Ken Penders (born 28 September 1958; age 66) is a comic book pencil artist. He is best known for his work on the Archie Comics title, Sonic the Hedgehog over the course of fifteen years. A lifelong Star Trek fan, Penders ended up working on DC Comics' Next Generation line at the request of Robert Greenberger. [1] He was originally intended to be the primary artist on the Next Generation line, but deadline pressures and art approval requirements forced Greenberger and DC to work with an artist based in New York City. His first issues for the company were the "Who's Who in Star Trek" releases. He penciled 12 of the 96 pages in the first issue, and was one of the few artists thanked in the second. When Malibu Comics picked up the license, Penders worked on a few comics in their Deep Space Nine line.
He worked on a story with Mark Lenard titled "The Lessons of Life" that was conceived in early 1993. The idea was presented to Greenberger with the idea of tying it in to the Pocket Books hardcover release of Sarek. The intent was to release the comic story as a prestige format edition and Greenberger would edit it himself. When Greenberger was replaced by Alan Gold on the Star Trek line, the project was essentially killed, forcing Penders and Lenard to shelve the project. By the time Marvel Comics took over the license, Lenard had died of pneumonia while being treated for cancer, so Penders submitted the story and idea to Tim Tuohy for consideration, but Marvel canceled the line before any progress could be made.[2] [3]
After the failure of his first original series, The Lost Ones, he is currently working on The Lara-Su Chronicles, a series based off of characters and concepts initially designed for the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series before he was let go and his subsequent lawsuit.
Ken currently resides with his family in San Fernando Valley, California.
Star Trek credits[]
- DC TNG volume 2:
- "Special #1" – "A True Son of Kahless" (co-writer, pencil art, and uncredited inking)
- "Who's Who in Star Trek"
- #17: "The Weapon"
- #33: "The Way of the Warrior"
- #34: "Devil's Brew!"
- #35: "The Dogs of War"
- Malibu DS9:
- "Blood & Honor" (pencil art and inking)
- #19: "Mission of Mercy"
- #20: "Last Remains"