Flynn Addresses Altered Sonic #244; Fans Look To Penders Settlement
Some of those who received Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog #244 in the mail recently were a bit unpleasantly surprised to see developments unfold in part two of the Endangered Species arc.
If you haven’t read it, be warned that we’re about to spoil a major plot point. Flynn appears to write out most of the echidna characters as Thrash traps many of the characters via a warp ring, in effect erasing them from the Archie Sonic universe. The only two that appear left, at least in this issue, are Knuckles and Dr. Finitevus.
There’s no telling how the Endangered Species arc ends, but for the moment, it appears the likes of Lien-Da, Julie-Su, and many other once major characters are out of the comics. It just so happens the ownership of those characters and the story behind them, among many other things, were disputed by former Archie writer Ken Penders in a recently settled lawsuit Archie brought against him.
Current writer Ian Flynn admitted the arc saw changes in a post on the Bumbleking forum Sunday, but didn’t say why.
“Remember, we work months in advance to keep on schedule. When something abruptly changes, we can’t throw out months of work and thousands of dollars,” Flynn said. “We revise plans and move forward. This isn’t new, especially for veteran fans. This story arc wasn’t what I originally planned, but it’s also not “OMG TEH RUINED FOREVERZ.” We had to take it in a new direction, and we’re getting to do other things with the over-all plot this way.”
Flynn added in a follow-up post on Christmas Day that he doesn’t know all of what’s happening, and what he does know he can’t comment publicly on.
“I know it’s frustrating for you guys. It’s frustrating for me too. But it’s not something any of us can control. So instead of fretting over it, just relax and enjoy the book for what it is,” Flynn asked. “Trust me when I say everyone on staff is committed to bringing the best books we can. That hasn’t changed.”
![[ID: 0dO8DLo2fp8] Youtube Automatic](https://lastminutecontinue.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/id-0do8dlo2fp8-youtube-automatic-60x60.jpg)
![[ID: yXS6lCVX2Ak] Youtube Automatic](https://lastminutecontinue.com/wp-content/uploads/id-yxs6lcvx2ak-youtube-automatic-360x203.jpg)
You know as a kid i never followed any of this behind the scene stuff/drama and i just assumed everything was exactly how it was ment to be. Now i find myself questioning if events are forced or not and it really takes away from the story for me at times. Ya no in the end i would rather just assume that these characters were removed cuz that just what was supposed to happen and forget this whole penders thing. Guess i should stop reading the internets :p
I find that sad. This basically means Remington, Julie-Su, and Lien-Da are gone for good? I was actually enjoying those characters…
I doubt they’re gone for good. Hopefully, Sonic and Knuckles will get them back in issue 246 after they defeat Thrash.
Thanks a lot Ken Penders, goodbye Julie-Su.
I see they went for the nuclear option.
Perhaps they know something we don’t about the court proceedings, aren’t feeling overly confident or are simply sick of the whole goddamn thing and decided to pull a tame version of Kill ‘Em All.
And Ken Penders somehow thinks this will make fans flock to his book instead? Dream on…
You know he didn’t need to erase them !!
I mean something else could if been called fr, something that reassures readers that they would COME BACK!
Euh they’re not dead, they’re just somewhere else..
@Cinozzo Is erased from existence too vague of a concept?
The only place they are in is the same place Tikal is..dead….
This is good. Penders characters suck and were too many.
I’ll hope they make Sally less sue-ish and romantic or erase the character and make someone like Amy a more important character.
Not to be the sore thumb, but I never really liked the other echidnas. In fact, I skipped over every knuckles issue because I frankly didn’t care.
@darkgomugomu
If you had a problem with the book’s OCs, why were you even reading?
@Anonymous I haven’t been keeping up with it recently because of work, so I didn’t know what issue # 244 actually was.
Wait… people are getting upset over a story development that’s occurring HALFWAY through the arc??? Seriously…? Talk about jumping the gun. Why don’t we wait until the entire arc’s done, before we start freaking out, guys? Sheesh…
Penders is DEVIL! PENDERSATANE!!!!!!!!
If a big part of why Archie sued Penders was to secure these characters then why the hell would they accept any settlement that doesn’t allow them to continue using them? It just doesn’t make any freaking sense.
