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ShanahaT — Why the Archie Sonic reboot failed pt.1

#archiesonic #top10list
Published: 2018-08-12 00:55:15 +0000 UTC; Views: 5772; Favourites: 47; Downloads: 23
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Description Yes, there will be much more to cover in my quest to tear the reboot era a new one, and give people an understanding as to why people like me found it so disappointing. 
What better way to do that then to show Archie's top ten reasons to get excited for the reboot list from their Super Digest magazines. 

Before I cover these, please don't get upset at what I cover here. If you enjoyed the reboot, more power to you. 
But just don't be a brat about my opinion here, and keep in mind that I was actually excited for this reboot when it first occurred in 2013 and gave it chance. Only to be turned off by it as soon as late 2014. 
So here's the rundown. 

10. Zones that we have seen before, and the Zones that were new had no creativity behind them. 

9. All the new characters that came off as complete rip offs of other characters (with a few exceptions) 

8. all those new villains that had potential that was completely squandered

7. The fact that Ian Flynn lied to us when he said "I will say the old universe still counts. We didn't make 200+ issues for nothing." 
(even though there were certain characters that actually remembered the stuff that caused the reboot) 

6. Sally getting completely dumbed down. (along with the other Satam characters) 

5. the fact that something as anticipated and simple as the Freedom Fighters reuniting was completely ruined by Amy getting retarded amounts of spotlight and unnecessary glorification. (or perhaps the more appropriate term is... Sue-ification) 

4. this was the only thing they promised that actually happened. 
Even though I feel Tracy Yardley's art style alone did a fine enough job at making them look more like game characters already.

3. All that stuff that was hyped up about this new craft, and yet it goes down without a fight.  

2. The fact that the best artists were shoved aside just because they couldn't draw faces that could become memes. 

1. The fact that Ian Flynn dragged out the shattered world crisis for two-in-a-half years straight. 
I don't think I have seen something like this happen in a comic since Spider-Man's clone saga. 

Update: as of typing this, part two has been posted here's the link. 
www.deviantart.com/shanahat/ar…
These comics are copyright    and Archie 
Related content
Comments: 175

ThermidorResistance In reply to ??? [2018-08-14 18:33:02 +0000 UTC]

Because they are associated with Archie comics (who did have legal issues), and they are part of the old continuity there is a general consensus that the chances of them appearing in the IDW comic are going to be low. 


Here is the indicator:

During a Bumbleking Podcast, Ian Flynn remarks about how Sega does not want to draw attention to old properties of Sonic specifically (Underground, Sonic X, and the Sonic the Hedgehog movie)

Source: www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw-BaV…

Considering this attitude, it does not surprise me when the Editor says they want to focus their attention on "core characters" for the rest of 2018.  I know he said the door is not closed, but that can be also taken as a way of deflecting an answer because he honestly doesn't know.


SEGA is going to be a lot more particular about how things are done after the incident with Archie, and I think they are still not out of the woods just yet.  It's great that Ian is a fan of the Freedom Fighters, but he is not the editor so his authority in getting them into the comic is purely one of suggestion.  If SEGA says, we want to focus on these characters from the latest games then the editor really has to go by their rules regardless of Ian's personal feelings.


www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7kImN… (It's by bw rosas talking about this, it's pretty good)

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dth1971 In reply to ThermidorResistance [2018-08-14 19:25:57 +0000 UTC]

T.R.: We all know the Freedom Fighters - even Sally Acorn - are not out of the woods for IDW Sonic consideration in at least 2019. That's the same as the door not being closed on the Freedom Fighters fate.

One idea: Why not just add in Sally Acorn seperate from the rest of the Freedom Fighters as an IDW Sonic character? Besides being with Sonic again, she may team up in a GIRLS RULE story with Amy, Tangle, and Whisper.

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ThermidorResistance In reply to dth1971 [2018-08-14 19:29:24 +0000 UTC]

That's a great idea, and I think you are onto how Ian may work the Freedom Fighters back in ... if you and I are thinking along a similar line.

I'm not sure if we will see Antoine, as Ian may actually just use the plot line for Lost Hedgehog Tales.  Same for Bunnie. But time will tell.

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dth1971 In reply to ThermidorResistance [2018-08-14 19:34:20 +0000 UTC]

Even Adam Bryce Thomas did a new outfit design for Sally Acorn's inclusion in IDW Sonic that might be a few year old fan art or something like that.

And in IDW Sonic #3 I thought that Ben Muttski (the dog in the Archie post SGW Sonic World, in the pre SGW Sonic World Muttski was Sonic's pet dog who got roboticized thanks to Robotnik) finally showed up in IDW Sonic with a minor makeover or something like that, but I found out it's a generic Sonic World dog modeled after a dog of Jen Hernandez's!

