Month: September 2023

Every day I plan on posting an update to this page and schedule it after I at least accomplish some progression on a number of items I need to get done during the course of a day. By the time I do, sitting down in front of my computer to write something does not rank high on my list, especially when I want to discuss certain topics like how to break into comics, or Jack Kirby not getting the proper credit for his contributions to the Marvel Universe, or a number of topics.

So today I thought I’d write about random items as if I were posting on Twitter or Threads or other similar platforms.

First, I’d like to offer my condolences to the family and friends of actor David McCallum. To his family, he was a husband, a father, a grandfather, a Great-grandfather and much more. To his friends, he was a cherished colleague someone they shared a great many happy memories with. To millions, he was Ducky on NCIS. To me, he was UNCLE Agent Illya Kuryakin, one of the coolest characters to grace a TV screen in the 1960s when I was growing up. He’s also a reminder that the era I grew up in is fast disappearing.

ITEM! I’ve been asked by a number of people how to break into comics, and the quick answer is there is no one way to break in. That’s the main constant that’s existed ever since I made my first attempt. In many ways, it was easier back then as long as one lived in New York. By the time I earned my first assignment, there was a lot more competition. Now, if one is looking to see one’s work published by Image, Dark Horse, Archie and other companies, it’s a lot harder. As for Marvel and DC, I wouldn’t even try. For one thing, with any of the publishers today, they want to know what you’ve accomplished. And by that, I mean they want to know what size audience you’re bringing with you, how many people follow you’re work. They’re looking to increase sales, and they’re not interested in building up newbies. Besides, if you’ve created something and you’ve built your audience, what do you need the mainstream publishers for? You’re doing all the work and they own the rights with a promise of unguaranteed royalties? What kind of deal is that? Plainly speaking, there is no long term security working in the comics industry. There is no health care or 401K benefits that’s offered in other industries. Your employment is subject to the whim of the editor in charge of any given title, not to mention what one earns in one month will be the same the next. My recommendation is to have a fall back job just for the daily existence paycheck and work on what you love at your own speed. It’s what I’ve been doing for a number of years and I’ve been a lot happier since.

ITEM! Above is what I consider the COMING ATTRACTIONS trailer for THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: SHATTERED TOMORROWS. I focused more on presenting key story points as opposed to any action shots to emphasize not only is the story a continuation of what came before, but also how far beyond it goes beyond what would have been possible in the pages of an Archie Comics publication.

It all starts in the pages of THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS hardcover collection, which you can order by clicking HERE.

For you completists out there, this volume will never be reprinted. While only the first 200 individuals to order a copy will receive a signed color print of Lara-Su, the rest of the print run will still be a first come, first served basis. Not every comic shop is going to order one and getting Diamond Distributors to carry it is not a sure thing. I’ll alert everyone what methods I’m using to make the book available, but for now, ordering from me online is the best way. (And for the record, I’m approaching 100 orders placed, so those of you who want to be among the 1st 200 to order, now is better than later as I’m assembling the Supporters Thanks page to list the individuals who did order for both the book and the app. You have been notified.)

On that note, it’s my birthday, and my family and friends want to spend some time with me. I’ll be back with more soon.

This will be one of the features I’ll be throwing out there from time to time. In this case, it’s a color reference chart for my character Lara-Su. Feel free to save the file and import it to whatever software people use. In my case, I would be importing it into my Clip Studio Paint program.

A color chart is helpful in maintaining a consistent look with a character whether panel to panel, page to page or project to project, and something I should’ve been doing from the start. It’s only now I’m locking in the color scheme for each character so it’s long overdue.

I’m also assembling a color chart for Salma so people can have fun drawing her, which I’ll post soon.

At the moment, I’m currently working on a panel from THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: SHATTERED TOMORROWS. I basically start out rough sketching the layout before focusing on the characters. Once I feel the overall layout is working, I then start tightening up the characters. When that’s done, I go on to finish the rendering in color, which I’ll get around to presenting here online soon.

As usual, any questions, please feel free to forward my way. Take care.

I signed off of Twitter this past Friday, September 15, with intentions of picking up on Saturday, September 16. That didn’t happen as I was dealing with a number of items – some of a personal nature, some not – and it wasn’t until tonight, Tuesday, September 19, that I was able to sit down and resume what I intended.

As of now, this website will be the main source of any and all information with regards to my upcoming projects, particularly THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES. If you have a question, here’s the place to bring it up. You can always check in with my therealkenpenders account on both Threads and Instagram, but the info will always originate here first.