What also doesn’t make sense is that if this is supposedly all happening over legal rights to the characters, why is Dr. Finitevus still around? Didn’t Penders create him as well?
I’m also not understanding how Penders even has a leg to stand on in this case. All of the echidna characters are, more or less, recolors of Knuckles. It’d be like Ian Flynn trying to claim legal rights to Scourge the Hedgehog, which would be extremely stupid.
Thirdly, if Julie-Su actually doesn’t return (though, I’m pretty sure she will), just replace her with Shade. She’s basically just a more SEGA-sanctioned counterpart to Julie-Su anyway.
This makes me happy. All the recolors sucked anyway.
@Danny Bee
Dr. Finitevus was created by Karl Bollers.
Everyone seems to think this is result of the agreement reached between Ken and Archie. Given the lead time needed to prepare this comic, that’s impossible. However, the timing does work well for the change in legal representation at Archie. My impression is that Collen IP told Archie to quit using as many of the disputed characters as they could, which led to this mass “killing off” of many of the characters created by Ken. We’ll just have to watch and see if they come back. (No, not even I know the terms of the agreement, which would be used to create the actual settlement document. The terms are not official until the settlement is approved by both sides and the court.)
I hate this, I loved Julie-Su. Only thing that was lft keeping the comic interesting. Woot. Good job, comic is now dead. 🙂
@ The Shadow Emperor
Ah, well then that would explain why he’s one of the few Echidna characters in the comics (other than Knuckles) that I actually LIKE.
@ Quill
Julie-Su, a cross-gender recolor of Knuckles, was what was keeping the comic alive this whole time? Really…? You’re joking, right???
Oh no, the Saiyans killed all of the Z Fighters, how will the manga continue… Seriously, death is like the common cold in most comic books, I’m sure at least half of them will come back soon, probably with new powers.
It’s terrible to see Julie-Su and the others go! She’s my absolute favorite female throughout the series because she was headstrong and a fighter. She was my role model as silly as it sounds. Now to see her and her relatives go because of some bull Pender’s is pulling is really upsetting and disheartening.
I honestly wouldnt mind this as long as Lien-da or whatever Knuckles’ girlfriend’s name is but if shes fine then im okay cuz she is actually a key character to the series.
I remember how angry I was seeing the final cover for 244, Julie su is my third favorite comic character and Elias is my favourite and if I’m correct he’s kens too? So this could probably mean he’s gone too 🙁 thanks Archie no more secret freedom fighters too 🙁
Yes..because people seriously read SONIC THE HEDGEHOG for non Sega boring twaddle echidna characters. Pfft and they hold the comics together…some major exaggerating going on in the replies I see >.<
Tenko, since when has the Sonic fandom ever been known for rational thinking, seeing multiple sides to a story, and not jumping to conclusions as a whole? 😉
Sonic’s comic is the worst crap, that can happen to sonic franchise….Sorry folks.
@ Tenko
The non SEGA characters DO hold this comic together, nitwit. What other video game comic has lasted this long without introducing OCs into the main cast? Please, tell me all about how Fleetway’s Sonic the Comic is the longest-running video game comic book in history.
@009Soulmaster
Knuckles girlfriend IS Julie-Su. Their daughter (in the 25-year later comic) is Lara-Su. Lien-Da, also known as Kommisar, is the bad guy…er, girl. Julie-Su, Lara-Su, and Lien-Da were all created by Ken Penders. So if Archie is pulling all of Ken’s creations, these three will be gone.
@Anonymous
Sure, it has nothing to do with basically being a continuation if what was considered the best Sonic cartoon of them all. Or the fact that Archie can actually write good and interesting story arcs. Fleetway was rubbish, and if you would care to recall, also had its fair share of rubbish non-Sega characters too. Without competant writers and illustrators a comic will fall flat no matter how many extra characters you introduce. Just look at the games, adding more characters did it more damage than good.
Most people read Sonic for SONIC and its loose conection to tge games or the old cartoon. Using one of your arguments. Tell me again how the Knuckles comics are still going strong and the fluff echidna characters and all the non-Sega backup characters have helped it stay around even till today. Your point, if you even had one falls flat.
