THE KEN PENDERS CHRONICLES: PendersCON Alert level 5- something actually made it to sale

In fact, in the Shadow the Hedgehog/Conker’s Bad Fur Day crossover that I’ve conceptualized in my head, he is the main antagonist, penultimate boss, and final boss.

 

Are we going to have to fight an army of his Knuckles recolor OCs too?

 

Yes but they’re all obscured by censor bars for copyright reasons.

 

Maybe Penders will be the next Tommy Wiseau. His movie comes out and immediately garners a reputation as a horrifically bad, if not one of the worst films ever made. Penders does a complete 180 and tries to claim it was intentionally bad and that it's actually supposed to be a comedy, and then he tries to sue anyone who talks to the cast and crew to learn that he was a terrible director who had no clue as to how filmmaking works.

 

Normally, I'd try to space this out better but not only is it Memorial Day today but I am genuinely anxious to see what may be going on with THE REPUBLIC. Let us find out!

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04/12/2020

FROM THE FILES: Unpublished pages I illustrated for DRAGONLANCE ANNUAL 1 back in 1190, which was paid for, but were never published as the book was cancelled prior to going to press. Here's Page 1.​

Old Ken Art good???? But new Ken art bad!!!! You know the drill. I actually think I have a (fairly straightforward) theory, but I'm going to save that for later in the post, since we've quite a few more OKAG? BNKAB!s left to go. Ken, it should be noted, does correct himself in a later tweet; this work is not, in fact, from 1190, but 1990.

Here's Page 4 from THE GLASS SAILOR'S STORY. As I penciled & inked the entire tale, I should have every page of original art, but these 3 pages were all I could find.​

That lady looks mean and ugly, but, unlike Ken art from the current millennium, I think that's how she's supposed to look.

I can't recall if I went solely by written description or if I was supplied any reference material. I'm guessing the latter as this was supposedly an origin story for an established character in the series.​

For lack of another comment to fill space, my big theory from earlier is this: when Ken feels that he has to try, he does. When he doesn't feel that he has to, he doesn't. I think that will become more and more evident as this post rolls on.

For SONIC fans who like to claim I ignored previously established material, these are reference sheets from the SatAM series. As soon as I saw this material, I incorporated it immediately into the story I was beginning to work on: BRAVE NEW WORLD in SONIC SUPER SPECIAL 2.​

Mike K & I were slated to write at least 1 episode for the 3rd season had ABC-TV renewed the series. Opportunity missed because of POWER RANGERS beating SONIC in the ratings.​

I'm less familiar with Ken's actual history with Sonic so when he supplies misinformation on that topic (hypothetically, I don't mean to suggest that this particular comment isn't true because I don't know), so I am counting on the good folk in the thread to chime in as needed.

More material from the SatAM series bible. I don't know if the other artists were supplied this material, but I was constantly asking for anything & everything that was available. Better late than never.​

On the left, the set of Robotnik's War Room. On the right, the detailed prop of Robotnik's War Room Chair. I'll post more of these pieces if people are interested.​

This genuinely the sort of stuff I'm interested in; I hope that there is more to come. EDITOR'S NOTE FROM THE PROOFREAD: Be careful what you wish for.

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04/14/2020

FROM THE FILES: This was one of several sample pieces I prepared to submit to DC Comics with the intent of landing more than a fill-in assignment back in the late 80's-early 90's when I was picking up or dropping off whatever assignment I was given.​

A piece from a time when his wife may have been less able to provide for the both of them is better than his work today? Makes you think!

FROM THE FILES: This was a classic @StarTrek piece I created with the intent to make prints to sell at conventions, but I ended up selling it before I had a chance to make the prints.​

OKAG? BNKAB!

