Megathread Archie Sonic Main Discussion

[Tenko]

That's it, I'm done. I can't find a laughing image suitable enough for this. This man is clearly deluded.

I think the fact he thinks someone would pay him to license...that....thing, totally makes him deluded. I almost feel....sorry(?) for him, he can't be all there upstairs poor guy.

[Octarine]

These elaborate plans remind me a little of the Cheetahmen merchandising empire that never quite materialized.

 

...actually, it's a little odd that the one thing he's not planning to do with these characters is put them into a video game, considering their pedigree.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

That's it, I'm done.  I can't find a laughing image suitable enough for this.  This man is clearly deluded.

I swear it should be illegal for someone to be THIS stupid at that man's age...

[AuraChief29]

I've been following this Penders thing for a while and the fact that he thinks people will follow the character to another medium just because people read the comics just shows how deluded he is.

(That picture is horrid, I can't draw well but at least I don't draw like THAT)

[tenchibr]

She looks like a gender-swapped Michael Jackson if he were an echidna. Which is an insult to the late King of Pop.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

Hey you guys on a fun note look, Shard is at comiccon!
http://www.sonicstadium.org/2013/07/comic-con-cosplay-watch-shard/

[Kuzu]

Hey you guys on a fun note look, Shard is at comiccon!

http://www.sonicstadium.org/2013/07/comic-con-cosplay-watch-shard/

 

 

This is kinda unrelated, but I can see a Makoto in the background there.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

Ok, so he is a thought for some discussion: Even though the world is falling apart in the main sonic comic, Somehow Bark, Bean, Amy and Cream are in blaze's world in SU, could there be a connection? maybe they fell through the cracks of time due to the reversal of the genesis wave? And if bark and bean are busy stealing treasure, where is Nack? perhaps he is busy battling sonic? or is he somewhere in the background?

[Mega]

That Lara-Su image is obviously traced from a stock photo, which shows how truly lazy Ken Penders is. The design is still obviously a ripoff of the Sonic style echidnas just made uglier. Does he really think this will sell?

[Your Vest Friend]

Guys, I get it. You don't like. That's your right. However, that image was revealed precisely because of the positive reaction it's received, especially from the female audience it was shown to. I would have made changes had it not gotten the reaction it has, especially from people who are interested in seeing this go forward that aren't necessarily fans.

I get that there are people who are going to give me flak over this, but the primary driving factor here is not ego, but business. Nothing ever got published, distributed or released without that being an important part of the equation beyond the creativity.

The bottom line is that no matter which version of this characters I did - whether human, Klingon or echidna - there was always going to be criticism. For better or worse, what you see from this point forward is what you get.

 

 

:/

[Mogtaki]

An artist's analysation of the Lara-Su picture:

 

[DarkLight]

:/

 

Wow, after reading his response to all the flak his "artwork" has been getting, this guy continues to be a barrel of laughs.

Edited July 19, 2013 by DarkLight

[t0ms0nic]

"The select few people I showed it to like it, so I'm going to ignore the majority of people, aka everyone else, and not improve on it to at least try and make it more widely appealing!"

 

He speaks of business to try and sound like he knows what he's doing, but he's completely unprofessional in every area he shoots for and just being a huge dick about valid criticism. It's just sickening how he's gotten even a slightly good response from anyone for this.

 

Is it sad I hope somebody will quote that last line over some art or whatever of the original Lara-Su alongside this one, parodying the Sonic and Shadow cutscene from SA2?

[mistercokehold8]

I look at that picture....the first one from a long time ago looked tens time better!

[PSI Wind]

So now I know the reason why I hated the comics for so long.

God damn, Penders.

[Milo]

While Ken Penders isn't with Archie anymore, there really isn't a better place to post the new 'teaser' for his new 'series'. And it's even worse than the ones that came before it:

 

 

MY EYES

 

I'm not joking when I say that thing makes the CG work on Eddie Lebron's Sonic look like the equivalent of the CG work used for the LOTR films' Gollum in comparison. That artwork looks like shit in every sense of the word.

Edited July 19, 2013 by Gabe the Grouch

[Badnik Mechanic]

 

 

This is an awesome costume. But for some reason, following Original the penders new image, I kinda want to photoshop it into the back seat of that silver people carrier... for some reason I just think it'll fit.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

:/

Da fuq kind of audience test pool did he have? 10 year old girls?

 

Haha! Keep it coming, Penders. If you have to go that far out and address people's criticisms like that then it says something about your work.

[Spidey3525]

Da fuq kind of audience test pool did he have? 10 year old girls?