Well that kinda sucks. But on the other hand that makes for a good and dramatic story. I mean, in the games the Echidnas are wiped out. Now they are in the comics. The difference is, in the games it’s history. In the comics it’s a life changing event that will forever effect the characters. It’s dramatic. It’s like “OMG!” massive. And it represents life in that we lose loved ones, and people were attached to some of these echidna loved ones and thus the effect is stronger.
At least it’s better than characters suddenly just not showing up anymore. Well, in one perspective. o.o
@Anonymous
There are very few video game based comics really so that’s a terrible example, there are plenty of other kinds of comics that haven’t wasted time on original characters and focus pretty much solely on the characters that established the franchise. Anyone that doesn’t think they could do a comic that was ingrained more in the game universe of Sonic rather than continuing to worship that cartoon and collections of fan characters on deviantart is terribly unimaginative.
Tenko, the ‘Knuckles’ comic series was a victim of various circumstances, none of which involved the original cast members. For instance, the decision by Wal-Mart chains to cease selling comics, plus a little movie adaptation known as ‘The Phantom Menace’ taking up the remaining shelf space. That’s business for you. It happens, unfortunately.
SSJSonicXX14, you brought up a good point, and I find it rather ironic you referred to the original cast as “DeviantArt Fan Characters”, considering several of the new freelancers working on the comic originate from DeviantArt. 😉
So, what are the odds of St. John being killed off, too, then?
@TheMagicalDreamer – I’d say pretty good, considering the only known safe method of purging Ixis Naugus from somebody died back in Darkest Storm when Ian took over as the lead writer for the comic. And if King Max’s earlier conditions when he was possessed by Naugus are any indication, then when he is purged from Geoffrey, I don’t think he’s going to live long after Naugus is removed from him.
Anyways, can’t say I’m surprised by this, but I haven’t seen what happened yet, as I do not have the issue. But given how Warp Rings work, unless Thrash sent the echidnas to space or on the surface of the sun, I think we’ll see them again eventually depending on what the terms of the settlement are. After all, this isn’t the first time characters have been “erased” via Warp Ring. Anyone remember how Dr. Finitevus “erased” the Brotherhood of Guardians by sending them into the Twilight Cage via Warp Ring?
Paul Agnew, we all know you’re Ken Penders or at the very least someone high on the ladder and closely affiliated with him and his works. Atleast put a little more effort into pretending you’re an average Sonic fan, not even the most hardened of Archie lovers have that much information on the inner workings of the comic judging by your previous statements.
No entiendo porque en el caso de Mattel donde se pedían las Bratz se acepto la demanda diciendo que el creador estaba bajo contrato, es casi la misma situación, Sega seria Mattel y Penders seria Carter Bryant pero en este caso no se resolvió de la misma forma lo que me hace pensar es que Archie comics no supo como elaborar un contrato, vacíos en la ley norteamericana sobre derechos de autor o se soborno a los jueces del caso de Mattel vs. Bratz -_-.
Por otro lado mi ingles no es tan bueno pero creo que alguien sugiero que podrían usar a Shade en reemplazo de Lulie-Su, lo que es improbable ya que cuando aceptan tu demanda por derechos de autor también eso se aplica a las creaciones derivadas del original estas ahora le pertenecen al demandante aunque no son creaciones suyas las leyes son claras al respecto. Así fue como MONSANTO destruyo semillas ajenas e hizo quebrar a muchos agricultores.
Just read my copy and it took me a while to figure out that Knuckles was talking to Julie-Su in the flashback since there was a severe lack of name dropping mention.
Sirius Oculus, it’s a bit difficult for me to understand what you mean by “we all”. Whom exactly are you referring to? Are you saying the entire vocal fanbase, or those posting on TSSZ News? Or even the 7 billion plus human populates on Earth? Don’t take it like I’m attempting to swipe you, as that’s most certainly not the case. Merely curious as to exactly who out there on the Internet believes I’m Ken Penders. They sound like some pretty interesting people to meet, though I have a distinct feeling quite a few may want to punch me.
Speaking of which, if there are people saying I’m Ken, then I’ll take that as a compliment. Thanks!
