Megathread Archie Sonic Main Discussion

[Dejimon11]

We're going to look back at this and wonder if all this was worth it.

[Jet Prower]

It is all a mess either way. All these copyright rules are just rediculous anyway. They have ruined more than just these over the years. Networks arguing over shows that just end up getting dropped to not deal with them. Shows just getting shifted around and caught up in network changing messes. Characters, plots and such just being dropped changed and other crap all because someone has copyrights to something and they want to whine like a baby. Things can be worked out alot better and more civily than just whining about oh I own this, pay me.

 

The fact he would be trying to claim max just always shocked me, since I assumed he wasn't able to be claimed since he was in the show. I always assumed that any characters that appeared in any show were safe because well, you can't claim a character that appeared in a sega show.

[Tenko]

I still don't buy his "movie company approached me" line, he has been talking about recently in relation to a movie of the comic series back in the day. Especially sounds fishy when he says they weren't aware that the Knuckles character belonged to Sega and he had to tell them. Surely a movie company who was interested in making a movie based on the comics, even the Knuckles ones would do their homework on the franchise they were interested in and end up approaching Sega first, and if they really didn't know it was a Sega property, surely they would approach Archie being the publishers of the comic. I really doubt they would approach a random writer credited on the comic with this deal before anyone else.

[Dejimon11]

About that movie thing he's been talking about it on twitter https://mobile.twitter.com/KenPenders/status/375455919418531840 https://mobile.twitter.com/KenPenders/status/359730993306931200 https://mobile.twitter.com/KenPenders/status/359731292490833920

[Tenko]

Not being rude, but it seems all he does is have lunch with people and talk about stuff that never eventuates >.<

Considering the apparent popularity of the comic itself, it has always seemed odd that Archie wouldn't approach Sega about an animated version or one off. Or even motion comics like their ads for Worlds Collide. They have had animated Archie after all

Edited September 9, 2013 by Tenko

[Dejimon11]

Not being rude, but it seems all he does is have lunch with people and talk about stuff that never eventuates >.<

Is that the same thing he did with his other projects

They have had animated Archie after all

Yes they did several times and there making another one again

[bwrosas]

 

 

 

9/9/2013 : 9 AM

 

Let's face facts, no matter what any of the creative staff does on the Sonic comic book at Archie comics.  No one is truly satisfied.  And there is a number of reasons as to why.  

 

 

1) You can't do a story arc, no matter how long it could be, without invoking one fanbase because you don't feature their favorite characters or the characters they feel are more established.  It's a true fact.  Over the past two years, you've had the Saturday morning fans be enraged because the stories were focusing more on the game characters.  But on the other hand, you have the game fans enraged with the upcoming Countdown To Chaos arc and in previous issues of the past were the Saturday morning/comic cast were featured more prominently then the game cast.  So no matter what this creative staff does, unless they can find a way to balance things out, it's always going to be a no-win situation.

 

2) Relationships, more importantly romantic relationships, always seem to be the center of controversy, because one fanbase wants Sonic to be with either Amy or Blaze, or Rouge, or even as crazy as it sounds, Elise. While the other fanbase wants Sonic to be together and stay together with Sally.  And thus is the reason why when Sonic is placed into what many have dubbed and noticed as a temporary relationship (boyfriend/girlfriend) with Sally.  You have the game fanbase totally ticked off at the fact that once again, Sonic/Sally are together as an item, even if it's only temporary.  But on the flip side, when someone like Ian Flynn shows/teases hints of possibly Sonic/Amy or any other game girl with Sonic in the comics, you have the Saturday morning/comic fanbase totally ticked off as well as if it was the other way around.  Which is why relationships for Sonic to be in, in the comic are not featured as much as they used to be.  

But you see, what game core fans just don't understand or refuse to understand and overlook, is the fact that Sally is the default choice.  As much as fans want Sonic to be with Amy or maybe even Blaze, they have to understand that because they appear in the games with Sonic, that it would detract from what each other's personality is about.  When it comes to Amy, they want Sonic to be in a steady and official relationship with her that no matter what other media focuses on Sonic, that they have to acknowledge Sonic and Amy as the official couple.  But again that detracts away from the personality that Sega had given Sonic and that is a personality of being a free spirit and not being held down by anything.  Which is why when the Saturday morning cartoon and the comics pair him up with Sally, Sega never really says any thing, because they understand, especially with the help of their representatives that get acknowledged in the credits on the first page of the comics, that pairing Sonic with Sally will not detract away from his personality that they have established for him, because,  a) she's not an in game character, yet. , even though she's part of the franchise, her relationship with Sonic, is the kind of relationship that can be turned on for as long as it needs to be and turned off for as long as it needs to be.

