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

[Idon'tcare]

Yardley treated Marine with far more respect than Sega ever did. In Sonic Rush Adventure she was a whiny, selfish little brat who's begging for attention and always got in the way. In the comics, she's Blazes' BF that Blaze lets captain her ship, but pulls her back if she gets too out of hand. A bit of a delusional self-braggart, but otherwise a good kid. Plus, she has more personality than that goody two-shoes Cream. 

 

Excuse me?

SEGA actually had Marine mature and become a better person by the end of Sonic Rush adventure, where as Archie keeps treating her like a complete idiot savant who has had zero character growth despite her past adventures. Yardley even writes her to be so stupid and unlikable that no one, not even Cream, likes her to the point of Cream wondering out loud if it isn't better to allow a bunch of possibly homicidal robots to drag her off rather then putting up with her anymore.

If that's treating her better then SEGA did then I don't think you even played the game cause looking at Marine from the games I fail to see just how she's a whiny, selfish little brat . It's like people keep forgetting that in this game she's a 7 year old girl, a kid that I might point out shares a lot of Sonic's personality traits, yet because she's a girl who can't sit still and wants in on the action just like Sonic does all the time, we must all hate her for failing to be just as much of a wet blanket as Blaze.

Geez, the double standard employed by her haters are truly far out there. If she was a boy then it's all fine and dandy to act like that but as a girl she has to sit still, shut up and act like a wise old hermit from the moment she's born to the day she dies.

Now get back to hating on Pender's, that is what this thread is for right?

 

 

 

I'm not picky, just something that punctuates that Penders does not mean as much to Sonic as he thinks he does.

Well, for a brief moment in history he managed to make Sonic known around the world as the global franchise which had a Small Name Big Ego writer attempting to sue SEGA/Bioware for paying homage to his ideas in a Sonic game.

 

So let's be honest and accept that however brief it may have been, he meant a lot to Sonic, it just wasn't what he thinks/says he means to Sonic that he became known for. 

[Ryannumber1gamer]

 

Excuse me?

SEGA actually had Marine mature and become a better person by the end of Sonic Rush adventure, where as Archie keeps treating her like a complete idiot savant who has had zero character growth despite her past adventures. Yardley even writes her to be so stupid and unlikable that no one, not even Cream, likes her to the point of Cream wondering out loud if it isn't better to allow a bunch of possibly homicidal robots to drag her off rather then putting up with her anymore.

If that's treating her better then SEGA did then I don't think you even played the game cause looking at Marine from the games I fail to see just how she's a whiny, selfish little brat . It's like people keep forgetting that in this game she's a 7 year old girl, a kid that I might point out shares a lot of Sonic's personality traits, yet because she's a girl who can't sit still and wants in on the action just like Sonic does all the time, we must all hate her for failing to be just as much of a wet blanket as Blaze.

Geez, the double standard employed by her haters are truly far out there. If she was a boy then it's all fine and dandy to act like that but as a girl she has to sit still, shut up and act like a wise old hermit from the moment she's born to the day she dies.

Now get back to hating on Pender's, that is what this thread is for right?

 

 

 

 

Well, for a brief moment in history he managed to make Sonic known around the world as the global franchise which had a Small Name Big Ego writer attempting to sue SEGA/Bioware for paying homage to his ideas in a Sonic game.

 

So let's be honest and accept that however brief it may have been, he meant a lot to Sonic, it just wasn't what he thinks/says he means to Sonic that he became known for. 

 

Not really. I doubt most comic fans even know about it, and it certainly isn't globally. The only reason I knew about it was because I happened to stumble upon it on Bumbleking. I very much doubt anyone knows who the hell Ken Penders is, other than those who see him as nothing more than a egoistical idiot.

[ZDozer]

Thats the best part. He wasn't kicked out, he left when a new editor actually did his job and refused to allow Penders to run unchecked.

...What? He got off on his OWN ACCORD? What a retard.

No, seriously, this actually gets Penders' lawsuit that fucked the entire comics as a blatant demonstration of Full-Retard Mode.

