I just received email stating the cargo ship containing all 2000 copies of THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS has left the dock and is now heading out to the high seas. The ship is expected to arrive at the Port of Los Angeles by June 15. Once the books clear customs and are delivered to the warehouse for storage, I’ll begin processing all the pre-orders.
The first batch of copies will be in the mail starting June 20. They will be sent Priority Mail to USA recipients, who should then be receiving their copies along with the promised promotional items within 2 to 3 days later, depending on the service in their area. Those individuals living outside the US will have their order processed in order they were received (along with everyone else) but it could take anywhere from a week to three weeks before they receive their orders. The type service required to ensure quick shipping along with tracking and insurance would’ve made the packages prohibitively expensive.
I should have all current pre-orders in the mail by no later than July 3. I will be working to have them all out sooner, but there’s only 1 of me, and I will be more concerned about accuracy than speed so I don’t send anything to the wrong address or not signed properly.
The current promotion of including a 5 x 7 Limited Edition Signed Lara-Su print plus a randomly-selected issue of either SONIC or KNUCKLES issue I worked on signed by me comes to an end on June 15. The only upcoming promotion will be held at the San Diego Comic-Con, of which details will be made available later. So for those not attending Comic-Con, I suggest getting your orders in before June 15. I fully believe once people began receiving their copies and telling all their friends how much the liked BEGINNINGS, there will be a made rush before I run out of copies.
At this time, there are no plans to reprint THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS as I will be focused on getting the LARA-SU APP ready for release as well getting production for KEN PENDERS’ KNUCKLES OMNIBUS underway. Beyond that, I will be working on more SHATTERED TOMORROWS pages, as there’s a lot of story to tell. (The current script is approx. 160 pages currently. Chances are that could increase.)
Between the pre-orders and copies I’m pulling for Comic-Con, that leaves me with 1400 copies available for sale. As copies get pulled for convention appearances, that decreases the amount for store orders, so if you don’t want to miss out, sooner is better than later.
Following San Diego, I’m in the planning stages for the following cities for upcoming appearances: Toronto, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco for 2024. I’m hoping to make the scene in Miami, Chicago and Boston for 2025. I’m also up for other locations but that depends on a variety of factors. I’ll keep everyone posted on what’s happening once I work out and confirm all the details.
In the meantime, I thank everyone for their words of encouragement and support. I look forward to hearing from you with your reactions to the book. You can send your comments HERE.
Many people see the above image and see a homage to my favorite band of all time. The cover art of their album MEET THE BEATLES! (US Release) was iconic and also one of my favorites. Thus, I thought this would be a positive way to introduce my characters to a general audience.
But the above illustration isn’t just a homage. Far from it. It’s also a family portrait of blood relatives.
Right now, most of you are asking who is the character in the lower right corner. As I’ve been telling everyone who asks, his name is Xero, and how he’s related to the women pictured above is part of the narrative of THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES.
Chances are I may reveal hints of his backstory by the time SHATTERED TOMORROWS comes to a close. Then again, I may leave it up to the readers to guess until a follow-up novel is released.
The plan is for 7 books to comprise the complete saga of THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES, which I have mapped out an overall arc while leaving room for surprises to spring up along the way.
Among those surprises are amazing backstories for characters such as Lien-Da, Director Remington, Spectre, Sabre and Geoffrey St John. Equally surprising is the direction the future takes for Lara-Su, Salma, Rutan, Jaker and many others.
My point in calling attention to the sublimal detail in the illustration is that the storytelling in THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES is told in layers. There are many details planted along the way that don’t necessarily call attention upon first reading, but they’re there to go back to as the story unfolds.
I couldn’t do this during the original run on SONIC and KNUCKLES as I never had full control of both story and art, but I do now. Breadcrumbs are already being laid.
I know from the reaction I received from those who saw my approval copy of THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS is the book will sell itself when people see the real deal. What I’m waiting to hear are the reactions to the story, especially the new material.
Those who pre-ordered should be able to express themselves by the end of June / beginning of July. It’s now less then 2 months when the San Diego crowd will have their say.
The first who can guess Xero’s backstory will win an original pen & ink drawing of Xero signed by me. Guesses can be sent here. Take care.
I must admit I’ve have been gratified as well as amused by the reactions of people to my upcoming release of THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS.
I particularly enjoy the postings that go all out to tear me and/or the project down.
I have just this to say to them: Thank you.
You go ahead and have your fun, post your memes, whatever. Have at it as much as you want. All you’re doing is making people who enjoy my work aware of it, so they’re then motivated to check it out and see what all the fuss is about. Their reaction is generally, “Hey, I enjoyed Ken’s work back in the day. It was special to me, and if this is what he’s doing now, I want to check it out.” Which usually results in another sale and more $ in my pocket.