FROM THE FILES: And now for something completely unexpected. At one point, I was being considered as the artist for THE LITTLE MERMAID comic that Disney or one of its licensees was going to release. Here's the sample page I produced from the script I was provided.​

Not Ken: You went VERY literally here, Ken​

And now for more SatAM reference sheets. Had I opted to take the reins of the SONIC series on a fulltime basis instead of KNUCKLES, I would have utilized a lot of the settings featured in these reference sheets.​

I have to confess that I saw the SONIC series taking a much darker turn after ENDGAME had Sally remained dead. In many ways, however, I think things probably worked out for the best. I've never regretted taking on KNUCKLES fulltime instead.​

The drawing on the right is what inspired the Devil's Gulag seen in SONIC SUPER SPECIAL 2. You can see I incorporated it's design on page 40 of BRAVE NEW WORLD.​

Again, interesting. But look at all of the above stuff that came out on April 14th alone, and he's not done tweeting on that day. How is this helping THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES get done? When is he working on it?

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04/15/2020

Back in the 1980's, one of my main goals was to land a steady assignment on a series. It didn't matter which publisher or which book. It didn't matter if I was hired as a writer or an artist (preferably both). Here were but two assignments I pursued at the time.​

Hey look at that, more examples of Ken putting in genuine effort when employment--and, quite possibly, food on the table--was no sure thing. Unfortunately, another point in favor of spacing out these Ken Tweet Roundups is becoming clear: Ken's tweets follow only a few basic themes, which means that there is a limited number of replies, which means that the repetitive nature of it all becomes even more clear than otherwise. But we must press on; what of THE REPUBLIC!?

One of the reasons I post material from my past is part educational. I didn't have the internet growing up, and thus no easy source to obtain the information I most wanted, such as necessary materials and basic facts about being a comic book writer-artist.​

What's the other part?

CA Labor Secretary Julie Su is on TV informing me & other independent contractors how we can collect unemployment benefits. I need to send this woman a note of gratitude along with a drawing.​

I'm posting this because of my genuine curiosity of what the drawing might look like and also I want to get some thoughts about the idea of being thanked by getting a Ken Penders drawing.

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04/16/2020

Believe it or not, while most people may be having a hard time dealing with the stay-at-home requirements, Bernie & I have more than enough to keep us busy any given day before we get a chance to settle down with a book or a movie or anything else.​

I understand that the "more than enough to keep us busy any given day" is just vague enough to include them, but note the omissions of both THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES and THE REPUBLIC.

When I was reading this, I found myself thinking, "That's how we pretty much shoot THE REPUBLIC." Right now is a serious opportunity for me to produce either THE LOST ONES or THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES as a film project. I need 3D modelers for the latter.​

We finally get maybe just the second mention of THE REPUBLIC in the two weeks or so since it's "completion." That mention, of course, has nothing to do with how we might view THE REPUBLIC or any method by which Ken might make money off THE REPUBLIC. Instead it is about how, of course, something not related to Ken actually relates to Ken. But what's really important about this tweet is what comes at the end: not only is the THE LOST ONES not dead after all but--yes, your eyes do not deceive you--KEN NEEDS 3D MODELERS FOR A POTENTIAL LARA-SU CHRONICLES MOVIE! I can certainly think of one guy who has already done a 3D model of a LSC character!

Some people like to take my quip about Geoffrey & Sally having sexual relations as an example of my values, but the fact is I have a 12 year body of work espousing the best of what someone can be: heroic, self-sacrificing, caring. The stories resonate because of those values.​

Here's the thread, folks. I don't think the comments will disappoint you.

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04/17/2020

It's in a political tweet so it's not getting transcribed directly, but Ken claimed that someone at his son's place of work (in the same building at least) tested positive for the coronavirus so he is in a 14-day quarantine, although the wording is just vague enough to where the "he" could be the son or the guy who tested positive. In an earlier tweet, Ken stated the following:

I'm listening to a doctor being interviewed on@MSNBC stating that studies in China have shown that individuals with Type A blood are 30% more susceptible to contracting COVID-19. Seeing as I've Type A blood, that's rather disconcerting, but it is what it is. [04/02/2020]​

Ken has also basically claimed that the coronavirus is affecting what he does regarding the LSC so this sort of thing is theoretically a factor regarding when it might come out.

