and fluffy animal look cool and kinda militaristic.

Can’t believe Nick would clickbait, truly this is the darkest of days

Given the mention of Sally, I want to mention how Post-SGW making the Kingdom of Acorn the setting of Sonic 1 and 2 was pretty cool.

I think Lanolin is Sally's successor in the same way Starline is to Finitivus, Surge to Scourge, and Whisper to Tempo, similar in some ways but very different in others. Edit: Putting this out there, I don't mean this as an insult. I really like these characters and IDW Sonic is great! It's not the writers' fault they can't do much worldbuilding. If you're going to spam an argument, please do it somewhere else.

When Silver is baffled like “you did MOST of that. How…” I was laughing out loud, that was such an awesome moment. Really makes me wish this was an animated series that moment would be so awesome animated and voice acted

A veteran, a mercenary, and an enthusiastic Rookie. What's not to love?

I know the facial expressions have been amazing throughout the entirety of IDW’s run, but god these two issues specifically have me dying from how good & hilarious these faces have been.

You know. Calling a sheep girl "Lanolin" is basically akin to calling someone "Sweat"

Tangle is a Sally clone because of similar hairstyles. Amy is a Sally clone because she has leadership skills. Lanolin is a Sally clone because she has tactical skills. Blaze is a Sally clone because she's a princess. Anytime a female Sonic character is put into a good light, they're automatically measured up to Sally. Without biting my head off, I want to ask a question. Does anyone understand the frustration some fans have with measuring a character's worth by comparing them to Sally Acorn?

While Lanolin is definitely her own character, it's pretty clear she's meant to fill the role Sally played as the level-headed field commander, just without all the baggage from Archie and the shipping drama. Like how Surge both is and isn't "the new Scourge," Lanolin is and isn't "the new Sally." Same function, done in a different way. I'll always hold out hope for a return of the Freedom Fighters (even though there's zero chance of it), but this is close enough for jazz.

Idk why but that panel of Tangle rolling down the hill with her tail really makes me want to see a game with these newer characters. Idk her moments just fit so well in a game design aesthetic sense haha

This notification gave me a jumpscare, I’ve never clicked so fast. YOOOO!! My girl’s got a Speed Reading video by Game Apologist! We win!! 🎉🔔🐑 Edit: 6:48 Lanolin’s small data device is actually a SEGA Dreamcast Visual Memory Unit (VMU)! :]

R34: alright, lets get to work, folks

As someone who does have their gripes with the Sally comparisons fans make, I do understand that it comes from a place of longing for characters that older fans have had a lot of time to attach themselves to, and not necessarily from a place of snobbish nitpicking that other fan bases would be more inclined towards. My main issue is that, outside of Lanolin, most of these comparisons are of very superficial traits, I mean, people saying Jewel is a Sally clone? How is she? They are decidedly different personality wise, and Jewel isn’t even leading a rebel group, more like a damage control clean up crew tasked with rebuilding places eggman nukes to the ground. This leaves really only one comparison to be made between Sally and Jewel, which is that they are both leaders of an organization and are both female characters. Really shallow surface level comparison that disservice’s Sally as a character, and only serves to undermine Jewel’s credibility as a distinct character. Which is why the constant comparisons fans make with Sally and “female character of the week” leaves a sometimes sour taste in my mouth. It’s like some fans can’t let characters share a similar role or archetype, even if they’re as different as can be, fans will reach and they will reach HARD to find a connection and complain the character isn’t original enough and a carbon copy clone of another character that’s been around longer and thus more popular. Apologies for the rant but it’s been bugging me for awhile and it has absolutely nothing to do with Lanolin. Mainly just people comparing Tangle, Amy, Rouge, and Jewel that irks me to no end.

Beep that sheep damn it.

You know, I never considered her to be a Sally archetype...but the people who do must have some...words. Especially after all they've said about IDW Amy.

I'm a diehard Sally fan & personally think Lanolin is a good character with lots of potential. I also like the irony of a sheep being a leader. I just hope it's not foreshadowing for a"sacrificial lamb" moment.

Lanolin has been winning me over. I still want Sally back though.

