Archie Sonic Hiatus Discussion

[Chris Knopps]

11 minutes ago, Zaysho said:

I'm sure there are plenty of publishers that would want to take a crack at Sonic and they'd be working under the same limitations Archie was already under and they managed with Sonic's personality fine. I think it'll be dependent on how a writer for this hypothetical new book will approach it. Sure, SEGA is pretty controlling about Sonic's image, but at the very least it was never a detriment in Archie's book.

Staff at Archie had plenty of complaints about SEGA so it was indeed a detriment despite pushing forward through the years.

Also we should keep in mind the state of the franchise AND how other publishers should be all too aware of SEGA's business practices with partners which is terrible at best, and that's being very nice. Big Red Button being the most recent to experience this first-hand.

SEGA and reputation do not go hand in hand, good that is. And having SEGA as a partner generally spells trouble at best, absolute chaos at worst for outside parties involved with them, the only successes in recent years being the Racing series and Olympic titles, though the later is thanks to Nintendo dominating SEGA with a leash nowadays.

Putting their characters in games with Sonic, they better be good or they get whipped.

What surprises me is how SEGA thinks they can still be picky with who and how others handle Sonic, especially this scenario now where they just throw Archie away, the best representation of Sonic in years now, with some plan of their own comics in the works. It will be interesting seeing how this turns out, if not potentially unfortunate.

[Rummy]

I'm a terrible liar, I have no idea why i feel so sad over this. I have and had no affection for the Comics aside from of the recent Issues, Mega Drive and the issues that showed up in Mega Collection. But yet i feel so much sadness and sympathy for the ones who have loved this comic for so long,I hope you guys can recover from this "unexpected" cancellation, It's terrible how it only got really good and it ended without a wrap up and Mega Drive will never end unless Tyson releases it someday.

[Adamis]

41 minutes ago, Chris Knopps said:

Staff at Archie had plenty of complaints about SEGA so it was indeed a detriment despite pushing forward through the years.

Also we should keep in mind the state of the franchise AND how other publishers should be all too aware of SEGA's business practices with partners which is terrible at best, and that's being very nice. Big Red Button being the most recent to experience this first-hand.

SEGA and reputation do not go hand in hand, good that is. And having SEGA as a partner generally spells trouble at best, absolute chaos at worst for outside parties involved with them, the only successes in recent years being the Racing series and Olympic titles, though the later is thanks to Nintendo dominating SEGA with a leash nowadays.

Putting their characters in games with Sonic, they better be good or they get whipped.

What surprises me is how SEGA thinks they can still be picky with who and how others handle Sonic, especially this scenario now where they just throw Archie away, the best representation of Sonic in years now, with some plan of their own comics in the works. It will be interesting seeing how this turns out, if not potentially unfortunate.

Let's blame Sega for everything, eh ?

Like KKM said, thanks to Archie, they've had several lawsuits launched against them thanks to the publisher's incompetence, and you really wonder why they'd stop anything with them ?

And seriously, Archie's practice with their staff isn't stellar either. Jon Gray seems to have lots of things to say about them, for example.

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What surprises me is how SEGA thinks they can still be picky with who and how others handle Sonic

Sonic is their property, so yes they can be picky all they want.

And as Tyson Hesse said on Retro :

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We would hear little things here and there, but considering the level these talks were being had at, it would have been very strange for a bunch of contractors to be looped in on it all. I wasn't very optimistic, but I tend to hope for the best in most situations. It's a shame to think of all the work that was completed but never released. Both mine, and others. I'd say the biggest disappointment is just how much a fizzle this whole situation wound up being. I was hoping a best case scenario would have been a short term contract extension to at least send the comic to a respectful end. But to just drop out in the middle of several storylines is such a thud of an ending to a series being made by people who cared so much. Until the whole story behind this whole thing inevitably spills though, I would just say please don't be too hasty to blame one party or the other. This whole thing is likely a very complicated situation.
For now though, thanks for reading the books all these years and the entire crew is grateful for the support.

 

[Chris Knopps]

Just now, Adamis said:

Let's blame Sega for everything, eh ?

Like KKM said, thanks to Archie, they've had several lawsuits launched against them thanks to the publisher's incompetence, and you really wonder why they'd stop anything with them ?

And seriously, Archie's practice with their staff isn't stellar either. Jon Gray seems to have lots of things to say about them, for example.

Sonic is their property, so yes they can be picky all they want.

SEGA is just as bad due to incompetent legal teams, lets not forget how Chronicles turned out.

And while yes, Sonic really IS their property, it wouldn't be a surprise if it was becoming a property only THEY were willing to work on/with considering all the goings-on in recent years. It's hard to be picky when folks have apprehension about working with your franchise/company.

It's not a pretty picture, and the comics poofing into nonexistence is just another blotch on the scenario.

I do hope there's a brilliant plan ahead for whatever comics we get next. I hope whoever they potentially partner with are brilliant people and we see a brilliant new way SEGA works with those they hand Sonic to.