I'm currently working to make THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS available later this year. Not sure yet of the release plans as I'm also thinking of making this available in comic shops as well and don't want to undermine that effort should it come to pass.

Even if I'm able to get THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS printed, right now there are issues involving distribution. Will it go to the stores? In so, that closes out any mail orders initially? If not, maybe I take pre-orders, offering a free sketch for the first 100 to order.

I'll make a definitive announcement once I have all the facts at hand, including format, price, etc. Stay tuned for details as they become available.​

In the interest of fairness, before I say what I'm about to say it needs to be prefaced with the statement that in the tweet about THE REPUBLIC disc label Ken effectively stated that submissions to various parties were being prepared. That, to me, states that they are still shopping around for a distributor, or something like that. In other words, they aren't just twiddling their thumbs for no reason, at least on that particular issue. But it's not a great look that two weeks have gone by since THE REPUBLIC was completed (allegedly) with no further announcements or real fanfare AND he's talking up a different project instead. It doesn't exactly make THE REPUBLIC look like a hot property.

Also LSC, apparently better abbreviated as LSC: B, is COMING SOON. That sounds familiar. No real point in commentating on his proposed options considering he hasn't ruled a single one of them out.

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Only as I went to upload all this as one post did I discover this forum's limit of twenty images a post. So they've been split up.

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04/18/2020

It's one of those days, so I'm posting some odds'n'ends people may be interested in. Here's a rejection letter from then-Marvel Editor Carl Potts. This is for those who think I don't listen to criticism. Carl could offer me paying work, so I listened.​

I don't know if you picked up on it, but I emphasized something Ken said in the tweet above because I thought it was relevant to my theory about how the quality of Ken's work is tied to the urgency of the success of the work. Also, notice anything interesting in Mr. Potts' letter?

This letter represents my breakthrough in comics. @bobgreenberger sent me my 1st comics assignment, a @StarTrek tie-in project scheduled to be published when the film THE VOYAGE HOME was released. And yes, I made the deadline.
​

04/20/2020

Not Ken: Is this true?​

I'm going to guess not true (Ken did not reply), but LOL at that just showing up out of nowhere in the thread about Ken's comic breakthrough.

I was recently asked if I still had the original script pages to the @StarTrek NEXT GENERATION story "A TRUE SON OF KAHLESS." Not only do I have those pages, but a lot more as well. Here's Pg 1 for the initial story proposal I submitted to then-DC editor Alan Gold.​

Once my co-writer and I got the go-ahead to write the script, I began by doing a thumbnail breakdown of the page & panel layouts. This was a form of shorthand for myself, which I utilized on every comics story I ever wrote.​

The next step after creating the thumbnail layouts was breaking the story down panel by panel, page by page. Just as i did with Mike K on SONIC, my co-writer Anne & I would communicate by phone working out the story details.​

Once the plot details were set, Anne & I worked on the captions and dialogue. If you have a copy of @StarTrek THE NEXT GENERATION SPECIAL #1, you can now see what was omitted when the the text overlays for pages 1 thru 3 were left off at the printers.​

The remaining text from page 3 for the @StarTrek THE NEXT GENERATION story "A TRUE SON OF KAHLESS". And now you have... the rest of the story.​

But WAIT!!! There's more! Here's the pencilled art for page 1 I submitted to DC editor Alan Gold. You'll note I inked everything but the main figures as well as lettered the story title. I simply didn't trust the inker or letterer to put in the extra effort to finish the art.​

My pencilled art for Pg 2 of my @StarTrek NEXTGEN story "A TRUE SON OF KAHLESS". I was determined to land a regular assignment on either NEXTGEN or Classic TREK, and I looked at this as my portfolio submission, which is why I inked eveything but the characters.​

Page 3 of my pencilled art for the @StarTrek NEXTGEN story "A TRUE SON OF KAHLESS". Once again inking the parts I knew the inker wouldn't put in the time to render as I saw it. I should have submitted coloring samples as well as I hated the coloring on this story.​

