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

[horridus]

39 minutes ago, Tylinos said:

Naturally, only Ken could somehow take this already absurd line of logic and make it even more nonsensical.  Apparently, by the word of Ken, reprinting the pre-reboot is a no-brainer because money, but reprinting the post-reboot is something we shouldn't count on happening because of secret reasons.  What.

Somehow, I get the feeling this supposed reason is his dumb "oh I own post-reboot Eggman btw" argument.  Even though that same stupid argument can also be used for the pre-reboot reprints that he already insists IDW wants to do.  That, or even he knows his argument has no merit, so he just threw out a fill-in-the-blank to avoid giving actual reasoning to back himself up.

...Why am I even surprised by any of this?

If that deeply, deeply asinine train of logic has any kind of validity, then all it means is that there will be zero reprints of any kind in the forseeable future, which means Ken STILL gets squat. Like... we've established that Archie was never THAT important to SEGA. I mean for crying out loud, the man once claimed he would take his case against SEGA to the Supreme Court if needed after it was dismissed- tortured logic has been this man's friend from the onset. 

26 minutes ago, KingScoopaKoopa said:

Sometimes I wonder if even he believes so much of what he says, or if he's just saying it to stir things up in a desperate bid to remain relevant.

It's fun guessing game to play- tragically there is enough evidence to support either theory. 

[King Scoopa Koopa]

I'm trying to think of a time that IDW has made haste in reprinting old stories after acquiring a previously-handled license. I don't think they've ever done it within the first year -- maybe longer -- so Penders is probably going to be flying this flag for a while until they do.

[Salamander]

6 hours ago, KingScoopaKoopa said:

Sometimes I wonder if even he believes so much of what he says, or if he's just saying it to stir things up in a desperate bid to remain relevant.

My rule of thumb in such cases is always "Why not both?"

[Big Panda]

17 hours ago, KingScoopaKoopa said:

I'm trying to think of a time that IDW has made haste in reprinting old stories after acquiring a previously-handled license. I don't think they've ever done it within the first year -- maybe longer -- so Penders is probably going to be flying this flag for a while until they do.

I believe they did it with the Powerpuff Girls and Dexter's Lab at around the same time their new series' were released.

[DabigRG]

11 hours ago, Ernest-Panda said:

I believe they did it with the Powerpuff Girls and Dexter's Lab at around the same time their new series' were released.

Dexter's Lab has a new series?

[SenEDDtor Missile]

On 3/8/2018 at 4:52 PM, horridus said:

Aaand yeah, Penders has this.... really, really weird mental block when it comes to Sonic as game franchise. It's like he doesn't really process the fact that first and foremost, Sonic is a video game star- one blessed with numerous animated adaptations and long running comics, one of which was the 2nd longest licensed book in the world. No other video game on Earth can boast the same... but at the end of the day, the video games are the wellspring from which everything else flows. Except Penders seems to have an extreme amount of difficulty grasping this fact- even back in the old days the comic tying into the games or being a means of promoting them (and the show that aired at the time) seemed more like an afterthought to him. Look at Sonic Live, where he couldn't be bothered to name even basic details about SEGA or the fact that they're a Japanese company. 

It's like he can only process Sonic through the lens of a comic book. Whenever he measures Sonic's success, he does so in comparison to OTHER comics rather than as a video game star, and despite the years he spent on one end of the franchise demonstrates an absolutely pitiful understanding of Sonic's precise status as a video game franchise, once drastically underestimating the number of games Sonic has had over the years. 

I'm not sure how or why this is the case, but its bizarre all the same. 

Well, honestly I think it’s a pretty obvious reason if we were to look over all of our discussions regarding the man and his antics over the years. Warning, long post in Spoiler!

Spoiler

 

The first thing to consider is that he’s very much an American guy, which means most of his understanding of media comes through a frame of reference based  on and in American culture, including Star Wars and Star Trek, both highly popular and major influences for Penders and his work both in terms of his preferences and also what he would have viewed as a path to stardom or at least establishing a lasting influence/legacy. It should also be noted that those two works, while probably not the only influences on his work, can be collectively noted to cover just about every major story trope he tends to utilize in his works, including:

Racism/gray morality/high concepts

Redemption for a father figure

Politics

Chosen Ones

Hero’s Journey/Special Destiny

Science Fiction Alien Fantasy worlds

Soft Science

and probably a lot of other stuff I don’t remember off the top of my head. And this doesn’t cover the no doubt numerous American comic tropes he’s picked up.

 

Second is regarding his stance on comics, television and movies, the mediums he most commonly cites as major money/fame makers. One thing to note is that these three (at least by the time Sonic starting rolling out the comics) have been given legitimacy as art forms in varying degrees, with movies/television being the most solidified over the course of a century, and comics being more recently validated by works such as Watchmen, Killing Joke, Dark Knight Returns and etc., but to an extent are still seen as being no quite as high tier as television and movies.

 Videogames by contrast are still stuck in the moody teenager growing pains years, with some understanding of them but not quite certain where they stand in relation to other mediums, while others - likely including Ken himself - probably seeing them as a novelty or toy at best, and thus nothing to be taken seriously outside of selling as a product or for children.

 

Thirdly is the people affiliated with the above works (tv/movies/comics) and culture who have been essentially elevated to stardom through a mixture of good timing and their own hard work (emphasis on hard work; that’s important), like Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Frank Miller, Alan Moore, George Lucas and etc. While one can argue about some of these people falling from grace, it’s no secret that they are nonetheless very important to their particular industries at one point or another, and helped to legitimize parts of their work and in grain themselves into American culture one way or another. Ken no doubt was deeply inspired by these people throughout is early years and likely desired to reach their level of fame and monetary glory someday.

The final piece is the man himself. We’ve established that he’s a massive narcissist with a belief that he’s more talented, magnanimous, and eloquent than he actually is, and due to his years of complacency and never expanding his frame of reference outside of the Star Wars/Trek era that he seems to be so fixated on, is not only horridly outdated but also has immense difficulty adapting to changing times or creating things that aren’t limited to a specific period of time, or even realizing that there’s a problem in the first place. As such, it’s not too much of a guess to assume that he’s more likely to blame something else instead of himself. Him also being prone to racist and sexist gaffs likely also implies he probably doesn’t subconsciously see anyone who isn’t American  being worthy of his attention outside of beefing up his credentials as a “man of the world”.

 

TL;DR:

When you take all of the points above, you get a pretty comprehensive picture of Kens mindset, in that when he first started on Sonic, he likely saw it as merely a toy with a comic as a sort of commercial created by a culture he neither cared about or saw as anything worthy of his attention. Rather, he instead basically saw a chance to turn it into a series based on the American culture he grew up with, thus in his mind legitimizing it into a series worthy of a legacy on par with major comic legends, perhaps one day going into tv and movies, thus further cementing his rise to glory.

However, this proved to be an impossible dream because of the complacent workplace in Archie and his own terrible work ethic and creative sterility coming to the forefront, and instead of a well regarded run for a major video game star, it instead essentially became a lesser furry space opera version of Star Trek Wars.

Of course, Ken did take the failure hard, but he didn’t see it as his own fault. Obviously if his legacy is not in comics, then it MUST be because comics are not legitimate, and that he MUST break into tv and movies to become great. Rather than recognize his faults, he instead blames the medium and the supposed lack of things to work with for Sonic.

As for why he still sees things in the frame of comics? Because for all of his attempts to break into more “legitimate” industries, he simply doesn’t have the work ethic, patience or willingness to learn to understand how those other industries actually work, and thus can only rely on an increasingly limited and outdated framework. Combined together with his recent shooting himself in the foot, and he can now only coast on by the embers of his former flames, barely shielded by the Caves of obscure Infamy.

[Big Panda]

2 hours ago, DabigRG said:

Dexter's Lab has a new series?

It had one. It only ran for 4 issues. Dexter's Laboratory Classics, which reprinted issues of the old DC series, were printed alongside it.

They also did a "Classics" series for PPG.

[DabigRG]

1 hour ago, Ernest-Panda said:

It had one. It only ran for 4 issues. Dexter's Laboratory Classics, which reprinted issues of the old DC series, were printed alongside it.

They also did a "Classics" series for PPG.

Oooh, a comic book series! Okay then.

[horridus]

8 hours ago, SenEDDtor Missile said:

Well, honestly I think it’s a pretty obvious reason if we were to look over all of our discussions regarding the man and his antics over the years. Warning, long post in Spoiler!

  Reveal hidden contents

 

The first thing to consider is that he’s very much an American guy, which means most of his understanding of media comes through a frame of reference based  on and in American culture, including Star Wars and Star Trek, both highly popular and major influences for Penders and his work both in terms of his preferences and also what he would have viewed as a path to stardom or at least establishing a lasting influence/legacy. It should also be noted that those two works, while probably not the only influences on his work, can be collectively noted to cover just about every major story trope he tends to utilize in his works, including:

Racism/gray morality/high concepts

Redemption for a father figure

Politics

Chosen Ones

Hero’s Journey/Special Destiny

Science Fiction Alien Fantasy worlds

Soft Science

and probably a lot of other stuff I don’t remember off the top of my head. And this doesn’t cover the no doubt numerous American comic tropes he’s picked up.

 

Second is regarding his stance on comics, television and movies, the mediums he most commonly cites as major money/fame makers. One thing to note is that these three (at least by the time Sonic starting rolling out the comics) have been given legitimacy as art forms in varying degrees, with movies/television being the most solidified over the course of a century, and comics being more recently validated by works such as Watchmen, Killing Joke, Dark Knight Returns and etc., but to an extent are still seen as being no quite as high tier as television and movies.

 Videogames by contrast are still stuck in the moody teenager growing pains years, with some understanding of them but not quite certain where they stand in relation to other mediums, while others - likely including Ken himself - probably seeing them as a novelty or toy at best, and thus nothing to be taken seriously outside of selling as a product or for children.

 

Thirdly is the people affiliated with the above works (tv/movies/comics) and culture who have been essentially elevated to stardom through a mixture of good timing and their own hard work (emphasis on hard work; that’s important), like Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Frank Miller, Alan Moore, George Lucas and etc. While one can argue about some of these people falling from grace, it’s no secret that they are nonetheless very important to their particular industries at one point or another, and helped to legitimize parts of their work and in grain themselves into American culture one way or another. Ken no doubt was deeply inspired by these people throughout is early years and likely desired to reach their level of fame and monetary glory someday.

The final piece is the man himself. We’ve established that he’s a massive narcissist with a belief that he’s more talented, magnanimous, and eloquent than he actually is, and due to his years of complacency and never expanding his frame of reference outside of the Star Wars/Trek era that he seems to be so fixated on, is not only horridly outdated but also has immense difficulty adapting to changing times or creating things that aren’t limited to a specific period of time, or even realizing that there’s a problem in the first place. As such, it’s not too much of a guess to assume that he’s more likely to blame something else instead of himself. Him also being prone to racist and sexist gaffs likely also implies he probably doesn’t subconsciously see anyone who isn’t American  being worthy of his attention outside of beefing up his credentials as a “man of the world”.

 

TL;DR:

When you take all of the points above, you get a pretty comprehensive picture of Kens mindset, in that when he first started on Sonic, he likely saw it as merely a toy with a comic as a sort of commercial created by a culture he neither cared about or saw as anything worthy of his attention. Rather, he instead basically saw a chance to turn it into a series based on the American culture he grew up with, thus in his mind legitimizing it into a series worthy of a legacy on par with major comic legends, perhaps one day going into tv and movies, thus further cementing his rise to glory.

However, this proved to be an impossible dream because of the complacent workplace in Archie and his own terrible work ethic and creative sterility coming to the forefront, and instead of a well regarded run for a major video game star, it instead essentially became a lesser furry space opera version of Star Trek Wars.

Of course, Ken did take the failure hard, but he didn’t see it as his own fault. Obviously if his legacy is not in comics, then it MUST be because comics are not legitimate, and that he MUST break into tv and movies to become great. Rather than recognize his faults, he instead blames the medium and the supposed lack of things to work with for Sonic.

As for why he still sees things in the frame of comics? Because for all of his attempts to break into more “legitimate” industries, he simply doesn’t have the work ethic, patience or willingness to learn to understand how those other industries actually work, and thus can only rely on an increasingly limited and outdated framework. Combined together with his recent shooting himself in the foot, and he can now only coast on by the embers of his former flames, barely shielded by the Caves of obscure Infamy.

