Clearing Up Sonic Misconceptions

[Ken Penders]

I started reading a number of threads while eating breakfast, got particularly absorbed in the discussion of what the nature of the SONIC series was and should be, only to discover Bob and Pat were concerned over the direction the discussion was taking and closed off some threads.

While they exercised good judgement in doing so for the reasons they did, I did have concerns of people accusing me of censorship due to comparisons of my work with Ian's. That's the least of my concerns. Honestly, if someone feels Ian's work is better than mine, chances are they paid their money to have a right to that opinion. (Even the freeloaders who didn't buy a copy of either my work or his are entitled as well, but why encourage that, eh?)

However, I'd like to clear up some misconceptions about the series that have existed for a long time. I lay part of the blame especially hard at my feet, because I either wasn't clear enough at times or didn't challenge a particular line of discussion when I should have. Nobody working on the book today has any real clear idea what the book should be other than what they perceive it to be because they weren't around for most of the book's history. I include even the people who work at SEGA, because I know the people working there now were not involved back in the day either.

When the book was initially produced, Mike Gallagher and Scott Shaw! were basically given a directive to create a book based on both animated series being produced by DiC, as well as the first two SONIC games. This format was pretty much adhered to until Mike Kanterovich and I came along as it had proven to be a popular one when Mike and Dave Manak worked on the ALF series for Marvel.

Our initial stories were likewise produced with this format in mind as we were directed to, but once we sold the first several stories, two things happened: 1) I sat down and watched the SatAM episodes I had recorded on videotape for my son, and 2) Editor Scott Fulop took control of the book.

I became enamored of the storylines in the series but was told we couldn't tie-in directly to the stories in the series as DiC - just like SEGA - refused to cooperate with us in allowing us access to their material for the purpose of tying together the continuity of the book with the show, something I was very much interested in, as was Scott. It was only during the time when it was uncertain whether or not ABC would even renew the series for a third season that DiC provided us with scripts and other materials, probably out of hope that maybe the book would help attract more viewers if it were tied in more closely with the show. Mike and I were even invited to submit outlines with the idea we would be contributing to the third season as scriptwriters. (I still have the outline for the story we submitted called "I, Robotnik!")

It was only when we we learned the show was cancelled that I changed my mind about embracing the show as it was and instead decided to proceed as if the book were the third season and continuing beyond that. There were many reasons for this but the most important one boiled down to simply this: the book's very survival. We never, ever felt the book had much of a shelf life beyond the existence of the games and animated series if we didn't develop it into its own unique series.

Those who argue the book should be faithful to the games and nothing else are totally discredited by the failure rate of other comic book series based on other video games beyond SONIC. Around the time I was about to begin submitting stories to the SONIC series, I had already contributed material to THE LEGEND OF ZELDA, which was published by Valiant Comics. ZELDA was part of the Nintendo line of comics which included SUPER MARIO BROS. and CAPTAIN N, none of which lasted beyond a half dozen or so issues for obvious reasons, the most important of which was the fact that none of the comics showed readers any character development or material beyond the games themselves. So the track record of other licensed properties, particularly those based on other video game properties, had a profound influence on what material I submitted to the editors.

As for SEGA dictating what was approved for the comic, it was more a case of learning what they wouldn't approve, as the people in charge of approving what we did treated our submissions as attempts at defining pornography: they couldn't actually describe what it was, but they knew what they didn't like as soon as they saw it. Among the story outlines Mike K and I initially submitted to editor Paul Castiglia included a Sonic Vs. Mario scenario. Only we didn't call the villains Mario and Luigi and they were dentists as opposed to plumbers. SEGA shot this one down immediately while giving us the greenlight on "THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE HEDGEHOG", "BEAT THE CLOCK!" and "FOOD FOR THOUGHT", all of which saw print in SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #11.

Nor could SEGA describe what they had in mind when they wanted us to feature KNUCKLES in the comic for the first time or asking us to develop a PRINCESS SALLY mini-series. Everything was a shot in the dark back then. So unsure of what to do with Knuckles, SEGA ordered Scott Fulop to pull "THIS ISLAND HEDGEHOG!" from its slot in the pages of SONIC #13. By the time they made this demand, the book was already on the presses. Faced with the prospect of having to absorb all additional production and printing costs and penalties if they forced Archie to take this action, SEGA backed down and relented, allowing Archie to publish the issue as initially approved.

