Megathread Archie Sonic Main Discussion

[Phos]

So I was reading these spoilers forgetting that there were only a few echidnas at this point, making the idea of thrash killing all but a handful on his own in a very small amount of time with barely any difficulty more than a bit bananas.  

 

Off panel, ya really think they can get away with that much lethal blunt force trauma in one issue of a comic like this?  

[Tyranno]

Except he didn't kill them. He sent them somewhere else.

[bwrosas]

What I feel could happen (depending on when/if we find out the details on the settlement agreement), is one of many possibilites.

 

1. The characters could return, but like when they say in the fine print on the first page of the comic, that Sonic, Sally, etc.. are copyright of Sega, they could do the same with Ken Penders characters. Example, Julie-Su, Hershey, etc.. are Copyright of Ken Penders, and by doing so, they can still use them, and at the same time, Ken could get paid for it.

 

2. All the characters, events and stories that Ken created and wrote for the comic, could become "True" parts of the counitny.  In other words, MYL's could become the "True" Future like he intended it to be, whither we as fans or those working on the comic like it or not.  Other events could be added and focused more on in the comic.  As well as characters as well.

 

3. If Archie and Ian can use his characters again, as mentioned above.  Another possibilite could be that when they are to be used in a story for an issue, that Archie and Ian could consult Ken on their ideas of how they plan to use the character/s in the story and see if he likes it or/and if he feels this what they should do or add to their idea.

 

Again these are all possibilites that could occur/happen, depending on what the agreements of the settlement where.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

What should have happened was that Penders lost the trial and prevented from using the damn characters in the first place.

 

If Penders wanted characters he could keep instead of making them for Archie to use and going to court over them in the first place he should have:

1. Trademarked them and their designs first (but that's not including the Echidnas which Sega beat him to the punch for)
2. Make his own comic where he owned the characters
3. Or make a novel about them, where he would keep the rights to them

But no, he had to take the bullshit path over it...

[PC the Hedgehog]

The thing is, Spaz designed most of the characters Ken created, including Julie-Su. Does that mean he gets a share of the "profits", as well?

[Mogtaki]

Most likely, probably why there was a final settlement made when they've been in disagreements since it first started.

[Your Vest Friend]

KKM (I think he's a member on here) is compiling a list of characters by author to make it clearer who's potentially under fire from the lawsuit.

 

Here's the site. Also note that it doesn't take itself 100% seriously (Protip: Look at the other writers section for an example). 

[Mogtaki]

Julie-Su's on the list of Penders characters? Good, don't like her.

 

As for Evil Sonic...obviously he got that idea from StC.

[Mangoaxe5]

As for Evil Sonic...obviously he got that idea from StC.

Yes because evil versions of characters are so original.

Edited December 28, 2012 by Vampfox

[Mogtaki]

Yes because evil versions of characters are so original.

 

It's not so much the concept as the 'story' that's the tribute.

[goku262002]

Ugh god I hate linking to them but I can't find this reported by anyone else. C'mon TSS get on these storys please!
 

Flynn: “Arc wasn’t what I originally planned”

Some of those who received Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog #244 in the mail recently were a bit unpleasantly surprised to see developments unfold in part two of the Endangered Species arc.

 

If you haven’t read it, be warned that we’re about to spoil a major plot point. 

 

Flynn appears to write out most of the echidna characters as Thrash traps many of the characters via a warp ring, in effect erasing them from the Archie Sonic universe.  The only two that appear left, at least in this issue, are Knuckles and Dr. Finitevus.

 

There’s no telling how the Endangered Species arc ends, but for the moment, it appears the likes of Lien-Da, Julie-Su, and many other once major characters are out of the comics.  It just so happens the ownership of those characters and the story behind them, among many other things, were disputed by former Archie writer Ken Penders in a recently settled lawsuit Archie brought against him.

 

Current writer Ian Flynn admitted the arc saw changes in a post on the Bumbleking forum Sunday, but didn’t say why.

 

“Remember, we work months in advance to keep on schedule. When something abruptly changes, we can’t throw out months of work and thousands of dollars,” Flynn said.  “We revise plans and move forward. This isn’t new, especially for veteran fans.  This story arc wasn’t what I originally planned, but it’s also not “OMG TEH RUINED FOREVERZ.” We had to take it in a new direction, and we’re getting to do other things with the over-all plot this way.”