I should point out that Penders himself has very specifically denied any Star Wars influence in his work, claiming repeatedly to be much more of a Trek fan than a Star Wars fan. To a degree I can believe  this, given that the manipulative, near mono-gendered Brotherhood and their condoning of Locke's shady genetic experiments on his own son to fulfill a nebulous 'destiny' is conceptually closer to the Bene Gesserit of Dune than the Jedi of Star Wars, which has been referenced in his work more than a few times. Of course, that being said, the validity of this statement is drawn into question when one considers the 'Chaos Force' thing started with him and the whole 'Ghost' thing they demonstrate being rather similar to the Force Ghost of the Jedi thing... to say nothing of the Millenium Falcon's little cameo, though he swears up and down that it was Butler who inserted it and not him.

That being said, yeah, these are good points. For all of Penders proclaimed comic fanboyism, he doesn't really seem to take the medium itself all that seriously given that most of his statements are more connected to the Marvel films than the actual books, and has repeatedly voiced his refusal to call his current project a 'comic' in favor of it being a 'graphic novel'. I've always gotten the impression that he really wanted to do film or television and simply 'settled' on comics because it was more in his reach- his obsession with founding a film franchise is a thread that keeps coming up, be it Sonic or the Lost Ones or the Republic. 

So yeah, it makes sense then that he doesn't consider Sonic as a video game franchise, but purely in its terms as a comic. It's such a strange, childish thing for him to do, to pretend that everything else doesn't matter except the one part he cared about, especially given his insistence that he has business sense. Which is nothing surprising by this point, mind you, but its bewildering all the same. 

[Sidronas]

On 11/03/2018 at 2:13 AM, SenEDDtor Missile said:

Well, honestly I think it’s a pretty obvious reason if we were to look over all of our discussions regarding the man and his antics over the years. Warning, long post in Spoiler!

  Reveal hidden contents

 

The first thing to consider is that he’s very much an American guy, which means most of his understanding of media comes through a frame of reference based  on and in American culture, including Star Wars and Star Trek, both highly popular and major influences for Penders and his work both in terms of his preferences and also what he would have viewed as a path to stardom or at least establishing a lasting influence/legacy. It should also be noted that those two works, while probably not the only influences on his work, can be collectively noted to cover just about every major story trope he tends to utilize in his works, including:

Racism/gray morality/high concepts

Redemption for a father figure

Politics

Chosen Ones

Hero’s Journey/Special Destiny

Science Fiction Alien Fantasy worlds

Soft Science

and probably a lot of other stuff I don’t remember off the top of my head. And this doesn’t cover the no doubt numerous American comic tropes he’s picked up.

 

Second is regarding his stance on comics, television and movies, the mediums he most commonly cites as major money/fame makers. One thing to note is that these three (at least by the time Sonic starting rolling out the comics) have been given legitimacy as art forms in varying degrees, with movies/television being the most solidified over the course of a century, and comics being more recently validated by works such as Watchmen, Killing Joke, Dark Knight Returns and etc., but to an extent are still seen as being no quite as high tier as television and movies.

 Videogames by contrast are still stuck in the moody teenager growing pains years, with some understanding of them but not quite certain where they stand in relation to other mediums, while others - likely including Ken himself - probably seeing them as a novelty or toy at best, and thus nothing to be taken seriously outside of selling as a product or for children.

 

Thirdly is the people affiliated with the above works (tv/movies/comics) and culture who have been essentially elevated to stardom through a mixture of good timing and their own hard work (emphasis on hard work; that’s important), like Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Frank Miller, Alan Moore, George Lucas and etc. While one can argue about some of these people falling from grace, it’s no secret that they are nonetheless very important to their particular industries at one point or another, and helped to legitimize parts of their work and in grain themselves into American culture one way or another. Ken no doubt was deeply inspired by these people throughout is early years and likely desired to reach their level of fame and monetary glory someday.

The final piece is the man himself. We’ve established that he’s a massive narcissist with a belief that he’s more talented, magnanimous, and eloquent than he actually is, and due to his years of complacency and never expanding his frame of reference outside of the Star Wars/Trek era that he seems to be so fixated on, is not only horridly outdated but also has immense difficulty adapting to changing times or creating things that aren’t limited to a specific period of time, or even realizing that there’s a problem in the first place. As such, it’s not too much of a guess to assume that he’s more likely to blame something else instead of himself. Him also being prone to racist and sexist gaffs likely also implies he probably doesn’t subconsciously see anyone who isn’t American  being worthy of his attention outside of beefing up his credentials as a “man of the world”.

 

TL;DR:

When you take all of the points above, you get a pretty comprehensive picture of Kens mindset, in that when he first started on Sonic, he likely saw it as merely a toy with a comic as a sort of commercial created by a culture he neither cared about or saw as anything worthy of his attention. Rather, he instead basically saw a chance to turn it into a series based on the American culture he grew up with, thus in his mind legitimizing it into a series worthy of a legacy on par with major comic legends, perhaps one day going into tv and movies, thus further cementing his rise to glory.

However, this proved to be an impossible dream because of the complacent workplace in Archie and his own terrible work ethic and creative sterility coming to the forefront, and instead of a well regarded run for a major video game star, it instead essentially became a lesser furry space opera version of Star Trek Wars.

Of course, Ken did take the failure hard, but he didn’t see it as his own fault. Obviously if his legacy is not in comics, then it MUST be because comics are not legitimate, and that he MUST break into tv and movies to become great. Rather than recognize his faults, he instead blames the medium and the supposed lack of things to work with for Sonic.

As for why he still sees things in the frame of comics? Because for all of his attempts to break into more “legitimate” industries, he simply doesn’t have the work ethic, patience or willingness to learn to understand how those other industries actually work, and thus can only rely on an increasingly limited and outdated framework. Combined together with his recent shooting himself in the foot, and he can now only coast on by the embers of his former flames, barely shielded by the Caves of obscure Infamy.

His "Lost One" also fits as another good example of this, wheareas instead of making it good (or at least say that the comic book went back to the drawing board and trying to improve upon it) he thinks that it was not his writing's fault and thinks that making it into a movie as is is good. =( 

[DaddlerTheDalek]

6 hours ago, Sidronas said:

His "Lost One" also fits as another good example of this, wheareas instead of making it good (or at least say that the comic book went back to the drawing board and trying to improve upon it) he thinks that it was not his writing's fault and thinks that making it into a movie as is is good. =( 

I believe he wanted to create a new franchise as fast as possible. He seems to try the same thing with Lara-Su Chronicles .

[Promethean0416]

Well, if anybody has Lara-Su fanart they want to post, Mr. Penders is now apparently taking submissions for a gallery section for his app.

(I do not know how to post Twitter screenshots, just check out his Twitter page for the post.)

 

[SenEDDtor Missile]

1 hour ago, Promethean0416 said:

Well, if anybody has Lara-Su fanart they want to post, Mr. Penders is now apparently taking submissions for a gallery section for his app.

(I do not know how to post Twitter screenshots, just check out his Twitter page for the post.)

 

I’m expecting him to take some of them for “inspiration” and then throw the original artists under the bus later.

[Shaddy Zaphod]

Just send him tons of art of characters he doesn't even have the rights to.

[SenEDDtor Missile]

3 hours ago, Shaddy the Zaphod said:

Just send him tons of art of characters he doesn't even have the rights to.

You forget, it’s fanwork of “HIS” characters, and therefore they belong to him despite technically being SEGA’s. At least in his mind.

[horridus]

I have to question the wisdom of asking for fanart for something that hasn't been released yet, nor shows any sign of being released anytime soon. It feels like a weird attempt to project an image of interest when in the end of the only respondants will be those who follow his twitter. But hey, if he wants to waste more time on this superfluous nonsense for this superfluous app, then that's his problem. 

1 hour ago, SenEDDtor Missile said:

I’m expecting him to take some of them for “inspiration” and then throw the original artists under the bus later.

....huh. This is actually a really good point. Given the dangers of fanart, why would he risk incurring this kind of thing??

[RedFox99]

1 hour ago, SenEDDtor Missile said:

I’m expecting him to take some of them for “inspiration” and then throw the original artists under the bus later.

Would it be the first time he did that?

[horridus]

13 minutes ago, RedFox99 said:

Would it be the first time he did that?

Tragically, no. Penders is not a stranger to stealing from fanwork.

It makes this move of his all the more questionable given that he himself recently pointed out the dangers of creators interacting with fanworks.... ironically enough while being confronted over what he did here and denying that any such thing had happened, even going so far as to claim that Agnew was 'delusional'. 

[Adamis]

Your link doesn't work.

Quote

Hrm.

Wayback Machine doesn't have that page archived.

Want to search for all archived pages under http://kenpenders.com/forums/ ?

 

[RedFox99]

You think we should warn people about submitting fan art to Ken Penders?

[horridus]

30 minutes ago, Adamis said:

Your link doesn't work.

 

Every. Goddamned. Time. Its either his place or this place, but I swear to Christ...

Okay, the link is incomplete for some reason- copy and paste "&t=2717" after the 18 to get where you need to go. But just to save everyone the effort, here's the whole thing in its 'glory'- Spoiler'd to spare everyone the text dump. 

Spoiler

‘End Of The Road’. A rather fitting title if I do say so myself. It allows the luxury of throwing one more reference to my beloved Transformers out there, as both the final US and UK stories during the original Marvel comic series shared this particular title. Ironically the latter ended on issue #332, and this will mark my 332nd post on the Forum. Providing that I don’t break the word limit. 

This may (or may not) surprise people, but I have been a part of this website for the best of its 17 odd years of history. I was here waaaaaaay back in the day, back when this was ‘the’ place to be for Sonic fans. Popular sites such as DeviantArt and Sonic Stadium were in their infancy, and if you wanted to post art or fiction around the Internet, then you either made your own site, or went to Sonic HQ and TeamArtail. Archie had its own site as well, but there wasn’t really much on the Sonic front. Ironically there still isn’t, so I guess some things never change. No, us fans went here if they wanted news, previews, or to read the odd reviews. It certainly wasn’t perfect though. The old-style message board was an instant medium, so if you were off for too long, whole discussions would appear and disappear in the blink of an eye. Nevertheless it was an enjoyable and tightly-knit community, with good people to talk with such as Ruby Echidna, Ian The Potto, Crazy Chameleon, and WB. One can only wonder whatever happened to them.

Years rolled on. People came and went, but the site generally remained the same. Still it was fun to be part of, and while I primarily lurked in the shadows, there were times I stepped forward and threw a few cents into the odd discussion. Thus when the site underwent its major (and long necessary) makeover in early 2010, I was one of the first to eagerly register once more. The last five years had their ups and downs, but I made the most of my time here, and had the opportunity to chat (and sometimes vigorously argue) with new fellow fans. In particular I enjoyed the brief conversations with Luger, The Patman whenever he showed up, and Tylinos, who was one of the only people to understand my attempts at humour near the end. All three of you (plus DonnieB, though we never got the chance to talk more unfortunately) were a pleasure and never a problem, and I would gladly continue a friendship with you off-site, or even in person should it ever happen.

So after all this, why have I decided to call it a day?

The reasons are plentiful; For a start, I disagree with how BobR handled the more ‘vocal’ members a while back. Yes I can empathise very well with being sick and/or going through a rough patch. It happens to us all, but a good Admin should not let their personal lives influence how they behave online. Yes the members in particular were being less than friendly, but a good Admin keeps a level head when dealing with troublemakers, being the better person. And they most certainly don’t talk up their privileges either. Still waiting to know when I can upload ‘those’ images too.

Another issue I have is with the Forum’s direction. The past 3 or so years have seen the place spiral into something of a ‘doom and gloom’ descent. In an attempt to lighten an otherwise depressing place, I wanted to inject some jokes to lighten the mood. More often than not it didn’t work, though part of the problem was attempting to convey humour across a text-based medium. Most of the time I managed to deal with this, but the first two responses from my last post (which was a joke regarding King Maxx and Sam Kieth) pretty much did it for me. And certainly not in a good way either. 

So I got up and made a snap-decision departure. After all, how hard was it for members to research the name and see what (I thought at least) was a funny reference? This was back in November 2013, and as the months rolled on, I wondered if anyone noticed my unusually lengthy absence, especially the higher-ups. Of course the answer was no, and as my dissatisfaction grew, I ultimately took one more step and began deleting all the posts I could. I know there was some confusion last year over who deleted them, so I would like to clarify now that they were all done by me out of my own free will. It wasn’t something I wanted to do or took pleasure in, but you do what you have to in order to gain notice from a certain somebody. And if that failed (which it did), then at least I could start over anew.

The plan was to post all of this exactly one year after I left, in November 2014. Sadly (or for the better) that never happened, but I’m here now and I’m posting it now.