But this hope for brilliance is only that, hope.

[Marcello]

Dang... =( I wish they could've at least been able to finish off Genesis of a Hero and Mega Drive since they both only had one issue left.

I'm guessing Boom Studios or IDW will end up taking over, which is fine. Boom's Power Rangers and IDW's Ninja Turtles comics are great. Would be nice if whoever takes over brings back at least Ian Flynn.

[QuantumEdge]

So, late to the party, but I heard the news.  I don't even know where to begin.  I haven't been quite the long term fan.  I only started reading them five years ago, but it didn't take long for me to be a giant fan.  After watching this book last so long you start to think it might never end, only for it to crash and burn in one of the most poorly handled ways possible (for the record, I hope the subscribers get proper compensation for this).  There are so many things I still wanted to see.  Sonic making 300 issues, Universe making to 100, actually seeing what new directions Ian wanted to go in.  All I can do now is feel thankful for what I did see.  For all its phases of puns, poor art, bizzare sci-fi and bad romance, this comic knew when to improve, breath life back into forgotten faces, push boundaries and not be afraid in taking crazy risks.  It was too good to die like this, not when it was so memorable. 

What's worse now though is the creative team being out of work.  All those writers (besides Penders), artists, inkers, colourists and editors who had a hand in making the comic what it is deserve better and I sincerely hope their careers can keep on going brightly.  As for the future of Sonic in this medium, all I can do is follow suit and hope he can make a comeback with someone not as much of a disorganised pudding head like Archie.  Hopefully some of the old talent can make their comeback there. 

Thanks for the ride guys, it was a blast.

[GucciBurr]

why's everyone so sad

didnt they say sega was looking to continue the comics with another pubisher

[Chris Knopps]

Just now, GucciBurr said:

why's everyone so sad

didnt they say sega was looking to continue the comics with another pubisher

No, they're going to continue Sonic as a comic series with another publisher. Satam/Archie series is likely done for.

[GucciBurr]

2 minutes ago, Chris Knopps said:

No, they're going to continue Sonic as a comic series with another publisher. Satam/Archie series is likely done for.

sounds good to me lol

i never liked the satam/archie characters. wiping the slate clean with an entirely new sonic comic could also attract new fans

[Chris Knopps]

Just now, GucciBurr said:

sounds good to me lol

i never liked the satam/archie characters. wiping the slate clean with an entirely new sonic comic could also attract new fans

Well...

That was the idea with BOOM and...

Gonna let that simmer.

We'll see how things go nonetheless.

[GucciBurr]

the boom cartoon succeeded in attracting new fans and was pretty popular on cartoon network

[Chris Knopps]

1 minute ago, GucciBurr said:

the boom cartoon succeeded in attracting new fans and was pretty popular on cartoon network

I do give the cartoon due credit, but as a whole it did more harm than good.

I do hope their plans for the franchise as a comic turn out better. If nothing else, it couldn't turn out worse.

[doctorbenMD]

5 hours ago, Borvoc said:

Can we keep it through the weekend at least to commiserate and in the off chance of a follow-up is announcement at Comic-Con?

@SonicComicFanboy Hey, man. If it makes you feel better, Sega may have been more or less forced into this by the legal issues and stuff. I don't want you potentially missing out on other aspects of the franchise just because this didn't turn out well.

Also, @doctorbenMD. It looks as though you may have been right all along. Not that I didn't believe you. I just wanted to keep the possibility open in my mind that your source could have been wrong or that things could change for the better before the other shoe finally fell. Hopefully you didn't take my position in any negative way.

This is all a bit sad, but I think most of us were prepared for it in some way. I hope for the best for everyone involved. You never know; good may still come out of this.

Trust me--I wished my source was wrong too. And nah I didn't take your position like that. It's all good.

[Dr. Detective]

I'm glad the very badly kept secret has finally been revealed. I haven't said a word about this because talk of whether or not it was true didn't interest me because my gut kept telling me it was and I didn't want to be told to wait for official word or that I was being pessimistic.

Speculation on what could happen next sounds like fun though. If anything it'd be a nice distraction from the loss, even if the hope for anything good happening is minimal.

 

[Badnik Mechanic]

For info.

We here at TSS found out about this way back in December 2016 from 2 different sources. On neither of which were willing to go on record.

There was at the time a lot of stuff surrounding the decision to support it but no smoking gun hence why it went up as rumour.

[RedFox99]

Do you guys think it's possible for Sega to pull some of their mandates?

[Chris Knopps]

3 minutes ago, Mayor D said:

For info.

We here at TSS found out about this way back in December 2016 from 2 different sources. On neither of which were willing to go on record.

There was at the time a lot of stuff surrounding the decision to support it but no smoking gun hence why it went up as rumour.

Okay then?

Doesn't add much to the discussion at hand save how long you knew of it.

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I'm glad the very badly kept secret has finally been revealed. I haven't said a word about this because talk of whether or not it was true didn't interest me because my gut kept telling me it was and I didn't want to be told to wait for official word or that I was being pessimistic.