The first time she showed up I thought "That is a design too interesting for just a background character, I hope she becomes important some time"

THANK YOU. I SEE HER AROUND SO MUCH BUT NOBODY MENTIONS HER NAME! I'VE SEEN HER FOR MONTHS AND NEVER ONCE SEEN HER NAME UNTIL NOW

That explains all the suggestive fanart.

Well, it's at least comforting to know Sally and the Freedom Fighters are still remembered by creators as well as fans and they are inspirations for new characters in the comics.

MOM MOM GET THE CAMERA NEW SONIC SPEED READING!

19:50 personally, I'm fine with Rings simply staying as non-diegetic elements (a.k.a. stuff that is only acknowledge by the audience and doesn't actually exist in-universe).

6:48 that device is likely a reference to the dreamcast memory card, which also as a fun use for the Chao Garden in sonic adventure

Maggie being paired with Lanolin is definitely a nice touch. This wisp obviously is influenced by sound, maybe the wispon cowbell can create different frequencies to make different effects.

Lanolin was also the name of a female sheep in the Jim Davis comic strip "US Acres," and that's the only thing I think about when I see anything related to this new character.

Archie fans when new female character release:

It was pretty nice seeing Sonic reflect/feel good working with his crew. Honestly seeing the gang together is always great

I honestly just hope that SEGA doesn’t try to get rid of these characters, too. (I don’t know what’s gonna happen with the Freedom Fighters, but I know we’ve still got strong characters no matter what.)

Rings don't show up in IDW because they are apparently non-canon in the current continuity, reading between the lines. Ian first said he didn't see them as anything but game mechanics in several episodes of his podcast. When Prime (which is as canon as IDW) came out he kind of danced around it for a while. Eventually pointing out how the Rings were only in the first episode, flashbacks to those events, and then completely vanished. Seemingly implying that Prime's use of the rings was a continuity error that was fixed but the first episode (and flashbacks to it's time frame) was the exception to it being fixed. So, it looks like for now rings only exist in the games until Sega changes their minds.

18:15 oh my god I love this, especially Silver's reaction. I think those were the super big annoying mini boss like ones from Heroes? Looks like it, anyways Silver great whenever he shows up in this... you did most of the work... just... how? Love that yeah they are noticing how powerful Amy is, like Mighty sure they're both speed characters... but you don't want to be on the receiving end of one of their attacks... dang... now I want Mighty and Ray to get in on these comics.

Oh I like how earlier Lanolin seen at 26:45 is wearing Amy's classic outfit

I thought the explosion came from Surge, so seeing team Dark was something I wasn't expecting. A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

Funny thing is I didn't see Sally headline right away I just saw Sonic speed reading and clicked.

I miss Sally and will always keep her around in my headcanon, but I don't think we need new characters written to emulate her.

Oh that mystery object looks a heck of a lot like the Dreamcast MMUs. They're like Memory Cards, but you can also play small games or manage the memory with the buttons.

Nick as a fellow nerd I’ve been waiting for you to cover this

Well it make sense given the fact that Ian find inspiration in all sonic media espically due to his late run on Archie after the penders fiasco with Sega headquarters

I gotta say, this Lanolin is WAY more likable than the U.S. Acres Lanolin...but yeah this is yet another character that I'm gonna end up making into a figure isn't it? I can even see how I'd mod an Avatar head for her...One more thing...is it just me or does it look like Adam Bryce Thomas draws the characters notably bustier than average?

Nick this is just a big blanket YES to any time you ask "would you guys be interested in me covering this?" I love these comics and your way of providing not only your own but also the fandom's perspectives always makes these videos that much more interesting to watch

The art on this books is SO GOOD Also, welcome back Nick!

Great video Nick! Always enjoy my dive further into the ongoing IDW narrative 😊

I’m pretty sure that thing Lanolin sent up with Whisper’s hover wispon is one of those mini screens for the SEGA Dream ast

Just realized that device that the wisp took high into the air looks similar if not exactly like the Visual Memory Unit(VMU) memory card that is used on the Sega Dreamcast controller!

