Calling T2.... and a bit of news as well.
Posted by Ken Penders on July 03, 2001

First order of business....

If T2 or anyone else I did a drawing of Lara-Su (Knuckles' daughter) for last year at San
Diego Comic Con sees this message, PLEASE CONTACT ME ASAP WITH A JPG OF THE
DRAWING I DID FOR YOU.

I've been so busy since then, and with my health problems of late (of which I'm doing
better now, thank you very much), I haven't had the chance to do my own character
reference sheet of her.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but if I don't see a drawing of her within the next
week or so, I won't have any choice but to do a new drawing, relying strictly on memory, so
I can't promise the new drawing will fully resemble the original sketches I did of her in that
event. I'm beginning to write the scripts introducing her to the series (could it be a
variation of KNUCKLES: 20 YEARS LATER? Stay tuned.) and it won't be long before the
scripts are on the drawing board.
My thanks in advance for the help.

And now onto other news...

I've been doing my best trying to cope with all the e-mail and workload, but the plain fact is
it's going to take me at least the next couple of months if not longer to get back on track. I
was really under the weather for quite awhile there, but things have been looking up ever
since I had surgery. (The good news is that whatever the doctors removed turned out to
be benign, so that's a load off my mind as well.)

Because of this, my priorities have had to be rearranged for the time being, so I'll go
through them here:

THE LOST ONES - The graphic novel is still under production, but I had to push it back
for awhile, as I doing this as a labor of love. If someone steps up to the plate and makes an
offer to publish it, at that point does it get on the fast track to completion. It will be
completed, but at the current rate, it looks more like sometime in 2002 than late 2001. After
all, we're talking in the 120 - 150 page range here. As soon as I have some pages
completed, they'll be posted on THE LOST ONES website.

HIGH SOCIETY romance graphic novel - Next to Sonic, this is currently my main focus,
and I'll have samples for review at San Diego. This is being done for a Korean client, and
may or may not see print in the USA. This is currently slated to be a 100-page, full color
graphic novel, and is requiring a lot of my time.

SONIC - For the forseeable future, I'll be concentrating strictly on KNUCKLES and the
feature pages. At this point, SONIC #100 and #101 are in the can, and on their way to the
printers. Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to ink the Knuckles #101 story as
originally planned due to my health, but Andrew Pepoy stepped in and I'm sure everyone
will enjoy the final results. The feature pages spotlight PRINCESS SALLY and THE
FLOATING ISLAND.

With regards to SONIC #102, I wrote the script and provided the layouts to my new
assistant (whose identity will be made known shortly) for the KNUCKLES story, who went
on to do another terrific job. (Pam Ekund is scheduled to ink the story.) Meanwhile, I
provided the feature pages spotlighting KNOTHOLE VILLAGE and JULIE-SU.

The only thing I'm providing in SONIC #103, which includes the KNUCKLES FAMILY
TREE.

SONIC #104 will feature art for the Sonic story by my assistant and I (or is it "me"? Dan?
Ron?), concluding the story begun in SONIC #103 by Michael Gallagher and Jim Valentino.

SONIC #105, features the return of KNUCKLES,with script by yours truly and art by yours
truly and his trusted aide.

(I'd list what's in the feature pages, but I have to find the list I wrote down. I believe the
one in #104 or #105 is a 2-page spread featuring STATION SQUARE from SONIC
ADVENTURE.)

There's much more in the works, as Justin and I worked out the schedule up to issue
#110, and I'll post more when appropriate.

Regarding the website assistant, Bob and I are still looking for one. There are a couple of
you out there we'll be contacting within the next few days, but we're still not sold, and
here's why. Of all the people who submitted samples, only two displayed any sense of
design knowledge I feel is necessary in order to grasp what I'm trying to achieve, but
even so, the technical proficiency was equal among all, and we have yet to see anything
from anyone displaying a knowledge of Flash or any program designed to offer more
functionality on a website. Therefore, I am holding off making a decision for the time being
in order to give those who submitted a second chance or allow newcomers to submit.

In regards to any updates, I should be able to do some minor updating either later tonight
or tomorrow morning, including posting information concerning my appearance at the San
Diego Comic Con and where you can find me. (I'll also be at the Toronto Comic-Con in late
August.)

I'll try to post more later as well. I'll also be making a decision later this week about
whether or not I can do an online chat sometime later this month. If everyone thinks I
should wait until September, I'll hold off until then and let you enjoy the summer.

In the meantime, take care. 
------
Welcome Back!
Posted by Daniel J. Drazen

Definitely, welcome back. Glad the news on the health front is positive.

: HIGH SOCIETY romance graphic novel - Next to Sonic, this is currently my main focus,
and I'll have samples for review at San Diego. This is being done for a Korean client, and
may or may not see print in the USA. This is currently slated to be a 100-page, full color
graphic novel, and is requiring a lot of my time.

Sounds definitely this side of cool. Are you illustrating someone else's script?

: SONIC - For the forseeable future, I'll be concentrating strictly on KNUCKLES and the
feature pages. At this point, SONIC #100 and #101 are in the can, and on their way to the
printers. Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to ink the Knuckles #101 story as
originally planned due to my health, but Andrew Pepoy stepped in and I'm sure everyone
will enjoy the final results. The feature pages spotlight PRINCESS SALLY and THE
FLOATING ISLAND.

