#kenpenders

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Bonus entry from #inktober2016 featuring #knuckles #andknuckles #andknuckles (and knuckles) from #sonic3andknuckles. - #toonstop #anime #cartoon #comic #conceptart #characterdesign #characterart #illustration #drawing #inktober #sonicthehedgehog #traditionalart #copicmarkers #trio #echidna #kenpenders #andknuckles

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Penders -_-

Ok I gotta get it off my chest...Ken Penders...

After reading a few message boards and speaking on this topic with a few other people, it seems I should post something on this man here. No I won't rant. I'll give you what has been proven as truth. And I’ll do so as if I’m addressing the man himself.

"Hello Mr. Ken Penders. Legally, you do have the right to be compensated for your work and writing from Archie Comics. You've gotten what you wanted from Archie for not giving you what you were due. That, is your legal right to do so, as each man is entitled compensation for work.

And yet, that is where it should have ceased.

You're suing Sega and Bioware for usage of quote unquote "your ideas." And yet...if not for the existence of Knuckles The Echidna, your Julie-Su character, the presumed “daughter of Knuckles the Echidna” wouldn't have come to pass. That's what the Lara-Su chronicles is about after all.

No wait.

As Sega hasn’t authorized usage of their Trademarked character within your publication, she isn’t the daughter of Knuckles now is she. Even if you try and subtly hint at it within the limits of what you can legally do, you’re still trying to gain interest by saying she’s the daughter of a Sega trademarked character; from an already successful game franchise which you’d be still riding the coat tails of.

"Who said they were going to be echidnas?"

I’m aware that you were supposed to be saying this in a humorous light upon your forum. But what I can tell you that Sega will say they WON’T be. So then, if this story isn’t about "The Echidna" Lara-Su, "Daughter of Knuckles the Echidna," what interest will anyone have in it? Who do you think you’ll be catering to? You want to show what happens from the event of Mobius Ten Years Later...but that’s an event that happened within the Sega licensed comic Sonic The Hedgehog. You can’t use Sega’s pivotal trademarked character Sonic the Hedgehog- mind you, the character whom caused the event which “erased” Lara-Su. So without being able to use him, or link your character to the events of that publication, what do you have to go on Ken?

A story about Generic the Unknown Species character that events happened to in which you can’t do more than vaguely hint about, lest Sega or Archie comics themselves sue you for using their own characters without authorization. Your writing and stories be damned, character usage is rather strict.

So this is going to be a completely original story, not tied into SEGA or the SONIC comic at all.

http://www.kenpenders.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2615&start=25 http://i40.tinypic.com/md0cis.png

“Considering there’s at least a 25 year difference between when events in the SONIC book take place and the stories in my LARA-SU CHRONICLES take place...”

But wait Ken. Wasn’t this meant to be an “Original story, not based upon the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise?” Why would the events in the SONIC THE HEDGEHOG series matter? That is unless you’re trying to still ride the coattails of a popular franchise in hopes that fans of it still flock to you. It’s only natural that Archie will no longer use your characters if they have to have stories featuring them passed under scrutiny of a man that no longer works with them. Not only that, but would try to use the events that your characters are featured in within your own works to reference as “Sonic canon,” which, you’re clearly trying to cash in on.

However, you still can’t see the hypocrisy of this, which I’m certain Archie does. You’re suing Bioware for quote unquote, using your ideas within their game...and yet would be all too happy to use the stories featuring your characters as written by of Ian Flynn, Karl Bollers, and so on as reference. Other writers to whom I’m certain you haven’t gotten the consent of to use THEIR ideas and stories to refer to.

Yet you’re still trying to gain the attention of the Sonic the Hedgehog fandom, hence your appearance at the Sonic Convention panel, in order to talk about your work on this now bland and generic character...while severing ties to the very same fandom.

Hypothetically speaking, even as you are going to put in Alicia Acorn, Geoffrey St. John, and the rest of the characters you’ve created... their storylines would still be established within the Sonic the Hedgehog comic. Not only that, but with Sega trademark and licensed characters that you can no longer explicitly mention without legal repercussions. Again, the past glory you’re desperately trying to ride and cling onto, hoping everyone else does the same and purchase your products. Something in which, in knowledge of what you’re doing, as I’m pointing out with this journal, I’m going to believe they will not. That isn’t quite good for business if you’re expecting this to succeed financially. This seems more like something you’re doing for ego appeasement.

Suffice to say, you decided to redesign the titular character of your work in progress as shown here.  http://kenpenders.com/Lara-Su_Pro.jpg

And upon being put upon display, received swift but certain criticism.

http://www.kenpenders.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=2559 http://i42.tinypic.com/219b9jr.png

"...but the primary driving factor here isn’t ego, it’s business."

Despite having and absolutely overwhelming negative response to these designs, some of which may have even remotely have been potential customers, you’re still going through with it.

TSSZ News..  http://www.tssznews.com/2013/07/19/ken-penders-reveals-new-direction-for-the-lara-su-chronicles/

Ian Flynn's Board Containing the Current Archie Readers..

The Official Sega Boards themsevles... http://forums.sega.com/showthread.php?491146-Introducing-the-new-lara-sue-version-2-0!-Even-better-than-ever

Even your own message board.