You take a look at Nintendo for example, you can't tell me that the people at Nintendo don't realize that the fans have acknowledged Mario/Peach and Luigi/Daisy as two individual couples, because they have.  The only difference is they don't shove it in our faces.  Because they know, that if they were to come out and officially acknowledge those 4 as individual boyfriend/girlfriend couples, that it would detract from what made the characters famous in the first place.  Which is why they don't/haven't come out and officially acknowledged it yet.  Thus is the reason why Sega has yet and probably never will come out and acknowledge Sonic and Amy or even Sonic and Blaze as official boyfriend/girlfriend couples, is because it would detract away from not only Sonic's established personality of being a free spirit, it would also detract away from the personalities that have been established with Amy and Blaze.

Which again is the reason, even if one does not want to acknowledge it, Sally is the default girlfriend/love instrest of Sonic in the Archie comic books.

 

3) When one creates or announces that they're going to be doing a long story arc, you have one side that supports them and you have another side that believes it's a big mistake.

When Ian did his long story arc which officially began in 225, and with a few interruptions/crossovers notwithstanding, officially ended in 252.  There were some fans that felt he did the best job he could and that he was trying to give us something different and refreshing.  On the flipside, you have some that believe that it was entirely a waste of time.  That all he was doing was padding on and padding on and padding on, without no real conclusion insight.  

And as much as Ian would like to come out and has come out to try to explain the reasoning behind what's going on and even going as far as to admit that the near 25 issue (not counting worlds collide crossover) was even too long for his taste, it seems no matter how you feel about the guy or anyone else that would attempt to do an epic story arc for a very established comic, that there will always be a division amongst the fan's.

 

4) Finally, we have the redesigns.  As I've mentioned in my monthly opinions video for this month, it's not the first time that the Saturday morning cast has been redesigned.  You take a look back in 1993 and 1994, as well as you take a look at the original Sonic miniseries comic and the first official 14 issues, and then later on down the line, starting with back stories in issues 17 and 18 as well as in the 48 page comic book special, Sonic In Your Face, as well as down the line in the mid-to late 80s issues with a certain half cybernetic Bunnie and even afterwords in issue 134, we have seen the characters go through a number of redesigns.  True, some of the redesigns have been just adding new clothing or making one's hair longer, but we have seen our share of redesigns, even if they were small tweaks here and there.

But when it comes to these new redesigns, which are being introduced in the 20th anniversary year of the comic, once again we have an overall fan base divided.  Because you have some that like it, and you have some that don't care for it.  Me, I'm fine with it.  Because honestly, I don't think it's the redesigns that a lot of fans are worried about, it's more or less what the personalities of the characters of going to be like.  Basically will they still be the same?  Will they be different?  Or will they be tweaked in some areas?  You see, that honestly is what I feel fan's who don't like the redesigns all really worried about.  Because let's be honest, we all know that those that don't like the redesigns, they will get over them in time, it's more or less of what the personalities of going to be like.  Now Ian has said each character will be who they are.  For example, Sally will be Sally, or Antoine will be Antoine, Bunnie will be Bunnie, etc..., So for right now as much as people may not want to believe Ian Flynn, we have to take him at his word. Now true, they may, and I say this as a slight possibility, they may tweak just a bit of the personalities on the characters, so that newer fans can relate to them.  But like I said, it's a slight possibility.

 

 

Overall, no matter how one looks at it, there's no satisfying the overall fan base.  The only way it can be satisfied as I mentioned earlier is to find a way to balance everything out.  But even then, even if it's a smooth ride from then on, you may and probably still will have a divided fan base no matter what.

 

And that's all I have to say about that.  God bless and take care.

 

 

9/9/2013 : 9:52 AM

[SteffieMusings]

Thoughts for the issue

 

I like it a lot. Things are different, yet some things are similar. Love King Acorn and Nicole's new design. I also like the fact that King Acorn met Classic Eggman instead of SatAM!Robotnik, since Classic Eggman looks more like a harmless, friendly guy; and therefore more believable than they trusted him.

 

About the renaming

I can understand getting credit for giving a character a first name, but that doesn't mean that they're yours. Even if their personality is different.

[Your Vest Friend]

What legal shenanigans am I going to report this time?

