Interview: Ian Flynn (2025-09-03)
Ian Flynn speaks with Alexander Rojas in this email interview for Sega Retro.
by Alexander Rojas with Ian Flynn
Sega Retro · September 3, 2025
This Sega Retro interview with Ian Flynn was conducted by Alexander Rojas via email.
AR:
You've mentioned that your passion for writing goes back to your childhood. In your own words, could you describe your background in writing before Archie?
IF:
I remember helping clean out some old stuff from my parents' house years ago. Among the items I found a dinosaur poster, and there were marker scrawlings all over the back of it. I did that when I was three years old, tops. I had no idea what they meant, but I could recall that there was purpose. I was drawing a story in my own way, even back then. I banged out pages of nonsense on my dad's typewriter before I could write. I drew maps, comics and concepts for characters and worlds on sketch pads, napkins, homework, you name it. I've always loved telling stories. My first time doing it professionally was with Archie Comics. I hit the ground running.
AR:
What was your first professional writing job?
IF:
Sonic the Hedgehog for Archie Comics.
AR:
You've described getting hired by Archie before, particularly the role that your tenacity in constantly following-up with them played, and all the material you sent them. Beyond that, in regard to your skillset at the time, which of your previous writing experiences had the greatest role in landing you the job at Archie?
IF:
I had none. I got by on raw, unrefined talent and gumption.
AR:
Something I've always been curious about regarding you and Archie. It's 2004 and you've just been hired. Three years later and you're head editor. Can you describe those early years and how you rose to that position so relatively quick?
IF:
First, a few corrections: I was first contacted by the editor in late 2004 and debuted as the new lead writer in early 2006. I've never held an editorial role. Back to the crux of the question: I did a lot of clerical work on the book's continuity and material while producing test scripts. The editor was very impressed with my output and gave me the reins in short order.
AR:
You mentioned that, when you worked for Archie, you were actually working from home. And this was early work from home. What were some of the biggest challenges of not actually being in the office?
IF:
The biggest was budgeting my time. I was working two part-time jobs and maintaining a long-distance relationship. Finding the time for everything was a challenge sometimes. Any phone conferences had to be scheduled around regular working hours.
AR:
Speaking of challenges, when it comes to writing specifically for the medium of comics, what's the biggest thing that people wouldn't expect?
IF:
One that I keep tripping over is that it's a static medium. There's plenty of implied motion and progression, but comics don't move. Each action, each emotion, is a still frame in time. There's only so much you can imply is going on at once. Another is that page real estate is at a premium. You can only fit so much text and art on a page, and it has to be done in a way that reads sequentially. It's an art form all its own and difficult to master.
AR:
You being brought into Archie and replacing Penders as lead must have been quite the sea change. Could you tell us about that change from a first-hand perspective?
IF:
I was largely on the sidelines for that process. I'd assumed I'd be following the tradition that came before: the veteran writer took lead stories while the new talent did back-ups. I wasn't anticipating being pushed to center stage so swiftly. It was very flattering, but also terrifying.
AR:
You've described the process before as kind of like wiping the slate clean, so you weren't tied down with what he'd created. But in a certain sense you still had to pick up where Penders left off. Was transitioning off of his work challenging?
IF:
When I came on board there was consideration to start the book over with fresh talent. I pushed hard against that because I grew up on the stories from Mr. Bollers, Mr. Gallagher, and so many others. I wanted to contribute to and continue the narrative that had been built up to that point. Happily that's the route we took. I'd been reading the books for years, so I was already familiar with the characters and storylines. I knew where I wanted to take them, what to follow up on, etc.
AR:
On the note of Ken Penders, could you tell us a little about him? There's a lot of people out there with big opinions on the man, and outside of a few select people (shoutouts Bobby Schroeder), it's hard to find a moderate stance on him. I feel like you might be good at providing one. What's Penders like?
IF:
We are not on speaking terms and I do not care to revisit the many reasons why. I have done my best to keep him out of my life and move forward.
AR:
Moving onto IDW, it appears there were about 9-10 months between Archie's Sonic ending and IDW's Sonic beginning. Did Sega reach out to you and tell you like "keep your schedule open, we're working something out with a new publisher?" How much were you involved in the Archie to IDW transition?
