Ian Inquiries - Additional Extension!

[Ian Flynn]

Ian, I'm a little unclear as to the fate of Nack's gang...Could you spell it out for me?

Nack poisoned the food of his former gang members. They are effectively killed off-panel. He did this to ensure they would not track him down for revenge.

[Dirk Amoeba]

Nack poisoned the food of his former gang members. They are effectively killed off-panel. He did this to ensure they would not track him down for revenge.

Thank you. I doin't think it was entirely clear from the story.

Quite grim, really. Nack isn't a nice guy. I hope any other inmates in the Knothole prison are all right.

[EthanEmerald]

Whoa. Thanks for clarifying. I had no idea.

[Ian Flynn]

It was meant to be ambiguous enough that it wouldn't make the initial read-through of the arc feel so "bloody." However, if you read through Nack's scene again, I think it's pretty obvious what's going on.

Or perhaps I'm too fiendishly minded.

[Sonic922]

I have a few questions:

1: What is your estimation to how long(issue wise) the comic will run, and will you still be working for it?

2:If Bunnie was ever fully roboticized, would her already robotic limbs look different from the rest of her.

3:You said a while back that you would look into the voices you use for the characters next time you write, did you ever find out?

4: Did you write Sleth Dogg's expression on the last page of TDS part 2? it kinda creeped me out
Thanks!

[NackTheWeasel]

So they were poisoned... And they are dead.... And Nack did kill them... O_O... ... Wow. I could see Nack killing them if they tried to kill him first, and I could see nack killing someone if he got paid enough money... or out of revenge... but "just in case"? And his former teammates? Yowza. Suddenly he doesen't seem to be so much of a comedic character... say... how long did it take for them to die after they ate the poisoned food? What poison did Nack use? Did the weasels have any family? Was Nack at all sorry for what he did?

[Sonic922]

So they were poisoned... And they are dead.... And Nack did kill them... O_O... ... Wow. I could see Nack killing them if they tried to kill him first, and I could see nack killing someone if he got paid enough money... or out of revenge... but "just in case"? And his former teammates? Yowza. Suddenly he doesen't seem to be so much of a comedic character... say... how long did it take for them to die after they ate the poisoned food? What poison did Nack use? Did the weasels have any family? Was Nack at all sorry for what he did?

Yeah, wow. Now I'm starting to think. How did they die? Was it slowly? Did they just collapse?Did they know they were dying? Did they know Nack poisoned them?

[General Tekno]

I was watching the SaTAM episode with Ixis Naugus the other day, when it hit me - why does Eggman view Naugus as his "most hated nemesis"?

In the comic continuity, Naugus leaves into the Zone of Silence before the start of the Great War, leaving Kodos to pick up the pieces. Robotnik later sends Kodos into the Zone himself, and is defeated before Naugus' release. Naugus is then defeated BEFORE RoboRobotnik returns as Eggman - thus in the comics there is no apparent knowledge of either character save for Robotnik-Prime's mention of "Ixis it's creator" regarding the Zone back before issue 50.

Is this a continuity hole based on using SaTAM before the comic continuity? Or is there something I'm missing, such as an untold story?

[Ian Flynn]

1: What is your estimation to how long(issue wise) the comic will run, and will you still be working for it?

Neither are a sure bet, even when material has been created and paid for. If we assume everything I've written will be published as planned, I'll be on the book until at least 2008. Sonic itself has survived through incredible odds. I don't think it will ever end at the rate it's going.

2:If Bunnie was ever fully roboticized, would her already robotic limbs look different from the rest of her.

It depends. If you mean she was roboticized fully from the get-go, then yes, she'd be uniformly robotic. If you mean now, no, she would not look the same due to her upgrade. It should also be noted that it would have to be a spot-specific process. The Sally mini-series showed us what happens to roboticized robotics.

3:You said a while back that you would look into the voices you use for the characters next time you write, did you ever find out?

To reiterate what I said last time:

I think the voices I hear are a mixture of all the other media. I hear my own voice alot since I do character voices from time to time. My voice is then flavored with these mixtures of the other voices (past and current) which eventually - and hopefully - makes for some nice dialogue. I'll have to pay more attention to myself as I write next time to be really sure. I'm curious to see for myself!

Looking back on the last script, I can't say much has changed. There is definitely some of my own voice in each character - like I was putting on a puppet show. The characters voices remain a mix of the various incarnations. So there ya have it - it's a voice of everyone all at once.

4: Did you write Sleth Dogg's expression on the last page of TDS part 2? it kinda creeped me out

Nope, the props go to Fry on that one. GO FRY!

how long did it take for them to die after they ate the poisoned food? What poison did Nack use? Did the weasels have any family? Was Nack at all sorry for what he did?

1) It would've been nearly instant. No chance for them to be medicated or even realize they were in trouble. Boom - quick and efficient.

2) Claudius' Denmark Brew. (I have no idea)

3) Everybody's got to come from somebody.

4) Maybe in that he lost some man-power, but he's better off alone anyway.