All those reasons above were admittedly small potatoes. One doesn’t (or shouldn’t) call it quits over a few minor arguments, so it had to be something more. Something major. And that major reason I have for leaving, is you, Mr. Penders.

Before I elaborate further, I wish for this last message to have a level of fairness to it. After all, I try to be a decent person off-line and do have a heart. Plus I know what it’s like to feel broken, insulted, or go through rough patches.

Regarding your post some months ago about being AWOL, I get it. I really do, and I furthermore have a great level of empathy for you and Bernie. It’s not easy bringing people into one’s home who need constant care. It screws up any long-running routine, and the adjustments can be difficult. Nor is it easy having family members in Hospital either, and last year proved to be especially trying for me too. I lost a lot of good friends and family members in 2014, and at one point was looking destined to join them. Thankfully that wasn’t the case, and I’m still here today.

Then there’s your litigation with Archie. Alright, I will admit that facing them for reprint Royalties was a brave and daring move on your part. Inspiring even. Comic companies have screwed over creators for decades, with Archie being the most notorious of them all. They even went so far to erase poor Dan DeCarlo’s name from his own stories after he challenged them. You (along with all the rest of the crew) DID deserve a slice of the pie for the continued success of your creations, and I always wished for a peaceful resolution between both parties.

Plus I appreciate when you sent me a parcel of comics back in 2012. In particular I wish to further complement your partner, Bernadette, for her efforts in the process. She was honest, forthright, and even took time out of her busy schedule to reply to my messages in a timely manner. She comes across as an incredibly nice person, and I gotta say it must have been really hard going through the past few years, yet she continued to stand by you, so I have nothing but upmost respect for her. And I sincerely hope you appreciate that.

With that out of the way, allow me to give a little backstory on myself (for you and those who came in late):

Despite living halfway around the world and thus never meeting in person, it’s amazing how similar the experience between axemancometh and me turned out to be. I grew up relatively poor as a kid, and do not have the same nostalgic memories as other fans who were lucky enough to play the wide variety of Sonic The Hedgehog games. Instead of games, my fondest memories of Sonic come from the comics (which were FAR cheaper than a Genesis or Master System and their games), especially the stories written by you and Mr. Bollers.

Make no mistake about it. Growing up, you were my hero. My idol. I enjoyed everything you wrote, and even saw you as something as a Sonic Messiah who could write no wrong. From one Marvel fan to another, think along the lines of how Max Dillon was excellently portrayed in the most recent ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ movie. Granted I’m not that needy, nor would I plaster photos or images of my hero on the wall. Nonetheless, I did see you as something of a hero and would have (and even did) defended you on numerous occasions. You crafted so much from nothing, and got paid to do what so many of us could only dream of accomplishing. You created a whole cast of amazing characters, and I loved every second of my deep investment in this book for nearly two decades. My heart skipped a beat when Sonic kissed Sally in ‘Endgame’, I booed when Enerjak tortured Knuckles, and may have even shed a tear or two in later years when you killed off Knuckles for a few issues. All these stories and more inspired me to write and draw my own comics, and would have loved the opportunity to one day work alongside you in crafting new adventures featuring these awesome characters you created. At one point I even submitted a few samples to Archie. It was nothing outstanding, nor did they ever respond, but it was the natural fan thing to do.

Admittedly my interest in the comics did start to drop after you left, and I wasn’t as satisfied with stories credited to Mr. Flynn. There are stories he wrote that I will gladly praise however (such as STH#241 and SU#3), and It’s hard for me to outright blame him for bad ideas, since I do not know how much influence editorial and/or SEGA had on his stories. Furthermore I respect him as a fan who got a chance to live the dream, and empathise with the pain and frustration he must have gone through the past few years. You seem quick to blame him for Locke’s death, but I have to wonder if he wrote the story with the intent of killing him off, or the decision was thrust upon him at an editorial level.

A few fans have even offered to let me join them on BumbleKing a little while back. While I’m flattered, it’s an offer I must politely decline, as I no longer have the time or interest getting into arguments over a comic book. Plus there was the incident some time ago, where Mr. Flynn officially branded me as ‘insipid’ over a disagreement with how he wrote a certain character in the Sonic Encyclopaedia. Not sure if he remembers, doesn’t remember, or considers it a moot point since the character in question was erased, but either way I’d probably not be welcome with open arms. If not from him, then certain other higher-ups who would delete my account in an instant for other reasons.

Shifting back to you, in 2010 I eagerly jumped at the chance when you offered someone to work on ‘The Lost Ones’ website. It’s a project of yours I always felt had potential (along with ‘The Republic’ and even ‘A Man Without A Country’, the latter of which I own a copy of the script, and it’s a good read). It was saddening to hear that your mother had passed on, so I waited. A few months passed, and it looked as if things were finally going to go somewhere…

And then the Litigation happened.

Shortly before the announcement, BobR hinted that you were preparing some news. Controversial even. And when I woke up to see the news that fateful day, “controversial” barely began to describe the fan reaction. Taking ownership of your work was a major move, and (as mentioned before) I hoped for both sides to walk away intact. Sadly it didn’t work out that way, and from that very day, I could see any hopes of crafting new adventures of these characters spiralling down the drain. Call it a premonition, a hunch, or something more, but from day one I knew you were going to walk away victorious. 

Don’t get me wrong, I respect your daring to fight the big boys and you deserved more from Archie, but I too had aspirations. If I had any chance of creating new and official stories, then it meant playing nice. So I began defending you. Attempting to gain your favour and (as biznizz on Sonic Stadium put it best) try getting my foot in the door business-wise with you. This naturally led to more than a fair share of heated arguments with fans online, which I should have backed down from. There were no excuses for my actions, and I have since tried making amends with those who I offended or pushed away. If there’s anyone out there who feel bitter and/or I have forgotten about, let me know.

It’s hard to believe I invested so much time into defending you. Heck, I was willing to work for free if that’s what it meant. Granted you were going through a rough patch and it sounded like Archie put you through the wringer more than once. You rightfully couldn’t have responded straight away, so I was willing to wait until you either won outright, or came to an agreement with them.

That’s not to say I agreed with everything you did. Yes you have nuggets of potential ideas but, I have issues with more than one redesign or post you made online. More than once I had to bite my tongue and remind myself why I was so vigourously defending you. For a start, the redesigns of Dimitri and Julie-Su I don’t have any major issues with, but I have to wonder why you changed Lara-Su’s design so extensively, particularly the fur. If making her pink with red hair was forced on you legally (since her colours were chosen by Josh and Aimee Ray), I would have eventually come to accept it, but is that truly the case? After all, you kept Future Knuckles a shade of red, so why not our lead hero? Her distinct red and purple palette was so appealing, plus I’m disappointed you changed her snout to the stereotypical ‘Disney’ pug look (which I must admit reminded me of Roxanne from ‘A Goofy Movie’ the first time I saw it) and ditched the glasses. The visor just doesn’t cut it, plus it takes something away from the character. Ironically I asked you years ago if the visor worked similar to her old glasses, and if she was always blind. But I guess we’ll never know, since you never responded to the question. 

And don’t get me started on what has become known in the fan community as the Sukini. Why would you dress down who is supposed to be the lead teenage female heroine in a sultry swimsuit for the front cover of a sci-fi story (though ‘The Fifth Element’ did try something similar, but I don’t recall that piece of attire being the poster’s primary focus)? It doesn’t make sense story-wise either, as she had a more modest swimsuit back in STH#138, which would have worked just as well. Yes you said it was an indication the story was not for children, but there are other ways of going about this without degrading your focal character into a sex symbol. There’s certainly an audience who would be attracted by your cover, but probably not the audience you’re looking for. Which is a subject I will definitely be covering later.

Even worse yet was you retconning the entire species into Ecydnyah space aliens or whatever you call it. You have no problems keeping the name ‘Mobius’, but not keeping the species hyper-evolved monotremes? As both an Australian and wildlife conservationist, I should rightfully feel insulted by such a move. It was nice of you to consider educating people on how to properly pronounce ‘Echidna’, but what’s the point making them sound like that if they have no connection to the original species? Rather than being clever, all you’ve done is further distance the story from being a direct continuation of the past, as you have so proudly declared on many occasions.

Being nice to you got me nowhere. In retrospect, I should have been more vocal over my disagreements with you and even go so far to call you out. After all, it worked for Adamis now didn’t it?

Which coincidentally turned out to be another decision of yours that befuddled me. Can’t believe you would go and offer Adamis a job, a fan who’s had a notorious history of criticising you, your project, and even your fans at every single turn. Come to think of it, he called you an attention seeking imbecile right from the get-goand doesn’t seem to have changed such an opinion last I checked. You have set an incredible new precedent, and any other professional would have done an online check on potential future employees to see if they have the requisite maturity and respect for the job.

But I’m not bitter. In fact, I wish Adamis the best with his endeavours, even though we have never seen eye-to-eye on… well, anything.

And this doesn’t even begin to cover my issues with you. Ohhh no, it’s going to get a whole lot worse from here on in.

There’s another problem that requires addressing, and it has to do with a certain fan creation I posted back in October 2013. Luger asked a question over whether you would ever make collectible items of your characters, so I figured it would be interesting to upload a photo of an already existing ‘collectible’ of sorts. You probably don’t remember this (not that you cared at the time either, if what happened next was any indication), but along with a lengthy and humourous post, I included what was arguably the world’s first fully-articulated Lara-Su action figure. Standing at a strapping six inches tall, the figure was entirely 100% custom built (in other words, I didn’t simply resculpt a Knuckles toy like everyone else seems to do) and was far from an overnight project. No, it took a loooong time to get off the ground. 

I love Stop-Motion animation. It’s a fantastic film medium, and gradually becoming a lost art in a contemporary world of CGI. TV shows such as ‘Thunderbirds’ and ‘Captain Scarlet’, especially the attention to detail on miniature models and wonderful explosions, drove me to create models of my own. While researching how to make them move, I gave Stop-Motion a go, and it turned from an experiment into a passion. In 2007, I wanted to make a short animation featuring a cast of Sonic characters as part of a project I’ll be discussing later. As I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, concepts and final products can often be two separate monsters, and it ended up being an entirely original production, with all Sonic references removed before filming could even begin. The film even got a public screening in late 2008, with some people even complimenting that it was like ‘Robot Chicken’. As a fan of that show, I was proud as punch with the comment.

Yet I wanted to try the previous Sonic idea again. Thus in mid-2009 I went back and completely remade an earlier prototype, constantly reworking, refining, and find a way around stopping the figure from being too top-heavy. It took months of testing, but I finally completed the Lara-Su figure in March/April 2010, and I was happy. The figure’s body design became a base template, and other characters were later forged in similar fashion, such as Julie-Su, Hershey, and even Nic The Weasel. So when Luger mentioned collectibles, I figured “Oh, I’ve already done this. Still got the 2010 photos too, so I’ll upload one and see what people think.”

I will never forget your response. Or more to the point, you distinct LACK of response. Because you ignored it. Completely. Had you not replied to the thread at all, I wouldn’t have minded so much. Fair enough, you’re busy and I get it. But no, when you did respond, you jumped right over my legitimate effort and started talking up plans for your own products. This. Is. Not. On. That is NOT how a profession can, should, or would, act. 

If I made that figure (or a model, drawing, animation, or any other effort of any character you created for that matter) as a kid and posted it, and the exact same thing happened, you would have absolutely gutted me. It would have emotionally destroyed any faith and admiration I had for you. You certainly weren’t busy, since you had time to talk about your ideas to other people, instead of saying something to a fan who put months of precious time and effort into creating what was the first in a line of a fully working custom action figure of a fictional character you made. You do NOT ignore that. You respond to it. Speaking of precedents, you have given a whole new meaning to the word ‘Ungrateful’. Not to mention ‘Unprofessional’, neither I thought I’d ever type, but there you go. 

I don’t care if you didn’t like it, that’s fine. But it wouldn’t have killed you to say something. Anything! You didn’t even have to mean it. All I wanted was a “thank you for being a fan” or “thanks for taking time out of your pitiful life and showing your appreciation by creating a figure of something I created.” I would have even accepted a half-hearted “cool custom, bro!”. At least it would have shown some level of care at the very least. You had one job Mr. Penders, and that was to acknowledge when someone does something awesome for you. But I guess you’re above even that, huh? At least DabigRG responded. It wasn’t the response I had in mind, but it was something, and I appreciated that.

