Megathread The Lara-Su Chronicles and Ken Penders topic - READ PAGE 164, POST 4096

[horridus]

2 hours ago, Rabid-Coot said:

If it was just under 150 on the 9th and now its up to 157 thats about 10 more sales in 15 days I don't think there's going to be many more coming with how much it has slowed down.

Kinda makes you wonder what the proper sales will be like once the book is available, doesn't it?

[Lorekitten]

This project looks pretty much dead on arrival, if Sega doesn't murder it with an axe.

[Stasis]

Every update recently with a delay is focussing on the special thanks page and 200 orders but glosses over the fact that the 6 pages he needed to finish 2 weeks ago still aren’t done. The InDesign document needs corrections after other previous corrections then he’ll send over the 6 pages at some point that will most likely also need corrections. Each deadline is “last chance” or “last day” before adding another week. He’s trying to use FOMO which for this book won’t work. It’s not being done for Monday, there’s more delays incoming. 

Edited February 25 by Stasis

[Promethean0416]

On 2/24/2024 at 6:04 PM, Stasis said:

Every update recently with a delay is focussing on the special thanks page and 200 orders but glosses over the fact that the 6 pages he needed to finish 2 weeks ago still aren’t done. The InDesign document needs corrections after other previous corrections then he’ll send over the 6 pages at some point that will most likely also need corrections. Each deadline is “last chance” or “last day” before adding another week. He’s trying to use FOMO which for this book won’t work. It’s not being done for Monday, there’s more delays incoming. 

Well you hit the nail on the head with this one as, once again, he's pushing the deadline back to an unknown day (however, he deserves to be cut a bit of slack on this one due to the reason for it).

Quote

I’m getting ready to send all but the last 8 pages I need to finish to the printer. (I plan on getting back to work on those 8 pages starting later today.) As for THE KNUCKLES OMNIBUS, I see that as a 2-volume – possibly 3 – set, depending on the page count, cover price and a variety of other factors. I see Volume 1 featuring the stories Knuckles appeared in from the following issues: SONIC issue 13, SONIC & KNUCKLES SPECIAL, SONIC TRIPLE TROUBLE SPECIAL, KNUCKLES’CHAOTIX SPECIAL, the KNUCKLES 2-page segments from SONIC issues 31 thru 33, the KNUCKLES chapters in SONIC issues 34 thru 36, SONIC’S FRIENDLY NEMESIS KNUCKLES mini-series issues 1 thru 3, the Sonic-Knuckles team-up from SONIC issue 44, KNUCKLES THE DARK LEGION issues 1 thru 3, KNUCKLES issues 4 thru 9, the Sonic-Knuckles-Tails team-up from SONIC issue 56, KNUCKLES issues 10 thru 12, the story’s conclusion from SONIC issue 58, and KNUCKLES issues 13 thru 21. I may include more but it depends on the page count, cost of printing, the sale price point and so on. Volume 2 will pick up where Volume 1 leaves off. I’m envisioning a pre-order price of $60 to $75 versus the $100 or so cover price once it’s carried by distributors to comic shops and other book stores. Anyone pre-ordering will be able to buy at a significant discount, which is something I was unable to do at this time for THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS. There’s still a LOT of details to work out so please regard anything said as initial spitballing of what’s on my head. Thanks.

As for his so-called "Knuckles Omnibus," all I can say is the same thing I said with TLSC: Beginnings: let the chips fall where they may and see if the man did his homework and got the permissions (though I somehow doubt it). 

[Rabid-Coot]

1 hour ago, Promethean0416 said:

he's pushing the deadline back to an unknown day

Apparently 6 hours from this post. https://kenpenders.com/the-promised-update/

Quote

At the present time, I’m now at 162 pre-orders sold, meaning there’s 38 pre-orders that can take advantage of the current offer, including seeing one’s name on the SPECIAL THANKS pages. I’m still working on the digital hours and anticipate another 6 hours of work – give or take – before I wrap work on the files I’m submitting to the printer for prepping, and that includes the SPECIAL THANKS pages, which will be the last to be completed.