As for those actually ordering THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS simply to criticize the work, create new memes, whatever, that’s still $ in my pocket.
I WIN EITHER WAY.
Especially since the printing and shipping were paid by those who ordered it. The book can now be considered a success. It’s also a better product than Archie or IDW ever offered to the fans. I couldn’t be happier.
So, yeah, thanks for your support. It’s appreciated. I’m enjoying life in the meantime with the people who are special to me and doing what I enjoy.
I know there’s a lot of people who would love to see the Archie Comics SONIC THE HEDGEHOG series restored to its former glory, but there’s way too much water under the bridge for that to ever happen. For one thing, fights would start over which version – Classic (me, Karl Bollers, Mike Gallagher) or New (Ian and anyone else). And that’s just the stories. I doubt we could get Patrick Spaziante to do the covers, let alone an occasional story, or get Art Mawhinney and Steven Butler to make a comeback. Nor do I think IDW will be giving up the license anytime soon or that SEGA would be easier to deal with.
Frankly, at my age, I can’t see me taking direction from anyone when it comes to writing and drawing my stories. That’s clearly a case of my way or the highway.
When people ask if I will ever go back to creating new Sonic and Knuckles stories, the honest answer is my heart wouldn’t be in it. Been there. Done that. The best anyone can hope for at this point is seeing me resolve the stories of the characters and mythology I created for my SONIC, KNUCKLES and MOBIUS: 25 YEARS LATER stories.
It’s only recently it occurred to me that if anyone could identify with Sonic fans, it’s Classic STAR TREK fans.
I was a diehard STAR TREK fan from the day it premiered on September 8, 1966 until the last episode aired on June 3, 1969. After that broadcast, there was nothing. There was no internet to complain to whoever would listen what a great injustice had been done. All I had were the comics published by Western Publishing and the Bantam Books episode adaptations by sci-fi author James Blish. One had to hunt for the next issue or book because there was no set release schedule and distribution was not a sure thing. Comic shops were still years away from becoming a dependable source of comics and related paraphernalia.
While STAR TREK would be revived for a 22-episode animated series a few years later, Gene Roddenberry would follow up that effort by giving presentations at colleges and various conventions across America while producing made-for-TV sci-fi films (GENESIS II, THE QUESTOR TAPES, PLANET EARTH and SPECTRE). The books and comics would continue to be published intermittently, but it wasn’t until the fans took control and organized STAR TREK conventions that fans had some reason to hope for a revival.
Even with all that love and devotion displayed by the fans, Paramount only gave a cold shoulder to their efforts.
It was like a light switch went on in the collective executive suites at the studio. Suddenly STAR TREK was fast-tracked from a TV series to a feature film. The biggest problem? Finding a story the Suits would approve to spend millions of dollars making a film of. When the film finally went into production, the production had been given a release date of December 7, 1979. They also didn’t have a complete script.
I couldn’t get in on opening night as all the tickets had been sold out at every theater within reasonable travel distance. So my friend Laura and I stood in line for hours at the Cinema 57 in downtown Boston in order to get in for the midnight show of STAR TREK THE MOTION PICTURE. The audience was wall-to-wall Trek fans. Not a seat was unsold. When the USS Enterprise finally appeared onscreen, the collective audience reaction was deafening. There were also plenty of tears. More than 10 years had passed since the series had been cancelled. The fans finally had their wish.
Afterwards, elation turned to mixed feelings. STAR TREK THE MOTION PICTURE remains my favorite of all the Trek films. Only THE WRATH OF KHAN comes close. But many Trek fans felt there should have been more character moments, or the story wasn’t quite there, or worse, was a more expensive version of one of the original episodes.
During the 10 years between the end of the original series and the release of the film, expectations had risen to such a level that there was no way the final results would satisfy everyone. So fans had to be content with what they had. Fortunately, STAR TREK would continue to grow and evolve from the success of that first film.
Which is where I find myself with THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES.
I had been struggling for a long time trying to figure out how to move forward. I started by writing a story in script form, but I wasn’t going to be bound by page count or company dictates. Since there was no chance of being able to use Sonic and/or Knuckles in any new material, anything I had developed for my proposed film project SONIC ARMAGEDDON went out the window. Whatever background I provided for the KNUCKLES series would have to be focused on a character other than Knuckles. Thus, the material developed for the future-based backup series MOBIUS: 25 YEARS LATER and the character of Lara-Su would have to be my vehicle for moving forward.
Even as I was writing the story, I was being overwhelmed at the thought of illustrating it, as the one thing I knew I didn’t want to do was depict the characters and settings in a style that would make everything look as if it were just another issue of SONIC or KNUCKLES.
So while I was writing SHATTERED TOMORROWS, I started writing THE STORM with different objectives in mind.