What makes this even more ironic is that I’ve seen better responses from people who have done less. Not sure you’re aware of Power Rangers, but in the 2014 season, there was a Silver Ranger played by Cameron Jebo. His character, Orion, was treated shamefully (along with the rest of the cast, especially actress Ciara Hanna, who never got a single episode dedicated to her character, the Yellow Ranger Gia) by production. He showed up halfway into the season, and was constantly left out of episodes to save a few pennies (and use more Japanese footage). So Mr. Jebo, a guy who had barely appeared on the show at this point, attended a convention last year and was surprised when a kid dressed up as his character. The kid asked him for an autograph, and do you know what Mr. Jebo did? He was SO flattered that someone liked his character so much and went to the time and effort to cosplay as them, he ASKED THE KID for THEIR autograph! THAT is how you respond. Mr. Jebo didn’t need to do this, but he did because THAT is how a professional treats their fans. In fact, a lot of Ranger actors (especially the most recent teams) are grateful to even HAVE fans.

And don’t you DARE try to respond about it now, because I will not have it. I don’t want to hear it, I don’t want to know about it, and I don’t care. It’s too late. You had the time to comment, criticize, or whatever the heck you wanted. If you do now, it will only come across as a half-hearted attempt as commiserating, and only because I guilted you into it. If you truly cared, you would have said something FROM THE HEART at the time, and not be obligated to now.

Nor do I want some excuse about not responding to fan efforts. In the AWOL thread, you linked to a fan redesign of your redesign. What you did to me was quite frankly horrendous. Not as horrendous in comparison to killing a pet or stealing money, but you nevertheless made me feel terrible, and while I was reluctant to agree when people said this to me months ago, I now agree with them. I expected better of you, and I DO deserve better from you. 

Now we move on to arguably the biggest issue I have. It may seem pitiful or a distinct case of screwed up priorities, but it matters to me. And that issue is the title of your project. Oh yes, that title. It’s certainly a name, and it gives readers an idea of what they’re in for at least. Maybe I would even say it’s a clever title. But alas, I cannot. Because in doing so, I would sound incredibly biased or self-serving. 

After all, I did create it ten years ago.

That’s right. Back in January 2005, I released a little thing called ‘The Lara-Su Chronicles’. Think I’m kidding? Speaking as a fellow comic fan, allow me to break this in a language you’d understand; This is not a hoax, not a dream, and certainly not an alternate reality. 
It’s no big secret around here or other sites that I like Lara-Su. Ever since you announced her existence online waaaaaay back in the late 90’s, I have been intrigued by the future daughter of Knuckles and Julie-Su, and (along with many fans) eager to learn when she’d show up. And to test your memory, none of us knew her colour, not even you.

Still remember the big reveal too. On an overcast day in early 2002, I got on my bike and pedalled up to the nearest town to buy groceries. After the shopping, I wandered over to the newsagency and saw a copy of STH#106. First day of release as well. So I purchased the issue and wandered over to a now long-defunct ice cream parlour, and read the issue over some frozen chocolate goodness. It rained on the ride home unfortunately (guess I got too caught up in the story), but the comic survived. Still got it too, and I wasn’t too thrilled when she disappeared in #109 to pastures unknown. 

Eventually 2004 came around, and with it came #131. There she was again, though things were a little different. Sure the Chaos Knuckles subplot was gone, and her personality had undergone a change, but I was pleased overall with the story. Or at least I was pleased until January 2005.

At the time, one could purchase Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” series in Australia at both newsagencies and comic book stores. Usually I’d buy newsagent copies since it was closer, but that meant both paying more, and waiting 2-3 months after their U.S. release. Sometimes I would be near a comic store, and couldn’t resist the temptation of buying a few cheaper copies beforehand. And it was during the January 2005 holidays I acquired copies of #143 and #144, eager to peek ahead at the stories within. At this point Lara-Su had quickly become a favourite of mine, and the levels of potential for this character made my creative juices flow. But as a stickler for canon, how could I go about telling a story? That answer came in the final instalment of ‘25YL’, where she vanished from existence.

Well, I couldn’t stand to see THAT happen. So a few ideas were thrown around as to how the character could keep on keeping on. The local broadcast of ‘Sonic X’ had finished its run by December 2004, and with it still in my memory, proved to be an inspiration. Since ’25 Years Later’ dealt with time travel, and the previous revelation that Mobius was a future Earth, why not… drop her into the past? Ridiculous in hindsight, but at the time seemed neat, so I went with it. One story was written, and people seemed to like it. Then another. And another. What started as my way of keeping the character (and in later years, other future characters such as Rutan, Salma, Riki-Le, Argyle and so-on) ‘alive’ became a (so far) ten year project.

Attempting to keep some kind of ‘legacy’ for this seemingly abandoned character was an endeavour I felt further justified in during 2008 when BobR revealed on the old message board that you intended to conclude the story with Lara-Su being completely erased from existence. If that was true, I cannot believe you would create a character with so much potential, and then toss them away like a useless toy, only to take it back after someone else started playing a new game. 

Now, I’m sure there are quite a few thoughts running through your head about this, and I may have an idea of them. So I’ll go ahead and cover some of the potential reactions:

1. “Paul, I know you’re bitter, but lying won’t get you anywhere.” 

Oh, I can assure you that I’m not lying. And yes there is legitimate proof to back up my claim. As I recall, this isn’t the first time you’ve been brought to task over this project either, when a fan called you out over using their space background for a promo piece. In fairness, you were right in asking for proof from them. Talk is cheap after all, and wishful thinking can be even cheaper. Any fan could claim to have created something first, but what’s the point if there’s nothing to solidify their claim? So here’s a link from August 2008 where the title is in full use. Sadly it’s the oldest ‘live’ post I can find, and you do have to read some bad fan fiction too, but there it is on the last line. There were much older examples, but a vast chunk of the Forum had to be wiped a few years back, and Internet Archive hasn’t saved many posts from the site. Nevertheless, that’s 3 ½ years before you announced the project title in early 2012.

2. “Paul, if you felt this way, why didn’t you tell me?”

It was certainly not through lack of trying, believe me. And quite frankly, I thought you already knew. When you first announced the use of this title, I was happy. Over the moon, in fact. Here I was, a virtual nobody who wrote some stories, only to discover my hero has liked it so much they’re using my title for their spin-off. How could one NOT be pleased? So I eagerly waited, with thoughts that I was going to be acknowledged or even invited on board to contribute to the ongoing adventures of characters I grew up reading. And waited. And waited. No emails ever came, so I figured you were too busy with the litigation.

Over time, I stated to wonder if such a message would ever come. As a natural multitasker, I like to cover as many projects at once when possible, and this almost came to a head in 2013. Remember when I emailed you about my visit to Los Angeles? I even offered to shout you lunch. Had things turned out differently, we would have met up in a neutral location somewhere in LA, sat down, ordered some food, and had a discussion, probably something along these lines:

ME: It’s a real honour to finally meet you! And in person too!
KEN: Thanks for the invitation.
ME: Loved your work on Sonic and Captain Atom! How are your current projects going?
KEN: Well, I’m currently hard at work on The Lara-Su Chronicles…
ME: Yeah, about the project…
KEN: Excuse me?
ME: It’s the title.
KEN: What about it?
ME: Dunno how to break it to you, but… I’ve been calling my fan fiction that title for nearly a decade. Can we talk about this and maybe even come to an agreement of sorts?

The intention was always first and foremost to talk about this name issue. As we know, the conversation never came about. And to be fair again, my timing left much to be desired. Since you were in New York dealing with the settlement, and I had already booked the flights, meeting would have been virtually impossible. It’s something I do have regret over, and do in part blame myself. It was again bad timing, and I should have contacted you earlier. 

You did apologise for the missed opportunity afterwards, which I do appreciate. Even offered to make up for it with a conversation on Skype. Not exactly the desired results, but at least it would have meant talking face-to-face and potentially dealing with the issue. It’s a call that never happened sadly, and I would be a bit more sympathetic had you not done the audio interview recently. But hey, gotta promote your product, huh?

The same cannot be said for 2014 however, when once more I travelled to Los Angeles for a few days in the middle of June. Scheduling was always going to be a hassle, as I had very limited time, and most of that was spent at BotCon. Nonetheless I could have made it work. For that visit, I decided to catch your attention on Twitter and mention a previous outburst you made over United Airlines and San Francisco. Since I too had a less than pleasant experience with both airline and airport, I asked that we should sit down and discuss our misadventures. If I had any hopes of a conversation, they were certainly dashed when you responded to the effect of ‘They never made good to me’. 

You may not have cared about my aviation troubles, but it wouldn’t have slew you to at least have the courtesy of asking anyway. All it took was a ‘Thanks for asking. What happened with you?’? No? Or did you ask why an Australian would suddenly be talking to you about a flight to California? No? Had you done so, I would have said ‘Actually I’m in LA right now. Can we sit down and talk?’. There are no excuses for this, especially since your Twitter suggested you were in town.

Once more in retrospect (we all have 20/20 in hindsight, huh?), I should have been more forceful and told you right away, but I worried that either you already knew, wouldn’t believe me, didn’t care, or it would have been in bad spirit. See, my level of respect for you was so high that I saw telling you this online was the equivalent of firing someone over an email or message. It’s a terrible feeling, and has happened to other comic creators (such as the infamous Gail Simone incident).

As my view changed, I began to wonder if maybe I was wrong. Could this be one huge coincidence, and I’m overthinking things? If so, it’s a pretty gaping one at that. Even the ‘TL-SC’ acronym was identical, right down to the middle hyphen. And for a while I was willing to pass it off as such. Or at least until I remembered one particular incident years ago.

The following revelation is something I deliberated long and hard on, leaving it out of my previous discussions and Journal entries. I wanted to discuss the matter with non-fans and casual Sonic fans who weren’t aware of the litigations, all of whom I talked with offline. It worried me that if I spoke en mass with fans on message board, they would naturally agree not because I may have a point, but due to the fact it involved you. We evenly debated, I gave arguments and counter-arguments for both perspectives, and everyone I talked with helped shape the direction I’ve taken on this matter.

Back in mid-2007, I got in contact with you over email. The message boiled down to me compiling a couple of questions from fans and if you were interested in answering them. Included in the text was a link to a website I once used to promote The Lara-Su Chronicles. It was a pretty poor effort at the time, but served the purpose I needed. Eventually I got a response from you, which mentioned being flattered by my efforts with the site. Yes. If you remember (not that I expect you to, as you must have spoken with thousands of fans over the years), I was indeed that fan. The site itself is no longer live, but a few pages are on the Internet Archive, with the earliest I can find mention TL-SC dating back to 2009.

And having this in mind, I rethought my rethink on the matter. So I’m not sure if you saw the title, liked it, and figured no-one would care or notice if you stole the name since you own the character. Or if you saw it, forgot about it, and thought you came up with the name years later. Or if this is one huge, amazing, utterly astounding coincidence. 

And even if it was, did you take the few seconds out of your life to double check? How much effort would it have required to type out the name into your preferred search engine to check if no-one had already done it? This is an absolute must for any professional, regardless of confidence, and designed to stop this sort of mess before it could even start. Done it with projects myself, and had to change a few names because of it.

Wasn’t there another question I figured you may ask? Ah yes.

3. “Would you be interested in a license deal or a buy-out?”

You offered this option up to the person who claimed to design the space backdrop, and I have a feeling you may even offer me a similar deal. If not, then I have my answer before you even think about it, and that’s a flat-out no. No, I am not interested in selling out. At all. Because this never was and still isn’t about money. It’s about telling stories. Good stories. Legitimate, honest and hopefully entertaining stories about this amazing character and her friends. Plus you cannot possibly offer me enough money to ease or forget about the pain and betrayal I’ve felt from you over the past few years. 

And yes, I would love to make these stories be officially regarded as canon. In a perfect world, I’d be creating a weekly comic strip to accompany your story on its website, but I’m not too sure that’s possible, because A: You’ll probably not like the shameless moralising that sometimes arose, and B: The characters have become so unrecognisable at this point, I wonder if it’s worth the effort attempting to fit these plots into replicas of the original cast. If you do reply to this part, I suspect it’ll be something like “You’ll change your tune when you read the final product”. Maybe so, but at this point, I won’t be changing my tune until you change yours. 

The comic changed, and you seem to have changed along with it. Not sure if the litigations have caused a rub-on effect, but I find you to be far less open to discussion these days and more about making outrageous tweets, and then pull a double-standard if someone calls you out.