I'm loving Lanolin and hopefully we'll be seeing more of her for a long time!

Lanolin is involved in stuff? More Tangle and Whisper? Silver and Blaze are back? I *REALLY* need to pick up these issues, holy hecc! This is the goodgood!

I love the idea of Lanolin she is such and good character and does represent some characteristics from sally like how she wants to protect people and the ones she cares about it will take some time to get use to her since sally has been a favorite of mine but honestly I'm already loving Lanolin

I personally didn't think of Lanolin as a Sally clone, but I do see your point!! Great video as always

I'll admit, design wise I do like Lanolin. Glad the comics are working her into the fold. Thought the Magenta wisp gives a small EMP towards the badniks. Neat idea for a would be game mechanic. As far the Sally frustration i get it but also understand she may never be brought back. Not down about it of course.

Funny enough I’m sure 90% of Sonic fans (Who don’t read comics) don’t even know any of these characters exist

Pretty sure the device she sends up with the wisp is a take on the Dreamcast VMU, screen and button layout match.

id defo like to see you cover that annual! some very fun character moments in there!

3:53 I just noticed Lanolin's left hand is missing in this shot! 14:35 I love how Tangle is drawn here. Her exaggerated cartoonishness gives me Teen Titan vibes.

Dude that device the hover wisp held at 7:02 is a Dreamcast memory card man that brings me back

Yeahh buddy! Missed your stuff Nick, so glad to see ya back😎👍

It might be just a coincidence. But in this arc, the Diamond Cutters became "ghosts" like Sonic's friends did in Sonic Frontiers.

19:50 On the topic of rings, in the Minecraft Sonic Texture Pack, Gold ore is retextured to be rings. Raw gold = ring fragments and gold ingot = rings. So yes, I do think rings are a natural sonic resource.

Awesome video as always

@GameApologist The device at 6:50 appears to be the Dreamcast VMU, it's kind of a neat little detail they put in as an easter egg.

I just like watching your Sonic speed reading. You've shown me why people like Sonic and his friends and even though I'm not a full fan of Sonic I can respect the character and his world much more now. Thank you for that Nick and no matter what I'll always watch your vids.

Yknow what, I'm gonna say it. I'm not mad at the comparison, I'm mad that we can't see Sally again and I don't like that Sega thinks they can just replace them

Pppplease read the annual! It's so cute I'd love to see you cover it 💗

The whole “growing city” thing reminds me of Mechagodzilla city from the Godzilla anime trilogy.

lan may be my fav sonic design in forever

It would be a waste to let a well designed character like Lanolin be just a nameless bystander

The analysis is my favorite part of speed reading, cause I’ve never watched an IDW one before reading them. Analyzing is the new stuff for me.

Regarding pairing a sheep and a wolf together, I've said it before elsewhere, and most recently on Jehtt's June 10, 2023 video, but *every* major Sonic team includes an animal and that animal's natural predator, except for Team Dark. For the Hooligans, it's debatable based on what you consider Nack/Fang and Bean to be: weasels eat ducks, but jerboas don't eat birds, and wolves don't often have overlapping territory with woodpeckers. EDIT: I gave the date to help myself refind that video if needed. RU-vid's search features suck.

I remember lanolin being an earlier character because I got a shirt from a friend that had one of the sonic IDW covers on it and I was like. Who are these people

Yay, new Apologist vid!!

I love how nebulous the Rhythm Wispon's powers are because no one actually knows how Magenta Rhythm works. 😅

A heads up for issue 59/60 if it doesn't get brought up; according to a recent Bumblekast Mini with KaiZenAmen, Evan spoke too quickly about Shadow's characterization being loosened up. The story had to be re-written after being shipped off to SEGA, including limiting his presence in the story.

You uploaded again with Sonic!!! YAY

Hm, well, this seems like an interesting Arc so far, I will look forward to see what you think of the rest. Also, yeah, we haven’t seen any Rings so far, have we? I didn’t even think about that, I wonder if we’ll see those this Comic. Anyway, fair and valid points and opinions all around, I can see where you’re coming from in regards to the Freedom Fighters, which I could agree with too, to a certain extent, I will look forward to see what you cover next.