THE STORM would have a short page count, feature characters – Geoffrey St John, Ensign Brownie, Dr Zephur – that wouldn’t have a prominent role until later in the saga, and define relations between characters that hadn’t previously been depicted (Geoffrey St John & Director Remington). It would establish there are corners of the universe requiring exploration that add greater depth and texture to the main story. It would also enable me to experiment with my style depicting these characters.
I hadn’t intended to release anything until all the material for the initial release of THE LARA-SU APP had been nailed down, but once I was approached by a sales rep for a printer during the July 2023 San Diego Comic-Con, that set in motion a chain of events that would determine how feasible THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES really was.
Although not an easy task, creating THE LARA-SU APP initially involved my time writing and creating the material with my programmer Patrick providing the coding. As that effort developed and evolved, others were brought in for language translations, voice work, sound effects and music. I could work on my own schedule.
With a book, in order to make that prospect a reality, the scope and cost of the project had to be defined. In addition, any prices quoted had a shelf life of a few weeks, as the cost of materials could very likely increase if the trigger wasn’t pulled when required.
So once I had the cost of printing, shipping and distribution worked out, I had to decide on the number of copies printed as well as a cover price. I also had a deadline on putting down a deposit to cover the cost of paper required for the project. At that point, I gave myself an out. If I hadn’t generated x-amount of pre-orders before the deadline to commit, I’d pull the plug and refund everyone their money.
But the plug was never pulled. My faith in the readers had been validated. The people I met who weren’t Sonic fans genuinely liked the designs and what I had been doing with the app, while the Sonic fans who previously enjoyed my work wanted to see how the story continued.
It’s been more than ten years since Archie Comics and I came to a settlement as new material is about to be released. I’m sitting on the edge of my seat wondering what the reaction of the readers to THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS will be. I know some will love it while others may feel it didn’t fulfill their expectations.
I had initially mapped out the life of Knuckles from birth until his death, with the implication that his heirs would carry on his legacy. That map has since been reworked and is now my northstar in depicting Lara-Su’s destiny.
I really look forward to reading what anyone has to say whether good, bad or indifferent, and I promise there will be much more to come as the story progresses. The 2-page sneak preview included after the opening chapter only hints at the events to come. It’s going to be quite a ride.
I was just sent pics of copies of THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS being placed in a carton along with pics of cartons loaded on pallets and placed in a trailer to be taken to the docks for shipping.
If you look closely at the boxes, you can see the labeling THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS printed on each box.
Their next stop: the Port of Los Angeles.
I’ll keep everyone posted with regards to the progress of the copies on their journey here and eventual mailing to those who ordered.
If you still haven’t ordered yet, you can still acquire the promo package by ordering here. Once the copies arrive, the promo package ends.
I’ll have more to say about THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES and future plans in another post. For now, I’m living up to my promise keeping everyone posted on the latest status of their order.
As always, thanks to those who ordered for your support. Take care.
I really hate when writers try to depict an era they never lived through or experienced, or were too young to place in its proper context.
Take living through the 60s. Only one TV series ever convinced me they did their homework when making the show, and that was MAD MEN, which took place in New York City from 1960 through 1970. They got everything right. There wasn’t a song or a fashion included that wasn’t right for the particular year they were depicting. I grew up during that time and way too much was going on for me not to be aware. Being a kid then was also a lot different then being a kid now. There was no such thing as playdates. We simply told our parents we were going out and we’d be back for dinner or we’d call if we were going to be late. As long as we showed up by bedtime for school the next day, all was good.
Or breaking into the comics industry. One actually dealt with the editors at Marvel, DC, Archie or any other company located in New York City in person. Marvel Editor-In-Chief at the time Jim Shooter spent an hour showing me what it took to draw comics the Marvel way during a summer afternoon when I took a chance to visit the Marvel offices on Park Avenue. No way in hell that would happen now.
Back in the mid-1980s, I worked as a graphics designer/consultant for Booz, Allen & Hamilton when they had an office on Hanscom AFB, where I completed my 4-year hitch in the Air Force, and later when they relocated just off the base. As a result of losing the contract for our services, I and a number of other employees were laid off. It was then I decided to put my efforts into being a freelance artist full time.
I actually managed to land paying assignments at Marvel, DC, and a number of smaller publishers that haven’t existed since that era. But as I was married, paying a mortgage on a townhouse, and had a son, I had to make sure I had income coming in all the time no matter the source. Thus, I worked for a printer in the local area for over a year until they had a layoff, and worked as a freelance contractor in the graphics departments of companies such as Raytheon and Eikonix, which no longer exists.
While doing all of that, I even worked part time at a local retail chain called Lechmere at their Nashua, NH location. Specifically, I worked in the video department, where they rented and sold VHS cassettes of movies and TV series, and eventually video games after I started working there.