While we sat on Knuckles for awhile, SEGA decided to test the waters to see if PRINCESS SALLY had any potential in expanding the female audience for video games. Again, it was their indecision that resulted in a delayed publication as well as (what Mike and I regarded as) a dumbed-down storyline from what was originally planned. I was planning to introduce Queen Alicia and show what happened to the kingdom and its subjects when Robotnik took power.

It wasn't ego on my part as much as was having to come up with so much material on a regular basis that necessitated me taking an attitude to use and add character and story elements that I felt would serve the series' long-term interests while ignoring what I felt were a detriment to those interests. Scott - as did Justin later on - always encouraged me to follow my instincts based both on the resulting sales figures and reader reaction to Mike G's and Angelo's early storylines.

Mike G was favored until Mike K and I came along and shook up the apple cart. After that, then like now resulted in comparisons being made. Mike's high points were SONIC #25, the Tails storyline which lead to his mini-series and of course, MECHA MADNESS. But he was getting criticized for his more humorous approach when compared to the high adventure Mike K and I aimed for. Likewise, Angelo couldn't quite get the hang of the character in his stories, which didn't find favor with the readership either.

Either working with Mike K or on my own, I never saw the book as a spin-off of SatAM, but rather a companion piece that filled in the blanks in a way the animated series couldn't, leaving room for other aspects of the Sonic mythos from other media to be incorporated whenever possible. Thus, when I discovered the animated Sonic feature that depicted Knuckles wearing an Aussie-styled headgear, I immediately wanted to incorporate that element as part of the character.

Imagine my surprise when I was told "no" based on the fact that version of Knuckles was licensed to another company. (Thus, readers who were curious why I had Knuckles try on the hat for a panel, but did not do anything with that visual element until MOBIUS: 25 YEARS LATER, now discover the legalties of dealing with licensed propeties tend to creep in now and then, yet another reason to stick with the continuity I created, rather than tread on the feet of others who might have lawyers waiting in the wings.)

The pivotal point in the book's history occurred at the time of ENDGAME. That story was a clear demarcation point between what had come before and what was yet to come, with BRAVE NEW WORLD sealing the deal. It was also the time I had to pick between writing SONIC and writing KNUCKLES.

One of the main reasons - I believe - that neither Karl or Ian has created something along the lines of an ENDGAME is because neither has presented a clear enough vision of what came before separated by a total change in direction. Ian could have done that with his most recent storyline, but didn't. At this point, I don't think he can at the risk of creating a detriment to sales, losing the segment of fans still reading the book in order to follow the characters and story developments that initially drew them to the series.

Karl's storyline with the BEM/Xorda was never embraced by the readership at large, and while most readers point to Sally's slap of Sonic as a pivotal moment, they tend to overlook the story itself when discussing the moment. Another problem with Karl's storylines is many of them picked up on threads I left dangling which many felt he didn't properly develop into something deeper. Either he should have gone in his own direction or run with the ball totally as it was given to him. Instead, he ran somewhere to the middle with mixed results.

The discontinuation of SONIC X and its replacement SONIC UNIVERSE supports this theory. The former never really enjoyed even close to the sales of the original book series while the latter is highly dependent of material and characters originally featured in the original series.

The one aspect of the criticism of Ian's run I find highly disturbing is laying the blame for the book's current weak sales solely at his feet. Artist Tracy Yardley is due for his fair share of commentary as is cover artist Sanford Greene, based on the criticisms relayed to me by various retailers and readers. As this is a comic book, art plays an important part in attracting a readership, and I don't believe neither measures up to the standards of many of the artists who previously worked on this book. Neither would be my choice of artist if I were working on the book today.

Getting back to pivotal moments in the book's history, another was when Mike Pellerito and I were figuring out who to aim the book for. That is, who was the target audience?

This was a question that we constantly asked ourselves ever since the book was nearing the 100th issue and we realized most of our audience consisted of readers who grew up along with us. Do we aim for them alone as most series do? Or do you maintain some foothold for new readers to latch onto?

I didn't have what sounded like a convincing answer until I had a conversation with then-Image publisher Jim Valentino. We both agreed that both Marvel and DC committed a major mistake in allowing their major characters to be aimed for an ever-increasing adult audience, as it prevented the kids from picking up the latest adventures of the same characters we came to love when we started reading comic books. We didn't care about first issues or collectability, but rather our focus was on the characters and their adventures. Likewise, I came to feel that SONIC was abandoning it's primary target audience in favor of the one who grew up with the book.

Thus, I began taking the approach with the last several stories I wrote for the book in which I aimed specifically for the younger set while doing my best to retain what I could of the long-term readership. When Dan Drazen took me to task over certain story points in the LINE OF ASCENSION storyline, I responded with a comment that I was deliberately aiming for the younger set rather than the older crowd, which understandably upset him as in effect I was telling him he was no longer considered the primary audience for the book.