 

Haha! Keep it coming, Penders. If you have to go that far out and address people's criticisms like that then it says something about your work.

I showed it to my sister and even she hated it. What is wrong with Penders?

[Mogtaki]

I'm a female and I see it as a complete insult. Who does he think he is? Do we think we're stupid? Why should we like that old lady discoloured and disjointed face? Is the 'female audience' his family or something?

 

 

I showed it to my sister and even she hated it. What is wrong with Penders?

 

Did you just sign up to make that one post?

[Your Vest Friend]

I'm a female and I see it as a complete insult. Who does he think he is? Do we think we're stupid? Why should we like that old lady discoloured and disjointed face? Is the 'female audience' his family or something?

 

Well, he does come off as misogynistic at times...

Edited July 20, 2013 by VEDJ-F

[mistercokehold8]

Very serious question! Where can I get whatever Penders is smoking?

[Solly]

Oh, my god. I haven't been up to date on this whole thing, but how did the fuck did this guy get a job illustrating comics in the first place? She looks like some horrifying 80 year old dog-woman hybrid with anime eyes, and the shading is all so wrong, and uses this cheap, awful looking gradient effect. And what's with the way her muzzle is blurred where it connects with the rest of her face? 

What audience could approve of this? Even calling it amateur would be an insult to non-professional and aspiring artists everywhere. It's just flat-out shitty.

[tenchibr]

R.I.P. Lara-Su (2002-2013).

On her grave it reads: "Here lies a victim murdered by greed and selfishness, AKA Ken Penders".

Edited July 20, 2013 by tenchibr

[Your Vest Friend]

plop plop plop

 

Well, I hope to post the promo design on the web by Tuesday. A variant of this design will be featured on the limited edition T-shirt I'm making available for order only during the Comic-Con. I expect the reaction to this design to be quite interesting as it's nothing that's ever been associated before with Sega and/or Archie where Sonic and Knuckles are concerned. Even the tone is different. 

This is also a good time to announce that the first 20 to 25 pages of THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: NEW WORLD ORDER is going to be made available digitally for free, and at least in 3 different languages - English, Spanish and French. 

The initial goal is to produce a good story - period - that people are going to want to follow. The overall objective was never just about releasing comics or a graphic novel, but to create the basis for a film project. 

BTW, thanks for the well wishes at the con. If I do run into any of the Archie people, I'm not adverse to saying hello and shaking hands. I plan on simply enjoying myself, conduct some business, and will even sign autographs and/or do a quick sketch as I normally do. (The only thing I haven't decided is whether to only draw my characters or do a Sonic or Knuckles if asked, as a lot of people who'll be there may know me, but aren't aware of the legal fight.)

 

 

No characters have been scrapped. I haven't figured out yet exactly the specifics of what role characters such as Dr. Quack and the Substitute Freedom Fighters play, but I know they'll be woven into the tapestry of the story somewhere down the road. The Royal Family will be involved to a greater degree by virtue of their relationship to the Brotherhood of the Guardians. 

Actually, Commander Taelor is only prominent when he needs to be. He represents the audience in a way, as it is his character that allows me to shape the story in a way to allow for new readers to jump onboard without making them feel overwhelmed they have to absorb all the material long-time readers are already familiar with. As a counterpoint, there is a wealth of new material that adds to the mythology as well as fill in the blanks for the established audience so they don't feel like I'm just reissuing the same ol' same ol'. 

As for Lara-Su, she was always intended to take her father's place, as I actually envisioned Knuckles as a character whose life we experience from beginning to end and beyond to see the legacy he left behind. I don't look at Lara-Su as an usurper because of this. (And even if I came to some agreement with Sega regarding the use of Knuckles because of the plans I have in store, Lara-Su would still be the focus simply because I'm more intrigued at this time working with the dynamics of a female lead character. There's not enough of them for one thing. I also believe both Lara-Su and Julie-Su are the best conduits for any examination of the character of the Praetorian, at least as far as the current narrative is concerned.)

First off, I'd like to clear up a misconception. Just because I have this library of established characters and some new ones as well to play with doesn't mean ALL of them will have screen time in TL-SC:NWO. Far from it. There are six other planned volumes to the story, such as the planned follow-up volumes THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BROTHERHOOD OF THE GUARDIANS and THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: THE DARK LEGION. Most of the characters such as Prince Elias, Queen Alicia, Hershey and others won't have significant screen time until the planned THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: GEOFFREY ST. JOHN volume, which is the fifth volume in the series.

No :/ is big enough for this.

Edited July 20, 2013 by VEDJ-F