Some Answers
Posted by Ken Penders from 208.246.218.22 on September 19, 2000 at 21:06:02:

In Reply to: Mr. Penders Please Read........... posted by Emerald on September 15, 2000 at
10:24:34:

: Dear pal,
: When you began writting Sonic comics for Archie, did you come to them, or did they come
to you? 

What happened was due more to the luck of the draw than anything else. Then-editor Paul
Castiglia was concerned he wouldn't have any stories on hand if writer Michael Gallagher
left Sonic to write full-time for other publishers (which he eventually did do), so he asked
his friend Mike Kanterovich -- who already had written many stories for Marvel -- if he
would submit some scripts for Sonic. Mike, in turn, gave me a call -- since we already
friends at that point -- and asked if I knew anything about Sonic. As luck would have it, I
was already buying every issue of Sonic since the first issue as my son Stephen loved the
Sega game. Since I was quite familiar with the series, Mike and I got together, wrote up a
few synopsis, and started the ball rolling. What started out merely as an inventory
assignment became a regular gig two months later.

: Like, did you go to Atchie and request you write Sonic and Knuckles stories, or have you
written stories in the past, Archie observed how good you were, and then asked if you
would like to write for their comics?

I worked primarily as an illustrator before working for Archie. I did, however, submit
several STAR TREK stories I'd written to DC Comics, a couple of which were published
before I ended up working on Sonic. 

: When making Lost Ones, was it purely your idea? What did you do when you wanted to
begin something you made up yourself? 

The Lost Ones is entirely my own creation, and is the result of many ideas that had been
percolating in my brain over the years. Among my interests are science fiction, history,
politics and the Japanese culture, and this was a chance to explore the various aspects of
those topics. I'd be remiss if I didn't admit a heavy influence from my work on Sonic and
Knuckles as well, particularly in the realm of personal relationships, in my Lost Ones
stories.