So for those wanting to pre-order but still on the fence on whether you will be included or receive the limited edition Lara-Su print, you have the next six hours. The first 38 to do so will be listed and receive the print with their book.

 

[horridus]

He's so hell-bent on hitting those 200 pre-orders, it makes me wonder if he was counting on the money from that to cover some other expense of his.

Edited February 27 by horridus

[Promethean0416]

18 hours ago, horridus said:

He's so hell-bent on hitting those 200 pre-orders, it makes me wonder if he was counting on the money from that to cover some other expense of his.

Yeah, seems that way despite one of his previous statements saying otherwise:

Quote

I still haven’t hit the 200 order mark, but that’s okay as this was never about how much money I could rake in. Rather, it was all about how viable undertaking this project would be. If I was going to do this, I wanted to do this in the formats of my choosing, both print and digital, and getting it out to as wide an audience as possible on a global scale, which is already happening. Mission accomplished as far as I’m concerned.

From old update: https://kenpenders.com/were-going-into-crunch-time/

Well, I am waiting for his next update to have a statement of sorts pleadingpushing others to buy extra books to "get them hooked" like with a certain former comic series that he wrote. Then again, he's kind of doing that already with his most recent updates, but I digress...

EDIT: And here he goes saying that what he's putting out will be better than Archie/IDW. Only thing I will say that it's up to those that read it that will give their take on it.

Quote

All I can say is if everything goes the way I anticipate, this will be one for the collection. Neither Archie or IDW has ever put together a package this good. The closest would be the hardcover version of THE BEST OF SONIC Vol. 1, but that didn’t contain new material anywhere near what THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS does. And I’m not aware of IDW putting out a hardcover collection with a similar amount of new material either.

 

Edited February 27 by Promethean0416
Adding.

[horridus]

6 hours ago, Promethean0416 said:

Yeah, seems that way despite one of his previous statements saying otherwise:

Oh, that one was a blatant lie from the get-go. From the time of the trial to the time this project of his began he made it abundantly clear that what mattered to him was cash, whether it be royalties from his Archie work or the franchise possibilities Lara-Su Chronicles. In fact he spent a great deal of attention speculating about what he wanted out of the Lara-Su Chronicles and repeatedly expressed his belief that an 'agreement' could be reached with SEGA regarding the licensing of his characters and such for Archie, even laying out terms of service for the use of his characters. And that's without getting into the various merchandise he's hawked at conventions, released before publishing anything. Hell, he even justified his cockamamie plans by claiming that Archie (by which we mean HIS work) reached a wider audience and had more mainstream appeal than the games, with his whole 'business plan' hinging on the idea that he has an (oddly silent) huge, international fanbase that CRAVES his work.

Penders has always tried to cover up his blatant desire for wealth and fame by portraying himself as a kind of comic book auteur driven by passion and the need to express his artistic vision to the world. He's only doubling down on it now because its dawning on him that whatever expectations he had for the profitability of this venture, it clearly isn't going to go the way he envisioned.

Quote

EDIT: And here he goes saying that what he's putting out will be better than Archie/IDW. Only thing I will say that it's up to those that read it that will give their take on it.

You know, it's telling that he feels a need to namedrop Archie and IDW, even now. It's been nearly a decade since Archie stopped publishing all together, twelve years since the lawsuit, and come the 18th of April it will be exactly six years since the first issue of IDW's Sonic series hit... and they STILL live in his head rent free. Everyone involved has long since moved on in life, but Penders is stuck in the same place he was then as he is now.

What a waste.

[Rabid-Coot]

https://kenpenders.com/latest-update-about-the-lara-su-chronicles-beginnings-print-release/

Looking back on the announcement of the print it really seems like this is only happening because of an overly enthusiastic reaction to being approaced by print company reps that were likely there to pick up whatever business they could from small creators.

[Lorekitten]

1 hour ago, horridus said:

You know, it's telling that he feels a need to namedrop Archie and IDW, even now. It's been nearly a decade since Archie stopped publishing all together, twelve years since the lawsuit, and come the 18th of April it will be exactly six years since the first issue of IDW's Sonic series hit... and they STILL live in his head rent free. Everyone involved has long since moved on in life, but Penders is stuck in the same place he was then as he is now.

