Sonic the Hedgehog (Comic Series)

[NegaMetallix 27]

Ok, so Penders was one of the main writers of StH, did he co-write with Ian Flynn, or did they make it strictly Ian or his wife after 160? (Not that my above statement would come true, but curiosity has me now.)

Nope, he's never co-written with Ian. I don't know the exact details as to why Ken left after Issue 159 (though it might have been to do with SEGA keeping a closer eye on the book, as well as a change of editor and staff at the time, but Ian Flynn was selected as the writer from #160 onwards, and has been writing for them ever since.

There's been some variation on writers more recently, however. As I said, Aleah Baker has also been writing a fair few recent stories (I think the Universe arc 'Spark of Life' was one of her first major ones) and a couple of the artists (Tracey Yardley and Evan Stanley) have also written some Universe arcs (Tracey wrote 'Babylon Rising' and 'Pirate Plunder Panic', while Evan wrote 'The Silver Age').

Edited 3 Feb 2017 by Captain Metallix

[The Old World Menace 0]

I see... This is making more since as to why Ken left, I am assuming he tried to bring the characters with him as a way to make demands, which obviously, didn't pan out. If there is one thing a corporation like SEGA will NOT tolerate, its being dragged around by one man, corporations will always be the leader and decision maker of their products. Even if it means they have to drop something and work around it, especially if it doesn't effect their product too much (I mean we are talking about Sonic here, who needs Meg, Julie-Su or King Elias ...etc)

[Danny Felixe 330]

Mmmm.... more like he allowed it for a little bit then realising he didn't like how they were used (for example, Locke dying to save Knuckles. He wanted Locke to die in the future from cancer) tried to get back control over them by getting Archie to pay for any characters used with the exception of 3 who were not allowed to be used at all. I think there were a couple of other demands too such as his X years later arc being the canon future for Sonic (even though I thought it was really bad and that Flynn's version was a vast improvement)

[Skye Prower 386]

Actually, it was that 3 characters could be used, but ONLY if Penders was informed of how they would be used ahead of time, and agreed 100% with it.  And was allow to veto their appearance should he wish.

[The Old World Menace 0]

Know what would have stopped this whole thing, if SEGA just made Penders sign a contract that makes any character he included in the Sonic series automatically owned by SEGA from the beginning... you know like what most corporations do these days.

[NegaMetallix 27]

Firstly, there's no way on Earth that Ken would've agreed for any of his characters to be owned by anyone but him.

Secondly, SEGA wouldn't likely do that anyway, since they don't really care about the comic and its characters. Plus, it would contradict with how many of the official Sonic charaters are portrayed in the games.

Edited 5 Feb 2017 by Captain Metallix

[The Old World Menace 0]

Firstly, there's no way on Earth that Ken would've agreed for any of his characters to be owned by anyone but him.

Secondly, SEGA wouldn't likely do that anyway, since they don't really care about the comic and its characters. Plus, it would contradict with how many of the official Sonic characters are portrayed in the games.

Your probably right, I don't know much about Ken or the general operation and out look of SEGA, I am just dropping in the middle of this and stating things that make since to me, you know, things that happen on the outside on more regular basis. Usually when there is comic or some kind of merchandise about something, it is regulated by the company completely, and there is contracts and rights transfers form the beginning. Even if SEGA wont use or portray the characters the way the comics do, usually the company would own them anyways as a way to have possibilities. Maybe a comic related game comes up as something more profitable then an old school sonic game, you never know, this is something I have seen companies take advantage of. (of course, for different types of merchandise and media.)

[Katmuffin 16]

That seems to be the case with most major companies. They tend to keep everything very airtight. However SEGA is by no means the biggest company out there, so they could be more relaxed in the terms of legal contracts. Also SEGA doesn't seem to care too much about the comics, so that could be another reason why they didn't put in any safeguards like that.

[teamrandom21 26]

I kind of wish Sega did start caring about the comics. I feel like the reason why we don't have the F.F (sally and others) in the games (besides some idiot at sega agreeing with the fans who said there are too many characters in the series) is because they don't want to bother with the comics, which seems unfair because they did have potential and were a good read...

