Ken Penders moves forward with his SONIC characters...

Ken Penders continues to claim ownership of stories and characters that he wrote and penciled during his time on SONIC THE HEDGEHOG. Penders states that he never signed a work-made-for-hire contact with Archie Comics. (See "Who owns Sonic?" and "Ken Penders versus Archie Comics..." for more details.)

And NOW, Ken Penders is planning to produce new stories and graphic novels featuring the characters that he created while working on the SONIC franchise.

From Ken Penders at the Ken Penders Forums:

Ever since I registered my copyrights for all my stories, characters and concepts that had played a part in one of the most popular comic series ever published in the modern age, I've been planning how to answer numerous reader requests regarding how I eventually intended to continue those stories, resolving many if not all of the plot points that were left dangling due to unforeseen circumstances.

While my current legal situation with three well-known companies is still an ongoing matter, I've decided now is the time to finally launch the continuing saga of the Brotherhood of the Guardians and Dark Legion in graphic novel format, starting with the first image of one of the story's major characters, whom I first introduced to the world in the REUNIFICATION storyline several years ago.

And…

I own the copyrights to my work, I'm defending them, and I'm going forward with projects utilizing the intellectual property that is legally mine. If I didn't own the copyrights, I wouldn't have standing in a court of law to prosecute those rights. The Federal Government recognizes the documents I have, therefore I have standing. ACP is not suing me for the copyrights because they have no standing in that regard, which is where a lot of people get confused over this matter.

Let me make this explicitly clear: ACP does not, has never and will never own anything published within the covers and pages of any SONIC or SONIC-related comic except for the actual books themselves. They have no claim to any of the characters, concepts and stories that the fans enjoy. There is no © Archie Comics anywhere on any of those books for precisely that reason.