(In a turnabout-is-fair-play scenario, I've come to feel that both Marvel and DC feel the same way about readers like me, who have supported them for decades only to feel much like Dan did about Sonic at that point, that the books are no longer aimed for me. Fortunately, I have the stories from the Marvel and DC books that really matter to me permanently in my library.)

As far as the book is concerned now, while I may have comments, I won't be exactly providing a blueprint of what Ian or anyone else should do with regards to improving the book. First of all, my words would either be ignored or attempts would be made to discredit whatever I say. Second, why give away for free what one should be paid for?

It's useless to compare me with Ian and vice versa for a number of reasons, and I certainly don't need defending when my track record speaks for itself. Anyone want to bet that if I were to return to SONIC it wouldn't create waves one way or another? One can certainly criticize my work if they prefer Ian's, but let's be civil about it. Likewise, I hope those who enjoy Ian's work can accept there is a segment of the audience who will always prefer my version.

It's just a matter of individual taste.

[Mavrickindigo]

Wow, Ken/Mr. Penders! What a great way to put things back in order around here. I admit though I am disappointed with the change of rules around here, but I feel your words are the final nail in these infuriating arguments that caused the problems in the last few days.

Of course, the only thing I'm a little upset about is your criticism on Yardley and the art of the book today. I can see where you're going, even though there was a period of time dominated by horrific art in the comic, that time as also complimented by some spectacular stuff. Though I do like how the comic is now aiming for a more unified look in its characters, and Yardley and the rest of the illustrative team are doing a wonderful job at making all of the characters look like they are from the same world (Though I would love to have stories illustrated by Spaz or J. Axer or many of the other artists around the time of endgame.)

[Turbo Tails]

If I may, here's an idea change that might or might not work for this board on the main list. It doesn't hurt to try something different, now does it?

Archie/Satam Sonic! (Any of the stuff Ken did at Archie goes here)

Archie/Sega Sonic! (Anything/Everything else goes here)

[Mavrickindigo]

If I may, here's an idea change that might or might not work for this board on the main list. It doesn't hurt to try something different, now does it?

Archie/Satam Sonic! (Any of the stuff Ken did at Archie goes here)

Archie/Sega Sonic! (Anything/Everything else goes here)

I think it would be silly to do something like that. I mean the current comic references a lot of stuff that Ken did. There'd be a lot of holes in discussion.

I mean if you really want to talk about non-Ken related Sonic stuff, you could always join that OTHER board.

[Orson Zedd]

It's useless to compare me with Ian and vice versa for a number of reasons, and I certainly don't need defending when my track record speaks for itself.

Yes, it certainly does.

[Turbo Tails]

If I may, here's an idea change that might or might not work for this board on the main list. It doesn't hurt to try something different, now does it?

Archie/Satam Sonic! (Any of the stuff Ken did at Archie goes here)

Archie/Sega Sonic! (Anything/Everything else goes here)

I think it would be silly to do something like that. I mean the current comic references a lot of stuff that Ken did. There'd be a lot of holes in discussion.

I mean if you really want to talk about non-Ken related Sonic stuff, you could always join that OTHER board.

Why have a bunch of boards that just talk about only one person at a time, when you can have one where you could talk about every Archie comic writer! It might sound silly to you, but it doesn't to me. Instead of thinking everything I say is silly, why not give something different/new a try?

[henryii]

If I may, here's an idea change that might or might not work for this board on the main list. It doesn't hurt to try something different, now does it?

Archie/Satam Sonic! (Any of the stuff Ken did at Archie goes here)

Archie/Sega Sonic! (Anything/Everything else goes here)

I like and vote for this idea.

[Antarctic Deity]

Sanford Greene's only covers in the entirety of Ian Flynn's run are 166, 177 and 212. That's 3 issues out of 78, not counting Sonic X.

[Mavrickindigo]

If I may, here's an idea change that might or might not work for this board on the main list. It doesn't hurt to try something different, now does it?

Archie/Satam Sonic! (Any of the stuff Ken did at Archie goes here)

Archie/Sega Sonic! (Anything/Everything else goes here)

I think it would be silly to do something like that. I mean the current comic references a lot of stuff that Ken did. There'd be a lot of holes in discussion.

I mean if you really want to talk about non-Ken related Sonic stuff, you could always join that OTHER board.

