Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-27441478-20170412045049/@comment-1669199-20170415003559

NotLessOrEqual wrote: Genesjs wrote: It's already been four years since the reboot happened? Where does the time go? To me it just seemed like only last year that the whole thing happened, and the comic ended up being almost completely reworked from the ground up. What a God-forsaken mess that whole legal battle was... Not really happy with how the comics are being supposedly handled, which is why I'm no longer reading them. In fact, if some of you are curious as to the exact details over why I'm no longer supporting the comics, allow me to write you an essay explaining my thoughts in detail over the things I have heard about the current state of the comics themselves. Of course, if you aren't really all that interested in some light reading for whatever reason, just scroll down to the bolded paragraph down at the very bottom of my comment to get the abridged version of what I'm going to say. Otherwise, enjoy:

Initially I continued to support the comics even though I was furious to see the entire continuity I first got acquainted with back in High School replaced with something that seemed like it was just trying to put a spin on stories based around the games, rather than try to set itself apart from the rest of the franchise like how the comics were initially portrayed. I didn't continue to buy and read the Archie comics just to have a companion series to the games, but even so I was hopeful for a while that eventually the new continuity could get the ball rolling on some interesting concepts and slowly build its characters up in interesting ways, so that even if I never saw the old universe return then there'd at least be the silver lining that the new universe is, like it's predecessor, trying in every way possible to set itself apart from any other comic/TV Show/game/etc. I felt it was the best I could hope for. But eventually I learned of the new limitations being placed on the comics by SEGA after the whole legal debacle happened between Ken Penders, Archie and themselves, and to say that I was appalled by them would be a pretty accurate way to describe my initial reaction -- now I'm just simply disgusted with them and how the comics are being handled these days in general.

As to what all these limitations are, allow me to show you what they are. My source will be from the [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Trivia/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog TV Tropes Trivia page for the comic series, under "Executive Meddling. I'll only be citing the relevant bullet points in this comment. So here we go:

"The series has a lot of issues of Archie suffering this under Sega. To date, here is a known list of all the official mandates Sega has imposed on the comics, along with other baggage they've brought into the comics;

1) Due to the lawsuit with Ken Penders, his characters, locations or events cannot be used, mentioned or named beyond vague references. Elements from the game Sonic Chronicles are off-limits because of this legal mess, since the game took many elements from Ken Penders stories and was part of what provoked his lawsuit against Archie and Sega in the first place.

2) Certain characters, including certain ones from the games, are off limits for use, such as Eggman Nega (who is not only barred from unobstructed appearances, but can't even be fully named on-panel) Mephiles the Dark and Black Doom (although the latter is still allowed to cameo in flashbacks and the Black Arms race is free for use). It also took years for characters like Cream the Rabbit and her mother to be allowed to appear in the comic, same with Emerl and Omega. Certain characters like Blaze the Cat and Marine the Raccoon had so many restrictions with what could or couldn't be done with them that the most they could do was just make cameo appearances.

3) Game characters can not have parents or relatives. This also caused the Continuity Reboot to change things up, such as the fact that Uncle Chuck isn't blood related to Sonic anymore, and that the title is honorary.

4) Sonic cannot get overly emotional (which is often paraphrased or misinterpreted as "Sonic can't cry.").

5) The name "Mobius" cannot be spoken or mentioned as the name of the planet, and it is not allowed to be called "Earth" either—Sega says it is now just "Sonic's World".

6) None of the game characters can have a steady relationship, and Amy cannot like anyone but Sonic. Sonic and Amy cannot date at all as they would lose their dynamic.

7) None of the game characters can have character development unless approved. SEGA Characters cannot be changed in any way unless approved.

8) No SEGA character can die.

9) Sonic always has to win. Even if Eggman does get the upper hand for a short period, Sonic has to immediately overcome him in a subsequent comic.

10) None of the cast are allowed to change their wardrobe or wear any different wardrobe at all, no matter what the story context would demand.

Quite the list, wouldn't you say? Not only do virtually all of these limitations limit the kinds of stories that can be told, and how emotional Sonic can get, they limit the ability of the characters to naturally develop in any way (enacting a prominent status quo that wasn't present in the old continuity) unless some suits in a corporate office decide that it is okay for the characters to do so during any specific instance, but some of these restrictions make the heroes (mainly Sonic) virtually invincible. There's no real danger of the SEGA characters losing their lives anymore, which makes it harder to feel more tension when these characters are in any life-threatening danger because it'd be a known fact that they simply can't die no matter what is thrown at them, and even if they did allow such losses to occur then they can't happen to Sonic at all -- Sonic will always have to win no matter what, even if by all accounts he'd have all the cards stacked against him. To me this means that there's going to be the very real possibility that they'll have to come up with extremely contrived ways for him to overcome his foes if the staff end up putting him and the other heroes in really dire situations, even if those solutions were to risk completely destroying the average readers' willing suspension of disbelief. There's ultimately no real risk of any kind to Sonic at all, and the threat of actual death is an impossibility since he's a SEGA character -- he might as well be straight-up unbeatable. The characters can't even do something as trivial as change their wardrobes for any reason for crying out loud. That alone pretty much kills the possibility of any stories where the characters need a disguise that's more convincing than a hood or cardboard box for any reason, because it's not like these characters who are constantly facing danger would ever need to hide their appearance for any reason, right? I bet they wouldn't even be able to dress up for Halloween.