The piece of art immediately below is a great example. This is something I would’ve posted on Twitter, but I want to use this to make a statement that will no longer happen. If Elon Musk orders all accounts not in use to be pulled – including mine – that’s not a loss where I’m concerned.

The panel above is a scene from THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: SHATTERED TOMORROWS, and while the character of High Councilor Devan is making the point that life will never be the same and there’s no going back for the Echydn’yas, the same could also apply for those hoping what once was could someday be restored in the future.

The characters I created for the series SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA and PRINCESS SALLY published by Archie Comics are moving forward with their adventures. THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS makes that abundantly clear as it collects the entire MOBIUS: 25 YEARS LATER saga and heads into totally uncharted territory. There will be no crossovers with SEGA or licensing deals with Paramount or Netflix. Nor will I be seeking any connection with IDW to tie what I’m doing with anything they have planned.

While I will respond to people asking questions about the stories I created or what happened behind-the-scenes during my Archie days, my focus will be on what I’m working on now and in the future. If I were tempted to do anything with IDW, it would on STAR TREK, not SONIC. But even that’s not in the cards as I’m not interested in signing away the rights to anything I create to another company. If someone wants to license my characters, that’s another story. (And for those interested, unless events take a different course, I will entertain offers to license the character Scourge starting November 1, 2023.)

While I’m working to finish up the material to complete THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS, I’m also working to transition all the material currently on display here on kenpenders.com over to thelara-suchronicles.com as that site will be the permanent home to all things Lara-Su and company.

This website will soon shift to focusing on my broader body of work beyond what I did for Archie Comics. Pictured below is a prototype of the new homepage.

Among the exhibits will be samples I submitted while breaking into the comics industry, work I did for various publishers, storyboards for film projects that never got off the ground, and eventually new work featuring my creation THE LOST ONES.

Initially there will be a behind the scenes look at the making of the film I directed, THE REPUBLIC. Eventually I intend to make it available for sale via digital download, but I don’t discount the possibility of making it available on a Blu-ray disc.

That’s it for now. I’ll be back in a day or so with more. I do check everyday to see if I need to respond to anyone posting a query or a comment. Thanks for checking in.

It’s been eleven years since I first signed on to Twitter, and if one asked me how long I would’ve stayed, I’d have guessed a couple of years at most. Or at least until after my legal battle with Archie had been resolved.

In the years since, I more or less viewed this as an experiment to see what I could make of it. It wasn’t easy at first with a number of people upset over the situation. All of a sudden something they had loved since they were kids was now radically different, and chances were it was never going to be restored to the way things had been. So there was a lot of anger directed my way.

I didn’t always respond the way I should’ve for a number of reasons. For one thing, I have this habit of never backing down from a fight. It’s what got me through my legal battle. For another, I wasn’t thinking of the long-term ramifications.

It’s only been in recent years that my interactions with others here on Twitter have evolved in a more positive direction. But while that was a huge positive, the overall environment here on Twitter has taken a decidedly nasty turn, one I have no interest in supporting by continuing to interact with.

After I post this last message, I’m done.

If people wish to follow my work or continue to interact with me, they can do so by checking out my website. I will respond to anyone who leaves a message by submitting to the approval process. It’s my way of maintaining a safe, friendly environment for everyone. Whether I agree or disagree with anyone or their opinion is irrelevant. What matters is people are respected for who and what they are.

I can also be found on Instagram & Threads. Just search for therealkenpenders. I’ll be there to say hello.

Today marks an important step towards getting THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS published, as I sent a deposit via wire transfer to the printer so my costs would be locked when I finally deliver the materials for printing by no later than mid-January 2024.

At this point, I haven’t reached the halfway point of 200 supporters who would receive the personally signed Lara-Su print that accompanies their copy of the book, so I encourage those of you sitting on the fence that can afford it to show that support, as it’s needed and appreciated.

The success of this project is critical to help getting THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: SHATTERED TOMORROWS to market sooner rather than later as this is my version of a Kickstarter or Go Fund Me. It’s success will also enable THE KNUCKLES ARCHIVES to become a reality.

What encouraged me to go forward with the deposit was the success Scott Shaw! enjoyed with the release of his latest book at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, where he sold the most copies of any book he released ever prior to this. He was so successful that Diamond approached him to distribute his book to comic shops and elsewhere.