And did you know IDW Sonic #5 had a few appearances of the inspiration for Sally Acorn named Ricky Squirrel?

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ThermidorResistance In reply to dth1971 [2018-08-14 19:43:15 +0000 UTC]

Yes and IMO Gadget bears a strong resemblance to Antoine take the glasses off and give him a uniform.  His nervous personality is in line with Antoine's.  I don't know. I would like for SEGA to just do a game for us old schoolers using the Knothole crew then they can become official canon and all of this red tape stuff can be avoided.

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dth1971 In reply to ??? [2018-08-13 03:07:19 +0000 UTC]

Be glad IDW got the Sonic licence from Sega after Archie lost the licence.

When Archie lost the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book licence, the rights went to Image, then Dreamwave, and now IDW.

And when Archie lost the Mega Man comic book licence, the rights went to Udon just to reprint Mega Man Manga from Japan (and Ian Flynn has no plans to negolate with IDW to do a new Mega Man comic series for the time being).

Even Archie planned with Tribune Publishing for a Dick Tracy reboot comic book for Spring 2018 launch but cancelled plans due to a licencing problem and the rights were quickly resolved and went to IDW for a Dick Tracy 4 issue comic book miniseries starting September 2018 (The Hermes Press Dick Tracy original graphic novel planned for late Summer 2019 is up in the air).

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dth1971 In reply to ??? [2018-08-12 17:29:07 +0000 UTC]

If Sally Acorn makes it to IDW Sonic in 2019 - let's hope she's never dumbed down or something like that!

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ShanahaT In reply to dth1971 [2018-08-12 19:28:05 +0000 UTC]

As long as she has good writers that care for her, she wont. 

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Nintrendodude In reply to ShanahaT [2018-08-12 22:00:44 +0000 UTC]

dont listen to DTH, he's a fucking sally nutcase. one could say that he's "kuku for acorn puffs"

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dth1971 In reply to ShanahaT [2018-08-12 20:18:15 +0000 UTC]

BUT I WANT SALLY ACORN TO MAKE IT TO IDW SONIC IN 2019 WITH OR WITHOUT THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS! THE DOOR IS STILL NOT CLOSED ON THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS FATE, YOU KNOW! 

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WingedBlueShell In reply to ??? [2018-08-12 17:22:44 +0000 UTC]

I agree with your points. The reboot turned out to be very lackluster and I just couldn't find myself invested in what I felt was a completely different series where the best characters were either dumbed down or substituted for worse characters. Sally is a great example, as she was shoved into the background in favor of Amy Rose taking up her spot as the main female character. Bunnie does hardly anything, Rotor hardly exists and who is Antoine again? It's a shame that the only media these characters had to try and survive the test of time was torn away by mediocre writing, sabotage and clear favoritism as well as Ian Flynn's OCs. The reboot is an ad rather than a story.

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dth1971 In reply to ??? [2018-08-12 17:19:07 +0000 UTC]

Eat your heart out, David Letterman (Though he no longer does late night talk shows)!

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GodDragonKing In reply to ??? [2018-08-12 14:29:58 +0000 UTC]

I stopped reading the Archie Comic for a while since that youtube channel that uploaded scans of the comics I was using vanished, then I heard about the comic pulled a Flashpoint thanks to Ken Penders attempting a lawsuit. Fuck you Ken Penders, nearly killing the comic once wasn't enough for you, you had to do it for real. I did not read more than 20 years worth of content just to see it get wiped out in a reboot.

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ShanahaT In reply to GodDragonKing [2018-08-12 19:13:15 +0000 UTC]

Well, I understand your frustration. 
But that's the case with this list I made. 

Plus, the real thing that killed the comics was actually the current Archie Sonic staff themselves. 
Even, though Ken Penders was the one who sparked the events that led to this. He wasn't really the one who did the most damage. 

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Nintrendodude In reply to ShanahaT [2018-08-12 22:01:18 +0000 UTC]

penders didnt even start the lawsuit, thats a misconception

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Masterge77 In reply to Nintrendodude [2018-08-13 03:34:05 +0000 UTC]

He didn't? Then who started the lawsuit?

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Nintrendodude In reply to Masterge77 [2018-08-13 03:45:11 +0000 UTC]

archie, archie started the whole fiasco out of greed, read this:  Why I Defend Ken Penders(with links for evidence)**authors notes: I was debating on if I should make this post with my worries of what my audience would think of any further content on Ken Penders, as noted here: .
But people in the comments assured me to continue what I'm doing such as :iconsmotrand yes smotr I'm working on the boom story you requested me to do but it'll take me some time to get it finished cuz I have writers block), :iconson1c2001:, :iconthatonesmurfx103-9thanks for being a good friend onm Twitter and Discord), :iconzaneyboy20I'm still looking forward to seeing the finished library for the poster of my sonic fan film), :iconlivixal-73x:, and :iconjordangothank you for being a huge help in the art department for "Super Mario Quest" and eventually "Doctor Who: The Sol Adventures). As well as the kind words of my good friends :iconzentrixstudios: & :iconserra-royale: telling me not to succumb to the critics, fanbrats, and haters and just keep posting the content I enjoy.
A special huge thanks to :icon

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GodDragonKing In reply to ShanahaT [2018-08-12 19:30:12 +0000 UTC]

Yeah we can't blame him for poor writing post reboot.