The most popular were the SUPER MARIO and LEGEND OF ZELDA titles as well as TETRIS and a few others. We had a hard time keeping the Nintendo console in stock especially at Christmastime, as everyone wanted it, especially for their kids. The NEC TurboGrafx-16 soon followed but was overshadowed with the arrival of the SEGA Genesis System, which had better games than the TurboGrafx-16 and better graphics than the regular Nintendo system at the time.
I relate all this because during this time, I was also illustrating stories for titles such as THE GREEN HORNET, RACER X, CAPTAIN ATOM, SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN and STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION, among many others. I had no idea at all when I bought a SEGA Genesis packaged with the first SONIC THE HEDGEHOG game for my son as a Christmas present in December of 1991 what lay in store for me.
Between December of 1991 and October of 1993, I illustrated issues 33 thru 35 of DC’s STAR TREK THE GENERATION comic, the first 2 issues of ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS for TSR Comics, the first 2 issues of ALIEN LANDSCAPES for Reoccurring Images publications, as well as submitted samples to DC editor at the time Michael Golden for a title DC was negotiating with Lucas Arts for the rights to publish: DEFENDERS OF DYNA-TRON CITY.
Sonic history might have been vastly different had DC acquired the rights to DYNA-TRON CITY, as I would’ve been committed to a 2-year 24-issue stint that would’ve paid better than anything Archie was offering at the time. But for various reasons the title went to Marvel, and I ended up doing some work for Valiant Comics on their LEGEND OF ZELDA licensed title instead.
It’s at this point I should now bring up what was happening with regards to SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, simply because I wasn’t there at the very beginning, but would soon begin what now seems more than 30 years later like a lifelong relationship.
During my legal battle with Archie Comics many years later, I learned about actual events I had been previously unaware of. Example: the person most responsible for bringing Sonic to Archie was David Silberkleit, the son of publisher Michael Silberkleit. Among David’s friends was the guy working for SOA to seek out licensing agreements for one of the hottest selling games during Christmas of 1991, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG. At that time, DiC was just starting development on the AoSTH & SatAM animated series when David brought Sonic to Archie’s attention.
SEGA supplied Archie with a number of Genesis consoles that came with the 1st game. Darryl Edelman was already working as an editor for Archie Comics when he was assigned the Sonic title to develop as a mini-series. Paul Castiglia submitted his take for the 1st issue which was rejected. That’s when writer Mike Gallagher and artist Scott Shaw! were brought in. Paul, Mike & Scott were the only creators who received consoles to familiarize themselves with the 1st game. The rest of the consoles sat in a storage closet in the Archie offices. (And no, I haven’t a clue what became of them.)
At this point, Mike began fashioning his early scripts using the game as a reference along with material supplied by DiC, essentially character model sheets from SatAM and story outlines from AoSTH. That’s why the early Sonic issues are very much a mix of both animated series. At this point, neither DiC or Archie were receiving any guidance from SOA. As for SOJ, they might as well have been on another planet.
If I recall correctly, I believe Mike Gallagher was also working on a couple of Sonic books for Scholastic Publishing. Artist Scott Shaw! would leave prior to the last issue of the Sonic mini-series for better opportunities elsewhere. He would be replaced by Artist Dave Manak. The 1st mini-series came out in 1992. The regular series would begin publishing in early 1993 with a May cover date, so that meant it was on newsstands and in comic shops as early as March 1993. Darryl would remain editor for the 1st 5 issues before leaving for other opportunities. His credit was stripped from issue 5 with Victor Gorelick & Paul Castiglia listed as co-editors in his place. The comic would be on its 7th issue by the time AoSTH began its syndicated run along with ABC-TV broadcasting episodes of SatAM. The 10th issue was already in production by that time.
SONIC 2 wasn’t released until November 1992, and if one checks the game’s history, it was the Japanese developers who came to America as it was the sales of SONIC and the Genesis here in America that caught everyone’s attention. As expected, there was friction between the Japanese and American teams, due most likely to Japanese resentment at having to cater more to the American market, which was then and still remains at this time the world’s strongest economy. Meanwhile, at Archie Comics, Victor dealt with the artists on SONIC while Paul dealt with writers Mike Gallagher and Angelo D’Cesare. It was late Sept / early Oct 1993 when he reached out to his friend, writer Mike Kanterovich, and asked him to submit some story plots for submission to the SONIC series.
Mike then contacted me wondering if I knew anything at all about the Sonic character. As it so happened, I had been picking up every issue since the first issue Archie published for my son Stephen, so I had a good idea what Paul might be looking for. Mike then came over to my home, we worked out a few ideas in my basement studio and submitted our initial story synopsis on October 6, 1993. We were not provided any guidance as to what Archie &/or SEGA were looking for.