Edited December 12, 2015 by ZDozer

[King Scoopa Koopa]

...What? He got off on his OWN ACCORD? What a retard.

No, seriously, this actually gets Penders' lawsuit that fucked the entire comics as a blatant demonstration of Full-Retard Mode.

Not to make a whole thing out of it, but I don't think it's very fair/nice to good people with such issues for you to be lumping Ken Penders in with them.

[Idon'tcare]

Not really. I doubt most comic fans even know about it, and it certainly isn't globally. The only reason I knew about it was because I happened to stumble upon it on Bumbleking. I very much doubt anyone knows who the hell Ken Penders is, other than those who see him as nothing more than a egoistical idiot.

It was pretty much on every comic forum, art site and on several gaming and comic book news sites, so it has been bigger then a blip on the radar.

[Agie]

Maybe...or maybe non-Sonic fans (and certainly those who aren't aware of the Archie series) probably just passed by it in favor of something else entirely.

[ZDozer]

Not to make a whole thing out of it, but I don't think it's very fair/nice to good people with such issues for you to be lumping Ken Penders in with them.

Why do people have to be so annoying with political correctness? Seriously.

Edited December 12, 2015 by ZDozer

[Shaddy Zaphod]

Because calling Ken Penders a retard is an insult to retards

[King Scoopa Koopa]

Because calling Ken Penders a retard is an insult to retards

Basically this, more or less.

[Rey Skywalker-Ren]

I disagree with calling people "retards" in general. Even Ken Penders. 

[Nepenthe]

...What? He got off on his OWN ACCORD? What a retard.

No, seriously, this actually gets Penders' lawsuit that fucked the entire comics as a blatant demonstration of Full-Retard Mode.

Why do people have to be so annoying with political correctness? Seriously.

Because people care about respecting others.

Because calling Ken Penders a retard is an insult to retards

You realize you're inherently insulting the mentally disabled by calling them "retards," right?

Basically this, more or less.

Agreeing doesn't get you off.

You're all getting strikes. Have fun.

Also, final warning: if I get an inkling of a report of some fuck-shit like this happening in this thread, I'm shutting it down with no fucks to give.

[MightyRay]

Why do people have to be so annoying with political correctness? Seriously.

Because some of us 'r*****ed folks' would like it if you treated us with a bit of respect thank you very much. 

Because calling Ken Penders a retard is an insult to retards

No. As someone who's been called this word so many times even by my own f'n brother due to my Aspergers this really grinds my gears. The man isn't 'intellectually' disabled. He is by all accounts 'normal'. I know the mod has all ready stepped but I need to get this across. Please for the love of genesis don't use that word. It's highly insulting at best and dehumanising at worse. 

Thank you Nepthene and Mikyeong for calling this out. It means a lot to me.

 

Edited December 12, 2015 by Mightyray

[Rey Skywalker-Ren]

Because some of us 'r*****ed folks' would like it if you treated us with a bit of respect thank you very much. 

No. As someone who's been called this word so many times even by my own f'n brother due to my Aspergers this really grinds my gears. The man isn't 'intellectually' disabled. He is by all accounts 'normal'. I know the mod has all ready stepped but I need to get this across. Please for the love of genesis don't use that word. It's highly insulting at best and dehumanising at worse. 

Thank you Nepthene and Mikyeong for calling this out. It means a lot to me.

 

yeah i have been called the same things for the same reasons so it bothers me a lot as well. 

No problem :)

[Idon'tcare]

Maybe...or maybe non-Sonic fans (and certainly those who aren't aware of the Archie series) probably just passed by it in favor of something else entirely.

Well, it was mostly just a storm in a glass of water, but it was still pretty weird seeing it get discussed over on IGN for a few months.

Back to Pender's, I'm a bit lost about a few things regarding this current project of his.

First off, how is he funding it. Given the slow pace of updates from him I'm wondering if he is not doing some freelance work on the side to help support it thus reducing his time to work on TL-SC comic. And if he working on something else, what or who is he working for/on.

Second: Just how does he plan on getting this comic/graphic novel,  printed and shipped to the stores, don't you need a middle man to handle the logistics to ensure every store gets the copies  they've ordered from him or will it be solely digital distribution.