Page 4 of my pencils for my @StarTrek NEXTGEN story "A TRUE SON OF KAHLESS". Even as small a detail as the painting on Picard's Ready Room didn't escape my attention. I also was looking to replicate the transporter effect more faithfully in comics in the form of a color overlay.​

Here's something for the SONIC fans. I didn't receive a copy of the SatAM series bible until I was working on ENDGAME. Had I received this BEFORE I wrote my 1st story, it's easy to envision myself taking a different approach from the path I did.​

Here are pages 2 & 3 from the SONIC SatAM series bible. On these pages are more direction than I received from anyone at either Archie or SEGA.​

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Just to reiterate: this is all after I specifically split up the month into thirds so, you know, I wasn't posting so much in one go. But this, at least, is the last part for this set.

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Here are pages 4 & 5 from the SONIC SatAM Series Bible. I'll post more later if people are interested.
​

No, Ken, that's enough, I think. Why don't you start spending some of your time on those big projects you're always going on about?

More THE MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY graphic novel pages I illustrated. These were rendered comic book same-size on duo-tone board.​

Still more THE MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY graphic novel pages I illustrated. I utilized this format as I also saw the art as storyboards for a proposed film. Back then, I was hoping just to sell the script. Now I'd want to direct as well.​

More pages from THE MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY graphic novel. Hope to get this off the ground eventually.​

The last of the finished pages for THE MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY. I have more in various stages of completion. What happens next regarding this project is anyone's guess. I know @maggin wants to see it through to completion. Stay tuned.​

Here's a sci-fi project I completed the pencils for the 1st 2 issues, was paid for, and never saw publication as someone at the company absconded with the funds before the publisher could go to press. I was starting issue 3 at that point. Finishes by Todd Cameron Hamilton.​

ALL OF THE ABOVE WAS ON THE SAME DAY I'M SORRY IF IT WAS BORING TO SCROLL THROUGH BUT IT WAS EVEN MORE BORING TO POST. Maybe Ken thinks that if you bring enough of your old work together and concentrate enough of your positive thought-beams upon them that a new work in your mind will be generated out of the ether into tangible existence, like Athena coming out of the head of Zeus. Because otherwise I'm hard-pressed to think how these 20-hour twitter days are helping him to create his "art."

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04/20/2020

The most famous and enduring stories, whether in comics, films, novels or TV deal with the hero overcoming overwhelming odds for the greater good, not worrying about their own self-interest. I myself couldn't write a story where the main character is a moral low-life.​

So much for Ken's autobiography.

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I think for the first time that I was actively irritated at Ken because the nonstop mountains of moth-eaten work combined with the "cute" comments were really grating. At least I'm less worried that we're missing out on a big THE REPUBLIC announcement because that distributor hunt doesn't seem to be going as swiftly as Ken might have hoped. Have a great Memorial Day everyone!

COMING SOON: APRIL 2020 PART 3 (APRIL 21-END)
NOT COMING SOON: THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS
NOT COMING SOON: THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS: THE MOVIE
NOT COMING SOON: THE REPUBLIC
NOT COMING SOON: THE LOST ONES

 

I look away for five seconds and this motherfucker is releasing a film now?!

The photoshop on that disc label is like the Wakaliwood films, which is saying something given that their movies literally have a budget of eighty dollars.

 

I have to admit. His drawings of the Enterprise (both original and -D) are very good.

 

what the fuck

what the actual fuck

why

no

 

When he's not drawing weird-ass echidna stuff his art's actually quite good

 

I'd be inclined to believe the abortion comic thing if it weren't for the fact that if it were true, he would now be using it in his "I'M the REEEAL progressive" schtick against the modern writers, saying stuff like "see? I represented this issue with true balance and fairness YEARS ago", even as his extremely poor-taste comic took anyone's side but the PREGNANT TWELVE YEAR OLD.

 

Clearly that baby opposed him. And as we know...

 

Man, that Sonic SatAM bible is PAINFUL. Yikes it's 90s Sonic at its' worst

 

Well, that would rule out THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES book(s), THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES film, THE REPUBLIC (I'll believe it when I see it), THE LOST ONES, all the times he saved the Sonic comic, or when he single-handedly defeated Archie in court (NOTE: list not comprehensive). On the other hand, that would make these tweet roundups much shorter!