 

Eh...none. Have more previews of that Halloween comic instead.

 

 

 

[Big Panda]

I love Mr. Jampoles work on the Mega Man books, but his Sonic stuff needs a little fine-tuning imo. His Sonic work is a little inconsistant from one panel to the next. There are times it looks decent (like the second picture) and times where it doesn't (the first page of the preview).

[Dejimon11]

I love Mr. Jampoles work on the Mega Man books, but his Sonic stuff needs a little fine-tuning imo. His Sonic work is a little inconsistant from one panel to the next. There are times it looks decent (like the second picture) and times where it doesn't (the first page of the preview).

That's how he was when he first started mega man. Give it time he'll get better

[Tenko]

Speaking of Mega Man, not really the topic for it, but my question is kinda related to the Sonic comic. Compared to Sonic, Mega Man is using the main game series bots in order with the story of the games, but with additions and their own characters and plots thrown in. It seems like its quite well received, and Sonic has done this in the past loosely. But it makes me wonder if Mega Man too will go the way of Sonic with its own comic mythos after they run out of the main game arcs or if Capcom will request the series end once they reach Mega Man 10 or Mega Man & Bass stories conclusion. Perhaps replace it with the X comic at that point?

Could Sonic go back to that more than it is now when we are already almost out of games having had adaptations done before? Did anyone else feel that they could have stretched out the Genesis arc game adaptation sections a bit more?

[Big Panda]

Speaking of Mega Man, not really the topic for it, but my question is kinda related to the Sonic comic. Compared to Sonic, Mega Man is using the main game series bots in order with the story of the games, but with additions and their own characters and plots thrown in. It seems like its quite well received, and Sonic has done this in the past loosely. But it makes me wonder if Mega Man too will go the way of Sonic with its own comic mythos after they run out of the main game arcs or if Capcom will request the series end once they reach Mega Man 10 or Mega Man & Bass stories conclusion. Perhaps replace it with the X comic at that point?

Could Sonic go back to that more than it is now when we are already almost out of games having had adaptations done before? Did anyone else feel that they could have stretched out the Genesis arc game adaptation sections a bit more?

I'd be all for its own mythos. At the rate Capcom are bringing out new Mega Man games (i.e. rarely), there's gonna come a point where Archie has adapted everything and all they can do is either can it or make stuff up. If its still popular by that time, then they should definitely keep going. And in the rare event that they do finally bring out a new game after that point, they can easily go the Sonic route of making it ATAP. Edited September 9, 2013 by TheFatPanda

[DarkLight]

I'm just going to wait and see whether or not that would even happen since it's barely gotten into MM3 and who knows how long or short the rate will be when they do adapt every game they're allowed to do as well doing some original story arcs to serve as breaks from said adaptations.

 

The comic may be hitting over 30 issues by the end of this year, but it has yet to really have an extensive world for itself compared to Archie-Sonic to even say for sure what will happen.

 

 

EDIT: I guess what I mean to say is, I'd be all for it, but not to the extent of how Archie-Sonic has done it since we all know how up and down it's run has been and whatever way makes MM less like it, the better.

 

And that's all I'll say since this can be discussed in the topic and so we can get back on topic.

Edited September 9, 2013 by DarkLight

[Your Vest Friend]

Assuming that MM3 is just beginning, there's 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 to cover at the very minimum. At an average length of four comics each, that'd be 32 comics needed to cover them, meaning that thinking about expanding the mythos beyond afterwards isn't on the cards until 2016. Throw in comic arcs based on spin-offs and some totally original stories to go along with the adaptations, then I wouldn't be surprised if there's enough content to take the comic through to a theoretical MM#100 in 2019.

[Tenko]

Assuming that MM3 is just beginning, there's 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 to cover at the very minimum. At an average length of four comics each, that'd be 32 comics needed to cover them, meaning that thinking about expanding the mythos beyond afterwards isn't on the cards until 2016. Throw in comic arcs based on spin-offs and some totally original stories to go along with the adaptations, then I wouldn't be surprised if there's enough content to take the comic through to a theoretical MM#100 in 2019.

Good point, I doubt they would touch Battle Network. But they have mentioned doing a Mega Man Soccer arc, wouldn't surprise me if they did Battle & Chase since they did Super Adventure. They could even their own arc with the Gameboy exclusive characters, especially since a few of the Gameboy ones had similar stories to the main games but with extra bosses until the later ones.

[DarkLight]

Yeah, I think they'll at least use the Stardroids at some point as well as some of the canon non-numbered games like MM&B and the Japan-exclusive Challenger from the Future.

