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

[Adamis]

Oh I'm sure you can send him an e-mail.

[Guergy]

So how did Penders respond to criticism of his comic?

[Shaddy Zaphod]

Depends on what you mean. The answer for most of his run on the old comic was "poorly". The answer with TLSC is also "poorly" but with an added dash of "you can't judge if you haven't bought it yet, give me money and then you'll see".

[SatAMhog]

It's been almost seven years since this thread was started and we have nary a hint as to when this collection of books/apps/whatever he calls it on Tuesday will release.  You would think in all the time it's taken, he would've released something to his fans other than a page here, a page there every three years.  All Ken has accomplished in all this time is an interview on Midnight's Edge on youtube.    I've never seen one man more lax in not wanting to make money in all my days from what fans he does have left.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

40 minutes ago, SatAMhog said:

It's been almost seven years since this thread was started and we have nary a hint as to when this collection of books/apps/whatever he calls it on Tuesday will release.

I believe it's been even longer since Penders first announced this project. 

If I recall correctly,  2012 was the original release date. Good grief.

[Zonic 2099]

 

U-Uh... Ken you are about 500 years too early to post this. A couple of preview pages and showcasing translations doesn't mean the Lara-Su Chronicles is any closer to being made a reality.

I don't know, I think had he just made a simple web comic continuation rather than fight to get back a bunch of recurring B and C listers he could have had his cake and eaten it too. I doubt SEGA nor Archie would care if Sonic, Knuckles or any of their characters appeared in a former writers free to read web comic. Fans new and old could check it out. Too bad we live in the darkest timeline.

*Insert standard fresh start comment here.*

[SBR2]

Y'know for someone who claims to love comics Penders sure seems to absolutely detest comics.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

The amount of disrespect to Web Comics is fucking insulting. A good web comic takes literally just as much time and effort as any other comic to create, and while like comics, they can fluctuate in quality, that doesn’t mean they’re any less of an art form, or didn’t take any less time.

Archie Sonic Online, Sonic the Comic Online,Nintendrawer’s Mario comics, any number of iconic web comics out there in general, they’re all comics that are free to read online, have great writing from passionate writers, and fantastic artwork. Oh and they actually keep themselves to a schedule and actually put stuff of quality out. Archie Sonic Online literally started only about five years ago and they have enough issues out to easily trump the number of pages in a GN, while retaining high quality. 

The absolute gull to try claim this when so many of these web comics are of vastly higher quality than TL-SC, are free, have ridiculous amounts of time, effort, and organisation involved, and still come out and finish long before Ken’s book. 

[horridus]

10 hours ago, Zonic 2099 said:

 

I don't know, I think had he just made a simple web comic continuation rather than fight to get back a bunch of recurring B and C listers he could have had his cake and eaten it too. I doubt SEGA nor Archie would care if Sonic, Knuckles or any of their characters appeared in a former writers free to read web comic. Fans new and old could check it out. Too bad we live in the darkest timeline.

Because that wouldn't get what Penders really wants out of this- cold, hard cash, and lots of it at once. No matter what else he says, his primary motivation in all of this has been to make as much money as possible. Whatever pretensions or delusions of grandeur he may present, that's always been the core of things for him, and a Webcomic simply wouldn't rack in the kind of cash he thinks he deserves, let alone one that would technically count as a fan work running on donations. 

10 hours ago, SBR2 said:

Y'know for someone who claims to love comics Penders sure seems to absolutely detest comics.

Penders really does come off as someone who really wanted to make movies and only settled on comics because it was easier for him to get into than anything pertaining to the film industry. The way he talks makes it clear that he views his beloved comics more in terms of being fodder for film franchises than anything worthwhile in their own right. 

9 hours ago, Ryannumber1gamer said:

The amount of disrespect to Web Comics is fucking insulting. A good web comic takes literally just as much time and effort as any other comic to create, and while like comics, they can fluctuate in quality, that doesn’t mean they’re any less of an art form, or didn’t take any less time.