Why would anyone willingly continue to support the comics with these kinds of restrictions in place if they cared one bit for good and creative story-telling, character-driven or not (unless they are simply ignorant of the restrictions themselves and how they'll impact the comic), especially when comparing the level of creative freedom the comics' staff had before the reboot took place is simply beyond my comprehension. I'm aware that creativity even with these kinds of restrictions in place isn't impossible, but you can't deny that they put a severe handicap on what the creative staff for the comics can do with the story and the characters. Maybe I'm just spoiled with what I had before in the previous universe in the comics, but even with the old universe's occasional blunders in story-telling and other slumps in overall quality, at least with the old universe the creative staff of the comics had much more creative freedom to work with in general, and for better or worse they took advantage of this over the comics' long lifespan. Some ideas fell flat on their face, but at least there was plenty of diverse story-telling to be had in the many story arcs to be had, and there was a lot of lore and world-building that gave many facets that helped make the original universe feel complex and alive. Simply put, I'd much rather have the old universe back, with the risks of blunders in story-telling and everything else present, rather than have the universe that the limitations I cited up above would help to create, because I'd rather see the comics be willing to take risks with itself and explore a wide-range of ideas like it did in the past rather than see the comics go down the direction these restrictions threaten to take it. I'd prefer to see the comics ultimately fail for trying to see them set themselves apart and stay unique instead of seeing them barely survive in the long-term and become dull and uninteresting out of some desire of some corporate executives to play it safe.

At any rate, it's me finding out about this nonsense several months back is why I've ultimately chosen to boycott the comics. I can't imagine how restrained the staff for the comics must feel on a creative level. I don't think I could stand it. Besides, the way I see it, as a consumer I'm being given an ultimately inferior product to what I was being offered before, so I'd much rather give my money to works that I feel are more deserving of my support anyway. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised at all if the recent financial troubles with the comic are being created largely in part by jaded fans of the Archie comics who probably feel exactly the same way about the current state of affairs as I do, if knowledge of these restrictions is common place among the fandom. I could be wrong, but right now I have no reason to believe that the reboot and the mess that caused it to happen hasn't had any sort of notable impact on sales for the comics as a whole, especially if word of these restrictions has spread like wildfire among the most dedicated groups of fans.

'''The Abridged Version: I initially continued to support the comics for a while even after the reboot happened, even though I was furious to see the old continuity go, because I hoped that the new universe would ultimately follow in the footsteps of the old and build itself and it's characters up into something special in a way that the old continuity did, so that way, at least in my eyes, it would give a degree of silver-lining to an otherwise bad outcome for me and other fans of the old continuity. But because of my learning of the kinds of limitations that are being supposedly placed on the comics after the new continuity was established, which were made as a result of the legal battle between Ken Penders and Archie Comics/SEGA, I've chosen to boycott the Archie Comics out of principle, because I am simply unable to justify any desire of mine to continue supporting the comics while knowing what I know about how the comics are being treated behind the scenes. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the current financial troubles the comic is currently having is being caused in large part by the whole reboot and the legal drama that caused it to happen, and that there's a lot of fans who feel quite jaded about everything like I do and, like me, are choosing to withdraw their support of the comics in their current state. I have to be right on this on some level, because I can't believe that the reboot and the legal drama behind it isn't having a notable impact on the overall sales of the comics. I wish everything about the comics were being handled differently, as I'm not happy in the slightest over everything that's happened and is continuing to happen even now, but I think that at this point the comics need to be laid to rest to they can maintain at least some dignity rather than die the slow and painful death they currently seem to be experiencing. At least that way there's the possibility of the series ending on somewhat of a good note.''' Ah, good call, I forgot to mention the "Cant be killed part" in the mandate list.

I relate with the 'cant be killed off' rule, One must note that in the Pre-SGW Universe everyone was dropping dead left and right like flies, at least compared to what happens in the Sega universe where no one even died, and Sonic was brought back to life in 06.

Hell, even in one of Pender's old Knuckles stories he even had all the Echidnas executed by hanging in Mercia, with Yanar being next in line until he was saved before the executioner pulled the lever on his sorry ass, with noose and all already around his neck.

That isnt something you are going to see in a Sega game anytime soon, but they still let it flow in the comics, damn. Things went dark pretty quickly back in the day. And the darker tone of the comics in general is one of the things I liked about them, since they were a good contrast to the generally lighter tone applied to the games and other Sonic media, but they (usually) never went too far with being dark and edgy with their stories to the point to where it'd be just plain silly when you remember that the comics are supposed to belong to a children's franchise. I think many children are capable of handling darker stories in their media than many children give them credit for, and like teenagers and adults they can have a wide variety of tastes in the stuff they're drawn towards, and I always felt that the Archie comics were an example of a darker children's story/series done right. For example, I see nothing wrong with a child being introduced to the concept of death in a TV show or comic, and I think the comics handled even this without going overboard about it. But alas, with these new legal mandates in place, I don't see how the comic is going to be able to maintain the darker tone it once had, let alone produce the same level of quality storytelling the comics once had when they were printing their best story arcs, or even show willingness to take risks with itself. Yet this limited, play-it-safe approach is what the suits at SEGA want to go with, I guess.