What I have also heard is that Archie could have handled the response to the lawsuit better. I don't know all the details but I hear that this reboot could have been avoided with giving into Ken Penders' demands. What have you heard?

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ShanahaT In reply to GodDragonKing [2018-08-12 19:37:07 +0000 UTC]

I have heard that Ken Penders characters are not that expensive to use. 
They cost from 100 to 500 $ for one individual character. 
Plus, Ken has said that he is willing to negotiate with Sega and IDW to bring his characters back. 
and writing the comic again is not one of his demands. 

And on a somewhat unrelated note. 
Lets just say Ian Flynn has changed dramatically since his hay-day during Archie's pre-reboot years

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dth1971 In reply to ShanahaT [2018-08-18 11:55:17 +0000 UTC]

Holy commissions, Batman!

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Nintrendodude In reply to ShanahaT [2018-08-12 22:05:14 +0000 UTC]

ken has said if he were to ever write sonic again, he'd want full creative control over the comic: twitter.com/KenPenders/status/…
twitter.com/KenPenders/status/…
twitter.com/KenPenders/status/…

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ShanahaT In reply to Nintrendodude [2018-08-13 00:41:04 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, but he also said he was done writing it again too. 
So that's still not going to happen. 

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dth1971 In reply to ShanahaT [2018-08-13 21:51:21 +0000 UTC]

Wait until the Lara-Su Chronicles by Ken P. ever releases officially chapter 1 and its app!

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Nintrendodude In reply to ShanahaT [2018-08-13 01:18:46 +0000 UTC]

never say never. if ken is willing to negotiate over the future use his characters, whos to say negotiation about writing the book is out of the question?

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Hazlenaut In reply to ??? [2018-08-12 13:52:08 +0000 UTC]

those "ripoff" are mostly expys due to make up for legal mandate of character no longer there. Shadow mask virus character seems to be combination of A.D.A.M and Iron Queen. if it is Nicole that can also be their method of every hero gets an antagonist. A lot of stories were thrown out the window.
I will agree the Shatter Word Crisis extended too much.

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ShanahaT In reply to Hazlenaut [2018-08-12 19:03:13 +0000 UTC]

The shadow masked virus is named Phage, and the reason I compared her to Nicole is because she's just an I.A. Like Nicole. She's not really a virus. If she was a virus, she would have killed Nicole instantly and corrupt the whole Freedom Fighter system. 

and while kind of understand the desire to make substitutes for the Penders characters. But even back then, I didn't find them all that interesting as characters of their own. Looking back, I just don't feel they did a good job at being substitutes. They  just remind me of those characters they are filling in for. But to be fair, not all of them were like this. (like Relic and Eclipse). 

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dth1971 In reply to ShanahaT [2018-08-13 21:52:11 +0000 UTC]

Let's hope the Freedom Fighter fate gets settled for 2019 by IDW if Sega agrees, maybe IDW can do a Sonic Sat AM 1993 comic book?

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ShanahaT In reply to dth1971 [2018-08-13 22:35:59 +0000 UTC]

We already know what you want. Stop reminding us all the time. 

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dth1971 In reply to ShanahaT [2018-08-14 02:35:04 +0000 UTC]

Okay...until the next IDW Sonic Town Hall panel takes place (October 2018 NYCC hopefully).

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WaniRamirez In reply to ??? [2018-08-12 06:24:23 +0000 UTC]

Diana Skelly's original art style, cartoony expressions and dynamic panel composition is leagues above anything Lamar Wells will ever do for a Sonic comic.
I don't hate the guy but that doesn't mean I like his art. He's proven to trace or copy other artists like Spaz (Patrick Spaziante) and has only ever done exceptable work when he's given the right story.
Meanwhile we get Diana Skelly's artwork which is not only fresh, energetic and faithful with the art style of Sonic the Hedgehog's character design aethstetic in mind but is original, versus Lamar Wells being a rip-off of Spaz. You can't deny Diana Skelly's artwork was seriously needed to freshen up the artist roster in terms of originality and style.

