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

[Chili Dawg]

Who the fuck is he even aiming this at? Like is there any market for this at all? Or does he not care and literally went through all this shit with court cases and everything just to suck his own dick?

 

Also does he suck at perspective or is the dude a giant

[biznizz]

@Zaysho: ....It's even stupider than I imagined. http://www.kenpenders.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=275

 

Re: Dr. Droid

 

Paul-Agnew » Fri Feb 04, 2011 9:00 pm
Hope Ken doesn't mind, as I remember him already giving answers to similar questions such as this.

Doctor Ian Droid is the main villain from The Lost Ones comic book and soon-to-be live-action film. For his appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog, The Doctor was intended to be an alternate version of Robotnik- same character in a new body. Since he is Robotnik, it's only natural he owns a group of SWAT-Bots to assist in case his plans were to go belly-up. 'Issac' was named after Issac Asimov (of 'I, Robot' fame), and the fact he shares the name of Issac from The Good, The Bad, and the Unknown is pure coincidence. If they were normal SWAT-Bots, perhaps he wanted to be a different paint job so no-one gets confused between his and the current design.

You're certainly on the ball with 'future' plans, as he was intended to be the primary villain for Knuckles: 20 Years Later, a project for a Sonic Super Special that never came to pass, along with the 'Ultimate' reimaging idea that was first revealed in the sketches of STH#115.

 

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Re: Dr. Droid

Paul-Agnew » Thu Feb 10, 2011 6:18 pm

jameygamer wrote:What do you mean by Sega doesn't own Nega anymore?



They do. What I said was a hypothetical based on concepts made by numerous members of the fandom who read SSS#7 and develop quite the chip on their shoulders.

Problem is, these fans have quite the dislike for Dr. Droid, claiming he is a 'rubbish' villain. Had The Lost Ones not been dropped by Image after internal disputes (that had ill-effect on many of their lines) along with Knuckles: 20 Years Later, the fans would probably have far more respect for him than what is read today. Not to mention they're making judgement after ONE issue, which shows a pretty depressing side of fandom.

Exploiting a part of the human mind that most of us have/will use at one point in our lives, fans refuse to accept what they're reading and quickly seek out a replacement to make them feel better. In this case, Doctor Nega seems the most common candidate.

SO, hypothetically, let's say that Doctor Nega is Dr. Droid. Looks a simple retcon, but it's not. The fact Droid is specifically owned by Ken Penders raises copyright issues as to how the character is used. He's been around the Sonicverse far longer than Nega thus can have a strong right to claim. This means Nega and Droid are the same character, and who created Dr. Droid? That's right, Ken Penders (and I have a feeling Bob Repas was instrumental to his creation somehow).

Mavrickindigo wrote:I mean it's not like the comic could use Dr. Droid anymore, so a good way to continue the plotline would be to say it was Dr. Nega instead

But they couldn't use Nega either because Ken would own him, and given the current ongoing copyright issues (which I hope a satisfactory result can be reached for both parties), there's a highly unlikely chance that would happen.

 

And from the man himself... http://www.kenpenders.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=40#p191

 

Re: Question regarding "Robo-Robotnik"

Ken Penders » Sun Feb 28, 2010 3:50 pm
The Robo-Robotnik who appeared in SONIC #19 is indeed the same one that appeared in SONIC #22. My concept for the character was vastly different from the original Robotnik in that the character utilized technology that allowed itself to grow, adapt and morph into different versions. If you refer to the SONIC LIVE! Special, you'll see yet another variant of the same character, which I thought of as the Ultimate Version. This version was featured in segments whenever the future was referenced throughout several of my KNUCKLES and M:25YL stories. Yet another possible version of Robo-Robotnik was introduced in SONIC SUPER SPECIAL #7 in the form of Dr. Ian Droid, my character from THE LOST ONES.

I was prepared to allow this version to continue past this story when Justin was discussing the possibility of me stepping back to write SONIC since Karl looked like he might leave SONIC to write a series or two for Marvel Comics. Once Karl decided to stick with SONIC, I decided not to allow the use of the character since I wouldn't have control how he would be featured, especially since the game plan was to have some sort of SONIC tie-in when I launched THE LOST ONES. Both Diamond Distributors and industry trades made it clear they would be more interested in promoting THE LOST ONES if there was some tie-in with SONIC because of my association with the series. As getting any new title launched was a risk due to the difficulties of marketing and distribution, everyone was looking for ways to generate audience awareness.

Unfortunately, we know how that worked out as market conditions and a lack of shelf space contributed to the demise of the KNUCKLES and SONIC SUPER SPECIAL series, to say nothing of numerous Marvel, DC and other publishers' books. THE LOST ONES was a victim of cutbacks when Image cancelled publication of at least a dozen other titles in addition to my book when Diamond came back with low numbers for their total line-up.