Moving on, your last comment got me thinking about what classifies as an “average Sonic fan”. Again, this is rather baffling. For a start, is there such a thing as the average Sonic fan? Does an average Sonic fan love all the continuities? Do they play the games extensively? Post on various message boards? Are they mad with shipping? If other readers here want to throw their opinion as to what it means to be an average Sonic fan means as well, they’re more than welcome to. Perhaps we can find some common ground.
From personal experience, the term ‘average’ means ‘same as the norm’ to me. So to answer your question, there are no plans to put more effort into pretending I’m an average Sonic fan, because right from the get-go, I don’t consider myself to be an average Sonic fan. Been different all my life, and I’m happy with that.
Why be average?
Ridiculous. It basically got to the point, where the story is not written by the people, who want to write a story, but rather by lawyers and people who want to make money from it.
I’m a little confused as to what information Paul has thrown out which isn’t in the public domain, so to speak. His comments in this article, after all, are things I’ve heard Ken mention before in his forums. So it may be a case where you, Sirius, never heard the alternate explanations as to why the Knuckles comic book was cancelled, yet anyone who is a devout follower of Ken’s message board would be intimately aware of that information. Poking through Ken’s forums, I’ve come across a lot of information that I wasn’t aware of at all, but has been publicly available for a couple years at the very least.
Also, I wouldn’t count out the use of all these characters just yet…for some reason, I don’t see them settling out of court if the agreement reached has Ken win everything he was asking for. At the same time, I can only guess what those details mean. Unless Ken had something so damming to Archie’s side that they decided going to court would result in a loss anyway. The last thing that company would need is something that validates any comic book creator’s claims against them. They went through a lot of effort to deny one of the definitive creators to their flagship title. Even if they were bested by Ken Penders, I doubt Archie would want a media frenzy about it. Even though they might if the details become public anyway. We’ll know soon enough, I’m sure, depending on where we see Julie-Su next. Unless we never see her again. But I doubt Ken would agree to just not having his characters never seeing the light of day in any fashion.
@ Tenko
My point, which did not fall flat, is that SEGA has enough rubbish characters in it’s own continuity that without Sally, Bunnie and others who were already well developed in what you yourself just said was the greatest Sonic cartoon, the comic would collapse under the weight of its own mediocrity. I really don’t want to see the continuing adventures of Amy “the obligatory pest” Rose and Cream the Cuddly Widdle Wabbit, thank you. The comic has lasted this long because the characters in inherited from SatAM are more dynamic than what SEGA is usually capable of.
Relax, everyone. Issue 243 preview states that Lien-da and her Legion are still here. They will fight in the next issue. So don’t get so worked up.
God damn, so much bickering over Knuckles recolors? Sheesh.
I’ve spontaneously developed so much dislike for Ken Penders
@ Amuro
Can it with then Knuckles recolor BS.
All of Pender’s echidna characters, even though they’re based on the SEGASonic echidna design, have their own personalities and backstories separate from Knuckles. If you could spend a few of your brain cells actually reading the comics instead of complaining about them you might know that.
What I feel could happen (depending on when/if we find out the details on the settlement agreement), is one of many possibilites.
1. The characters could return, but like when they say in the fine print on the first page of the comic, that Sonic, Sally, etc.. are copyright of Sega, they could do the same with Ken Penders characters. Example, Julie-Su, Hershey, etc.. are Copyright of Ken Penders, and by doing so, they can still use them, and at the same time, Ken could get paid for it.
2. All the characters, events and stories that Ken created and wrote for the comic, could become “True” parts of the counitny. In other words, MYL’s could become the “True” Future like he intended it to be, whither we as fans or those working on the comic like it or not. Other events could be added and focused more on in the comic. As well as characters as well.
3. If Archie and Ian can use his characters again, as mentioned above. Another possibilite could be that when they are to be used in a story for an issue, that Archie and Ian could consult Ken on their ideas of how they plan to use the character/s in the story and see if he likes it or/and if he feels this what they should do or add to their idea.
Again these are all possibilites that could occur/happen, depending on what the agreements of the settlement where.
@RockXLight: I have read the comics with the other Echidna characters. Personally, at least to me, not many of them are interesting.
That’s the reason I stopped reading the comics, I lost interest. Next time, maybe when someone has a negative opinion about something, instead of jumping to idiotic conclusions, you should try seeing where they’re coming from. Dipshit.