Why have a bunch of boards that just talk about only one person at a time, when you can have one where you could talk about every Archie comic writer! It might sound silly to you, but it doesn't to me. Instead of thinking everything I say is silly, why not give something different/new a try?

seems kinda odd for the "Ken Penders board." Oh well, doesn't matter. I probably won't be here much longer anyway, seeing as there's nothing new archie-related allowed to be discussed here and retreading old stories over and over and over again will lead to stagnation of topics eventually until we reach the point where the only stuff we can talk about are all Sonic things that aren't non-ken Archie. I don't know, but I have other boards to talk about the comic books.

[SynjoDeonecros]

Why have a bunch of boards that just talk about only one person at a time, when you can have one where you could talk about every Archie comic writer! It might sound silly to you, but it doesn't to me. Instead of thinking everything I say is silly, why not give something different/new a try?

seems kinda odd for the "Ken Penders board." Oh well, doesn't matter. I probably won't be here much longer anyway, seeing as there's nothing new archie-related allowed to be discussed here and retreading old stories over and over and over again will lead to stagnation of topics eventually until we reach the point where the only stuff we can talk about are all Sonic things that aren't non-ken Archie. I don't know, but I have other boards to talk about the comic books.[/quote]

Oh, ye of little faith; with a legacy in the comic as long as Ken's has been, and those elusive details that never made it to print that Ken promised he'd release, there's a TON of things we can talk about; talks about the executive meddling that happened, changed plot events, story elements that seem questionable in retrospect, conflicts with other writers, etc. The talk about his take on Knuckles ALONE could tide this board over for years.

[Paul-Agnew]

*

[Spite]

Although I was only 7 years old at the time, I actually enjoyed the early Mike Gallagher stories. They were just fun and silly. I re-read them all the time because it was my only fix between game releases. But of course, when the story got more serialized there was definitely no turning back.

Back then the video games didn't have much story to them, other than what you read in the instruction manual. So the comic didn't really have much trouble integrating game stuff into the fold like Knuckles, whose only story at the time was guarding an emerald on an island. But then cut to years later when Sonic Adventure comes out, suddenly the comic has to fit in this huge story where it didn't really belong. Ken or whoever did a good enough job fitting in the Knuckles clan storyline (it fit surprisingly well with the already established back-story), but ultimately that was the first time I began losing interest in the comic. That adaption went on for six months, and it was just painful. I was counting down the months til when it would end, but then we got that lame Silver Sonic story after that so that was another 2 months before the story got back on track. 8 months of boring filler!

And ever since the first two Sonic Adventures, the stories are all over the place, do people really want to see that stuff in the comic? Would people want Sonic in an arabian storybook for a couple of issues, and then in the next he randomly turns into a werewolf for awhile, and then after that he's off to save aliens from Robotniks space carnival? The games have no continual storyline. If you base the comic off the games it will fail completely. The comic has always succeeded because it does its own thing, and for proof you need look no further than the fact that it is still going.

[Mavrickindigo]

Why have a bunch of boards that just talk about only one person at a time, when you can have one where you could talk about every Archie comic writer! It might sound silly to you, but it doesn't to me. Instead of thinking everything I say is silly, why not give something different/new a try?

seems kinda odd for the "Ken Penders board." Oh well, doesn't matter. I probably won't be here much longer anyway, seeing as there's nothing new archie-related allowed to be discussed here and retreading old stories over and over and over again will lead to stagnation of topics eventually until we reach the point where the only stuff we can talk about are all Sonic things that aren't non-ken Archie. I don't know, but I have other boards to talk about the comic books.

Oh, ye of little faith; with a legacy in the comic as long as Ken's has been, and those elusive details that never made it to print that Ken promised he'd release, there's a TON of things we can talk about; talks about the executive meddling that happened, changed plot events, story elements that seem questionable in retrospect, conflicts with other writers, etc. The talk about his take on Knuckles ALONE could tide this board over for years.[/quote]yeah, but a lot of those things requires Ken himself to come down and tell us things, and that seems more appropriate to "Ask Ken." Sure when he comes around and answers questions, it sparks new discussion, but after that dies down, there's a period of stagnation until we have to talk about something else.

But then again, why allow other Sonic incarnations, like the games, if Ken had nothing to do with them?

[SynjoDeonecros]

The games are what started the comic and SatAM, and there's plenty of SatAM/Comic influences in the games, especially if the rumors of Sonic Chronicles being loosely based on Ken's Knuckles miniseries are true. It would be like talking about the American's part in WWII without talking about Pearl Harbor; you can't debate something without delving into its origins.