Who died and made Antoine "Commander"?  Nobody, actually, but for the sake of the plot, everybody else is supposed to be busy rebuilding Knothole after the village was trashed in "Mecha Madness."  Left to his own devices, the only thing Antoine can think to do is to bring charges against Sonic.  Which is why the blue blur is cooling his heels in jail.  I STILL have problems with this whole angle of a glimpse into the maintenance of social order in Mobian society, but let's keep it moving for the sake of the plot.  What's moving outside Sonic's window is Amy Rose, carrying on a one-kid protest of Sonic's incarceration.  Kinda cute, actually.  I don't know how many of the 8-12 year-olds out in the audience would appreciate the "Shawshank" reference, but then again how many Gen-Xers would have gotten it if she'd been chanting "Attica!  Attica!"?  Sally, after a brief interlude to let us know that despite the recent turn of events she still has a good head on her shoulders and a heart that belongs to Sonic, sends A.R. packing.
     The "court martial" itself is misnamed because Antoine is the only participant in uniform, so let's just call a trial a trial.  What can I say about the trial?  The good news is: there are no O.J. Simpson jokes on display -- no references to bloody gloves or Antoine spouting heavily-accented equivalents of: "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."  And if one of the animals in the amorphous visitor's gallery was a white bronco, Manak didn't single him out as a visual pun.  Still, we've all witnessed  Gallagher's keen knowledge of medicine, ["Let's Get Small," #33] and I have to say that as a lawyer, Gallagher makes a good doctor.  Sonic isn't represented by an attorney, he's not shown as electing to represent himself, he doesn't get to cross-examine anyone except Antoine (who's the prosecutor), and despite the fact that Sonic is convicted Sally elects to delay sentencing by 24 hours to enable Sonic to exonerate himself.  So it's probably appropriate that, in the first of many guest appearances in this saga, Hip and Hop appear to host this...sorry, I just can't say it.  By the way, the proper title for Bunnie's role in this is "bailiff" and the proper designation for her actions is "out of character".
     With the clock running, Sonic heads for the Badlands to interrogate some Model A badniks as to Nack's whereabouts.  After tangling with Caterkiller, Moto-Bug, Bat Brain and some others, he heads for the Bottom of the Barrel Bar and Grill but is stopped at the door by a gorilla bouncer.  This delay is only temporary; once inside, Sonic confronts Nack who once more gets the drop on Sonic who once more gets the drop on Nack just as Nack tries yet again to extract some cash from Robotnik.  Can you say "deja vu"?  How about "repetitious plotlines?"  OK, how about "repetitious plotlines?"  Anyway, by the time Sonic sends Nack's scooter to Robotropolis in obedience to that law of cartoons which says "When in doubt, blow it up" (as if there wasn't enough of THAT in "Mecha Madness"), there are only two pages left, so Sonic wraps it up by delivering Nack to Knothole (am I the only one that thinks this is a mistake?) and we learn that there are no hard feelings between Sonic and Sally.  Until next issue when Geoffrey St. John shows up.
     Anyone familiar with the "Star Trek" movies knows there's a certain law at work wherein every other movie sucks and the others are good.  Gallagher's writing seems to respond to the same law; the story here is generally as straightforward and linear as "Rage Against The Machine" and manages to avoid everything that made "Mecha Madness" so hateful -- puns, anachronisms, plot holes, etc.  Much better than I had feared, which I guess is a compliment.  Antoine, however, is simply too big of a jerk in this one.  In this respect the story ranks with such misbegotten TV eps as "Ghost Busted" and "The Odd Couple" where Antoine ceases to be mere comic relief and turns into an exposed nerve.  Unless someone's got a surprise up their sleeve, it won't be hard to guess which Freedom Fighter will do a heel turn in issue #42.
     After two straight doses of Spaziante's lovingly-rendered mecha, I was surprised that Manak's cartooney style went down so easy.  Kudos to Manak, BTW, for not saddling Sally with tacky regalia.  The royal robe was an interesting item--not so much a robe as it was an Eisenhower jacket with a peacock train attached.  The acorn staff, however, looks more like a bishop's crook than a royal scepter.  It just doesn't work, except possibly as a vexilloid (standard) for the House of Acorn.  Anyone who ever watched a tape of "Blast To The Past, Part 1" with his finger on the Pause button knows that the emblem of Mobius is the Cosmic Serpent (or, to put it in heraldic terms, a serpent embowed about to bite its own tail).  This device was featured on Sally's signet ring, by which the King recognized her to be his daughter (almost) all grown up.  Do your homework, Dave.  Since I came in late (with Sonic #18), I'll leave it to others to appreciate Dave's own blast to the past in featuring villains long retired.
     Sonic Art.  It's been a while since we had this feature.  Brad Metcalf's rendering of Dulcy is slightly off in proportions but looks quite good otherwise.
     Sonic Grams: Spaz favors us with a self-portrait of himself being hectored by Antoine.  Not my idea of a good time.  Cover of #41 looks like a three-way milk bath for Sonic, Sally and Geoffrey turning into a "Tales From The Crypt" segment.  Speaking of monstrous puns, Gallagher apparently is doing the story for the Sonic Quest miniseries, with art by Manny ["Rise of Robotropolis..."] Galan.  John Ritts asks, among other things, for a map of Mobius; I wouldn't mind seeing that myself.  He also asks about a Sonic movie and gets a non-answer.
     And now, a moment to compose myself before discussing...
     Notes From The Net: YYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEESSSSSSS!!!!!  The patience of the Cyber-Mobians has finally been rewarded!  The first Note to run is from longtimer Thad X Boyd.  He manages to plug his homepage and Bookshire's.  He also recommends the stories of a certain fanfic writer; his name has a familiar ring to it...I think I went to school with this guy.  Watch for NftN every other month.
     Myself, I'll be watching for Sonic #43 when it hits the stands sometime in early November, featuring a trip to the Dream Zone and "glimpses of pre-Robotnik times," according to the Sonic-Grams Extra.  I've said it before, I'm a sucker for a good origins ep.  I know it's already been written and drawn and, for all I know, printed, but just a reminder: according to the canon, Sonic, Sally et al. were only 5 years old at the time.  Hope you get it right.  I'm NOT looking forward to Sonic Live #1: "Witness two Sega-playing kids join Sonic...as they get pulled into the Sonicverse through their TV screen."  I get the feeling that I've just read either the description of a photonovel, or else the premise for a stage/ice show.  If I've ever been wrong about anything, please let me be wrong about THAT!  "We're HEEEEERE!"