This is the reason I hardly comment: No matter how simple the article is, YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO ARGUE! Geez, people…
@Gnat1: Have you forgotten how infamous this fan community is for sparking debates over the most trivial details? 😛
@ Amuro
Next time you go trolling (which, for your information, is what contributing pointless, shit-stirring negativity to a conversation is considered), instead of resorting to harsh oversimplifications, try saying what you really mean. So you say you’ve read the Knuckles comics? Oh, then you’re very f-ing aware of the fact that they’re not recolors, aren’t you? “Recolor” is a term used to describe fan characters that rip legit copyrighted characters off wholesale. But there are no echidnas that use their fists like Knuckles. There are no echidnas with gliding and chaos powers like Knuckles. There is not a single Penders echidna that is similar in personality to Knuckles at all, and they ALL have some sort of visual distinction to separate them from Knuckles.
You want me to see where you’re coming from? Try a little harder to not come across as such an obvious troll.
@RockXLight: I didn’t read the Knuckles comics, I read the Sonic comics that featured characters like Locke and Lien-Da. Again, aside from probably Locke, I don’t find the Echidnas except for Knuckles worth caring about.
Also, you’re taking this way too seriously, dude. “Shit-stirring negativity”? “Obvious troll”? I wrote one fucking sentence, and you’re acting like I bashed the Echidna characters fifty times in one wall of text. Quit being so fucking sensitive to someone else’s opinion for fuck’s sake.
@ Brian Walmer
Or: 4) Ken could not be given a single dime or concession, he could just deal with the fact that he was doing commissioned work on a comic book based on a licensed property and that he has no ownership over anything he creates during said commissioned work, and Archie can finally create stories without anymore pretentious, little assholes throwing monkey wrenches in them.
God, this whole ordeal really is bullshit. I’m not understanding how this is still even a thing.
Honestly, though, Ian can salvage this plot yet. Thrash did receive some much needed development and his “quest” did come full-circle, I suppose. The Echidnas have, more than likely, been sent to the Twilight Cage. So, once this whole thing blows over, we can expect an arc where Sonic and friends travel into the Twilight Cage to save them (introducing us to the cool aliens from Sonic Chronicles, such as the Zoah, and Shade and the Nocturnus Clan.)
Overall, I think all we really lost, in the end, was what could’ve been an interesting arc in SU. Let’s just take it on the chin, wash our minds of it during this Worlds Collide crossover, and return with hopes of a better future. Ian’s a good writer, he won’t disappoint.
@ RockXLight and Amuro
Also, seriously, guys…? Seriously???
Knuckles is being highly worshipped in the comic. I HATE THE KNUCKLES ISSUES! THE ECHIDNA CHARACTERS ARE SO WEIRD I DON’T EVEN CARE!
También podrían llegar a un arreglo para que vuelvan a usar los personajes, todo depende de que mejore la relación entre Archie comics y Ken Penders ademas de que nadie trate de sacar mas crédito que el otro.
Fuck.
Goddammit Ken, why don’t you crawl back into the screwed-up hole you came from and leave the comics alone?
Damn, damn, I liked Julie-Su! The only pink-coloured character I ever really liked (although I do like Amy a hell of a lot more in the comics than the games/show) and you go and take her away. Lien-Da just got more badass too, that electric-whip thing she had last issue was cool…
Damn, I really hope it’s just temporary, Ugh….
@RockXLight
People complaining about “recolors” in the Sonic Fandom? Imagine that. (Nothing against you Amuro, his comment just struck me as funny.)
Well business is business. Archie is just playing safe instead of hard ball. That said Flynn was smart about this… they aren’t killed off per se’…. just not getting limelight, and are being “stored away” till they can have use…
@Skai Cyan: No offense taken. At least you didn’t let one small comment by some random guy on the internet make you go on a “nerd rage”-esque rant.
@ Amuro
Get off your “wah he disrespected my opinion” high horse and admit that the echidna characters do not adhere to any known definition of “recolor”.
Calling Julie-Su a recolor of Knuckles is akin to calling Lola Bunny a recolor of Bugs Bunny. Say what you want about Julie-su and Lien-da, they are original characters in an officially licensed comic and are nothing like the recolors on dA.
tl;dr, Anyone with reading comprehension can tell I wasn’t throwing a fit over a difference in opinion, I was calling you out on your trollish misuse of the word recolor. Get over yourself.