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04/22/2020

My sense of humor is running extra black these days. I've been playing Will Smith's I AM LEGEND and the BATTLESTAR GALACTICA series reboot in the background while I'm working on my Lara-Su graphic novel.​

Hmmm.

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04/24/2020

FROM THE FILES: Bernie took these pics of me at my drawing table while I was inking pages from the LUPE & THE WOLF PACK story featured in SONIC issues 67 thru 69. If it didn't require precision straight or curved lines, I always inked with a sable-hair brush.​

I still feel guilty about dumping all of those images on you last time. Even at the moment, I felt like it might be a mistake, but it was one of those deals where I had already started and wanted to convey a sense of the authentic Ken Penders experience. Anyway, a few images are upcoming, but not so many and related to Sonic, so I think it will be a lot easier to get through.

More pages from the ABC-TV SONIC SatAM series bible.​

When people tell me NOW what was available THEN, they weren't living my life. I was as plugged in as you can get to SEGA and Archie at the time, and I didn't see this material until years after the show was off the air.​

It's been a long time, but I vaguely recall something about Ken being clueless about the games. I believe that for the cover of the infamous SONIC LIVE! they had to use a TV remote instead of a game controller (or something like that) because the Penderses didn't have one; correct me if I'm wrong.

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04/25/2020

Here are 2 more pages from the SatAM series bible. More to follow later. Finding lots of odds & ends in the files I haven't seen in years.​

Speaking of the SONIC SatAM series, when I was asked to do the cover art for the DVD Boxset, they wanted to see some layouts. The 1st one I came up with was the one they used. Generally my initial ideas are my strongest. Also seen here is my 2nd layout design.​

I'm not going to be loading up this post with any extra images so you'll have to search for it yourself (it's also earlier in this thread somewhere), but the finished project looks so much worse than the lineart here.

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04/27/2020

What I find fascinating about watching the updated BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is the realization they had to answer many of the same questions I posed to myself when writing THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES, particularly how society would look under extreme conditions of survival.​

Most of Ken's MANY tweets about BATTLESTAR GALACTICA are not posted here for want of relevancy, but here we have a classic Famous Show = THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES Penderism. Wasn't one of the knocks against the LSC stuff like scantily-clad teenage slumber parties? But it's also grim and gritty? I guess it's got something for everyone!

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04/29/2020

FROM THE FILES: I found not only the original art I was presented by future artist @joshadams but also the pic either Bernie or I took of him during @Comic_Con when he gave it to me. I'll miss seeing Josh & the other attendees that visit with me at San Diego. You did good, Josh!​

This is only here because I thought you'd enjoy the idea of this guy's Knuckles being better than Ken's.

Spent the day working on setting the various language translations into place on pages of art for my story THE STORM, which will be featured in THE LARE-SU CHRONICLES app as well as THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS collection.​

Spanish:
​

Finally! The stuff we're all really here for! And there's a lot to unpack. First, and this may be the most important thing, it seems that THE STORM and THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS collection are not the same thing (and is THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS different from THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS collection?), which means that just saying that something is the LSC will not necessarily clarify what it is, unless LSC is shorthand for THE LARE-SU [sic] CHRONICLES app which comprises the entirety of this project (COMING SOON!). Second, it is as funny now as it was when I first made fun of it months ago that he is prioritizing ALTERNATIVE LANGUAGES over FINISHING THE ENGLISH VERSION. Just insert your favorite example of putting the cart before the horse here, since I myself have beaten that horse to death and beyond.

Third, this (04/30/2020):

KEN: If someone wants to step forward and do a Portuguese - or Japanese, Polish, or any other language - translation from my scripts, they should contact me to discuss the matter. That’s how I’m able to provide other languages than English.

ALSO KEN: Please allow up to 36 hours for a response as while I may be staying indoors during the pandemic, I am not lacking for things that need to be done and responding to people already in contact with me.​

You got that? If you want to help Ken finish his project, remember to be patient; Ken is VERY busy!