I was watching the SaTAM episode with Ixis Naugus the other day, when it hit me - why does Eggman view Naugus as his "most hated nemesis"? ... Is this a continuity hole based on using SaTAM before the comic continuity? Or is there something I'm missing, such as an untold story?

I believe the line was just "hated nemesis," but I do believe you got me on that one. I seem to have muddled my SatAM and ArchieSonic continuity. Shame on me! If I can, I'll go back and fix that one day.

[General Tekno]

Wow! A chink in the armor!

I can't wait until we see a sidestory which explains them knowing each other away...

[Tracy Yardley!]

Oh, come on. There's an easy way to explain the "hated nemesis" line. Just say the Robo-Robotnik had a fierce rivalry with Ixis Naugus back in the dimension that Robo-Robotnik came from, and he views this dimension's Ixis Naugus as one and the same. Piece of cake.

Tracy!

[Ian Flynn]

That could work - to a degree. I'm treating Eggman's past self as pretty much analogous to the Prime Robotnik. This could work fine, the main split coming at about "EndGame," and it makes referencing past events less messy.

It also leads us right back to the original "problem." And to go with Tracy's suggestion (which would certainly work), it still dredges up the fact this isn't Prime Robotnik - which is a plot point I'd like to steer clear of.

In the end, it's a loose end that might get my attention later. But Eggman hates/fears Naugus, this has been made clear, and it's all we really need for right now.

[General Tekno]

Now hold on there, Ian - Tracey has a decent idea.

Although I'm a bit confused on the timeline in Eggman's original universe -although the Robo-Robotniks in 19 and 22 seemed moreso to be different characters, 75 made them the same, which takes reconciliation as it causes problems. The biggest problem is that when Robotnik Prime shows up in Robo-Robotnik's universe in 22, it is a possible future - which means that the ULTIMATE ANNIHILATOR ALREADY HAPPENED. And that Robo-Robotnik somehow went back in time to the Prime Universe or something, or time flows faster in his universe - who knows?

Here's what I can figure the best from the timeline - let me know what you think:

- Robotnik turns the FFs into cyborgs in his timeline
- FFs fight back, forcing him to roboticize himself
- Builds Giant Borg, gets beat by 1000 Sonics
- Uploads self to sattelite
- Time passes. Cyborg implants are reversed, SONIC AND SALLY HAVE CHILDREN, King Acorn stays in Z. of Silence (evidently)
- ULTIMATE ANNIHILATOR takes place in Prime Universe - the problem here is that when Robotnik shows up in Robo's universe he's already been defeated. It must take place at some point here because Sonic and Sally have kids a few years old in Robo's universe - timeline confusion galore. However, we could theorise that the UA's tampering with zones is what allows Robotnik to survive and get pushed into Robo's universe, and then get sent back to where he came from.
- Robotnik Prime enters the scene - Robo-Robotnik sends him home, scans his brain
- Robo-Robotnik ressurects himself, retakes Robotropolis in his universe - FFs are beaten in one fell swoop (he comes out of nowhere, really)
- Robo-Robotnik conquers Mobius - he'd detected the Ultimate Annihilator wave years back and knows there is no Robotnik there - so he travels to that universe and 'rectifies' things.

As I said, 75 created more problems than it solved by making the Robotniks in 19 and 22 the same beings - I'd like to see your take on the timeline taking those two issues into account.

[sonicxfactor]

Ian, you said you’re on the comic till 2008. Say it isn’t so.

Anyway question time.

1: loved #163. Fry’s art wasn’t to bad, though I noticed some similarities to Jon Greys style, particularly in the one page battle scene and how he drew Vector. Did Fry borrow some of his style?

2: do you plan to use The Babylon Rouges in the future other then using them just for Sonic Riders stuff?

3: M is dead, good. Or do you plan to bring her back to get revenge on her daddy?

4: how long will Anonymous be around in the comic for?

5: will the Xorda return or will they be mentioned when the Black Arms show up?

6: I noticed near the end of TDS part 2 when Fiona ask Sonic if he’s ok we see Sally in the corner looking at them with a glum look. Do I see a hint of jealousy in her eyes? If so are we likely to see a Sally Sonic or Sally Fiona confrontation in the next few issues?

7: I heard you draw a bit; will you be pencilling any of your stories in the future?

8: was it your idea to give Ray a jacket in #163?

9: now that Sonic Team is no more and Yuji Naki has now set up his own company called PROPE what are your thoughts on the subject?

10: will you be seeing the new Superman movie?

[NackTheWeasel]

So, I have some more questions about the whole Nack poisons his old teammates thing. Sorry, I've just been thinking about it too much...

1. How are the other prisoners? Did they die too?

2. Where did Nack get the poison? He couldn’t have had it on him, he would have been checked, and he said "on his way out" so he couldn't have gone out to get it. And who just leaves super-strong poisons just lying around?

3. I need to rephrase my old question. Did the weasels have any family that cared about them dying?

4. Will this be referred to later, like saying "Oh yeah, and some prisoners were found dead in Knothole City Prison?", or would that be to, err... graphic?

5. Will the FFs find out, or will they even care? If so, will they tie it to Nack?

Sorry, but when it comes to Nack, I always have a lot of questions...