Archie Sonic Online, Sonic the Comic Online,Nintendrawer’s Mario comics, any number of iconic web comics out there in general, they’re all comics that are free to read online, have great writing from passionate writers, and fantastic artwork. Oh and they actually keep themselves to a schedule and actually put stuff of quality out. Archie Sonic Online literally started only about five years ago and they have enough issues out to easily trump the number of pages in a GN, while retaining high quality. 

The absolute gull to try claim this when so many of these web comics are of vastly higher quality than TL-SC, are free, have ridiculous amounts of time, effort, and organisation involved, and still come out and finish long before Ken’s book. 

It's doubly hysterical when you recall that for all his talk about 'advancing the format', that's what webcomics are- the comic format done for the digital age, in the digital medium. Furthermore? Penders' idea for 'advancing' the format is to basically copy what Marvel and DC were already doing ten years ago. 

Triply hilarious is his assessment that ANYONE can do a webcomic... given that it seems anyone can, except for him. 

[Zonic 2099]

Except that while the glut of those issues featured characters you created there are still characters that other writers made that you'll either have to alter or cut entirely. I also find it interesting that this stops before issue 125, before Knuckles returned to life, and Angel Island was taken over while Sonic was lost in space.

[SBR2]

I'm pretty sure it's just going to include the stuff that actually has Knuckles in it but even still I could be wrong but there's no possible way that won't be really friggin heavy, right?

Like that's a lot of material even for an Omnibus. 

[Zonic 2099]

19 hours ago, SBR2 said:

I'm pretty sure it's just going to include the stuff that actually has Knuckles in it but even still I could be wrong but there's no possible way that won't be really friggin heavy, right?

Yeah, I've bought quite a few graphic novels in the past, I fully expect it to be only feature stuff directly tied to Ken's Knuckles storylines but that being said, some of those stories he wrote a small handful of characters other writers created like Athair and Wombat Stu. I don't know what the deal is in regards to characters SEGA owned and reprint material but I highly doubt that the same rules apply to characters that SEGA ended up not having ownership to due to Archie's infamous contract goof.

And it seems Ken responded to a reply of someone doubting he'd publish the thing.

"As well as letting me make my Knuckles movie, making M25YL the canonical future, not killing Lara-Su, Julie-Su or Locke (Thus breaking SEGA's rules in regards to continuity exclusive family and romances.)  and making me a secondary licensor who can have direct input as far as my creations are concerned but let's forget those non important facts."

And why should they? SEGA's not going to get in the ring to get back a bunch of characters they will never directly use. There's a big difference in fighting to keep the likes of Tails or Knuckles, Amy Rose or Shadow compared to a bunch of characters originating in some American comic that not a lot of Sonic fans will even know.

This is basically like if Toei somehow lost the rights to some Dragon Ball movie characters like Dr.Wheelo or Garlic Jr. Sure Toei and maybe Akira Toriyama would be annoyed and baffled but they sure as hell won't fight for insignificant characters that aren't even relevant to the story nor super popular.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

I can't help but find it beyond ridiculous that the writing that sounded dated in the 90s is being classed as timeless here. And if you ask anyone with an interest in comics, I'd reckon stuff like the Clone Saga, The Death of Superman, Knightfall, Maximum Carnage and more would spring to mind sooner. Plus, they're still actually available. Who on god's earth does he think he's fooling here?

Ah yes, so he'll look like Sonic, but we just won't mention him by name, even though its still clearly SEGA's Sonic the Hedgehog.

[The Tenth Doctor]

20 minutes ago, Ryannumber1gamer said:

Ah yes, so he'll look like Sonic, but we just won't mention him by name, even though its still clearly SEGA's Sonic the Hedgehog.

What he fails to understand is a rose by any other name is still Sonic.