 

Flynn added in a follow-up post on Christmas Day that he doesn’t know all of what’s happening, and what he does know he can’t comment publicly on.

 

“I know it’s frustrating for you guys. It’s frustrating for me too. But it’s not something any of us can control. So instead of fretting over it, just relax and enjoy the book for what it is,” Flynn asked.  “Trust me when I say everyone on staff is committed to bringing the best books we can. That hasn’t changed.”

 
Thoughts?

Edited December 28, 2012 by goku262002

[Coral]

TSSZ was keeping close tabs on the court trials and was really my only source for learning about this crazy fiasco. Otherwise, I would have just written off the current arc to be a sloppy mess. Instead I just see it as disappointing from the clear hastiness of the rewrites and I can't help but feel a little sad that some Penders creations could suddenly vanish in thin air. Rob was pretty cool. :'c

 

That story that TSSZ came up with is just a reinterpretation of Flynn's posts on Bumbleking (spoilers if you click that link by the way).

Edited December 28, 2012 by Coral

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Lien-Da? NOOOOOOOOOOO~!

 

Fuck you, Penders!

Edited December 28, 2012 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[Soniman]

Amazing. Even when he doesn't even work on it anymore and hasn't been for years, Penders is still ruining the comic.

[Mogtaki]

It's funny how the hatred is immediately being brought to Penders rather than Flynn who is the one writing the stuff, but of course it's understandable since Penders is the one in the court case.

 

Still not heard any "omg Flynn why are you so weak against Penders sheesh" though.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Is Flynn even involved in the case?

[Your Vest Friend]

Is Flynn even involved in the case?

 

Nope. His only tie to anything is that he has to adhere to any changes the higher ups want as a result of the case. 

[JD!]

Ugh god I hate linking to them but I can't find this reported by anyone else. C'mon TSS get on these storys please!

 

 

Thoughts?

I agree with Ian. There is nothing he or us can do about the case so just enjoy the comic. It'll be sad if any characters do vanish, but it might mean some interesting stories down the road.

[Mogtaki]

Nope. His only tie to anything is that he has to adhere to any changes the higher ups want as a result of the case. 

 

Which is why I ask is anybody angry at him for making it such a sudden thing with a character that's barely seen? I know there's people who don't understand the character's backstory and why he would do such a thing, but I've not seen anybody call Flynn out for terrible storytelling.

[Your Vest Friend]

So far, there have been some initial sparks of anger towards the events, but then it redirects to Penders once they find out that Ian's basically been forced to do it. To be fair, most of the Archie fans I've seen so far are old enough to understand how the printing process works, and how last minute changes can't really be integrated seamlessly. 

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Well that has to do with Sega giving out mandates over the comic in the first place. We don't know all what is or isn't part of those mandates - or maybe we do, and I'm just the one left out of the loop here - so for all we can assume, his writing is made with those mandates in mind.

 

Another reason would be that he's probably not the one approving the stories in the first place. He may very well send them to a higher up who then reviews the work, demands for something to be removed or altered, and then reworks it from there. Hence the Endangered species being an example of this, since he claims it wasn't what he originally planned and he did what he did with the new character. Plus, if he was in full control, he could very easily put his own stuff into it like Penders did in his run.

[SuperLink]

To be honest I think Ian had probably intended Endangered Species to be a strong character development for Thrash and the Echidnas, assuming this is all because of the Penders trial, if he already has plans with all the other major villains i.e. Eggman he may have had no choice but to forcefully work this into Thrash's development. It's not how he wanted it to go.. but if the agreement between Penders and Archie did indeed mean last minute changes were necesssary, it may be the case that he didn't have the time to re-write the story enough that it was seamless.

 

I think before people jump down Ian's neck, they'll want to see the remaining parts of the arc.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Yeah, well I just know I'll be pissed off for a while if Lien-Da is gone forever because of this agreement.

 

I'll still be reading the comics tho.

[turbojet]

So anyone willing to recap me on the recent events. Going back and reading through the thread and I'm still sort of confused with what is going on?

[Mogtaki]

So anyone willing to recap me on the recent events. Going back and reading through the thread and I'm still sort of confused with what is going on?

 

The echidna extra characters are being removed from the comic by the end of this latest arc, it seems, for good.