After our initial plots were approved by both Archie & SEGA, Mike & I were asked to develop them as full scripts in page/panel layout format. I would produce the layouts as Mike and I developed the story verbally at the same time. By February 1994, Scott Fulop was brought on board as SONIC editor, replacing Paul & Victor. One of my 1st requests to Scott was to take the stories more in a sci-fi adventure direction in the manner of SatAM. Both Mike & I preferred that tone over the more humor-oriented AoSTH.
It was at this time SONIC 3 was released. Mike & I were asked to adapt a segment of the game to introduce Knuckles into the comic series. I don’t remember either Archie or SEGA supplying us with a copy of the game, so I more than likely went out and bought a copy.
After studying the 1st few levels, Mike & submitted our script, which Dave Manak illustrated. It was slated for issue 13 and was about to go on the presses when SEGA called to demand the story dropped from the issue. Scott told the SEGA Licensing Rep he would drop the story only if SEGA would eat the cost of production for an entirely new issue as well as absorb all printer penalties & fees for pulling an issue ready to go on the presses.
SEGA would back down from that confrontation, and I believe Knuckles’s subsequent appearances were due more to Scott Fulop seeing how well sales were with Knuckles as part of the mix than any encouragement from SEGA to bring him back.
From our vantage point, both Mike & I felt the Sonic gig could go away any day, even after we spent time at the Archie Booth during the 1994 San Diego Comic-Con, signing copies of issue 11 for whoever stopped by. (If anyone reading this sees they have a copy of issue 11 from that convention, hang onto it as that is indeed a rare copy. It’s the ONLY time Mike & I ever did a signing together in public.)
What was notable for us during the convention was spending time with the SEGA, DiC & ABC-TV reps talking about the possibility of Mike & I working up some scripts for the SatAM series. We were asked to come up with an outline for an episode, but it never went anywhere as ABC would pull the plug on the show shortly after the convention.
After the convention, we not only kept being asked to submit more scripts for the comic series, we were asked to develop something specific for the character of Princess Sally that would lead into the 1st 48-page SONIC Special. On top of that, another publisher reached out to Mike & I to develop a WHERE’S WALDO-style book featuring SONIC THE HEDGEHOG.
It was about this time Archie received sales figures from the 1st issue Mike & I worked on, issue 11, which featured every story written by us.
We were outselling WOLVERINE, SPIDER-MAN, SUPERMAN & BATMAN, among every Marvel & DC title on the market. Only X-MEN and X-MEN 2099 outsold us. This would be the only time we ever saw any sales figures as I’m sure someone realized we might ask for a raise in pay if we saw sales climbing. The other thing to keep in mind was the SONIC series derived the majority of its sales through newsstands, stores like KMart and subscriptions. If the company depended solely on direct market sales, especially at that time, there would be nothing to talk about now as the book wouldn’t have survived past 1993. (The sales of the current IDW series can’t even begin to compare to the sales Archie enjoyed for a variety of reasons.)
But as well as Mike & I seemed to be doing, there was just one problem.
Pictured above is an early memo Mike & I faxed to both Archie & SEGA, basically pointing out the lack of reference from either party. We had been supplied the SatAM scripts BLAST FROM THE PAST parts 1 & 2, but this would be the only time we would receive such material directly from either. As for visual reference, I myself personally wouldn’t see any until sometime after the SatAM series had been cancelled but just in time for me to utilize the material in SONIC SUPER SPECIAL 2 BRAVE NEW WORLD, published in 1997.
SEGA was even worse in supplying any info when it came time to adapt their latest video games as part of the series narrative.
During the later part of 1994, Mike & I would be asked to develop a PRINCESS SALLY mini-series, and that’s when the situation reached new levels of absurdity. For one thing, we couldn’t use Sonic and/or Tails. Nor were we told anything specific as to what they were looking for.
“Just come up with something.”
Our initial premise featured Sally discovering her roboticized mother, Queen Alicia, ruled over an underground kingdom of similarly roboticized subjects, but SEGA found it a bit too dark for their taste. So for our 2nd effort, we had Sally and Bunnie take a Thelma & Louise style roadtrip across Mobius in search of something to defeat Robotnik once and for all, but that got rejected as well. Finally, out of desperation, Mike & I came up with Sally leading a group of young new Freedom Fighters against Robotnik, adding a new love interest in the form of one Geoffrey St John. For whatever reason, SEGA approved this idea and told us to run with it.
I initially supplied the uncredited/ unpaid for cover layouts for the 3-issue mini-series, but someone above my pay grade – never learned who – decided to go in a different direction. (The cover layouts for these issues would eventually be repurposed by me for the covers of issues 7 thru 9 of KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA.) This was probably because Archie kept pushing back the release of the mini-series. as they never wanted to do it in the first place, but SEGA pushed for it. What SEGA probably never told Archie was that they were entertaining releasing a PRINCESS SALLY video game, which they were promoting at the 1995 Toyfare in New York City. I myself was surprised to see the SEGA display as a result of getting free passes to the event.