 

And apparently, there was some serious pondering on whether to make Eggman Nega a new body for Dr. Droid or some incredibly stupid nonsense like that.

 

Yep, even back then, Ken felt he owned the Sonic franchise so much, he felt he had the right to make an alternate version of a SEGA owned character (Robotnik) the villain of his own series, and initially planned on using Sonic & Knuckles to sucker in readers for Lost Ones.

 

This is dumb. No, it's BEYOND F*CKING DUMB, (forgive my language) but it's completely f*cking RETARDED. I am so....

 

The man can't draw. The man can't write consistantly, and when he is, it's consistantly BAD. He has no professional courtesy beyond the false persona he builds up. He has TERRIBLE, GOD AWFUL business sense. He refuses to see any of the MANY flaws he has in his work (let alone his conduct), and when he does, it's always someone or something else's fault. He talks big on how many projects he has and how things are looking up, when his support mainly comes from embittered writers who want to use him for their own goals, he's on unemployment, his projects barely get off the ground if at all (what has he done? An unaired? pilot for a show and this hot mess).

 

He's so creatively tapped out, he's trying to ride his past glory by using "familiar" versions of characters that BARELY even resemble what people enjoyed in even the barest sense, which ultimately defeats the purpose of even trying to "reclaim" them, which he only did because of an office f*ckup at Archie that he took full advantage of. And if that wasn't all, he sees himself as a great writer, as he was seen in the goddamn late '90's, with everyone else he doesn't like can piss off.

 

The day that the numbers come back for the inevitable lack of sales for this trainwreck and he has to go, crawling, back to Archie/SEGA and beg them to buy his characters back from him (full rights!), and they close the door on his ass will be so damn sweet.

 

 

EDIT: Wow, I got more pissed off than I realized. It's just... With Penders being Penders, this just hit the breaking point for me (again). I knew that he planned on Knuckles: 20 Years Later having Dr. Droid (from the hit comic "The Lost Ones"! Buy your issue before it gets cancelled today!) in a Robotnik mech be the figure from Locke's vision of Knuckles' ultimate destiny. I just assumed it was him trying to be cute and add yet another stupid OC of his (from what was otherwise a complete X-Men ripoff book) to pepper up his little world. I had no idea the reason that the Robotnik mech being used for Droid was more stupid than I could have possibly imagined.

[Salamander]

I honestly thought CMDR Mykhal Taelor's model wasn't too bad, aside from the Play-Doh head and invisible Rob Liefeld feet.  But is Penders seriously trying to suggest that Eggman Nega is a rip-off of his characters?  That he owns Nega in consequence?  And that's why Nega isn't allowed to appear in the comics right now?  The man has no shame.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

I've really stopped taking anything Penders says seriously.

 

To me, the man is just trolling people, ironically at his own expense should this project fail.

 

And if he really is as serious as I've stop taking him to be, then that'll just make the fall out that much more epic. And in the off chance that this actually gains some measure of success, it'll be years down the line for us to give a shit anymore - although, by then more people might gain more insight into this whole debacle.

[Dejimon11]

Wait so this Dr. Driod character is meant to robo robotnik? Also am I the only one that finds it odd that the guys first name is "Ian"?

[Vertekins]

Wait wait wait...

 

This man was such an egocentrist...no...IS such an egocentrist that he had the audacity to basically EXPLOIT the Sonic series, to take what appears to have been a massive turning point in the comic's future continuity regarding Robotnik and Knuckles and turn it into something about a completely irrelevant character...to further the interests of his own original shit?

 

Wow...

 

Just...wow.

 

Penders is the epitome of being obnoxious and self-serving.

[spinny]

Following up from the Lien-Da edit because I have no life...

 

 

I think he wants these to be nightmare fuel by now honestly

[Blackbell]

I have to say the artwork is better than Lien Da- but it just looks out of place with the background- I mean, the background is amazingly done- but the character looks like s**t when you place it on that background (probably would still look s**t). They should tone the background done so it looks as stupid as the characters or...and this is a big maybe.... get the characters to actually look good (but that is a big ask!)

[anna]

Yeah, either Penders actually likes this...mess...or he refuses to accept that he has made a mistake- because Ken Penders NEVER makes mistakes!

[Wittymations]

I mean, the background is amazingly done- but the character looks like s**t when you place it on that background (probably would still look s**t). They should tone the background done so it looks as stupid as the characters or...and this is a big maybe.... get the characters to actually look good (but that is a big ask!)

Funny, I just Googled "Space Background" and found this.

 

http://www.walltecno.com/space-wallpaper-20-wallpaper-background-hd.html

 

Not really a perfect line up, but yeah.