[horridus]

2 hours ago, Ryannumber1gamer said:

I can't help but find it beyond ridiculous that the writing that sounded dated in the 90s is being classed as timeless here. And if you ask anyone with an interest in comics, I'd reckon stuff like the Clone Saga, The Death of Superman, Knightfall, Maximum Carnage and more would spring to mind sooner. Plus, they're still actually available. Who on god's earth does he think he's fooling here?

You know, honestly? At this point all I can really feel is pity. Sure, I'm kind of annoyed, maybe even a little offended, but... this whole display is just too pathetic for me to really muster the effort. He wants so badly to be seen as some kind of Big Deal in comics, and there's nothing that backs it up outside of the elaborate fantasy he's constructed for himself. 

 

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

On 3/13/2021 at 10:02 PM, The Tenth Doctor said:

What he fails to understand is a rose by any other name is still Sonic.

I can't help but wonder if he's banking on the idea that SEGA won't bother to sue him just because they're sick of court dates with him.

I mean, that's the only sensible means I can see him doing this without being a complete and utter moron in a glass house.

[Shaddy Zaphod]

"Nothing dated about my comics", says guy who wrote this

[Razule]

5 hours ago, The Tenth Doctor said:

What he fails to understand is a rose by any other name is still Sonic.

No, that'd be Amy.

[Rabid-Coot]

That split second you think he's about to suggest some worth cause that you know they wouldn't touch.

 

Is this the first time he has actually begged for money in some form?

[Shaddy Zaphod]

I'd make a joke like "what a way to make sure republicans hold on to their checks", but a lot of his online support comes from kind of weird reactionary types who hate the new comics for """"""""""SJW politics"""""""""", and frankly I'm surprised he hasn't tried catering to them more.

[SenEDDtor Missile]

15 minutes ago, Shaddy Zaphod said:

I'd make a joke like "what a way to make sure republicans hold on to their checks", but a lot of his online support comes from kind of weird reactionary types who hate the new comics for """"""""""SJW politics"""""""""", and frankly I'm surprised he hasn't tried catering to them more.

That'd mean he'd have to admit he's not the big progressive feminist intellectual he pretends to be.

[horridus]

3 hours ago, Rabid-Coot said:

That split second you think he's about to suggest some worth cause that you know they wouldn't touch.

 

Is this the first time he has actually begged for money in some form?

Technically, but really its just his usual grandstanding over politics. 

20 minutes ago, Shaddy Zaphod said:

I'd make a joke like "what a way to make sure republicans hold on to their checks", but a lot of his online support comes from kind of weird reactionary types who hate the new comics for """"""""""SJW politics"""""""""", and frankly I'm surprised he hasn't tried catering to them more.

Penders having a lot of 'those' fans is incidental rather than intentional, and it's especially amazing given that Penders tends to be upfront about his political leanings. He's either unaware of the fact that that's the sort of person a lot of his work appeals to, or he's simply unwilling to acknowledge it. Either way though, he's far too invested in his self-given image of being a kind of uber-liberal crusader for justice sort to do that sort of things... besides, his written application of his political leanings is so incompetent it doesn't make much difference anyway. It'd be tragic if he wasn't such an insincere and self-serving jerk. 

[SBR2]

1 hour ago, Shaddy Zaphod said:

I'd make a joke like "what a way to make sure republicans hold on to their checks", but a lot of his online support comes from kind of weird reactionary types who hate the new comics for """"""""""SJW politics"""""""""", and frankly I'm surprised he hasn't tried catering to them more.

That's what makes it so funny. This man clearly has no idea who his fans are.

Also I looked at my brother's West Coast Avengers Omnibus and I guess to be fair to Penders Marvel Omnibus's collect at least 30 issues a volume but that's the thing they also make them volumes.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

Yet again, he continues to talk more about his precious app than the comic itself. I don't know. Maybe he considers them one and the same, but it's not worded well. Definitely gives off the idea that he's focusing more on the bells and whistles than actual substance.

[DaddlerTheDalek]

Who cares about a app for a comic that doesn't exist.