(For the record, Mike K & I worked out the scenarios and dialogue/captions for the covers to issues 16 thru 19, 21 & 22 & 24, while I worked up cover designs for issues 27, 36, and 47 thru 50. )
At this point, when I refer to SEGA, I really mean SEGA Licensing Rep Bob Harris, as he was the only person whose comments we saw. Bob’s comments would drive Mike absolutely nuts, as he always felt Bob would take our best lines and either dumb them down or make them less funny. I was never bothered by Bob because none of his suggestions resulted in me redrawing any of my page layouts.
At this point, Mike wanted to cut back on his involvement with the writing, which resulted in me writing the story for SONIC issue 22 solo for the first time. Mike would gradually reduce his contributions over the next several months. Our collaboration on the SONIC’S FRIENDLY NEMESIS KNUCKLES mini-series would be our last, even though a Tails story would see print just as the mini-series was ending. In reality, that story had been submitted a year earlier and kept getting pushed back for various reasons. By the time Mike left, so had Bob Harris at SEGA, and I was free to submit whatever I pleased in terms of story and series direction.
The examples I can point to that best demonstrate the freedom I enjoyed are the SONIC LIVE! SPECIAL, the ENDGAME saga, the BRAVE NEW WORLD special and the KNUCKLES series.
SEGA Licensing Rep Bob Harris was totally against me doing the SONIC LIVE! Special as he objected to the concept of me using my son as a character in the story. He was so adamant against the story that even when offered to have his son or daughter (if he even had any) featured in the story, he still wouldn’t give his approval. Once he was gone, I resubmitted the story and went full speed ahead. I created the airbrushed illustration of Sonic for the cover as well as took the photos of my son Steve and niece Jessica that were used on the cover as well as inside the story.
Editor Justin Gabrie took some flak from publisher Michael Silberkleit once he saw the additional costs incurred as a result of incorporating full color photos into the process, but by then the book was on the presses and I achieved what I set out to do.
My work might not have been in every issue, but I was constantly busy. I was writing scripts in page/panel format and would go on to pencil and/or ink story pages in-between writing the stories. There was never a break unless I was able to get ahead of schedule so I could attend a convention or a family function.
Around the time I was working on the stories planned for SONIC issue 36 and SONIC’S FRIENDLY NEMESIS KNUCKLES 1st issue, I received a call from editor Scott Fulop notifying me that Archie didn’t expect SONIC to continue much longer now that the SatAM series had been officially cancelled and aired its final episode. Upon hearing the news, I made a suggestion to Scott about ending the series on a 4-issue arc featuring Sonic in his final battle with Robotnik. I called it ENDGAME and Scott agreed that might be a great way to end the series. The only thing he couldn’t promise was issue 50 being the final issue. He said he would let me know how events were playing out on his end before we pulled the trigger on the story.
Scott ended up leaving a couple of months later due to a disagreement with Co-publisher Richard Goldwater. Assistant Editor Justin Gabrie then took over as Scott’s replacement and he was onboard with the ENDGAME story plans as well.
The two events that affected the final execution of ENDGAME had nothing to do with SEGA at all. The first was that much to everyone’s surprise, sales on the SONIC series was trending upward. This almost never happens when the impetus for a licensed book – a film, TV series, book, toy or video game – is no longer driving sales. Yet here gravity was being defied, and Justin began suggesting we needed a plan for beyond issue 50 and scheduled a meeting at the Archie offices. I was already planning to be in NYC around that time so I could easily accommodate attending in my schedule.
The second event was Marvel filing for bankruptcy, which resulted in a lot of freelancers losing work. Justin had worked for Marvel prior to coming to work for Archie, so he knew a lot of the people affected, including Karl Bollers and Mike Gallagher. Mike had been writing GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY while Karl was working on whatever he could. (I wasn’t following either at the time as I really wasn’t into Marvel titles at this time.)
As we were gearing up for SONIC’s 50th issue, I happened to be in town when Justin called a meeting that included me, Scott Fulop, Karl Bollers & Justin. In all honesty, I don’t recall Mike Gallagher at the meeting or why he wasn’t there, but Justin had spoken with me prior to the meeting about bringing in Scott, Karl and Mike to assist with the ENDGAME scripting assignments.
ENDGAME had been my concept and I had already submitted a 4-issue outline for the story, but Justin had other plans. A regular KNUCKLES series was about to be green-lit as well as a SONIC SUPER SPECIAL series. Justin gave me a choice: I could be the regular writer on SONIC or KNUCKLES, but not both. Whatever book I didn’t take, the script assignments were to be divided up between Karl and Mike Gallagher, with Scott thrown an assignment here and there. As Justin saw it, I would be kept busy no matter what, but there were an awful lot of his friends that were now out of work, and he wanted to do what he could to help out.