It’s all very well for you to set yourself up to create this seven book series as being ‘nothing more or less’, and your planned ‘retirement project’. If this is any indication, you’ll be working on it for many years. And that’s all very well, but I do not have your seemingly vast luxury for time. No, I recognise and appreciate the time I’ve had so far, and treat what’s left of my life as precious. Especially upon learning a few weeks ago that (and let me tell you now, I had no intention of making this public, because it’s no-one else’s business, but I may as well come out and say it) I am now out of remission, and have been back in hospital for more surgery to see what needs to be removed. So I hope you can understand why my patience these days is rather thin, especially when you are concerned. You said in the message back in 2013 (and 2010 as I recall) that a conversation was going to happen. Well when exactly do you mean? See, I’ve already waited too long and all my hope is gone. I have waited at least five years for your time, and I have no intentions of wasting five more for something that will never come to pass.

This is why I am planning to go ahead and release all my original stories, starting all the way back to 2005. This is fan fiction after all, so they would be available online for free. That’s not to say I love everything I’ve written, as quite a few of the stories were outright terrible. Believe it or not, I like to think maybe I have matured as something of a writer since then, and will extensively rewrite the stories I’ve lost or don’t like, hopefully fixing many of the issues that used to plague them.

And yes, I am keeping both the species as Echidnas, and plan to continue using “The Lara-Su Chronicles” as the title. Or maybe change it up a little. There needs to be some differentiation in case people get mixed up. Something that is both truthful and respectful. But don’t worry, I will definitely (and already have since 2010) acknowledge your ownership of the characters. After all, I’m not a complete monster. It’s not as if I’m going to pull a ‘Ghostbusters’ and put “The Real” in front.

Because axemancometh got this response, I’m expecting it to happen to me as well. If the-earl-of-zerces is reading this and decides to reply with a “don’t throw childish tantrums” or “put you anger into something productive” response, there is no need to do so. As it happens, I have. I have moved on, and have been busy allowing my anger to fuel my creativity. More to the point,I am now doing freelance work on ‘The Phantom’ comic, which is Australia’s longest running (since 1948!) and most successful comic book. 

And speaking of The Phantom, it was amusing to see you on Twitter mention The Phantom as a source of inspiration, Mr. Penders. Because a few years ago, I sent you an email asking (among other things) whether or not you ever read adventures of our favourite purple costumed hero. As you’re a self-confessed reader of Charlton comics, I figured that would be the case. Not to mention the ‘legacy hero’ connection between both The Phantom and The Brotherhood seemed a bit too familiar to be a coincidence. In typical fashion, you never did respond to this, choosing to yet again dodge a question when someone calls you out on a reference. So I’m sure you can imagine how livid I would feel when you ignore the question for years from a fan, yet you’re more than eager to mention it as if no-one’s ever seen the connection before.

Maybe I would be a bit more sympathetic if you were still incredibly busy to talk online at all to anyone. But no. Nooooooo no no no no. It seems you have plenty of time to engage in conversations on Twitter with any and every other fan under the sun. I’ve seen you talk with fans who have been flat-out nasty, spiteful, and quite frankly wouldn’t give a care at all if your project was a success. Yet someone who has tried being nice to you, compliment and defend even your most absurd actions for years, and may have even bought a copy of whatever you were selling , gets completely swept under the rug. 

It is completely unfair how you treated me, especially on Twitter, where you either ignored me outright or changed the subject onto yourself. What makes it even worse is that you seem to have plenty of time to argue with every other fan, boast about your plans, or talk about politics. Now I’m no expert when it comes to that site, but you managed an incredible 2000 tweets in 15 months. How many of those tweets were genuine replies to me? None. Not even a simple sign of appreciation by Following me, which was the least you could have done (but apparently I’m not good enough, because you Followed plenty of other fans). And speaking of fans, you should have Followed poor Drew Ryan, who asked you to months ago. He used to chat with you on AIM back in the 90’s. Don’t they deserve some appreciation or recognition too?

With that being said, I was quite surprised when you replied to a Tweet of mine recently, since I was expecting nothing to come of it. Unless I misread it, you seem to have changed your tune on other people contributing to your efforts, after specifying for years that you didn’t want fans helping out, instead taking on the whole motherload yourself. It’s an interesting shift in policy, and you are right about people not hanging around forever, so that’s something. 

Which brings us ultimately to one last question: Where does all this leave us? Are you going to ignore me as per usual and move on? Or will you try and buy me out? Hit me with a C&D because I created the title of your story before you? Or file a lawsuit to gain money from free fan fiction? If you’re thinking the latter, then I have no idea what could possibly be gained from this. There are far more productive ways to spend your time. Two very specific reasons I can think of in particular:

-It’s a complete waste of time and resources. What is there to gain from all this? The security and knowledge that you legally stole a fan’s idea? An idea that I do not profit on, and ultimately lose money from in the end. Don’t know about America, but comic art boards are insanely expensive down here (IF you can find them), and I prefer illustrating the covers and chapter illustrations freehand on said boards, since they both look nice and hold the inks better. Come to think of it, all I’m doing is giving your work free promotion, since it features your characters in adventures that do not demoralise or graphically depict them in a negative light. Or at least not intentionally. 

And while we’re on the subject of bad fan works…

-There is one word I have for you. A single solitary word, and that’s PalComix. Chances are you’ve heard of this particular organisation, and if not, then I would be astounded. For those who came in late, PalComix is a website that specialises in creating pornography featuring virtually any fictional character you can think of. And Sonic the Hedgehog porn is perhaps their most successful money-spinner. For $25 a month, users are given access to art and fiction of Sonic and his friends (including nearly all of your characters) participating in activities one certainly wouldn’t see in an all-ages comic. Or hope to, for that matter. 

Last year, they put out a comic called ‘A Strange Affair’, which went into great detail how Rutan scored with Lien-Da. Yes, that is not a typo, no matter how hard I wish it were. That story was a repugnant piece of fiction originating from the fantasies of a sick and twisted mind, and quite frankly it should have stayed there. It would further amaze me if anyone actually got off to this incestuous monstrosity (rutan_rocks may at least appreciate that someone wrote a comic on a character they like, but I dunno). If that wasn’t bad enough, if you think they couldn’t possibly find a way to one-up this, PalComix did a follow-up recently, and it was far from pleasant. Amongst other events (which I won’t mention, since I’m probably close to breaking the rules as it is), the story featured Lara-Su being drugged, tied up, and forcefully raped several times by Rutan. It’s something I do not need in my life, and hope never to talk or think about ever again.

So I put forward this question; Is it worth the time and effort to block, C&D or slam a lawsuit on a lonely fan who spent ten year attempting to continue the legacy that you for all intents and purposes erased from history? Trying to create good honest stories about this character for free distribution online? Stories that show her growing and maturing from a grumpy teenager to a respectable adult Echidna, who embraces life and loves both her job and fellow citizens. An Echidna who tries to make her home a better place for everyone, must face the evils of drug lords, monsters, and struggle again seemingly impossible odds. There are times she can (and even does) lose, but ultimately she learns from these experiences and become a stronger Echidna because of it, both physically and emotionally.

Or is it worth time and effort confronting a group of people who not only profit on your intellectual property, but have no problems dragging their names through the mud and degrading them for the sexual fantasies of the fanbase? And if I recall correctly, not once have they ever acknowledged your Copyright.

It’s a question I want you to think long and hard on, and make the right choice by day’s end. Not that it really matters however. After all, PalComix list their work as ‘parody’ material, and by your own admission, parodies are a-okay, and don’t count as infringing Copyright.

Then again, maybe this could be a new direction for a quick financial fix. The market for Sonic porn is incredible, and PalComix prove there is money to be made from even the most dodgy of work (their grammar and illustration quality can be downright laughable at times). I recall reading that other comic and cartoon creators have gone down a similar road in troubled times. They have admitted to not liking it, but it pays the bills. You’re certainly no slouch when it comes to drawing human anatomy, and I know you’ve talked about the possibility of teenage sex in your project. 

If BobR sees this post and wants to delete it or ban me outright, I don’t care. I am DONE waiting for, and dealing with you, I am done here, and this will definitely be my last post on this Forum (unless I decide to go back and edit something I missed, or again have broken the word limit on posts). For how long it lasts, there are contact details in my signature for anyone wanting to get in touch with me. It would take a hellavalot to persuade me otherwise to come back here.

Mr. Penders , if you are reading this by either skipping over the humongous wall of text or even made it this far, and want to respond, you must come to me. The ball’s in your court, so I’m leaving it up to you to make the next move. But be warned. If you dare to use the same old pitiful excuse you’ve used to other fans about agreeing to disagree, or that you don’t know what to say or possibly how to respond (as seen when someone 1ups you in an argument), no. I will not accept it. Do you know why? Because you were the professional writer of a successful all-ages comic for over 12 years. It was your job, your livelihood, to know exactly what to say. No excuses.

And you know what’s all the more amazing? After all the disregard, ignoring, and stealing both time and story title, I do not wish malice, pain, or even death on you. No, I’m above that. Maybe it’s because I have a heart and don’t like to hurt people. Maybe all these years of looking up to you as a hero have left some residual respect for you. In fact, I wish you the very best for you, your family, and your future. After all, given what you’ve been through and put your potential readers through, you’re going to need it more than I.

So this is it. As I (metaphorically of course) walk the halls of this message board, I can reflect on the good and bad times. It’s something I can do with the Forum, but unfortunately not with the comics. These past few years of arguing, and in particular the erasure of 20 years worth of invested reading to be replaced with something more in line with a medium I never had much investment with in the first place have run me down. It’s a new comic for a new generation of readership, one I cannot and will not be part of. Today I no longer have time or requisite investment getting into arguments over something as trivial as a comic book. So now I am occupied with anything to stay alive and move forward with a new outlook and new interests. Plus a few old ones as well, especially the long-awaited revival of ‘Thunderbirds’, which has been pretty darn nice so far. It does move at a blistering pace, and the lip syncing is dodgy, but the redesigns are faithful to the original characters and crafts, and I don’t feel the series has (so far) insulted the audience. Or at least me.

But I’m yet again digressing. To conclude, I’m going out with one last Transformers throwback. As a wise(ish) man once said, for them, personally, It Never Ends. But thankfully some things do end, such as my time on this Forum. So for me, personally, it’s over – Finished.

7 minutes ago, RedFox99 said:

You think we should warn people about submitting fan art to Ken Penders?

The people most likely to answer his call are precisely the kind of people who would refuse to believe, so no, just let it be. 

[SenEDDtor Missile]

13 minutes ago, horridus said:

The people most likely to answer his call are precisely the kind of people who would refuse to believe, so no, just let it be. 

Or the type who’d twist it into some kind of delusion that it’s a great thing and that Ken is helping their work be seen or something.

[RedFox99]

16 minutes ago, horridus said:

Every. Goddamned. Time. Its either his place or this place, but I swear to Christ...

Okay, the link is incomplete for some reason- copy and paste "&t=2717" after the 18 to get where you need to go. But just to save everyone the effort, here's the whole thing in its 'glory'- Spoiler'd to spare everyone the text dump. 

  Reveal hidden contents

‘End Of The Road’. A rather fitting title if I do say so myself. It allows the luxury of throwing one more reference to my beloved Transformers out there, as both the final US and UK stories during the original Marvel comic series shared this particular title. Ironically the latter ended on issue #332, and this will mark my 332nd post on the Forum. Providing that I don’t break the word limit. 

This may (or may not) surprise people, but I have been a part of this website for the best of its 17 odd years of history. I was here waaaaaaay back in the day, back when this was ‘the’ place to be for Sonic fans. Popular sites such as DeviantArt and Sonic Stadium were in their infancy, and if you wanted to post art or fiction around the Internet, then you either made your own site, or went to Sonic HQ and TeamArtail. Archie had its own site as well, but there wasn’t really much on the Sonic front. Ironically there still isn’t, so I guess some things never change. No, us fans went here if they wanted news, previews, or to read the odd reviews. It certainly wasn’t perfect though. The old-style message board was an instant medium, so if you were off for too long, whole discussions would appear and disappear in the blink of an eye. Nevertheless it was an enjoyable and tightly-knit community, with good people to talk with such as Ruby Echidna, Ian The Potto, Crazy Chameleon, and WB. One can only wonder whatever happened to them.

Years rolled on. People came and went, but the site generally remained the same. Still it was fun to be part of, and while I primarily lurked in the shadows, there were times I stepped forward and threw a few cents into the odd discussion. Thus when the site underwent its major (and long necessary) makeover in early 2010, I was one of the first to eagerly register once more. The last five years had their ups and downs, but I made the most of my time here, and had the opportunity to chat (and sometimes vigorously argue) with new fellow fans. In particular I enjoyed the brief conversations with Luger, The Patman whenever he showed up, and Tylinos, who was one of the only people to understand my attempts at humour near the end. All three of you (plus DonnieB, though we never got the chance to talk more unfortunately) were a pleasure and never a problem, and I would gladly continue a friendship with you off-site, or even in person should it ever happen.