What a waste.

Sometimes I feel like God lets a few certain individuals do insanely ill-thought-out and senseless things and then puts those people in the public spotlight specifically to warn the rest of us not to behave this way.

I may be one of the people that needed this particular warning, but I'd rather not talk about why... suffice to say that there's another creative living in my head rent free and I need to evict her phantasm before I lose my cool or my sanity. (She's nobody the Sonic fan community would know.)

Edited February 28 by Lorekitten

[Promethean0416]

15 minutes ago, Rabid-Coot said:

https://kenpenders.com/latest-update-about-the-lara-su-chronicles-beginnings-print-release/

Looking back on the announcement of the print it really seems like this is only happening because of an overly enthusiastic reaction to being approaced by print company reps that were likely there to pick up whatever business they could from small creators.

According to this, he's getting it done at this printing company in Singapore:

https://www.sc-international.com.sg/

Quote

I’ve always stated it would be approx. 3 months for me to receive the books once they go to print. I’m looking at sometime in May at this point give or take a week. The books are being printed in Singapore and will be shipped via a cargo ship arriving at a port in Los Angeles. From there they will be transported to a warehouse where I’ve made arrangements for the books to be stored. (We’re talking 3 full pallets containing 2000 copies.) I will be keeping everyone updated at every stage of the operation once I receive word. If you think you can’t wait to see your copy, I’m even worse, because not only do I have a prototype cover, but I have a file with all the pages laid out waiting for me to complete the last pages for the SHATTERED TOMORROWS section. I know this is going to be something special once people see it.

Not sure exactly if by ordering that exact number of 2000, he got a better deal vice ordering smaller numbers. Then again, there might be quite the S&H charge he has to deal with too.

Also, not sure what type of warehouse he's got, but depending on how how he stores them, those books might suffer some deterioration over time, especially if he does not sell all 2000 of them (which seems likely at the rate he is going).

Edited February 28 by Promethean0416

[Lorekitten]

5 minutes ago, Promethean0416 said:

Also, not sure what type of warehouse he's got, but depending on how how he stores them, those books might suffer some deterioration over time, especially if he does not sell all 2000 of them (which seems likely at the rate he is going).

I sincerely doubt he'll sell half of those books. Granted, they're currently the only Archie Sonic reprints in publication (and whose fault is THAT?) so I could be wrong... but speaking as a disgruntled Archie fan, I absolutely do not want to give this guy any money.

[captobvious42]

2 hours ago, Lorekitten said:

Sometimes I feel like God lets a few certain individuals do insanely ill-thought-out and senseless things and then puts those people in the public spotlight specifically to warn the rest of us not to behave this way.

I may be one of the people that needed this particular warning, but I'd rather not talk about why... suffice to say that there's another creative living in my head rent free and I need to evict her phantasm before I lose my cool or my sanity. (She's nobody the Sonic fan community would know.)

Ya know, I can relate to the kind of person he his. Someone who talks big but keeps putting stuff off. I guess, seeing someone like that fail to take account of themselves in a way that pisses off an entire fanbase potentially makes you more aware of your own faults. Can't say how many projects I've been talking about doing for almost as long as he had, but I think I at least know I'm the one holding myself back.

Penders, on the other hand...

 

2 hours ago, Promethean0416 said:

According to this, he's getting it done at this printing company in Singapore:

https://www.sc-international.com.sg/

Not sure exactly if by ordering that exact number of 2000, he got a better deal vice ordering smaller numbers. Then again, there might be quite the S&H charge he has to deal with too.

Also, not sure what type of warehouse he's got, but depending on how how he stores them, those books might suffer some deterioration over time, especially if he does not sell all 2000 of them (which seems likely at the rate he is going).

He's ordered HOW many copies?! Seriously, I know he's the over-confident type, but the 200 he's doing for his pirated reprint is probably a safer set until he's sure it's going to sell. Though... the details he's giving made the whole thing sound really sketchy; does he REALLY need to give out those kind of details? 