Third: Just how comprehensive is his copyright and trademark? Does it only cover the US of A or is it a global copyright and trademark he has on them.

[King Scoopa Koopa]

I just wanted to apologize for the above. What I was trying to convey is that I agree with the sentiment, if not the language, which was reflective of what Zdozer originally said(hence the "more or less").

Simply put, Penders is a jerk, and I don't think that attributing that to being a product of the conditions lots of other people, good people, have is right at all. 

That's all I was trying to say.

Edited December 12, 2015 by KingScoopaKoopa

[Shaddy Zaphod]

I'll apologize for actually being the asshole in the equation, too. I'm sure we've all also been attacked in the same way, this fanbase and it's reputation being what they are, and I should have considered that.

 

 

In any case, I'm still kind of baffled how Ken Penders ended up on the Sonic job for so long in the first place. He's made it clear how proud he is of never having played a Sonic game (???), but has he ever played a game in general? It feels like the entire ordeal, like most of what he wrote on the comic itself, is out of place for the thing it's about.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

In any case, I'm still kind of baffled how Ken Penders ended up on the Sonic job for so long in the first place. He's made it clear how proud he is of never having played a Sonic game (???), but has he ever played a game in general? It feels like the entire ordeal, like most of what he wrote on the comic itself, is out of place for the thing it's about.

I'll field that question for ya. Basically, he knew a guy with connections with Archie, who then got him the job because, and I quote "His son loved the games". As for the reason why he managed to keep the job, basically Sega wasn't involved with the comic, and they couldn't care less about it. They had no reason to care about it. This was during Sonic's height of popularity, and the comic was, and still is just nothing more but a small blip on Sega's map. As much as Penders tries to hype it up, Sega literally don't care about the comic, and would dump it without a second's notice. Sonic's a big name already, and the comic is solely exclusive to the US, and the only way to get it in other regions is by tracking down a specialist comic shop. 

To put it another way. The USA isn't even where Sonic is most popular, the UK is. So the fact that the comic isn't even readily available in non-comic book stores in the UK should give you an idea of how important they believe it is. If you were a casual fan of the series who lives outside of the USA, you probably would have no idea that there even is a comic, and more often than not, if you did know, it would be Sonic the Comic, rather than Archie Sonic.

That gives you an idea of how little of a blip it really is on Sega's radar, so they weren't involved much in the comic, and weren't slapping any mandates onto the comic at the time. To give you an even better idea, Sega have threatened multiple times to pull the comic's license if Archie were to attempt any bullshit. If there was any problems, Sega was in the right because it was Archie/The Editor's job to ensure that the comic is being kept up to a good standard, and that's where the big issues come in.

In Archie's eyes, the critical reception of the comic where it was generally regarded as a furry soap opera didn't matter to them. It was selling, and therefore, they were just gonna go on their merry way. The reason it was selling was Penders wrote for the comic during the height of Sonic's popularity, between Sonic 3, and Sonic Adventure 2. Another factor is the comic started in 1993, with S3&K coming out soon after, therefore meaning there was a large gap in main Sonic content, meaning the comic was generally the main source of new Sonic content monthly.

Since the comic was selling during this period, Archie didn't have a problem. The second problem came in is the editor. The Editor's job is to go over the stories, give suggestions, ensure they stick with mandates, and basically to ensure it doesn't turn into a fan-fiction. The editor during Penders' era was basically incompetent and ended up not bothering to do his job, meaning Penders got to do absolutely anything he wanted to do. The only times Sega/Archie would intervene would be if it ended up having a massive effect on their sales and profits. Example being Sally's death, where originally she was to die until Archie/Sega forced it to be retconned due to Sally being unbelievably popular during that era.   

The general answer to your question is an unbelievable amount of incompetence from all parties involved. Penders couldn't write for shit, half the artists on the comic couldn't draw Sonic for shit, The editor couldn't be bothered to do shit, and Archie & Sega in general just didn't give two shits as long as it made them money, which it was due to Sonic's popularity during that era. In general, most people didn't care about the quality because "Oh hey, ITS SONIC :D". All this meant that Penders got away with his idiotic bullshit for the better part of 10 years. 