So after all this, why have I decided to call it a day?

The reasons are plentiful; For a start, I disagree with how BobR handled the more ‘vocal’ members a while back. Yes I can empathise very well with being sick and/or going through a rough patch. It happens to us all, but a good Admin should not let their personal lives influence how they behave online. Yes the members in particular were being less than friendly, but a good Admin keeps a level head when dealing with troublemakers, being the better person. And they most certainly don’t talk up their privileges either. Still waiting to know when I can upload ‘those’ images too.

Another issue I have is with the Forum’s direction. The past 3 or so years have seen the place spiral into something of a ‘doom and gloom’ descent. In an attempt to lighten an otherwise depressing place, I wanted to inject some jokes to lighten the mood. More often than not it didn’t work, though part of the problem was attempting to convey humour across a text-based medium. Most of the time I managed to deal with this, but the first two responses from my last post (which was a joke regarding King Maxx and Sam Kieth) pretty much did it for me. And certainly not in a good way either. 

So I got up and made a snap-decision departure. After all, how hard was it for members to research the name and see what (I thought at least) was a funny reference? This was back in November 2013, and as the months rolled on, I wondered if anyone noticed my unusually lengthy absence, especially the higher-ups. Of course the answer was no, and as my dissatisfaction grew, I ultimately took one more step and began deleting all the posts I could. I know there was some confusion last year over who deleted them, so I would like to clarify now that they were all done by me out of my own free will. It wasn’t something I wanted to do or took pleasure in, but you do what you have to in order to gain notice from a certain somebody. And if that failed (which it did), then at least I could start over anew.

The plan was to post all of this exactly one year after I left, in November 2014. Sadly (or for the better) that never happened, but I’m here now and I’m posting it now.

All those reasons above were admittedly small potatoes. One doesn’t (or shouldn’t) call it quits over a few minor arguments, so it had to be something more. Something major. And that major reason I have for leaving, is you, Mr. Penders.

Before I elaborate further, I wish for this last message to have a level of fairness to it. After all, I try to be a decent person off-line and do have a heart. Plus I know what it’s like to feel broken, insulted, or go through rough patches.

Regarding your post some months ago about being AWOL, I get it. I really do, and I furthermore have a great level of empathy for you and Bernie. It’s not easy bringing people into one’s home who need constant care. It screws up any long-running routine, and the adjustments can be difficult. Nor is it easy having family members in Hospital either, and last year proved to be especially trying for me too. I lost a lot of good friends and family members in 2014, and at one point was looking destined to join them. Thankfully that wasn’t the case, and I’m still here today.

Then there’s your litigation with Archie. Alright, I will admit that facing them for reprint Royalties was a brave and daring move on your part. Inspiring even. Comic companies have screwed over creators for decades, with Archie being the most notorious of them all. They even went so far to erase poor Dan DeCarlo’s name from his own stories after he challenged them. You (along with all the rest of the crew) DID deserve a slice of the pie for the continued success of your creations, and I always wished for a peaceful resolution between both parties.

Plus I appreciate when you sent me a parcel of comics back in 2012. In particular I wish to further complement your partner, Bernadette, for her efforts in the process. She was honest, forthright, and even took time out of her busy schedule to reply to my messages in a timely manner. She comes across as an incredibly nice person, and I gotta say it must have been really hard going through the past few years, yet she continued to stand by you, so I have nothing but upmost respect for her. And I sincerely hope you appreciate that.

With that out of the way, allow me to give a little backstory on myself (for you and those who came in late):

Despite living halfway around the world and thus never meeting in person, it’s amazing how similar the experience between axemancometh and me turned out to be. I grew up relatively poor as a kid, and do not have the same nostalgic memories as other fans who were lucky enough to play the wide variety of Sonic The Hedgehog games. Instead of games, my fondest memories of Sonic come from the comics (which were FAR cheaper than a Genesis or Master System and their games), especially the stories written by you and Mr. Bollers.

Make no mistake about it. Growing up, you were my hero. My idol. I enjoyed everything you wrote, and even saw you as something as a Sonic Messiah who could write no wrong. From one Marvel fan to another, think along the lines of how Max Dillon was excellently portrayed in the most recent ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ movie. Granted I’m not that needy, nor would I plaster photos or images of my hero on the wall. Nonetheless, I did see you as something of a hero and would have (and even did) defended you on numerous occasions. You crafted so much from nothing, and got paid to do what so many of us could only dream of accomplishing. You created a whole cast of amazing characters, and I loved every second of my deep investment in this book for nearly two decades. My heart skipped a beat when Sonic kissed Sally in ‘Endgame’, I booed when Enerjak tortured Knuckles, and may have even shed a tear or two in later years when you killed off Knuckles for a few issues. All these stories and more inspired me to write and draw my own comics, and would have loved the opportunity to one day work alongside you in crafting new adventures featuring these awesome characters you created. At one point I even submitted a few samples to Archie. It was nothing outstanding, nor did they ever respond, but it was the natural fan thing to do.

Admittedly my interest in the comics did start to drop after you left, and I wasn’t as satisfied with stories credited to Mr. Flynn. There are stories he wrote that I will gladly praise however (such as STH#241 and SU#3), and It’s hard for me to outright blame him for bad ideas, since I do not know how much influence editorial and/or SEGA had on his stories. Furthermore I respect him as a fan who got a chance to live the dream, and empathise with the pain and frustration he must have gone through the past few years. You seem quick to blame him for Locke’s death, but I have to wonder if he wrote the story with the intent of killing him off, or the decision was thrust upon him at an editorial level.

A few fans have even offered to let me join them on BumbleKing a little while back. While I’m flattered, it’s an offer I must politely decline, as I no longer have the time or interest getting into arguments over a comic book. Plus there was the incident some time ago, where Mr. Flynn officially branded me as ‘insipid’ over a disagreement with how he wrote a certain character in the Sonic Encyclopaedia. Not sure if he remembers, doesn’t remember, or considers it a moot point since the character in question was erased, but either way I’d probably not be welcome with open arms. If not from him, then certain other higher-ups who would delete my account in an instant for other reasons.

Shifting back to you, in 2010 I eagerly jumped at the chance when you offered someone to work on ‘The Lost Ones’ website. It’s a project of yours I always felt had potential (along with ‘The Republic’ and even ‘A Man Without A Country’, the latter of which I own a copy of the script, and it’s a good read). It was saddening to hear that your mother had passed on, so I waited. A few months passed, and it looked as if things were finally going to go somewhere…

And then the Litigation happened.

Shortly before the announcement, BobR hinted that you were preparing some news. Controversial even. And when I woke up to see the news that fateful day, “controversial” barely began to describe the fan reaction. Taking ownership of your work was a major move, and (as mentioned before) I hoped for both sides to walk away intact. Sadly it didn’t work out that way, and from that very day, I could see any hopes of crafting new adventures of these characters spiralling down the drain. Call it a premonition, a hunch, or something more, but from day one I knew you were going to walk away victorious. 

Don’t get me wrong, I respect your daring to fight the big boys and you deserved more from Archie, but I too had aspirations. If I had any chance of creating new and official stories, then it meant playing nice. So I began defending you. Attempting to gain your favour and (as biznizz on Sonic Stadium put it best) try getting my foot in the door business-wise with you. This naturally led to more than a fair share of heated arguments with fans online, which I should have backed down from. There were no excuses for my actions, and I have since tried making amends with those who I offended or pushed away. If there’s anyone out there who feel bitter and/or I have forgotten about, let me know.

It’s hard to believe I invested so much time into defending you. Heck, I was willing to work for free if that’s what it meant. Granted you were going through a rough patch and it sounded like Archie put you through the wringer more than once. You rightfully couldn’t have responded straight away, so I was willing to wait until you either won outright, or came to an agreement with them.

That’s not to say I agreed with everything you did. Yes you have nuggets of potential ideas but, I have issues with more than one redesign or post you made online. More than once I had to bite my tongue and remind myself why I was so vigourously defending you. For a start, the redesigns of Dimitri and Julie-Su I don’t have any major issues with, but I have to wonder why you changed Lara-Su’s design so extensively, particularly the fur. If making her pink with red hair was forced on you legally (since her colours were chosen by Josh and Aimee Ray), I would have eventually come to accept it, but is that truly the case? After all, you kept Future Knuckles a shade of red, so why not our lead hero? Her distinct red and purple palette was so appealing, plus I’m disappointed you changed her snout to the stereotypical ‘Disney’ pug look (which I must admit reminded me of Roxanne from ‘A Goofy Movie’ the first time I saw it) and ditched the glasses. The visor just doesn’t cut it, plus it takes something away from the character. Ironically I asked you years ago if the visor worked similar to her old glasses, and if she was always blind. But I guess we’ll never know, since you never responded to the question. 

And don’t get me started on what has become known in the fan community as the Sukini. Why would you dress down who is supposed to be the lead teenage female heroine in a sultry swimsuit for the front cover of a sci-fi story (though ‘The Fifth Element’ did try something similar, but I don’t recall that piece of attire being the poster’s primary focus)? It doesn’t make sense story-wise either, as she had a more modest swimsuit back in STH#138, which would have worked just as well. Yes you said it was an indication the story was not for children, but there are other ways of going about this without degrading your focal character into a sex symbol. There’s certainly an audience who would be attracted by your cover, but probably not the audience you’re looking for. Which is a subject I will definitely be covering later.

Even worse yet was you retconning the entire species into Ecydnyah space aliens or whatever you call it. You have no problems keeping the name ‘Mobius’, but not keeping the species hyper-evolved monotremes? As both an Australian and wildlife conservationist, I should rightfully feel insulted by such a move. It was nice of you to consider educating people on how to properly pronounce ‘Echidna’, but what’s the point making them sound like that if they have no connection to the original species? Rather than being clever, all you’ve done is further distance the story from being a direct continuation of the past, as you have so proudly declared on many occasions.

Being nice to you got me nowhere. In retrospect, I should have been more vocal over my disagreements with you and even go so far to call you out. After all, it worked for Adamis now didn’t it?

Which coincidentally turned out to be another decision of yours that befuddled me. Can’t believe you would go and offer Adamis a job, a fan who’s had a notorious history of criticising you, your project, and even your fans at every single turn. Come to think of it, he called you an attention seeking imbecile right from the get-goand doesn’t seem to have changed such an opinion last I checked. You have set an incredible new precedent, and any other professional would have done an online check on potential future employees to see if they have the requisite maturity and respect for the job.

But I’m not bitter. In fact, I wish Adamis the best with his endeavours, even though we have never seen eye-to-eye on… well, anything.

And this doesn’t even begin to cover my issues with you. Ohhh no, it’s going to get a whole lot worse from here on in.

There’s another problem that requires addressing, and it has to do with a certain fan creation I posted back in October 2013. Luger asked a question over whether you would ever make collectible items of your characters, so I figured it would be interesting to upload a photo of an already existing ‘collectible’ of sorts. You probably don’t remember this (not that you cared at the time either, if what happened next was any indication), but along with a lengthy and humourous post, I included what was arguably the world’s first fully-articulated Lara-Su action figure. Standing at a strapping six inches tall, the figure was entirely 100% custom built (in other words, I didn’t simply resculpt a Knuckles toy like everyone else seems to do) and was far from an overnight project. No, it took a loooong time to get off the ground. 

I love Stop-Motion animation. It’s a fantastic film medium, and gradually becoming a lost art in a contemporary world of CGI. TV shows such as ‘Thunderbirds’ and ‘Captain Scarlet’, especially the attention to detail on miniature models and wonderful explosions, drove me to create models of my own. While researching how to make them move, I gave Stop-Motion a go, and it turned from an experiment into a passion. In 2007, I wanted to make a short animation featuring a cast of Sonic characters as part of a project I’ll be discussing later. As I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, concepts and final products can often be two separate monsters, and it ended up being an entirely original production, with all Sonic references removed before filming could even begin. The film even got a public screening in late 2008, with some people even complimenting that it was like ‘Robot Chicken’. As a fan of that show, I was proud as punch with the comment.

Yet I wanted to try the previous Sonic idea again. Thus in mid-2009 I went back and completely remade an earlier prototype, constantly reworking, refining, and find a way around stopping the figure from being too top-heavy. It took months of testing, but I finally completed the Lara-Su figure in March/April 2010, and I was happy. The figure’s body design became a base template, and other characters were later forged in similar fashion, such as Julie-Su, Hershey, and even Nic The Weasel. So when Luger mentioned collectibles, I figured “Oh, I’ve already done this. Still got the 2010 photos too, so I’ll upload one and see what people think.”