As Scott told me over lunch we had recently together, there’s no such thing as too much promotion. Everyone is fighting for a small scrap of attention from anyone who may be interested in what creators like me are doing.

So if you’ve enjoyed my SONIC, KNUCKLES & M25YL stories, this is your way to see how the story continues as well as how it eventually ends. All it takes is to click HERE. Thank for taking the time and take care.

Every now and then, I receive emails inquiring about the Sonic stories that never were. The stories I hinted at, or submitted written synopsis that never went forward for whatever reason. One of the stories people are really curious about is A DAY IN THE LIFE OF DR ROBOTNIK, which I posted on my original website way back in the day.

Currently, most of the material posted here will eventually be moved to my thelara-suchronicles.com website as my kenpenders.com will present a much broader spotlight on my work through the years as opposed to being primarily focused on Sonic, Knuckles and the Lara-Su cast of characters.

However, A DAY IN THE LIFE OF DR IVO ROBOTNIK is one of those items that will be available on both sites, so without further ado, I present my script as it was originally presented to Scott Fulop, my editor at Archie at the time, and Bob Harris, the SEGA Licensing Manager at the time. I’ll have more to say after the story.

This story was submitted as is after the initial story pitch had been approved. Either Dave Manak or Art Mawhinney was going to be assigned to pencil it with either Jon D’Agostino or Rich Koslowski assigned to ink it. But that never happened, and when told the story was not moving forward, my then-partner Mike Kanterovich and I wrote the following memo to Archie and SEGA:

Unfortunately, we were unable to change any minds and this will go down as one of those unsolved mysteries in SONIC lore.

Incidentally, this is the format Mike & I and later myself as a solo act submitted every script in until SONIC THE HEDGEHOG issue 47 when every script I submitted going forward was all text.

Keep checking back as there will be an UNPUBLISHED SONIC section once this site is revamped sometime in 2024. I’m currently working on material for THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS hardcover collection as well as THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES app, and that will be my primary focus until then.

Please feel free to comment, criticize or ask questions. I do read everything and I do respond when warranted. Thanks for taking the time to check this out.

Less than 2 weeks from today, I will no longer be checking on my Twitter account as of Friday, September 15. I debated deleting it completely, but people have requested I leave it up because they felt it was informative. Whether that’s true or not, that’s not for me to say. If some find it helpful, that’s one thing, but I can’t guarantee how long it’ll be left up if I’m no longer using it.

To be honest, I’m way to busy these days to spend much time on social media. If people have a question or wish to post a comment for me to see, they can post on my message board or reply to one of my blog postings. I’ll give my Instagram and Threads accounts until the end of the year, but if I don’t see any increase in activity, I’ll abandon those as I already have my Discord account.

The fact is I only have so much time in a day, and right now I’m spending much of it in my home office much like I did all those years I worked on SONIC and other projects, alone with the TV on, only instead of using a pencil or pen & ink, I work with a stylus, a keyboard and my Wacom tablet. I have a deadline to meet in order to complete THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS collection for the printers as well as get the app version completed.

When I’m not working on my main project, I still have a commission or two to complete, as well as figuring out if I can take on anymore after that, as I do have a life with family and exceptionally close friends that mean a lot to me.

So I figure if I matter to people, as much as they mean to me, including everyone who’s followed my work all these years, they can meet me halfway, and interact with me through my website.

People can send me questions, criticisms (constructive always gets my attention) or a compliment.

The site will continue to grow and expand in the coming days and weeks. While the emphasis may be on the store page over other sections at this time, it’s my acknowledgement I have bills to pay – including a printer, shipping & taxes, and so on – in order to keep everything on my end on track.

As it’s been made abundantly clear to me since I made the decision to commit to a printer for TL-SC: BEGINNINGS collection, if major companies and film studios spend a lot of time and money to get their message repeatedly out to the public, I have to do the same.

If you haven’t pre-ordered THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS but plan to do so, now would be better than later. For one thing, your name will be included on my Lara-Su Supporters list that will appear in both the book and the app. And if you’re among the first 200 to order, your copy of the book will include a special personally autographed by me print of Lara-Su.

If you’ve ordered the LARA-SU LIMITED EDITION PRINT, your name will also be included as well.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some work to do. I’ll keep checking in on Twitter until the 15th in the meantime. After that, you know where to find me, and I’ll be looking forward to hearing from you. Thanks for hearing me out and take care.