Then a new editor came on board during the craptastic Mobius 25 Years Later story which was officially the point where the comic became a boring furry soap opera, and the new editor demanded Penders add in new elements into the story to get it closer to Sega's vision of the comic (Who I can only imagine began getting more stricter due to the fact Sonic games and his popularity in general was dying down), and Penders decided to act like a baby having a tantrum over not getting his own way, which lead to him leaving (Speculation on my part, but he probably thought that the comic would be unable to operate without him, and Archie/Sega would come crawling back to him), only for it to backfire beautifully with Archie hiring Ian to write the comics.

[King Scoopa Koopa]

I'll field that question for ya. Basically, he knew a guy with connections with Archie, who then got him the job because, and I quote "His son loved the games".

To this day, I wonder if this is true.

[SBR2]

Why do people have to be so annoying with political correctness? Seriously.

Why are PC people always trying to make me feel bad for using Mental illness in a derogatory fashion like a jerk? God Stupid SJW's. *Eyeroll*

[Nepenthe]

The derail concerning derogatory language has already been dealt with. Move on.

[biznizz]

To this day, I wonder if this is true.

I don't want to veer too much into the topic of the Penders family (we got a major warning about that awhile ago), but what I will say is that it seems like Ken had two boys, an older one and a younger one I believe was named Stephen.

I ONLY bring this up because Stephen was the boy used in the infamous Sonic Live, where he and his cousin were sent to help Sonic fight the Council of Reeds Ricks Robotniks (yes, I'm aware that both were actually introduced years after that comic; surprised that Penders didn't claim stolen copyright about those) and show that it was SEGA America (coughwhiteguyscough) who created Sonic. The live action photographs didn't show Stephen playing a Genesis; the boy was shown to somehow have been playing Sonic with a TV remote. The photo wasn't even subtle in hiding that fact.

So I'd call doubt into the Penders family even owning a Genesis at the time. When he made that movie pitch with his kids again, they were playing a Sonic collection on SOME kind of console, but that was years after the fact of his hiring.

[King Scoopa Koopa]

Yeah, it's stuff like that too that makes me wonder.

This isn't even so much about Penders' son than it is about the validity of his claim, for the record. I'm more inclined to believe that he just said that his son was a fan to get the job. Maybe they really had a Super NES or something and Ken didn't know the difference.

[Idon'tcare]

Looks, I know this is a pretty hot and dangerous thing to say, but it is possible to love a game without having played it. Not everyone could afford to buy a Genesis back in the day, especially if the kids already had a Nintendo console instead. But you could rent a Genesis plus a Sonic game fairly cheaply and use a VCR to record your gameplay onto a tape for whatever reason you wanted to doing that period in time... what?

 

 

[biznizz]

Yeah, either that or the son had friends who had a Genesis with Sonic games.

The issue is that, regardless, Ken claimed to have first hand knowledge of the series, which he'd later use to proclaim himself an expert on all things Sonic, even to this day. ...Despite the fact that IIRC, he once stated that he had never played a single game in the series.

 

But I do remember the days when you could rent a console or VCR from a rental place (born in 89). But that just raises the question on why he didn't bother renting one or getting his kids to borrow a friend's system.

I would also like to remind people to not make this about the Penders family personally. This pic is to serve as an example of Ken's previous work on the series, the laziness which was a part of it, and to point out his grossly inflated self importance to the franchise when evidence showed that he was not familiar with the games and had (IIRC) never really watched a whole episode of SatAM.

Edited December 13, 2015 by biznizz
Precaution

[horridus]

To this day one of the most baffling things I've seen out of Penders regarding this special is that he keeps putting it at the forefront of his convention stands. Like, this thing was very vocally reviled even back then, and yet he treats it like its a milestone issue or something like that. I just don't get it. Even something like the Image Crossover at least has the 'yes, this actually happened' factor in its favor, despite being just as lousy and self-indulgent as Sonic Live.