I kinda have to assume that he's going through iffy, possibly less-than-legit channels to do get this thing off the ground, but I imagine no one would in their right mind would be helping him with how much it could come back to bite them as well. 

[Promethean0416]

Another update and no surprise, once again he is delayed by roughly another three weeks. Oh, and he's showing off another "new" piece of art:

https://kenpenders.com/eta-arrival-update/

Quote

Everything is based on my wrapping work on the last 8 pages by no later than March 20, 2024, so I’m basically living at my workstation for the duration as everything else is completed and locked in.

With that established, the printer has supplied me with a schedule of all phases of the operation, including approvals of proofs and so on. The copies are slated to arrive sometime mid- to late June on my end, allowing me a week or so to ship all the pre-ordered copies out all signed and accompanied with the promised Lara-Su prints.

Also, he seems to be at 190 sold now if this is of any indication, but who knows? But hey, he'll just sign a random back issue and send it to anyone who buys his book after (it'll be hilarious if he signs a random back issue after #159, but I digress):

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As a result of how smoothly everything is going with the printers, I can guarantee the next 10 people to pre-order a copy of THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS by March 19 will be listed on the SPECIAL THANKS pages.

For those who want to order after the cut-off, I had to figure out a bonus as a thank you I could also ship to those who pre-ordered already. And that bonus is a randomly selected back issue of either SONIC or KNUCKLES that I worked on personally signed by me.

On another note, he's now selling lanyards for $10 a pop. Looks pretty pricey, as I have seen lanyards run around roughly $5 each:

https://kenpenders.com/product/lara-su-chronicles-lanyards/

And finally, this is something I have recently noticed on one of the previous updates that was a bit concerning to me:

To first clear up, I am no artist, so if any artist on here can give their two cents on this matter, it would be appreciated.

Anyway, with that said, looking at how Penders is working on that drawing, isn't it usually more comfortable to work on a drawing when the picture is at desk table level with the tablet/screen laying down to allow for better movement and control? From up there, that's gotta be pretty taxing on the arm/wrist and there doesn't look to be much control and stability when drawing and designing those pages/panels.

 

Edited March 3 by Promethean0416
Clarifying/fixing image.

[Rabid-Coot]

Funny how it was 6 hours to go on the last update and now its shot up to 20 more days.

[StreetSonic2022]

LMAO! This won't come out until probably the end of the year at best (or more likely next year if he keeps it up!)

[Stasis]

@Promethean0416i actually thought that about that photo a few days back. With how many hours he’s supposedly putting in this is definitely no way to work. While not an artist I used to do a fair bit of animating and even with my tablet at a 45 degree angle it was taxing on the wrist and my posture.

6 pages increased to 8 and now 3 weeks to finish those 8 pages, those 6 pages already having just short of 3 weeks on them. Ken, what are you doing, one stroke a day? It’s shocking, the backgrounds aren’t even being drawn and are stock images. It’s not like he’s working full time either. 

Edited March 1 by Stasis

[SadVlad]

This sounds like an absolute dream come true!!! I can't wait for this. I grew up on Archie Sonic, and have every issue backed up on my phone

This is more cool than finding out about The Last Ronin when it first released!

I don't necessarily like the way he is going about it, but I still want to read this. I feel like he is being a bit toxic, but I also remember liking a few of his characters as a kid. I mainly look forward to seeing what kind of humor this will bring. But that's if this even gets finished. I highly doubt that it will. It'll probably get slapped with a cease and desist before it hits the printers.

Edited March 2 by SadVlad
Typo

[King Scoopa Koopa]

1 hour ago, SadVlad said:

I mainly look forward to seeing what kind of humor this will bring.

Oh no! I'm not even sure I ever stopped to think about that...

[captobvious42]

@Promethean0416I know someone who does digital art for a living; I should run that image by him and see how accurate that is. He's not as deep into the fandom as some of us, but he's got no love for Penders either.