I decided to continue running with KNUCKLES. At that point, I had written and illustrated every Knuckles solo-story thus far, and saw this as my opportunity to really establish myself with other publishers. If I was seen as the main driver for the book’s success, I thought it could open up opportunities elsewhere.
After giving Justin my decision, at the meeting it was decided I would write ENGAME Part 1 solo, Scott would handle the dialogue from my plot for Part 2, Mike Gallagher would dialogue from my plot for Part 3, with the 3 of us plus Karl dividing up the dialogue duties from my plot for Part 4. I would also get to pencil a couple of pages as well as ink a few as well.
Once that was decided, Justin threw me a bone and accepted my BRAVE NEW WORLD proposal for the 2nd issue of SONIC SUPER SPECIAL. It was agreed I would write and illustrate the full 40-page story. I also provided the cover layout for that issue, which regular cover penciller Patrick Spaziante followed from my layout. I then took his illustration and produced an airbrush painting from it.
As we were working about 9 to 12 months ahead of schedule, this would be about late summer 1996. My better half Bernie and I had taken our kids to their first San Diego Comic-Con, which would be the start of several conventions we wound up attending after.
One of the most surprising aspects when attending conventions during this time was learning how few if any retailers had any issues of SONIC available for purchase. They would end up buying my copies, getting me to sign them, then marking them up in price for their customers to buy. Keep in mind this was before Ebay existed, so to say we felt a bit taken advantage of is putting it mildly.
Bernie wanted us to raise our prices, but I wanted some justification for doing so. After the next convention we had attended, I contacted SEGA and asked if they had anything we could hand out to promote Sonic with. As it turned out, we were the only ones at the time on the convention circuit promoting Sonic, so SEGA happily supplied us with a number of Sonic pins (L in the pic above) which we handed out with every $5 purchase. We figured a signed comic plus the pin would prove popular at that price, and we were proven right. It also discouraged the dealers from buying us out, thus allowing the fans to benefit.
When SEGA ran out of the Sonic pins, they then sent the Sonic 3 pins (R in the pic above) in similar quantity which we would continue to hand out at convention appearances. When those ran out, we were sent a batch of SEGA Saturn pins, which were still appreciated by the fans.
By the time 1997 rolled around, ENDGAME was well into production, I had turned in the script to BRAVE NEW WORLD and was about to begin illustrating it while turning in the cover layouts to KNUCKLES THE DARK LEGION issues 1 thru 3 as well as the script for the first issue.
It had been decided the KNUCKLES series would be a series of 3-issue mini-series releasing each issue on a monthly basis. The fourth month would see the release of an issue of SONIC SUPER SPECIAL followed by another KNUCKLES mini-series and so on. Once KNUCKLES THE DARK LEGION concluded, I was planning the next mini-series to be titled KNUCKLES THE LOST CITY, with the intent of broadening the backstory of Knuckles I had been laying the groundwork for.
It was about this time I was to learn I was more important to the SONIC series than I had thought up to this point.
End of Part One of Sonic The Hedgehog’s History From My Perspective. If I haven’t bored everyone by this point, I’ll do a follow-up.
I’m now in the process of wiring the final payment for the printing and shipping costs incurred in the production of THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS. I’ll deal with Customs when the books arrive at the Port of Los Angeles sometime in June.
If anyone’s been on the fence about ordering a copy, I suggest sooner is better than later as I sincerely believe once people see these in San Diego that I’ll run out of copies to sell before the convention is over.
Now if anyone doesn’t mind, I have to get back to preparing the art for the Lara-Su print that everyone who pre-ordered will also receive with their copy of BEGINNINGS along with a random SONIC or KNUCKLES issue I worked on signed by me. This promotion ends once the complete shipment of books arrives at the warehouse here in Los Angeles.
FULL DISCLOSURE: the photo above does NOT depict boxes containing copies of THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS. The printers haven’t sent me any pictures of the pallets with the books loaded on them ready for shipping. What they have sent me is an email listing all the shipping info as the books are being prepared for the process.
What I can tell you is the books are being packed in allotments of 10 copies to a carton with 64 cartons loaded on each pallet. My advance copies are being sent today so I can give my final approval before shipping.
As it now stands, the books are scheduled to ship by May 31, which I will confirm once I have that info in writing. Arrival is expected sometime between June 16 and June 25. Once the books clear customs, they will be delivered by truck to the warehouse where they will be stored. I’ll begin pulling copies for shipping to those who pre-ordered once I receive word the pallets with the books are in the warehouse.