@ Amuro
Get off your “wah he disrespected my opinion” high horse and admit that the echidna characters do not adhere to any known definition of “recolor”.
Calling Julie-Su a recolor of Knuckles is akin to calling Lola Bunny a recolor of Bugs Bunny. Say what you want about Julie-su and Lien-da, they are original characters in an officially licensed comic and are nothing like the recolors on dA.
Anyone with reading comprehension can tell I wasn’t throwing a fit over a difference in opinion, I was calling you out on your trollish misuse of the word recolor. Get over yourself.
Danny Bee, there is no ‘fact’ at all regarding your comment about Ken being commissioned to do work, with the *possible* exception of him being asked to take a shot at whatever game SEGA was promoting. However, that is also grasping at straws, since he sometimes declined the offers.
Ken was a freelancer, not an employee. A freelancer submits ideas and stories on their own time for publication. An employee is specifically hired to do their job, and rarely declines their assignment. Some cases being sickness, tornado, consumed by a Gila Monster, etc…
It must be so difficult for a certain comic book company to cough up a few dimes in Royalties for the creators who made them famous in the first place. Personally, this sort of creator treatment should have been totally abolished by now.
What is this, the 1950’s?
Sorry for the double post up there. Safari was giving me weird error messages.
@ Amuro
I’ve given you valid points about why Ken’s echidna characters aren’t recolors and all you’ve done is build straw mans of self-pity. I’m not going to keep repeating myself if you insist on being the sole participant in your own unrelated argument. In other words, I’m not sticking around to hear you victimize yourself rather than respond to the actual content of my posts.
I have better ways to spend my time, like reading Knuckles Archives Vol. 3. 🙂
Goodbye.
I think what’s going on, is not just a “forced” change in story, but NOW a story that will end up being more along the lines of Thrash wanting to reclaim his kind’s home (Ablion on Angel Island, which ever one it may be). I think that’s what this may all lead towards. I could be wrong through.
@Paul-Agnew
Pretty sure Archie coughed up dimes for him when they originally payed him for his work. Coming back later asking for more is greedy, plain and simple. It’s all about the money, don’t even try to pretend it isn’t. Using your words, is it so difficult for a “talented” artist and creator as he would have everyone he talks to believe he is, to just go and create something else. Why does he need to piggyback from ideas that without Archie and Sega he wouldn’t have had to begin with? Why does he need the Echidnas?
He can have Hershey, he has mentioned that character has sentimental value, as far as the comics concerned she’s dead anyway. But trying to take the echidnas? Why? Take the idea, alter it a bit, tweek the story, character alterations, make them human, or another race of animals. Or alter their obvious Sega’ish design that he’s still using even with his new redesigns he’s been posting. It’s not like he could continue the way it is currently anyway, what with the characters being tied to licenced places and characters that he couldnt touch in his wildest dreams now that hes made an enemy of Sega. Pretty sure copyright laws are lenient enough to do those things since you see similar ideas being used all the time in different markets.
Its common sense that he wouldn’t be working there forever, if he didn’t want his precious creations to continue to be used in the comic why did he try so hard to imbed them all in so deeply in the first place, especially if he wasn’t getting the contract or pay he wanted for them? If he was able to choose to say no to his work as you keep suggesting, why not just say no until he got those said things he wanted for his work? Seems he was quite happy with the pay he received for his works etc if he kept working for them and submitting stuff. If he was so talented surely he had other work on the table so needing the work from Archie shouldn’t have been a concern. Surely they wouldn’t just ditch him and his work if his creations and stories were so important to the comic as he keeps implying they were.
To say he made Archie or the Sonic comics famous is puffery at best. Both Archie and Sonic comics were around long before he joined and are still around after his departure. Apart from Julie-Su and St John, as has been said by many people time and again, most of his characters are not important to the grand scheme of things anyway. I dunno why Archie just doesn’t give them to him in lieu of any further payments, he would quickly see how few people would buy or subscribe to his future works with them in it once all the Sega stuff is removed and altered from the equation, lest he be counter sued right back.