05/02/2020
NOT KEN:


Could this be concept art from the lost Ken Penders abortion story???? Seriously, though, there are some weird things in the comments sometimes.

From the story THE STORM, which will be featured in THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES app as well as THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS collection. This story is the bridge between M25YL & THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: SHATTERED TOMORROWS.

French:​

So we have the implied chronology spelled out for us: M25YL -> THE STORM -> THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: SHATTERED TOMORROWS. So you haters were wrong--the first part of THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES was finished a long time ago! But this tweet also implies that THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES app is a separate entity from THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS collection. I guess we will only get a definite answer when this stuff comes out, which means that we will never get a definite answer.

Also, I think the same guy posted the same Chao (that's what it is, right?) coat-hanger picture in the comments for this tweet too. At least there's one guy who uses his free time worse than I do.

From THE STORM, presented here in German. I'm still laying in the Swedish & Russian text. Anyone available for Polish, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, or any other language, please contact me.​

Now you don't even have the counterargument that he's only doing a few major languages ("STILL NEED SWAHILI & KLINGON, CAN ANYONE OUT THERE DO THOSE FOR ME?"). Luckily, as punishment for this absurd tweet and photo combo, Ken receives a DEVASTATING 1-2 punch in the comments: 1) That same coat-hanger picture again; and 2)

[05/10/2020] NOT KEN: How can it take you nearly a decade to make this comic when 90 percent of it is just photographs you stole from google image search/pinterest?​

To be fair, I'd imagine translating an unfinished comic into each and every one of the world's languages can be a lengthy proposition, especially if you need strangers on Twitter to do it for you.

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In conclusion, Ken Penders is the Benjamin Button of artists in more ways than one: not only is it true that the older he gets the worse his art becomes, but that the art itself also gets worse as he puts more and more work into it. There is some "good" news though, in that May appears to have been much less of a tweet-heavy month for Ken, perhaps because he burned through his whole stack of old work so quickly in his firestorm of April uploads in (presumably) his desperate attempt to do something--anything!--rather than work on the LSC. That means that I may do May in one shot and that month has some gold to be prospected, so I hope you all will look forward to it.

COMING SOON: MAY (AND CATCHING UP TO THE PRESENT DAY AT LAST!)

NOT COMING SOON: ANYTHING BY KEN PENDERS

 

Glad to know I'm not the only one who found it cringey. I guess that was the norm for things back then, though.
Looking at the pages he's posted, it shares a lot of similarities with the series bible that was put online years ago, right down to Tails being dressed like a cowboy and being very baby-like. Fascinating how things develop and what gets dropped/changed along the way (am I the only one who kinda wonders how Nate Morgan would've fared in the series?).

Not gonna lie, I kinda wish the second cover was the one used since it features the Freedom Fighters more prominently. Although Sonic's face looks... weird. Shout Factory really should've asked Spaz to do the art for this.

LOL.

 

"Radical, like I sped ked to Robotnik, I call him RO-BUTT-NIK, land on Mobius, which is way shittier than YOUR_TOWN_HERE. I had Miles Prower, i call him Tails for short, smash his gash."
I hate it so much lol

 

Just remember to be grateful for what they didn't put in SatAM.











I believe these are legit prototypes but all I can find offhand is this webpage which has the above images. The webpage also has links to the Ebay auctions where these were sold, although they no longer work.

EDIT: Upon further examination that website has a lot more interesting stuff than just the above. There's no way it's a new discovery for this forum either, but for those who would like to see some of the concept art for what I believe is every major American Sonic cartoon (at least from what you might call the "Robotnik era" stuff) it might be worth a look.



I must reiterate that I cannot confirm or deny the authenticity of these things, so it would be neat if someone else here could. Don't worry, my next post will be full of exciting tweets from Ken Penders about how the geopolitical dynamics of Casablanca (1942, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman) remind him of the political intrigue taking place in THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES and thirty pages of unpublished lineart from 1988.