Word has gotten around Ken. These are people who see what you’re doing and disapprove of it. Regardless of that, you’ve created this, and stand by it because as quote from that same post:

"...precisely because of the positive reaction it’s received, especially from female audiences it was shown to."

Who were these alleged “female audiences?”

You were asked to show this “female audience.” Make a mention to them or the like. I can understand keeping things confidential for the sake of privacy. However, when faced with an absolutely overwhelming majority of negative criticism, said fans; whom may have at one time been hypothetically interested in purchasing your product, deserve to see those whom gave positive reviews to in order to see whom it was. Perhaps to see which demographic the redesign was meant to appeal to.

And you couldn’t produce a single one. No links. Merely becoming once again vague and believing that the best answer is simply the absence of one.

But there's no reason for you to have changed them in the first place, as you've went and said with all your bravado.

http://i44.tinypic.com/2lwt253.png

Actually, the licensing and legal department of SEGA would strongly disagree with that statement. Not to mention the U.S. Government due to trademark and copyright infringement laws. Ken, should you have gone the route of not changing the designs, you’d be right back in court have said company all too thrilled to explain to you the ramifications of what you’ve done. But in your post, “I’m looking for a fresher design” sounds more appealing and less conniving in your explanation than “I’m changing the design to skirt copyright and trademark laws.”

Irony. In that same post you also said “so I don’t hear complaints of rip-offs from other sources.” Apparently the style and design of KNUCKLES THE ECHINDA, which your characters are derived from, isn’t in your mind something you’re “ripping off.”

Why use echidnas and the design of Knuckles the Echidna in the first place?  You were asked this quite a while ago with the promise of an answer as well, shown here:

http://i40.tinypic.com/wi0p3s.png

Ken Penders Site Admin Posts: 410Joined: Wed Feb 03, 2010 2:48 pm  "I'll get into the issue of why echidnas elsewhere on this board sometime next week.

As of January 6th 2014, I’ve not seen an answer on your board for this. Once again, the best answer seems to be merely not answering.

This is your legacy Ken.

That you’re a heavily delusional middle aged man, trapped within thoughts of his prior success and dragging it along with him not unlike the Soviets did after the Cold War.

Your last vestige of finances apparently rests upon this lawsuit and the Lara-Su Chronicles project. Which is truly a testament to how low a person can fall. As you’re trying to step back into the limelight by riding on the success of a well-known franchise. You have nothing left but your recognition from the Sonic comic. That’s all.

Your “Lost Ones” comic project. A failure. Few people have seen it. It’s near impossible to obtain. And what’s even more laughable, you haven’t corrected this mistake by making more than a single volume.

It went through development hell?  A lot of issue surrounded the release?

These are bland and petty excuses that you’re covering yourself with so that your ego can’t be dented. You could have easily continued with it, but instead the project was dropped and years went by, allowing it to fade into obscurity. And rather than admit it’s failure you try and delude yourself by telling people “it can easily make a come back” and “are you sure I’m not done working on it.” Where’s volume two? Woe betide anyone trying to find a copy of volume one using a search engine.

Your “The Republic” web series. A failure. Much like the Lost Ones, few people have heard of it. You’ve spoken about how many big names are working on it, and yet outside of a few Youtube clips that look homemade, if anything, there’s been no development. Much like with your “Lost Ones” project, despite it having no development, you once again delude yourself by telling fans of its upcoming return.

Years have went by, what happened?

You’ve not spoken on your board about what you’ve recently done on Marvel Comics or DC. As you do love bragging and name dropping as shown by your talks about the Lost Ones and Republic. I’m sure that they’re able to see what you’ve tied Archie up with and they’ll be damned if they’ll accept you.

You literally, have nothing left, other than this. Which is going to end badly based upon polls showing how many will not support your work,  Message boards having lit up with the Sonic fandom, the primary target you’re expecting to buy this (As unless people have read the comic to even know what Mobius Ten Years Later is, would have no reason to care) And rather than acknowledge all of this and stop, you’re putting forth this bulletproof ego because you simply cannot bear to say anything you’ve done has been a failure, like the projects that have come before it.

Now, for those whom are reading this, realize I didn’t have to insult him to make these points. What I did was post what the man said upon his board verbatim. What I’ve said about his former projects where based upon facts and findings. I’ve saved screenshots of the posts so if by chance he deletes of edits what he’s said, those should still be up. Unless at the time I’ve posted this, “The Lost Ones” has come back into public circulation, and “The Republic” is a well-known web series on Youtube, I don’t find myself to be incorrect.

This man has sued a company for ‘infringement’ and ‘unauthorized usage’ of his story lines, then are trying to legally weave around them into using a character that does infringe upon their own trademarked character to avoid them suing you for unauthorized use. And what’s worse: Not only does he not see the hypocrisy of it, create this project in general, glorifying it.

If a comparison had to be made, you are to the comic industry what Jack Thompson was to the legal field.

In light of that, I hope those whom read this have more insight to what he’s said and is doing. And I’ll close this in calling the man, exactly what he is based upon the above.

An egocentric charlatan.

A delusional con artist.

And most importantly, a God damn thief.