/rant over lol
From a purely story point of view without all this legal bullshit that doesn’t make any sense, killing off the echidnas isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I’m not totally opposed to a life-changing genocide event, as long as Knuckles reacts properly to it.
But let’s get something straight here. Killing off filler echidnas is one thing, but when you wipe multiple characters that meant something to Knuckles and to the readers out at once, that crosses the line. That’s sloppy, too many character deaths at the same time so that the impact of each is not given to time to be fully felt. That’s just treating your readership like shit. I don’t blame Ian for this, I blame Archie or Sega or whoever the hell.
Killing the echidnas including maybe one or two characters like Lara-Le and Wynmacher? Sure. That’s something you can deal with. But killing off Knuckles’ baby brother too? And his girlfriend? And an old personal enemy like Lien-Da, before she’s had a chance to really unravel as a character? Julie-Su, before she and Knuckles have had a chance to learn how to express their feelings towards one another?
And I know they’re not dead. They’re just “gone”. Yeah, sure. Whatever you say, Archie. And when will they be back exactly? Who. The hell. Knows.
There is a reason why comic books aren’t taken seriously as a form of storytelling, and it’s things like this. When characters that people have committed to are obliterated and altered and plots are copped out all to ensure the optimal corporate wellbeing.
A lot of people might have hated the echidna characters. I get it. I personally am not interested in the fate of the Brotherhood. But a lot of people DO care about these characters, and this is a blatant disregard of any emotional commitment those people have put into this comic. Personally, Julie-Su and Lien-Da (particularly the former) are characters I care very much about. Somehow the fact that Ken Penders created them, wrote them badly, and subsequently stole them away from readers is maddening.
And shall we even mention the non-echidna characters of his? Geoffrey? ELIAS? How does Archie expect to get rid of them exactly? And how many major characters are they expecting to kill off within a year and still have a fanbase with feelings left?
The fact that it was just echidnas (and Dr. Finitevus didn’t even bite it, of all echidnas. Really? F*** all.) seems suspicious to me. Maybe Archie’s also getting pressured by Sega to make Knuckles’s story more in line with that of the games, where he’s the last of his kind.
Something tells me this alteration won’t be solved anytime soon, let alone by the end of this arc. And that makes me extremely sad, because I feel like I’ve been scammed. But who knows? Maybe it will. In that case, all hail mercy and Ian Flynn.
@Maddie: You’re freaking awesome, if I could, I would totally reach through the computer screen and high-five you.
It is why dropped the comics ,the American business structure comics ,because yeah even whole story and character are disposed of for marketing gimmicks , the story become internally inconsistent messy . The plot revolves around this instead focusing on characters developments and social interaction ,Video game comics are the worse to be honest , there propped up as accessory to the game they are associated with and barely last ( don’t last in japan either for the very same reason , that there usually made with little thought to making them stand on there own outside the licensing from another media product) . Sonic only reason for surviving for so long was it ability to create a universe separate from the game and develop it Extensively . Who are Sonic parents why should we give a shit about them ? That actual story telling you know the thing most of the comic lack. The constant need for genocidal world plots and mass killing off characters really kills any kind of character development
Paul Agnew = Penders’ lapdog
We all know it’s true. He’s either in Penders’ pocket or he’s one of Ken’s personalities…Penders has to be nuttier than a mental patient to think he’s going to win this case.
Good.Get rid of them.There’s no need for them in Sonic’s canon universe.Flynn is doing the right thing.Now Knuckles can maybe act more canon and have an interest in Rouge.
@Tenko
You are right. Ken was paid for his work when it first appeared in the comic. For that he gave Archie permission to print his works in the comic for perpetuity. See §201(c): Contributions to Collective Works in the copyright code. The problem is that Archie wasn’t content to just use his works in the comic. They started reprinting them in archives, digests, and other physical forms, and for electronic devices (like e-readers and smart phone apps). In addition, they used the characters he created in those works in other works without approval nor any form of compensation. The number of violations were so egregious that even at the minimum fine for violating copyrights, it was still a number in the millions of dollars range. Ken could not let that pass, and I think you’ll find a number of other creatives who worked on the book are in the same mindset as Ken. It’s fine to use the material in the comic, for which they wrote it. It’s another thing entirely to blatantly rip off the creative by publishing their works in ways that break copyright laws.