 

But that's just me referencing #20 but things could change regarding what it forshadowed and that it only served as just a little anniversary rather than anything meaningful to the ongoing storyline. 

[Tenko]

Since Archie, or at least the artists, have been interested in doing Nintendo comics for a while, perhaps they should ask if they can do a Smash Bros prequel comic or something for pre-orders since its got Mega Man, and possibly Sonic if the directors comments about all previous fighters returning is to be believed. Could be a good test the water for both Archie and Nintendo to form a partnership if the comic is well received. Tho we know that Nintendo are even more protective of their franchises than anyone else these days.

[goku262002]

What legal shenanigans am I going to report this time?

 

Eh...none. Have more previews of that Halloween comic instead.

 

 

 

 

So where did you find these? odd for more previews to come up after a preview has been posted.

[Your Vest Friend]

 

So where did you find these? odd for more previews to come up after a preview has been posted.

 

Here is where it's from.

[Big Panda]

Since Archie, or at least the artists, have been interested in doing Nintendo comics for a while, perhaps they should ask if they can do a Smash Bros prequel comic or something for pre-orders since its got Mega Man, and possibly Sonic if the directors comments about all previous fighters returning is to be believed. Could be a good test the water for both Archie and Nintendo to form a partnership if the comic is well received. Tho we know that Nintendo are even more protective of their franchises than anyone else these days.

Now this is something I've dreamed of. Only I imagined a two-part ATAP story that spans over an issue each of Sonic and Mega Man.

Edited September 9, 2013 by TheFatPanda

[Tenko]

Now this is something I've dreamed of. Only I imagined a two-part ATAP story that spans over an issue each of Sonic and Mega Man.

I liked their interpritation of the Mario characters etc that they pitched to Nintendo. I would just be worried about the story if they ever did a Mario comic, Sonic had SatAM to work from. Mario...would be rather hard I imagine, the cartoons basically did their own weird thing, as did the ugh movie..I can see why Nintendo is so cagey about handing out licenses now. Do we know how Archie would have handled the story of any potential comic? Metroid, Zelda, those franchises could be strung along based on the games and their own lore, but Mario...I dunno.

But yeah, a Smash Bros one would be pretty interesting. Great jumping off point for if Nimtendo did cave and let Archie have a go tho. And like you said, discuss it with Sega and Capcom, maybe have it via the current comics in an arc, most people seemed to love World Collide and have expressed interest in more cross overs.

[SchemingMinor]

I liked their interpritation of the Mario characters etc that they pitched to Nintendo. I would just be worried about the story if they ever did a Mario comic, Sonic had SatAM to work from. Mario...would be rather hard I imagine, the cartoons basically did their own weird thing, as did the ugh movie..I can see why Nintendo is so cagey about handing out licenses now. Do we know how Archie would have handled the story of any potential comic? Metroid, Zelda, those franchises could be strung along based on the games and their own lore, but Mario...I dunno.

But yeah, a Smash Bros one would be pretty interesting. Great jumping off point for if Nimtendo did cave and let Archie have a go tho. And like you said, discuss it with Sega and Capcom, maybe have it via the current comics in an arc, most people seemed to love World Collide and have expressed interest in more cross overs.

I think the hardest part about a Mario comic is to know how much dialogue to give Mario without him coming across as irritating like Sonic sometimes does.

 

The only game as of late that gives Mario full-fledged dialogue was Fortune Street. Other than that, most of the other characters do most of the talking for him.

Edited September 10, 2013 by Scheming Minor

[Dejimon11]

I think the hardest part about a Mario comic is to know how much dialogue to give Mario without him coming across as irritating like Sonic sometimes does.   The only game as of late that gives Mario full-fledged dialogue was Fortune Street. Other than that, most of the other characters do most of the talking for him.

Actually

yes this is an actual comic a very old one but still. That would be hilarious if they did a smash bros adaptation assuming that sonic is in the next one. Personally if Archie can't the rights to make a Nintendo comic I'd actually like to see the make a wayforward comic(Shantae)

[Spin Attaxx]

What legal shenanigans am I going to report this time?

 

Eh...none. Have more previews of that Halloween comic instead.

 

 

 

Oh god, that art is horrifying. Sonic's mouth on the third pic is all skewed, and to say nothing of how HORRID LOOKING Low-Mouth Zor and Duck-Bill Zomom are.

Edited September 10, 2013 by Spin Attaxx