| | | |
ABOUT SQUEAKY ZONE PRODUCTIONSThe Squeaky Zone launched on December 21, 1999, as a small Tripod fan site created by David Eakes. It originally covered Sonic the Hedgehog, Dragon Ball, Mega Man, and Final Fantasy, along with artwork featuring an early character named Squeaks the Hedgehog, who was later renamed Harry in Final Fantasy Sonic II.As the site grew, it was divided into several loosely connected "Sectors" spread across multiple Tripod accounts. In March 2000, Squeaks Jr., soon shortened to SJ, was created as a new interpretation of the original character and gradually became the site’s central mascot. For a brief period during the 2000 United States presidential election, the site also hosted amateur political commentary. The Internet was a strange place. On July 4, 2001, the first Final Fantasy Sonic comic was published. New comics appeared frequently throughout the rest of that year. Near the end of 2001, David joined Dirty Power, Inc., later associated with Fireball20XL, and the resulting attention brought a substantial new audience to both the comic and The Squeaky Zone. Tripod’s bandwidth limits increasingly made the site unavailable during busy periods. After several attempted moves, the domain SqueakyZone.com was registered, paid hosting was obtained, and the site eventually moved to SqueakyZoneProductions.com. A number of artists and collaborators contributed material during the site’s early years, including Miriam Binda, Matt Kolbe, Chris Lange, Tyson Hesse, Alexial Golden, and Bengoshia. David stepped away from regular production near the end of 2007 but continued maintaining the site in a limited capacity. The project returned in 2012, beginning the transition from The Squeaky Zone to Squeaky Zone Productions. That transition was completed alongside the modern relaunch of Final Fantasy Sonic, the beginning of Final Fantasy Sonic III, and the migration to the site platform that would form the basis of later versions. In September 2017, the website was rewritten again, and its remaining Flash material was replaced with embedded video versions where possible. In the years since, the site has continued to receive maintenance, archival work, new comics, and technical updates. FinalFantasySonic.com now serves as the primary address for the comic, while SqueakyZone.com and SqueakyZoneProductions.com remain part of the project’s history and web presence. In 2026, Squeaky Zone Productions marked the 25th anniversary of Final Fantasy Sonic with new comic material, an updated website, and the release of the first-edition Final Fantasy Sonic Compendium. What began as a collection of improvised Tripod pages remains an active, independently maintained archive and creative project. THE HISTORY OF FINAL FANTASY SONICOn July 4, 2001, David Eakes experimented with sprite sheets and word balloons in JASC Paint Shop Pro 7, and Final Fantasy Sonic, also known as FFS, was born. The comic combined Japanese RPG conventions with Sonic characters and predated the similarly named Flash series by more than three years.On July 4, 2002, Final Fantasy Sonic II launched as a continuation of the original series. Its first installment was published between Final Fantasy Sonic #137 and #138. Final Fantasy Sonic II updated intermittently through 2007, when David began a hiatus that lasted until October 20, 2012. Upon returning, much of the remaining story outline was discarded and rewritten. In early 2013, David announced that Final Fantasy Sonic II would end and be followed by a new series codenamed Trinity. Hints gradually revealed that Trinity was actually Final Fantasy Sonic III, another continuation of the series. On July 4, 2013, Final Fantasy Sonic II ended and Final Fantasy Sonic III was officially revealed. On July 26, 2013, Final Fantasy Sonic: Retcon launched as a companion anthology for side stories, revisions, and alternate perspectives. In September 2017, comics originally animated in Flash were converted from SWF files to embedded YouTube videos. Final Fantasy Sonic III continued afterward on an intermittent schedule, while Final Fantasy Sonic: Retcon developed into a broader anthology featuring revisions, side stories, alternate perspectives, anniversary comics, and bridge material surrounding the main series. On July 4, 2025, Final Fantasy Sonic III reached its planned ending and continued into the "DLC" follow-up Final Fantasy Sonic III & Knuckles, with Knuckles and Knuxie taking central roles. On July 4, 2026, Final Fantasy Sonic celebrated its 25th anniversary with comic #362 and the release of the first-edition Final Fantasy Sonic Compendium as Final Fantasy Sonic: Retcon #R021. The comic remains active, with new installments produced at a deliberately flexible pace. WAIT...I THOUGHT FINAL FANTASY SONIC WAS A FLASH SERIES?In 2004, BlackDevilX created a Flash series on Newgrounds initially titled Final Fantasy Sonic. I reached out to him at the time to explain that I had been producing a fan series under the same name for three years. He agreed that the shared name could cause confusion and changed the title of his series to Final Fantasy Sonic X.I never addressed the situation publicly, but BlackDevilX and I were on good terms behind the scenes. Our projects remained separate works by separate creators, each with its own continuity, style, and legacy. Tragically, BlackDevilX passed away in December 2024 while vacationing with his family. WHAT EXACTLY IS CANON IN FINAL FANTASY SONIC?That largely depends on the frame of reference. At the highest level, all of it is canon to itself. It is a work of fan fiction, so none of it is canon in an officially licensed sense.The Final Fantasy Sonic: Retcon series Final Fantasy Sonic: Abridged temporarily replaced Final Fantasy Sonic #1 through #150 in the primary continuity. The reasons for that decision involve circumstances I am not able to discuss publicly. Once Final Fantasy Sonic III #300 occurred, the earlier storyline became less important to the future direction of the series. Comic #300 represents a reset of causality, allowing the story to move forward without requiring every earlier event to remain an active instruction for the current continuity. ABOUT THE AUTHORHe’s not very interesting. Just go back and enjoy FFS. :DWHAT HAPPENED TO...?...Psy?Bryon "Psy" Beaubien and I had a personal falling-out around 2007, and we have not worked together since. Serious allegations concerning him later became public. I do not condone the conduct described in those allegations, but I also do not plan to rewrite or remove his character from older comics. Those appearances remain part of FFS’s historical archive and should not be interpreted as a present-day endorsement or association. ...Miriam? Miriam and I dated for several years before separating in 2007. I prefer to keep the personal details private, but I remain grateful for the support, artwork, characters, and other material she contributed to The Squeaky Zone during that period. Her work remains an important part of FFS’s early history. ...Rittz? Tyson "Rittz" Hesse went on to build an extremely successful professional career in comics and animation, including major work within the Sonic franchise. I am proud of what he accomplished and grateful that The Squeaky Zone had the opportunity to host Sonic ARGH during his early years. Knowing him and supporting some of his early work remain an honor and a memorable part of the site’s history. SO THERE’S THIS SUGGESTIVE IMAGE WITH THE URL SQUEAKYZONEPRODUCTIONS.COM/YASSSC. WHAT’S UP WITH THAT?An old edited Sonic X meme bearing the URL SqueakyZoneProductions.com/YASSSC still occasionally circulates online. YASSSC, short for Yet Another Stupid Sonic Sprite Comic, was a subsite I hosted for Miriam during the early 2000s. She added the subsite’s URL to the image, which is why variations of it still lead people back here.It is an artifact of the deliberately crude and irreverent humor common to early-2000s fan sites. I found it funny at the time and approved of that general style of material being hosted here, but it does not represent the site’s current content. The original YASSSC subsite is no longer available, and the old URL intentionally leads nowhere. |