I will never forget your response. Or more to the point, you distinct LACK of response. Because you ignored it. Completely. Had you not replied to the thread at all, I wouldn’t have minded so much. Fair enough, you’re busy and I get it. But no, when you did respond, you jumped right over my legitimate effort and started talking up plans for your own products. This. Is. Not. On. That is NOT how a profession can, should, or would, act. 

If I made that figure (or a model, drawing, animation, or any other effort of any character you created for that matter) as a kid and posted it, and the exact same thing happened, you would have absolutely gutted me. It would have emotionally destroyed any faith and admiration I had for you. You certainly weren’t busy, since you had time to talk about your ideas to other people, instead of saying something to a fan who put months of precious time and effort into creating what was the first in a line of a fully working custom action figure of a fictional character you made. You do NOT ignore that. You respond to it. Speaking of precedents, you have given a whole new meaning to the word ‘Ungrateful’. Not to mention ‘Unprofessional’, neither I thought I’d ever type, but there you go. 

I don’t care if you didn’t like it, that’s fine. But it wouldn’t have killed you to say something. Anything! You didn’t even have to mean it. All I wanted was a “thank you for being a fan” or “thanks for taking time out of your pitiful life and showing your appreciation by creating a figure of something I created.” I would have even accepted a half-hearted “cool custom, bro!”. At least it would have shown some level of care at the very least. You had one job Mr. Penders, and that was to acknowledge when someone does something awesome for you. But I guess you’re above even that, huh? At least DabigRG responded. It wasn’t the response I had in mind, but it was something, and I appreciated that.

What makes this even more ironic is that I’ve seen better responses from people who have done less. Not sure you’re aware of Power Rangers, but in the 2014 season, there was a Silver Ranger played by Cameron Jebo. His character, Orion, was treated shamefully (along with the rest of the cast, especially actress Ciara Hanna, who never got a single episode dedicated to her character, the Yellow Ranger Gia) by production. He showed up halfway into the season, and was constantly left out of episodes to save a few pennies (and use more Japanese footage). So Mr. Jebo, a guy who had barely appeared on the show at this point, attended a convention last year and was surprised when a kid dressed up as his character. The kid asked him for an autograph, and do you know what Mr. Jebo did? He was SO flattered that someone liked his character so much and went to the time and effort to cosplay as them, he ASKED THE KID for THEIR autograph! THAT is how you respond. Mr. Jebo didn’t need to do this, but he did because THAT is how a professional treats their fans. In fact, a lot of Ranger actors (especially the most recent teams) are grateful to even HAVE fans.

And don’t you DARE try to respond about it now, because I will not have it. I don’t want to hear it, I don’t want to know about it, and I don’t care. It’s too late. You had the time to comment, criticize, or whatever the heck you wanted. If you do now, it will only come across as a half-hearted attempt as commiserating, and only because I guilted you into it. If you truly cared, you would have said something FROM THE HEART at the time, and not be obligated to now.

Nor do I want some excuse about not responding to fan efforts. In the AWOL thread, you linked to a fan redesign of your redesign. What you did to me was quite frankly horrendous. Not as horrendous in comparison to killing a pet or stealing money, but you nevertheless made me feel terrible, and while I was reluctant to agree when people said this to me months ago, I now agree with them. I expected better of you, and I DO deserve better from you. 

Now we move on to arguably the biggest issue I have. It may seem pitiful or a distinct case of screwed up priorities, but it matters to me. And that issue is the title of your project. Oh yes, that title. It’s certainly a name, and it gives readers an idea of what they’re in for at least. Maybe I would even say it’s a clever title. But alas, I cannot. Because in doing so, I would sound incredibly biased or self-serving. 

After all, I did create it ten years ago.

That’s right. Back in January 2005, I released a little thing called ‘The Lara-Su Chronicles’. Think I’m kidding? Speaking as a fellow comic fan, allow me to break this in a language you’d understand; This is not a hoax, not a dream, and certainly not an alternate reality. 
It’s no big secret around here or other sites that I like Lara-Su. Ever since you announced her existence online waaaaaay back in the late 90’s, I have been intrigued by the future daughter of Knuckles and Julie-Su, and (along with many fans) eager to learn when she’d show up. And to test your memory, none of us knew her colour, not even you.

Still remember the big reveal too. On an overcast day in early 2002, I got on my bike and pedalled up to the nearest town to buy groceries. After the shopping, I wandered over to the newsagency and saw a copy of STH#106. First day of release as well. So I purchased the issue and wandered over to a now long-defunct ice cream parlour, and read the issue over some frozen chocolate goodness. It rained on the ride home unfortunately (guess I got too caught up in the story), but the comic survived. Still got it too, and I wasn’t too thrilled when she disappeared in #109 to pastures unknown. 

Eventually 2004 came around, and with it came #131. There she was again, though things were a little different. Sure the Chaos Knuckles subplot was gone, and her personality had undergone a change, but I was pleased overall with the story. Or at least I was pleased until January 2005.

At the time, one could purchase Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” series in Australia at both newsagencies and comic book stores. Usually I’d buy newsagent copies since it was closer, but that meant both paying more, and waiting 2-3 months after their U.S. release. Sometimes I would be near a comic store, and couldn’t resist the temptation of buying a few cheaper copies beforehand. And it was during the January 2005 holidays I acquired copies of #143 and #144, eager to peek ahead at the stories within. At this point Lara-Su had quickly become a favourite of mine, and the levels of potential for this character made my creative juices flow. But as a stickler for canon, how could I go about telling a story? That answer came in the final instalment of ‘25YL’, where she vanished from existence.

Well, I couldn’t stand to see THAT happen. So a few ideas were thrown around as to how the character could keep on keeping on. The local broadcast of ‘Sonic X’ had finished its run by December 2004, and with it still in my memory, proved to be an inspiration. Since ’25 Years Later’ dealt with time travel, and the previous revelation that Mobius was a future Earth, why not… drop her into the past? Ridiculous in hindsight, but at the time seemed neat, so I went with it. One story was written, and people seemed to like it. Then another. And another. What started as my way of keeping the character (and in later years, other future characters such as Rutan, Salma, Riki-Le, Argyle and so-on) ‘alive’ became a (so far) ten year project.

Attempting to keep some kind of ‘legacy’ for this seemingly abandoned character was an endeavour I felt further justified in during 2008 when BobR revealed on the old message board that you intended to conclude the story with Lara-Su being completely erased from existence. If that was true, I cannot believe you would create a character with so much potential, and then toss them away like a useless toy, only to take it back after someone else started playing a new game. 

Now, I’m sure there are quite a few thoughts running through your head about this, and I may have an idea of them. So I’ll go ahead and cover some of the potential reactions:

1. “Paul, I know you’re bitter, but lying won’t get you anywhere.” 

Oh, I can assure you that I’m not lying. And yes there is legitimate proof to back up my claim. As I recall, this isn’t the first time you’ve been brought to task over this project either, when a fan called you out over using their space background for a promo piece. In fairness, you were right in asking for proof from them. Talk is cheap after all, and wishful thinking can be even cheaper. Any fan could claim to have created something first, but what’s the point if there’s nothing to solidify their claim? So here’s a link from August 2008 where the title is in full use. Sadly it’s the oldest ‘live’ post I can find, and you do have to read some bad fan fiction too, but there it is on the last line. There were much older examples, but a vast chunk of the Forum had to be wiped a few years back, and Internet Archive hasn’t saved many posts from the site. Nevertheless, that’s 3 ½ years before you announced the project title in early 2012.

2. “Paul, if you felt this way, why didn’t you tell me?”

It was certainly not through lack of trying, believe me. And quite frankly, I thought you already knew. When you first announced the use of this title, I was happy. Over the moon, in fact. Here I was, a virtual nobody who wrote some stories, only to discover my hero has liked it so much they’re using my title for their spin-off. How could one NOT be pleased? So I eagerly waited, with thoughts that I was going to be acknowledged or even invited on board to contribute to the ongoing adventures of characters I grew up reading. And waited. And waited. No emails ever came, so I figured you were too busy with the litigation.

Over time, I stated to wonder if such a message would ever come. As a natural multitasker, I like to cover as many projects at once when possible, and this almost came to a head in 2013. Remember when I emailed you about my visit to Los Angeles? I even offered to shout you lunch. Had things turned out differently, we would have met up in a neutral location somewhere in LA, sat down, ordered some food, and had a discussion, probably something along these lines:

ME: It’s a real honour to finally meet you! And in person too!
KEN: Thanks for the invitation.
ME: Loved your work on Sonic and Captain Atom! How are your current projects going?
KEN: Well, I’m currently hard at work on The Lara-Su Chronicles…
ME: Yeah, about the project…
KEN: Excuse me?
ME: It’s the title.
KEN: What about it?
ME: Dunno how to break it to you, but… I’ve been calling my fan fiction that title for nearly a decade. Can we talk about this and maybe even come to an agreement of sorts?

The intention was always first and foremost to talk about this name issue. As we know, the conversation never came about. And to be fair again, my timing left much to be desired. Since you were in New York dealing with the settlement, and I had already booked the flights, meeting would have been virtually impossible. It’s something I do have regret over, and do in part blame myself. It was again bad timing, and I should have contacted you earlier. 

You did apologise for the missed opportunity afterwards, which I do appreciate. Even offered to make up for it with a conversation on Skype. Not exactly the desired results, but at least it would have meant talking face-to-face and potentially dealing with the issue. It’s a call that never happened sadly, and I would be a bit more sympathetic had you not done the audio interview recently. But hey, gotta promote your product, huh?

The same cannot be said for 2014 however, when once more I travelled to Los Angeles for a few days in the middle of June. Scheduling was always going to be a hassle, as I had very limited time, and most of that was spent at BotCon. Nonetheless I could have made it work. For that visit, I decided to catch your attention on Twitter and mention a previous outburst you made over United Airlines and San Francisco. Since I too had a less than pleasant experience with both airline and airport, I asked that we should sit down and discuss our misadventures. If I had any hopes of a conversation, they were certainly dashed when you responded to the effect of ‘They never made good to me’. 

You may not have cared about my aviation troubles, but it wouldn’t have slew you to at least have the courtesy of asking anyway. All it took was a ‘Thanks for asking. What happened with you?’? No? Or did you ask why an Australian would suddenly be talking to you about a flight to California? No? Had you done so, I would have said ‘Actually I’m in LA right now. Can we sit down and talk?’. There are no excuses for this, especially since your Twitter suggested you were in town.

Once more in retrospect (we all have 20/20 in hindsight, huh?), I should have been more forceful and told you right away, but I worried that either you already knew, wouldn’t believe me, didn’t care, or it would have been in bad spirit. See, my level of respect for you was so high that I saw telling you this online was the equivalent of firing someone over an email or message. It’s a terrible feeling, and has happened to other comic creators (such as the infamous Gail Simone incident).

As my view changed, I began to wonder if maybe I was wrong. Could this be one huge coincidence, and I’m overthinking things? If so, it’s a pretty gaping one at that. Even the ‘TL-SC’ acronym was identical, right down to the middle hyphen. And for a while I was willing to pass it off as such. Or at least until I remembered one particular incident years ago.

The following revelation is something I deliberated long and hard on, leaving it out of my previous discussions and Journal entries. I wanted to discuss the matter with non-fans and casual Sonic fans who weren’t aware of the litigations, all of whom I talked with offline. It worried me that if I spoke en mass with fans on message board, they would naturally agree not because I may have a point, but due to the fact it involved you. We evenly debated, I gave arguments and counter-arguments for both perspectives, and everyone I talked with helped shape the direction I’ve taken on this matter.

Back in mid-2007, I got in contact with you over email. The message boiled down to me compiling a couple of questions from fans and if you were interested in answering them. Included in the text was a link to a website I once used to promote The Lara-Su Chronicles. It was a pretty poor effort at the time, but served the purpose I needed. Eventually I got a response from you, which mentioned being flattered by my efforts with the site. Yes. If you remember (not that I expect you to, as you must have spoken with thousands of fans over the years), I was indeed that fan. The site itself is no longer live, but a few pages are on the Internet Archive, with the earliest I can find mention TL-SC dating back to 2009.

And having this in mind, I rethought my rethink on the matter. So I’m not sure if you saw the title, liked it, and figured no-one would care or notice if you stole the name since you own the character. Or if you saw it, forgot about it, and thought you came up with the name years later. Or if this is one huge, amazing, utterly astounding coincidence. 

And even if it was, did you take the few seconds out of your life to double check? How much effort would it have required to type out the name into your preferred search engine to check if no-one had already done it? This is an absolute must for any professional, regardless of confidence, and designed to stop this sort of mess before it could even start. Done it with projects myself, and had to change a few names because of it.