Speculation on what could happen next sounds like fun though. If anything it'd be a nice distraction from the loss, even if the hope for anything good happening is minimal.

I don't know...

As long as they have some kind of concept on par with Eggman being some kind of dictator or something I do have hope...

Though if their plan is a typical "merge everything with the games" routine and focuses on all the lighthearted stuff they can push into a comic... Ehh...

Sonic running around and jumping on Eggman while cracking a joke or two can only take a series so far if it lacks any meat in between. It's good for a random disconnected series like BOOM but for a comic they'd need to implement something else @Dr. Detective Mike.

[Shadowlax]

2 hours ago, Chris Knopps said:

 

I don't really see any other comic creators putting up with SEGA's sh@$ as much as Archie did though. If they can't even give Sonic personality beyond the grinning and wisecracking aspect of the games I hear a collective f-you coming from whatever folks SEGA approaches.

eh, a popular brand they can sell in a the video game adaptations market? They will get one quick fast and in a hurry, and the archie characters wont be seen again

[Salamander]

The fact that Sega specifically states that it's not the end of Sonic in comics means it's not just a case of Sega turning inwards on the franchise; they probably already have plans in place if they're making such a confident statement, since they could just vaguely allude to unspecified future plans.  Either Sega wanted out of Archie, or Archie wanted out of Sega; it's between the two of them.  (We can rule out any wrangling over canon as Archie wouldn't have hesitated to push it through, having done so once already, and they'd almost certainly have spoken to Flynn about it too.)  A few options I've been mulling over:

• Sega wanted to pull out because of all the Archie lawsuits in which their own IP was being increasingly compromised by an inept company (as suggested above).  The six-month hiatus while they sorted things out was perhaps because they couldn't just straight-up "pull the license," but rather had to wait it out until the contract expired; in the meantime, however, they were empowered to nix anything Archie wanted to do with the IP and told as much.  All comics production was suspended while Archie tried to negotiate a way forward.
• Sega wanted a major relaunch to tie in with things like the movie and a future new direction in Sonic games (like a more extreme version of what happened with Boom), but this required Archie to pony up more dough than they had going.  They negotiated for months to find a financial middle ground, with the existing comic run being suspended because either way it was for the chop.
• Archie was no longer willing, or perhaps able, to spend as much money on the comic as they were, so they spent months negotiating for a reduction in the license fee (this goes along with the "Sega increased the fee" theory also suggested in this thread), suspending comics production as they did so because they didn't want to put more money into the series in case the whole thing fell through.
• Archie wanted out of Sonic comics altogether and it was Sega which was trying to persuade them to continue, with the wrangling again being over finance.  Conceivably suggested by the fact that Sega is still pursuing Sonic in comics.

Pathetic performance by both companies, and the fact that they weren't willing to work together even just to get the remaining issues out and give the series some shadow of a fitting end shows either how serious the situation was, or, worse, how little regard they have for the fans.

[Chris Knopps]

Just now, Shadowlax said:

eh, a popular brand they can sell in a the video game adaptations market? They will get one quick fast and in a hurry, and the archie characters wont be seen again

If SEGA will back off and let comic publishers give Sonic additional character and let them write the stories as they best see fit, THEN it would be easy to see publishers lining up to work with SEGA.

But if they think they'll get away with the chains they put all over Archie being bound around any other major publisher, a big "nope" to that one. Publishers tend to enjoy their freedom. They will stick to things expected to be stuck to but they WILL expand on it, and if SEGA is against that, they will be against SEGA.

[Badnik Mechanic]

15 minutes ago, Chris Knopps said:

Okay then?

Doesn't add much to the discussion at hand save how long you knew of it.

Yeah it only adds that Sega and Archie made the decision 6 months ago and didn't bother to tell subscribers for that time. 

No value, nope.

[Mark1]

10 minutes ago, Mayor D said:

Yeah it only adds that Sega and Archie made the decision 6 months ago and didn't bother to tell subscribers for that time. 

No value, nope.

Are refunds for those who were still subscribed to them happening? Forgive me if it's been discussed already still catching up with the topic.

[Badnik Mechanic]

9 minutes ago, Mark1 said:

Are refunds for those who were still subscribed to them happening? Forgive me if it's been discussed already still catching up with the topic.

Legally they have to.

You paid for something.

They can't deliver it.

Refund pls.

[Your Vest Friend]

46 minutes ago, Mayor D said:

For info.

We here at TSS found out about this way back in December 2016 from 2 different sources. On neither of which were willing to go on record.

There was at the time a lot of stuff surrounding the decision to support it but no smoking gun hence why it went up as rumour.

Yep. Wasn't a fun present to find on Christmas Day, let me tell you guys. 

[Arranos]

So yeah, Evan Stanley knew about the comics being cancelled in January.

http://spiritsonic.tumblr.com/post/163204711509/thoughts-on-the-official-archie-sonic-comic-series