[ChaosKaiser 174]

I do believe that the comic storyline is waaaaay better than in the games, in terms of storytelling, continuity and characterization. I've love to play a Sonic game with the depth and epicness of the Archie series.

And I'm talking about the post-reboot comics too, which are not as good as the previous ones for many people, but for me, they're great.

[Seviper the Fang Snake 368]

I'm in total agreement with you Chaos. Comics have good stories. And they give secondary characters and even ones you don't see in the games anymore like Bean and Bark time to shine. It should be noted Bean is my spirit animal.

[ChaosKaiser 174]

That's exactly why I love the comic series, Seviper! Aside from being, well, comics (media that I want to be part of and I'm in love with...metaphorically, of course!), they tell stories and portrait characters in a way Sega would never do in the games. In fact, recently, I've seen that, in videogames, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Cream, Shadow, and basically the rest of the crew are just there to be Sonic's sidekicks. I feel great about Sonic being the protagonist, but I think Sega doesn't care about the secondary characters anymore, they don't want to give them the importance they need to be fully developed characters, and so goes with the story itself. And that's really sad, considering how rich and unique Sonic's lore truly is.

For me, Archie has managed to tell lighthearted stories with some dramatic events that feel actually dramatic, and showed (in my humble opinion) the most authentic and natural vision of Sonic and his world.

And that's what I've always wanted to see in the Sonic franchise. 

(Sorry for the long rant...)

[teamrandom21 26]

Though it's a rumor, it's said that the comic is ending, as Archie really didn't care for it (nor did Sega). Sega wants more money and now that it's not making money Archie wants out...

[Katmuffin 16]

Seems likely, given that Archie has yet to tell us anything. I mean how many times have they said that they'll tell us what's happening and then never do? Chances are it's because they know the comics are being canceled, but are procrastinating waiting until they have all the details worked out.

[ChaosKaiser 174]

Am I the only one that finds this situation strange? I mean, wouldn't be the logical thing to announce that the comic could be cancelled, instead of saying nothing at all?

I don't know the editorial situation of Archie, but in these cases, the least you can do is say something to your readers, to calm them or prepare them for the worst. 

[Geoffrey St John 175]

All I can say on the matter is that for the first time in years Archie did not release a free comic for Sonic on free comic book day.

[NegaMetallix 27]

Just came in to point out that Archie DID officially reply to people asking about the Sonic comics a few days ago: (Apologies for the large amount of Twitter embeds, I wanted to make sure I found every recent reply)

Short story is, they're still discussing things with SEGA, so it's not cancelled just yet. Basically, the answer right now is...

Edited 21 May 2017 by Captain Metallix

[Skye Prower 386]

Given how much SEGA dislikes the comics, this is not likely to end well for anyone.

And ChaosKaiser, the WORST thing from a business point of view is announce they 'could' loose the comic.  Cause the business world will read that as 'we ARE losing the comics' and will panic accordingly. 

[teamrandom21 26]

Given how much SEGA dislikes the comics, this is not likely to end well for anyone.

And ChaosKaiser, the WORST thing from a business point of view is announce they 'could' loose the comic.  Cause the business world will read that as 'we ARE losing the comics' and will panic accordingly. 

the sad thing is that this is coming in the year Sega said Sonic was going to have more media stuff. Really makes me think that their either not serious or just bluffing.

[Chapmic 7]

Maybe not. It could still go to another company, or SEGA could even make it's own comic. Noticed how the Sonic Mania animated trailer looks exactly like the style used in the latest classic comic issues ? The Sonic Forces tone being similar to SatAM and early Archie ? And most of all, that infinity symbol at the end of the gameplay trailer. Could Archie losing the comics at the same time be more than a coincidence ? You should know that in fiction, most of the time, infinity is related to alternate realities. You know, maybe it's time to accept the end of an era full of problems, and welcome a fresh start. The two new games could even be part of a cross-media story.