Wasn’t there another question I figured you may ask? Ah yes.

3. “Would you be interested in a license deal or a buy-out?”

You offered this option up to the person who claimed to design the space backdrop, and I have a feeling you may even offer me a similar deal. If not, then I have my answer before you even think about it, and that’s a flat-out no. No, I am not interested in selling out. At all. Because this never was and still isn’t about money. It’s about telling stories. Good stories. Legitimate, honest and hopefully entertaining stories about this amazing character and her friends. Plus you cannot possibly offer me enough money to ease or forget about the pain and betrayal I’ve felt from you over the past few years. 

And yes, I would love to make these stories be officially regarded as canon. In a perfect world, I’d be creating a weekly comic strip to accompany your story on its website, but I’m not too sure that’s possible, because A: You’ll probably not like the shameless moralising that sometimes arose, and B: The characters have become so unrecognisable at this point, I wonder if it’s worth the effort attempting to fit these plots into replicas of the original cast. If you do reply to this part, I suspect it’ll be something like “You’ll change your tune when you read the final product”. Maybe so, but at this point, I won’t be changing my tune until you change yours. 

The comic changed, and you seem to have changed along with it. Not sure if the litigations have caused a rub-on effect, but I find you to be far less open to discussion these days and more about making outrageous tweets, and then pull a double-standard if someone calls you out.

It’s all very well for you to set yourself up to create this seven book series as being ‘nothing more or less’, and your planned ‘retirement project’. If this is any indication, you’ll be working on it for many years. And that’s all very well, but I do not have your seemingly vast luxury for time. No, I recognise and appreciate the time I’ve had so far, and treat what’s left of my life as precious. Especially upon learning a few weeks ago that (and let me tell you now, I had no intention of making this public, because it’s no-one else’s business, but I may as well come out and say it) I am now out of remission, and have been back in hospital for more surgery to see what needs to be removed. So I hope you can understand why my patience these days is rather thin, especially when you are concerned. You said in the message back in 2013 (and 2010 as I recall) that a conversation was going to happen. Well when exactly do you mean? See, I’ve already waited too long and all my hope is gone. I have waited at least five years for your time, and I have no intentions of wasting five more for something that will never come to pass.

This is why I am planning to go ahead and release all my original stories, starting all the way back to 2005. This is fan fiction after all, so they would be available online for free. That’s not to say I love everything I’ve written, as quite a few of the stories were outright terrible. Believe it or not, I like to think maybe I have matured as something of a writer since then, and will extensively rewrite the stories I’ve lost or don’t like, hopefully fixing many of the issues that used to plague them.

And yes, I am keeping both the species as Echidnas, and plan to continue using “The Lara-Su Chronicles” as the title. Or maybe change it up a little. There needs to be some differentiation in case people get mixed up. Something that is both truthful and respectful. But don’t worry, I will definitely (and already have since 2010) acknowledge your ownership of the characters. After all, I’m not a complete monster. It’s not as if I’m going to pull a ‘Ghostbusters’ and put “The Real” in front.

Because axemancometh got this response, I’m expecting it to happen to me as well. If the-earl-of-zerces is reading this and decides to reply with a “don’t throw childish tantrums” or “put you anger into something productive” response, there is no need to do so. As it happens, I have. I have moved on, and have been busy allowing my anger to fuel my creativity. More to the point,I am now doing freelance work on ‘The Phantom’ comic, which is Australia’s longest running (since 1948!) and most successful comic book. 

And speaking of The Phantom, it was amusing to see you on Twitter mention The Phantom as a source of inspiration, Mr. Penders. Because a few years ago, I sent you an email asking (among other things) whether or not you ever read adventures of our favourite purple costumed hero. As you’re a self-confessed reader of Charlton comics, I figured that would be the case. Not to mention the ‘legacy hero’ connection between both The Phantom and The Brotherhood seemed a bit too familiar to be a coincidence. In typical fashion, you never did respond to this, choosing to yet again dodge a question when someone calls you out on a reference. So I’m sure you can imagine how livid I would feel when you ignore the question for years from a fan, yet you’re more than eager to mention it as if no-one’s ever seen the connection before.

Maybe I would be a bit more sympathetic if you were still incredibly busy to talk online at all to anyone. But no. Nooooooo no no no no. It seems you have plenty of time to engage in conversations on Twitter with any and every other fan under the sun. I’ve seen you talk with fans who have been flat-out nasty, spiteful, and quite frankly wouldn’t give a care at all if your project was a success. Yet someone who has tried being nice to you, compliment and defend even your most absurd actions for years, and may have even bought a copy of whatever you were selling , gets completely swept under the rug. 

It is completely unfair how you treated me, especially on Twitter, where you either ignored me outright or changed the subject onto yourself. What makes it even worse is that you seem to have plenty of time to argue with every other fan, boast about your plans, or talk about politics. Now I’m no expert when it comes to that site, but you managed an incredible 2000 tweets in 15 months. How many of those tweets were genuine replies to me? None. Not even a simple sign of appreciation by Following me, which was the least you could have done (but apparently I’m not good enough, because you Followed plenty of other fans). And speaking of fans, you should have Followed poor Drew Ryan, who asked you to months ago. He used to chat with you on AIM back in the 90’s. Don’t they deserve some appreciation or recognition too?

With that being said, I was quite surprised when you replied to a Tweet of mine recently, since I was expecting nothing to come of it. Unless I misread it, you seem to have changed your tune on other people contributing to your efforts, after specifying for years that you didn’t want fans helping out, instead taking on the whole motherload yourself. It’s an interesting shift in policy, and you are right about people not hanging around forever, so that’s something. 

Which brings us ultimately to one last question: Where does all this leave us? Are you going to ignore me as per usual and move on? Or will you try and buy me out? Hit me with a C&D because I created the title of your story before you? Or file a lawsuit to gain money from free fan fiction? If you’re thinking the latter, then I have no idea what could possibly be gained from this. There are far more productive ways to spend your time. Two very specific reasons I can think of in particular:

-It’s a complete waste of time and resources. What is there to gain from all this? The security and knowledge that you legally stole a fan’s idea? An idea that I do not profit on, and ultimately lose money from in the end. Don’t know about America, but comic art boards are insanely expensive down here (IF you can find them), and I prefer illustrating the covers and chapter illustrations freehand on said boards, since they both look nice and hold the inks better. Come to think of it, all I’m doing is giving your work free promotion, since it features your characters in adventures that do not demoralise or graphically depict them in a negative light. Or at least not intentionally. 

And while we’re on the subject of bad fan works…

-There is one word I have for you. A single solitary word, and that’s PalComix. Chances are you’ve heard of this particular organisation, and if not, then I would be astounded. For those who came in late, PalComix is a website that specialises in creating pornography featuring virtually any fictional character you can think of. And Sonic the Hedgehog porn is perhaps their most successful money-spinner. For $25 a month, users are given access to art and fiction of Sonic and his friends (including nearly all of your characters) participating in activities one certainly wouldn’t see in an all-ages comic. Or hope to, for that matter. 

Last year, they put out a comic called ‘A Strange Affair’, which went into great detail how Rutan scored with Lien-Da. Yes, that is not a typo, no matter how hard I wish it were. That story was a repugnant piece of fiction originating from the fantasies of a sick and twisted mind, and quite frankly it should have stayed there. It would further amaze me if anyone actually got off to this incestuous monstrosity (rutan_rocks may at least appreciate that someone wrote a comic on a character they like, but I dunno). If that wasn’t bad enough, if you think they couldn’t possibly find a way to one-up this, PalComix did a follow-up recently, and it was far from pleasant. Amongst other events (which I won’t mention, since I’m probably close to breaking the rules as it is), the story featured Lara-Su being drugged, tied up, and forcefully raped several times by Rutan. It’s something I do not need in my life, and hope never to talk or think about ever again.

So I put forward this question; Is it worth the time and effort to block, C&D or slam a lawsuit on a lonely fan who spent ten year attempting to continue the legacy that you for all intents and purposes erased from history? Trying to create good honest stories about this character for free distribution online? Stories that show her growing and maturing from a grumpy teenager to a respectable adult Echidna, who embraces life and loves both her job and fellow citizens. An Echidna who tries to make her home a better place for everyone, must face the evils of drug lords, monsters, and struggle again seemingly impossible odds. There are times she can (and even does) lose, but ultimately she learns from these experiences and become a stronger Echidna because of it, both physically and emotionally.

Or is it worth time and effort confronting a group of people who not only profit on your intellectual property, but have no problems dragging their names through the mud and degrading them for the sexual fantasies of the fanbase? And if I recall correctly, not once have they ever acknowledged your Copyright.

It’s a question I want you to think long and hard on, and make the right choice by day’s end. Not that it really matters however. After all, PalComix list their work as ‘parody’ material, and by your own admission, parodies are a-okay, and don’t count as infringing Copyright.

Then again, maybe this could be a new direction for a quick financial fix. The market for Sonic porn is incredible, and PalComix prove there is money to be made from even the most dodgy of work (their grammar and illustration quality can be downright laughable at times). I recall reading that other comic and cartoon creators have gone down a similar road in troubled times. They have admitted to not liking it, but it pays the bills. You’re certainly no slouch when it comes to drawing human anatomy, and I know you’ve talked about the possibility of teenage sex in your project. 

If BobR sees this post and wants to delete it or ban me outright, I don’t care. I am DONE waiting for, and dealing with you, I am done here, and this will definitely be my last post on this Forum (unless I decide to go back and edit something I missed, or again have broken the word limit on posts). For how long it lasts, there are contact details in my signature for anyone wanting to get in touch with me. It would take a hellavalot to persuade me otherwise to come back here.

Mr. Penders , if you are reading this by either skipping over the humongous wall of text or even made it this far, and want to respond, you must come to me. The ball’s in your court, so I’m leaving it up to you to make the next move. But be warned. If you dare to use the same old pitiful excuse you’ve used to other fans about agreeing to disagree, or that you don’t know what to say or possibly how to respond (as seen when someone 1ups you in an argument), no. I will not accept it. Do you know why? Because you were the professional writer of a successful all-ages comic for over 12 years. It was your job, your livelihood, to know exactly what to say. No excuses.

And you know what’s all the more amazing? After all the disregard, ignoring, and stealing both time and story title, I do not wish malice, pain, or even death on you. No, I’m above that. Maybe it’s because I have a heart and don’t like to hurt people. Maybe all these years of looking up to you as a hero have left some residual respect for you. In fact, I wish you the very best for you, your family, and your future. After all, given what you’ve been through and put your potential readers through, you’re going to need it more than I.

So this is it. As I (metaphorically of course) walk the halls of this message board, I can reflect on the good and bad times. It’s something I can do with the Forum, but unfortunately not with the comics. These past few years of arguing, and in particular the erasure of 20 years worth of invested reading to be replaced with something more in line with a medium I never had much investment with in the first place have run me down. It’s a new comic for a new generation of readership, one I cannot and will not be part of. Today I no longer have time or requisite investment getting into arguments over something as trivial as a comic book. So now I am occupied with anything to stay alive and move forward with a new outlook and new interests. Plus a few old ones as well, especially the long-awaited revival of ‘Thunderbirds’, which has been pretty darn nice so far. It does move at a blistering pace, and the lip syncing is dodgy, but the redesigns are faithful to the original characters and crafts, and I don’t feel the series has (so far) insulted the audience. Or at least me.

But I’m yet again digressing. To conclude, I’m going out with one last Transformers throwback. As a wise(ish) man once said, for them, personally, It Never Ends. But thankfully some things do end, such as my time on this Forum. So for me, personally, it’s over – Finished.

The people most likely to answer his call are precisely the kind of people who would refuse to believe, so no, just let it be. 

Did Paul Agnew wrote that?

[DabigRG]

4 hours ago, SenEDDtor Missile said:

You forget, it’s fanwork of “HIS” characters, and therefore they belong to him despite technically being SEGA’s. At least in his mind.

According to the law, most of them are his circa six years ago.

3 hours ago, horridus said:

I have to question the wisdom of asking for fanart for something that hasn't been released yet, nor shows any sign of being released anytime soon.

That's my thought as well. How would I even know what to draw when what I'm most likely supposed drawing his changed roughly three times already and anything else is up in the air?

2 hours ago, RedFox99 said:

You think we should warn people about submitting fan art to Ken Penders?

Should we really care?

[Tenko]

I avoid any and all fan work.

Please share your fan work with me....

He also only wants it if it's emailed to him, and not in public view on Twitter. Funny that. Maybe I'm a little cynical..