Not to make a federal case out of it, but if the spotlight page on Princess Sally lists her
middle name as "Elisha" instead of "Alicia," I may have to go out to Mamaroneck and
smack somebody upside the head, and then boot an editor off a cliff on general principle.


: The only thing I'm providing in SONIC #103, which includes the KNUCKLES FAMILY
TREE.

How far back? To Edmund?

: SONIC #104 will feature art for the Sonic story by my assistant and I (or is it "me"? Dan?
Ron?), concluding the story begun in SONIC #103 by Michael Gallagher and Jim Valentino.

When the subjective personal pronoun follows the verb, as in this case, it's "me"
(Warriner's, chapter 7). Quick rule of thumb for dealing with compound subjects: listen to
how it sounds if there was only one subject -- "...art by I"? I don't think so. That's why
when I do the second draft of my fanfics I always print it out and read portions out loud, to
see if they hit my ear the wrong way. It's a good way to locate awkward phrases that need
to be ironed out.

And I'm surprised that Jim Valentino is still with the book. Haven't heard from him since,
what, Special #11?

: There's much more in the works, as Justin and I worked out the schedule up to issue
#110, and I'll post more when appropriate.

Hope Justin builds in the time to do what needs to be done.
---
It's Great To Be Back
Posted by Ken Penders

: Definitely, welcome back. Glad the news on the health front is positive.

Unless the doctors pull one out of left field, most definitely. Thankfully, my other half is
making sure I take real good care of myself (along with lots of help and TLC from her) in
case I overdo it, which I'm prone to do from time to time.

: : HIGH SOCIETY romance graphic novel - Next to Sonic, this is currently my main focus,
and I'll have samples for review at San Diego. This is being done for a Korean client, and
may or may not see print in the USA. This is currently slated to be a 100-page, full color
graphic novel, and is requiring a lot of my time.

: Sounds definitely this side of cool. Are you illustrating someone else's script?

The script was plotted out by a writer in Korea who writes for one of the more popular
soap operas in that country (and yes, I was scratching my head when I first heard that
one), upon which my collaborator turned the plot into a page/panel breakdown with
dialogue. While laying out the pages, I get to add my two cents in where I feel it's
warranted, including rewriting some of the dialogue here and there. (I'll have a page or
two uploaded to the website after San Diego.)

: : SONIC - For the forseeable future, I'll be concentrating strictly on KNUCKLES and the
feature pages. At this point, SONIC #100 and #101 are in the can, and on their way to the
printers. Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to ink the Knuckles #101 story as
originally planned due to my health, but Andrew Pepoy stepped in and I'm sure everyone
will enjoy the final results. The feature pages spotlight PRINCESS SALLY and THE
FLOATING ISLAND.

: Not to make a federal case out of it, but if the spotlight page on Princess Sally lists her
middle name as "Elisha" instead of "Alicia," I may have to go out to Mamaroneck and
smack somebody upside the head, and then boot an editor off a cliff on general principle.

If there's anything wrong, blame me, as I'm the sole party responsible for the feature
pages, and just managed to get them into the offices before the book was shipped to the
color separators. I can, however, verify, that her middle name was spelled Alicia, and that
the feature also lists such data as height, weight, birth date and other pertinent facts.

: 
: : The only thing I'm providing in SONIC #103, which includes the KNUCKLES FAMILY
TREE.

: How far back? To Edmund?

Further than that, all the way to Jordann and Kayla-la.

: : SONIC #104 will feature art for the Sonic story by my assistant and I (or is it "me"? Dan?
Ron?), concluding the story begun in SONIC #103 by Michael Gallagher and Jim Valentino.

: When the subjective personal pronoun follows the verb, as in this case, it's "me"
(Warriner's, chapter 7). Quick rule of thumb for dealing with compound subjects: listen to
how it sounds if there was only one subject -- "...art by I"? I don't think so. That's why
when I do the second draft of my fanfics I always print it out and read portions out loud, to
see if they hit my ear the wrong way. It's a good way to locate awkward phrases that need
to be ironed out.

I'd like to thank everyone who gave their opinion on this one, but after reading
everyone's answer, I think this is one of those questions like "Coke or Pepsi?" as there is
no definitive answer (except in certain situations -- and even then!)

: And I'm surprised that Jim Valentino is still with the book. Haven't heard from him since,
what, Special #11?

Jim and Mike started work on this story just shortly after Special #11, and then he was
tapped to handle the job of publisher of Image Comics. (Nice gig if you can get it!) Since
he was unable to finish part two, Justin tapped me and my new assistant to handle the art
chores for the stunning conclusion.

: : There's much more in the works, as Justin and I worked out the schedule up to issue
#110, and I'll post more when appropriate.

: Hope Justin builds in the time to do what needs to be done.

That's what we're in the process of doing. KNUCKLES was pushed back three issues
worth to allow me time to get ahead of schedule, as it was such a bear just to meet the
most immediate deadlines due to my health.

As I said, I'll keep everyone posted as more develops. 
------