@Maddie
High fives you through the screen.
I should point out the decision to use or not use a character lies strictly with Archie Comics. Ken has never told Archie, “You can’t use blah, blah, and blah,” with one scene exception that he asked to remain as is: the death of Locke. That scene mirrored a very personal time in Ken’s life with the death of his own father by cancer. And to see what Ian did to it was just like driving a stake through his heart.
Anyway, for all those out there blaming Ken over the disappearance of your favorite character, you’re blaming the wrong party.
@Rainza
Couldn’t agree with you any more than I already do. It seems everything has to be bigger and “boomier” than it was before. Bah! There are limits to growth.
@Nicki
No, Paul Agnew is not Ken Penders. For one thing, Paul writes much better blog entries than Ken. *grins*
@BobR
So if Ken is OK with Archie’s continued use of his characters, does that mean he isn’t trying to get royalties for their use in future stories?
@Anna-Jean Beute
Well now, I didn’t say that. But it does take a matter of degree. If Archie had only kept his stories in the comic, then I’m sure he probably wouldn’t have tried to enforce his copyrights even if other creatives used his characters in the comic. But they went far beyond that level, and that’s what made it necessary for him to assert his rights.
Hey BobR, thanks for the vote of confidence. As I stated earlier, there is no harm done if people seriously think I’m Ken Penders. If nothing else, I take it as a compliment. Nor am I really concerned if anyone wants to throw insults my way. That’s cyber-bullying, and it was hoped the fans were past this by 2013. Should anyone wish to find the time to continue name-calling or post swipes at someone they have never met, then I say carry on fanbase. Doesn’t worry me, and I am content knowing that I wouldn’t ever stoop that low.
Sometimes, it’s more fulfilling to be the bigger person, rather than have the sharpest tongue.
As for ‘much better blog entries’, that’s an opinion that I’d disagree with. More long-winded and ramble-filled perhaps, and I can think of a few blog entries Ken has made over the past 15 years that were inspirational.
Not to mention a post you made back in 2007 on the ‘classic’ message board which lead to an illustration. And no, sadly it was one of the victims of the hard drive crash.
So that’s it! They’re taking out nearly all of the Echidnas that Ken Penders made, including the Legionaires and Julie-Su? What’s that gonna do the character of Knuckles or the fanbase if his soulmate never returns! If Ken wanted to get paid more for his characters since leaving Archie comics then that’s fine; but pulling all the characters not only hurts the readers but the story as well even if there was a promise for better stories to come from this mess. I love to read the Sonic the Hedgehog Archie comic series because it was fun to read and had what the games were lacking (a good story) but this is a real blow to the series. now it really up to Ian Flynn to fix it.
Myles, it’s good to see that you are enjoying the comics, and appreciate its unique cast of characters. What surprises me however, is that it took up until recently for the heroes and villains created by Ken to shimmer out of the story, rather than play it safe and have then put on hiatus back in mid-to-late 2010 when the matter went public.
I’m glad that Ken will get paid for his previous work. Even if he didn’t act very nice to some people arguing with him about some legitimate concerns, he deserved to get money from the reprints.
To a degree I’m glad he’ll be able to get paid for the use of his copywritten characters (If I understand that his settlement went that way that is). I say to a degree because I don’t know if it means we’ll be seeing them again, since Archie asking Ian to remove the characters last minute sounds like it might be them being cautious; but more likely it could also be them being petty and saying, “for all the trouble Ken caused we’ll never use his characters again and make sure he doesn’t get any royalties for them.” Which is sad because I feel like he put the effort to get them to be the as well-liked as they are and of all the ones who will miss out is the fans who buy the comic that provides/provided everyone who is involved in the lawsuit money.
I still gotta wonder how Ken plans to write a story about humanoid Echidnas without involving Knuckles’ lore and the Sonic world. I mean, he’s bananas if he thinks Archie wouldn’t pay attention and read it scanning for every sign of Sonic-ness and pounce on it and sue him over it. I feel like if he has this great story why not write it in its own world with his own mythos? It would be better that way too because then he could make it over again and make it his own more. They just don’t stand alone without being connected to Archie’s already established canon.