Eggman probably made these Chaos crystals due to the Chaos Emeralds scattering(again) after the Metal Virus ark, and between Rouge collecting them and the Doc's other projects he hasn't had time to track the real ones down himself.

It's good to see Lanolin join the cast officially and I'm looking forward to see how she leads the Diamond Cutters going forward.

On my day off from school. I wake up to see 2 videos from the goat.

never though about it (since the feats don't compare) but Lanolin being put in Sally's role can be pretty good Mainly freeing Amy from that (she REALLY didn't fit being the leader for what they showed in the games) but also because a character that could keep up with Sonic AND slow him down (not with romance) is needed; 06 Shadow is pratically dead so yeah ... he is out of question now let's see what comes from this, always hyped for the future of IDW (hope it lasts long) and these characters (like Sega let me see Tangle in the gamed already)

Been waiting for a new speed reading

Silver precising that he CANT freely time travel is actually very intriguing

I remember when she showed up the first time. I thought this design is just too good to use once XD

Female character: *shows leadership qualities* Nick: SHES JUST RESKINNED SALLY

that device at 7:00looks ike one of those old dreamcast memory cards with the screen on it!!

I really love Lanolin faces she is a super fun character and i start notice her when she was the underground mall gatekeeper(???) Super nice seeing her in the front now

I'm kinda pissed that Penders caused a character purge which then drew the attention of Sega of Japan who caused the removal of the Freedom Fighters from the comics as well. Then the setting was far more nerfed compared to the Archie comics. And Sonic became a celibate man child with his character progression thrown out the window.

I'm hoping that rings being introduced to the IDW series will actually be a big deal. Seems like a neat way to introduce them, rather than them just being a fact of life already, they have an entire story arc about them.

I miss Sally so much!

I have to wonder just how many types of animals the folks at Sega have wanted to turn into Sonic characters, but just haven't for one reason or another 🤔

You know what teams I think be cool for Sonic series if we ever get another Sonic heroes 2? Team Rose: Speed- Amy flight- Cream Power- Rouge (she started off as a rival to knuckles that could kick wholes in steel, bring that back) Team immortal beings: Speed- Shadow Flight- Gemerl Power- Omega All weapons used by bad men that don’t age Diamond cutters, self explanatory

omg silver my entire day has been made

That device the hover wisp takes up high is DEFINITELY designed after the Dreamcast VMUs. Its DEFINITELY not exact. But the inspiration is there, what with the port above the screen.

This man is saying he's right about the lamb being a Sally role and I respect that honestly lol

Gosh I love her design so much

I don't get why people skip your commentary part, I personally think the introspection you share is pretty cool and interesting (though I guess some just want a recap on the comics instead of getting them themselves)

view lanolin's character as a close cap off to the resistance as a leader not being burdened with other duties or game character(or not making sense like knuckles/like for amy it fit with her game version wanting to show her dependence.:3). since i agree with the team about the freedom fighters being redundant(which the archie comics till near the genesis wave had a huge problem with as the game characters were constantly fighting for screentime with the ff making it cluttered for some,though would be down for some of them returning.) as sally is 80's-90's cartoon leaders like leonardo or lio-no that i don't feel she's a grand high stand to constantly compare to(plus compared to sonic mostly being a in hindsight a creepy jerk to sally like sonic's snarky but does get humbled to ease up.).

the device is a dream cast vmu. you used to be able to carry chao in those

14:27... (starts singing a rendition of the opening title sequence) SONIC HEEEEEEEROOOOOOOOOES sonic heroooooooes TWOOOOOOOOOOO!!!... I don't know, I know it's not a Sonic Heroes reference, but it must be referencing something, that shot is too... super hero posey to not be something, and especially with Silver and Blaze there, many fans wanting a team of them with (insert whatever 3rd character you want, me personally Metal Sonic or Mighty) if there was a sequel. Real cool screenshot, I love it, very... something.

Yes talk about the annuals as well they are so fun :)

You know an arc is gonna go crazy when silver shows up because he's here to fix his future