 

[Zaysho]

@Biznizz

Oh man, that sounds awful. I think my brain broke last night when I read "Ken would own Nega," if Droid was retconned out and replaced or some malarchy. Wow. Just wow. Even back then he was doing anything he could to keep riding Sonic's coattails.

I guess the man's consistent, to say the least.

Funny, I just Googled "Space Background" and found this.

 

http://www.walltecno.com/space-wallpaper-20-wallpaper-background-hd.html

 

Not really a perfect line up, but yeah.

 

Well this is a man that believes that it's not plagiarism if he does it, so...

[Wittymations]

Yeah, looking at the permitted use, that background is only for desktop (personal) use, and anything else is against their permission, unless given allowance by the owner of the image.

[Sunwalker]

Wait so this Dr. Driod character is meant to robo robotnik? Also am I the only one that finds it odd that the guys first name is "Ian"?

It is a pun. "Ian Droid" and "Android", get it? It also looks to me that his name was an homage to Robotnik.

He was created long before another Ian came to the comic, but I do agree that it looks hilarious in hindsight [emoji13].

[Gabz Girl]

I see Penders still likes to use random Google images for his backgrounds. Remember there was a point when he did this in the comics and it looked horrendous. It's like he never changed his art style, he's still stuck in the early 2000's!

[Zaysho]

I see Penders still likes to use random Google images for his backgrounds. Remember there was a point when he did this in the comics and it looked horrendous. It's like he never changed his art style, he's still stuck in the early 2000's!

This must have been around where I dropped out, but he traced shit for the comic? Backgrounds were, like, the one thing he was even remotely competent (though he was far from "decent" even then) with in the early days. And he still traced random photos from a Google search into his work. Was Penders even trying?

EDIT: Actually, going back through some of the Knuckles solo stories he illustrated "remotely competent" might've been too nice. They're pretty bare now that I look at them again...

[biznizz]

There was a chapter in Chaos Knuckles backups (when he visits Charmy & Saffron) which Ken himself "illustrated". And by that, I mean he drew the characters (terribly) and literally used photos instead of actually making backgrounds. My jaw dropped when I saw it.

A scene with four characters or so standing on the ground normally, on top of a photo of what I swear was a canyon.

[Komodin]

There was a chapter in Chaos Knuckles backups (when he visits Charmy & Saffron) which Ken himself "illustrated". And by that, I mean he drew the characters (terribly) and literally used photos instead of actually making backgrounds. My jaw dropped when I saw it.

A scene with four characters or so standing on the ground normally, on top of a photo of what I swear was a canyon.

 

... Tell me: how, exactly, did this egregious laziness pass muster with Archie, again?

[Spin Attaxx]

That egregious laziness passed muster with Archie because Archie and Sega were themselves egregiously lazy.

[Zaysho]

... Tell me: how, exactly, did this egregious laziness pass muster with Archie, again?

This was during editor Gabrie's reign, I imagine, and he gave Penders a free pass on practically everything. And, as Spin Attaxx points out, SEGA was just as lazy and didn't give a shit about what was happening on the comic probably because they assumed the editor was doing his job. Boy have times changed.

Anybody have some scans of that chapter though? I hardly read any of the Chaos Knuckles stuff (the concept annoyed the crap out of me when I was younger, and it still sounds awful) and I feel like I need to see this for myself...

[Killtank]

@Biznizz

Oh man, that sounds awful. I think my brain broke last night when I read "Ken would own Nega," if Droid was retconned out and replaced or some malarchy. Wow. Just wow. Even back then he was doing anything he could to keep riding Sonic's coattails.

I guess the man's consistent, to say the least.

Well this is a man that believes that it's not plagiarism if he does it, so...

 

I often get the impression that Ken will only consider it plagiarism if other people are doing it. While Ken is able to freely pay "homage" without consequence. 

[Vertekins]

Anybody have some scans of that chapter though? I hardly read any of the Chaos Knuckles stuff (the concept annoyed the crap out of me when I was younger, and it still sounds awful) and I feel like I need to see this for myself...

 

 

 

This issue (#93) wasn't the only one that pulled this crap. A story involving the Wolf Pack used photo backgrounds too but I can't recall the issue number. What makes it all the more awful-looking is how an environment aspect such as the grass is drawn, making these BG's all the more egregious. There's no consistency in the art.

[ImPantsAtThis]

I'm sorry, but is that green knuckles echidna one of Penders' characters he won in the suit? Pahahahaha -- "original", he said, "not stolen", he said.

[DarkLight]

Jeez, that looks so out of place....

 

Though that perhaps is an understatement.

[Vertekins]

I'm sorry, but is that green knuckles echidna one of Penders' characters he won in the suit? Pahahahaha -- "original", he said, "not stolen", he said.

 

No.

 

That IS Knuckles.

 

Yeah....but this is Archie we're talking about so....

[Sonictrainer]

EDIT: Nevermind