[Edit] Random thought: could this be another "Sonic Live" situation? One where he's so technologically inept that he thinks a ball-point pen is a stand-in for a stylus? I mean, I know there are styluses that look like pens, but that looks very ball-pointish. I could be wrong, but it'd be hilarious.

[Edit 2] The person I know who does digital art finds his set-up a bit odd, mostly because the monitor's sitting vertical and there's no place for Penders to rest his elbow. His (not Penders) set up has the monitor at an angle and he has someplace to rest his elbow for working long stretches of time. My mental image is basically of it as a high-tech artists' desk (like this).

Edited March 4 by captobvious42

[Promethean0416]

On 3/2/2024 at 8:58 PM, captobvious42 said:

@Promethean0416I know someone who does digital art for a living; I should run that image by him and see how accurate that is. He's not as deep into the fandom as some of us, but he's got no love for Penders either.

[Edit] Random thought: could this be another "Sonic Live" situation? One where he's so technologically inept that he thinks a ball-point pen is a stand-in for a stylus? I mean, I know there are styluses that look like pens, but that looks very ball-pointish. I could be wrong, but it'd be hilarious.

[Edit 2] The person I know who does digital art finds his set-up a bit odd, mostly because the monitor's sitting vertical and there's no place for Penders to rest his elbow. His (not Penders) set up has the monitor at an angle and he has someplace to rest his elbow for working long stretches of time. My mental image is basically of it as a high-tech artists' desk (like this).

 

 

On 3/1/2024 at 2:53 PM, Stasis said:

@Promethean0416i actually thought that about that photo a few days back. With how many hours he’s supposedly putting in this is definitely no way to work. While not an artist I used to do a fair bit of animating and even with my tablet at a 45 degree angle it was taxing on the wrist and my posture.

6 pages increased to 8 and now 3 weeks to finish those 8 pages, those 6 pages already having just short of 3 weeks on them. Ken, what are you doing, one stroke a day? It’s shocking, the backgrounds aren’t even being drawn and are stock images. It’s not like he’s working full time either. 

Thanks for the insight on this, both of you! Yeah, I had my concerns about that setup on how he was doing, glad I wasn't alone on this...

Anyway, the man is still going at a snail's pace since his previous announcement on his progress earlier this month completing only one page out of the 8, and at the rate he is going, he's going to miss his next deadline (again), but we shall see:

[babsiwuff]

On 3/2/2024 at 11:58 PM, captobvious42 said:

@Promethean0416I know someone who does digital art for a living; I should run that image by him and see how accurate that is. He's not as deep into the fandom as some of us, but he's got no love for Penders either.

[Edit] Random thought: could this be another "Sonic Live" situation? One where he's so technologically inept that he thinks a ball-point pen is a stand-in for a stylus? I mean, I know there are styluses that look like pens, but that looks very ball-pointish. I could be wrong, but it'd be hilarious.

[Edit 2] The person I know who does digital art finds his set-up a bit odd, mostly because the monitor's sitting vertical and there's no place for Penders to rest his elbow. His (not Penders) set up has the monitor at an angle and he has someplace to rest his elbow for working long stretches of time. My mental image is basically of it as a high-tech artists' desk (like this).

What do you want to bet he's just faking the image and not drawing a damn thing?

Edited March 6 by babsiwuff

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

7 hours ago, babsiwuff said:

What do you want to bet he's just faking the image and not drawing a damn thing?

I'd bet good money that actually is his drawing given his style. I'm not gonna say he's the best artist, but the guy will at least make an attempt.

That's surprisingly something I can't really hate on him for given that he's still willing to take to pen and tablet in this age of AI art...although having said that, I'd probably change the bet to whether he used AI to make his images. At this point, it's anyone's bet.

[captobvious42]

On 3/6/2024 at 2:17 PM, babsiwuff said:

What do you want to bet he's just faking the image and not drawing a damn thing?

That's what I'm implying, though I doubt that's the case. If anything, he's clueless on how to use the technology he has properly.

[Promethean0416]

Well, this is something:

Isn't the proper term for this a "graphic novel", especially considering that it will have pages from a COMIC BOOK?