As for the other so-called reasons why the Archie Comics' reboot failed, I can't agree with you. Yes, I miss the original story and its characters/storylines as much as anyone else but that doesn't excuse the fact that we should hate on this new reboot universe because of that alone. Comics take a long time to develop, plan out and release and I don't see a real problem with the whole "takes two years to finish" since it's already the last half of 2018.
Just imagine how far we'd be in right now if the comics weren't cancelled, you know?
Anything else involving characters and their arcs/stories would have been resolved eventually but that didn't happen unfortunately because the comics got cancelled, plain and simple.
As for things you didn't like in the story itself, that can be excused since there's always room for improvement in that part. When I look at any new character, I usually look with a casual mindset instead of a "oh, let's see which character this guy/girl is gonna be a rip-off of" mood. It's really daunting how that must be and I for one have gone past that point, which is of course, honor the old but respect the new.

I won't change your mind about how you feel about the Archie Comics reboot Sonic universe but this is just my opinion and I had a say to it.

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dth1971 In reply to WaniRamirez [2018-08-12 17:29:48 +0000 UTC]

What is Diana Skelly doing nowadays? Art for the IDW (new home of Sonic comics) My Little Pony comics?

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WaniRamirez In reply to dth1971 [2018-08-12 18:22:43 +0000 UTC]

Not sure to be honest. She has a Twitter but she hasn't been active in a while.

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ShanahaT In reply to WaniRamirez [2018-08-12 06:50:01 +0000 UTC]

Look if you like Diana Skelly better, then that's fine. Everyone has their tastes. 

"Yes, I miss the original story and its characters/storylines as much as anyone else but that doesn't excuse the fact that we should hate on this new reboot universe because of that alone."

Didn't you read the description? I said that I was excited for the rebooted universe when it started. After a year passed it was just leaving a bad taste in my mouth.
The experienced team running the comic was making a lot of bad story decisions, There was no excuse as to why characters like Sally were being written like idiots. 
Plus Ian himself at this point had developed a bad hobbit of making stories that were just pointless filler. None of the  stuff he was doing at this point was adding to the new world at all. He could have easily written their arcs in shorter time.
Besides, comics really take at most a year of planning ahead. So I don't see how I can excuse a staff that had been working on this comic for over five years at this point for taking more then two years to finish a story that was adapting a game that had been out since 2008. 


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WaniRamirez In reply to ShanahaT [2018-08-12 07:01:07 +0000 UTC]

You make your point and it's your opinion so I'll respect it as it is.
I'll look elsewhere other than here for my research though.

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ShanahaT In reply to WaniRamirez [2018-08-12 13:09:52 +0000 UTC]

"I'll look elsewhere other than here for my research though."

 … well... that was pretty rude. 

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TiberiumMedia In reply to ??? [2018-08-12 05:41:58 +0000 UTC]

Tim, the real Archie reboot - is a my story

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dth1971 In reply to TiberiumMedia [2018-08-12 17:32:34 +0000 UTC]

What do you mean by a my story?

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TiberiumMedia In reply to dth1971 [2018-08-12 17:37:08 +0000 UTC]

I mean: my own fanfic

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dth1971 In reply to TiberiumMedia [2018-08-12 17:38:13 +0000 UTC]

I'll look for the post SGW prequel fanfic by you this fall 2018, S.S. 2013!

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TiberiumMedia In reply to dth1971 [2018-08-12 17:40:16 +0000 UTC]

My name is Ivan.

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dth1971 In reply to TiberiumMedia [2018-08-12 17:40:35 +0000 UTC]

I see, whatever anyway...

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TiberiumMedia In reply to dth1971 [2018-08-12 17:44:43 +0000 UTC]

I was put my name in tagline

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ShanahaT In reply to TiberiumMedia [2018-08-12 07:35:59 +0000 UTC]

you mean those TTC chapters? 

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TiberiumMedia In reply to ShanahaT [2018-08-12 07:38:37 +0000 UTC]

yes

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ShanahaT In reply to TiberiumMedia [2018-08-12 07:46:47 +0000 UTC]

well in that case, how are they coming along? 

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TiberiumMedia In reply to ShanahaT [2018-08-12 07:48:50 +0000 UTC]

I wanted to reboot it with prequel, which will be in Autumn

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dth1971 In reply to TiberiumMedia [2018-08-12 17:32:23 +0000 UTC]

What does TTC has to do with Archie Sonic post SGW era? What does TTC stand for?

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TiberiumMedia In reply to dth1971 [2018-08-12 17:36:59 +0000 UTC]

The Tiberium Chronicles

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WaniRamirez In reply to TiberiumMedia [2018-08-12 06:18:53 +0000 UTC]

Hidden by Commenter

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TiberiumMedia In reply to WaniRamirez [2018-08-12 06:20:35 +0000 UTC]

Everyone is having their own opinions, man. I can only agree them.

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