Once I announce the books have arrived and I have them in hand ready to ship, the pre-order promotion immediately ends. The follow-up promotion will only be good for those attending the San Diego Comic-Con and will cost $50 as I have convention expenses to account for. (Hotel expenses, parking and meal costs will easily exceed $2500, to give those not attending some idea what it takes to do a convention, especially in a city like San Diego. And those are not the only expenses incurred.)
OFF TOPIC: I’m still working on my blog posting depicting the hidden history of Sonic the Hedgehog I started this past weekend on Twitter. I’m adding additional details, documents, photos and illustrations to the presentation that I hope people will find interesting.
While I wait for my advance copies of THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS to arrive before giving approval to ship my entire order, there’s still a lot going on at my end in the meantime.
For the time being, I’ve decided to sell BEGINNINGS exclusively through my website and convention appearances. After the San Diego Comic-Con, I’m targeting Toronto, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Mega-Con in Miami. I’m also looking at Chicago and Boston for 2025 appearances. I’m open to appearances elsewhere, but taking a wait and see approach based on what happens after San Diego.
Currently, I’m continuing my pre-order promotion of a limited edition signed Lara-Su print along with a randomly selected issue of either SONIC or KNUCKLES I’ve worked on I will sign and include when the pre-ordered copy of BEGINNINGS ships to the buyer. The promotion immediately ends once I have the printed copies of BEGINNINGS on hand to immediately ship.
The promotional package at San Diego is still being worked on, but BEGINNINGS and a bonus extra will be priced at $50, and both will include my signature. (I’m thinking along the lines of a quick head sketch, or alternate print. My concern is being able to satisfy demand during the convention if I go ahead with the head sketch.)
I’m also open to doing appearances at various retailer stores, and if that does happen, you’ll here about it here. Retailers can contact me via this link.
I’m currently at work on a full color Sonic Cast of Characters print which is nearing completion as well as my first full color STAR TREK print which will be available on both this website and the San Diego Comic Con.
In addition, by the end of this month and definitely before I head down to Comic-Con, I plan on unveiling the cover art for KEN PENDERS’S KNUCKLES OMNIBUS as well as a page or two from the next chapter of THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: SHATTERED TOMORROWS.
As work progresses on the Lara-Su app, while I’d like to say it will be ready for Comic-Con, because of short cuts I took to finish the new material for BEGINNINGS, I have to go back and finish several drawings so everything plays consistently with previous material. I’ll keep everyone posted on progress as well as when the app will eventually launch sometime this year.
As always, if anyone has any questions, always feel free to email me. In the meantime, thanks for your support. It’s appreciated.
About an hour ago, I received an envelope containing the proof copy of every page of THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS. Upon opening it up and poring through the pages, I can’t convey how thrilled and happy I was with the finished results. Whatever colors you see in the photos of this blog entry, I can assure you they don’t come close to richness and vibrancy of seeing these pages along with the rest of the book in person.
I’ve selected a few of the pages to convey just what awaits anyone looking forward to this book. If you’ve read MOBIUS: 25 YEARS LATER during its original run in SONIC THE HEDGEHOG issues 131 thru 144 or it’s reprinting of selected chapters in the SONIC SUPER SPECIAL magazine issue 4, you haven’t truly experienced until you see the complete run collected together in this book.
I took a few quick pics on my iPhone, uploaded to my computer and just did a quick tweak and crop job as I have a few other things to take care, so I can’t emphasize enough the brightness of the colors as well as the high quality of the paper stock.
Once people absorb the original run of M25YL, I do an introduction into the new material, and the adventure takes off from there, reintroducing readers to some of their old favorite characters as well as introducing new members to the saga.
Once readers take in THE STORM and the opening chapter of SHATTERED TOMORROWS, the DATA FILES present in-depth info of several of the main characters. After the chapters of SHATTERED TOMORROWS premiere on THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES app, they’ll be collected in a hardcover volume similar to BEGINNINGS, along with updated and new DATA FILES.
I did a print run of 2000 copies, and just over 200 copies are now spoken for. I’m still taking pre-orders right up to the opening night of the San Diego Comic-Con, during which time one can only acquire a copy from me during the convention.
Following San Diego, I’m hoping to appear at conventions in Toronto, San Francisco and Mega-Con in Miami. New York, Boston, Chicago and Cleveland are also on my list.
If this print run sells out, I plan on making a couple of small changes to differentiate the 2nd printing from the first. I know what one of those changes will be already but still debating what the others will be.
I’m very confident people who have followed these characters all these years will want this book on their shelves as part of their collection. But that’s for the buyers to decide, and I’m really looking forward to what people have to say once they see this in person.
It was the fans who made this possible, and I can’t say thank you enough. Take a bow, everyone. I hope I did you proud. Take care.