IF:
I had no idea what was going on. I'm a freelance contractor; nobody has an obligation to tell me diddly. For their part, Archie Comics did their best to find me work on their other Action-Adventure titles as well as some mainline Archie titles. When IDW gained the license, the editorial team reached out to me to see if I'd be interested in taking another crack at things.
AR:
You used the word "approachable" to describe how you write characters. I think you've done an excellent job at accomplishing that goal. IDW's characters feel so fleshed out, and your writing more than anything helps get that done. Especially when it comes to stuff like pacing out what the audience sees and when, I think you've also done well there. What's your key to writing genuinely relatable characters?
IF:
Thank you kindly. I'm sure there's a number of ways to approach it, but my process it to think of it like method acting. I try to get into the heads of the characters and consider how they would react to the situation. If they're performing in ways that are true to who they are as individuals, that'll resonate with the audience. Another aspect is that we all have fundamental wants and desires. Even if there's a villainous angle to it we can recognize and empathize with those motivations.
AR:
I'm curious. You ever get people writing into you about how much the series has changed their life?
IF:
Far more than I'd ever have expected. I've had parents come to me during conventions to tell me their child was well behind on their reading level, but something of mine clicked with them, and they caught up and excelled. Characters I've had a hand in resonate with all sorts of folks and help them deal with their own issues in ways I couldn't conceive of. It's humbling and vindicating. If I can bring a few folks peace and happiness, then I've done something right with my time on Earth.
AR:
Obligatory Tiara question. So as the current maintainer of the Tiara Boobowski page, I'm curious. You previously mentioned that we wouldn't be seeing any Tiara cameos. I imagine this was because Tiara was created by Chris Senn and there's a rights issue there… is that accurate?
IF:
I can't comment on that aside to say Chris Senn is a delightful, generous person and I wish him all the best.
AR:
I do have two brief questions posed by members of the forums. The first is regarding Shiro Maekawa, from a user named Gestalt. Could you tell us a bit about Maekawa in your own words?
IF:
I enjoy his work. I've never had the pleasure of meeting or working with him.
AR:
The second question is regarding your approach to tackling challenging subjects in your comics, this one from another user named BigTigerM. We kind of touched on this earlier, but how do you approach a concept like… the appropriateness of handling mature subjects in a comic intended primarily for an audience of children? Do you have an internal process for both determining what's okay and what isn't?
IF:
Kids are not stupid, nor should they be coddled. Children's media and all-ages media are the perfect place to gently broach mature subject matter in a way they can process. They are growing and learning, and one avenue is the media they consume. For my part, I'm not a fan of the "Very Special Episode" format that tries to cram a sugar-coated life-lesson down your throat. But if the characters and their situations organically leads into some dark territory, then go there. Along the way make it clear in the narrative and interactions why these bad things are happening and how they could've been avoided or how they can be resolved. In short: treat your audience with respect, regardless of their age.
AR:
When you DO have to convey challenging subject matter, how do you personally go about communicating that subject matter? Considering your audience with IDW, for example, what's important to keep in mind when writing about these topics?
IF:
Not to retread the thoughts above, when touching on the elements in licensed material the question is: "does this belong here?" If it can fit within the themes and tone of the property, even if it's toeing the line a little, then see where it can take you. Part of it comes down to the licensor too; they have the final say in what they feel is an appropriate use and representation of their brand.
AR:
I did want to quickly ask about your work with games. How did you first transition from writing for comics to also writing for the games?
IF:
I'm a freelance writer, so I go where the work is; there is no "transition." I was offered the opportunity, and you better believe I jumped on it.
AR:
Whats the biggest difference between writing for comics vs. writing for games?
IF:
With comics you know what your scope is from the get-go. The page count may vary, but page construction and pacing are about the same. With games that scope can vary wildly. I've worked on games that had limited "talking heads" for storytelling purposes, ones with full cinematic cutscenes, and some that are a mix of forms. How you can tell the story, and how much time you get to tell it, are the first consideration.
IF:
Another is that games are an active, interactive medium. Most comic readers will go page-by-page with the progression determined by page layout and panel pacing. With games you have to consider how the story is interwoven with the game play, if at all, and how one informs the other. It's a much more complex arrangement.
IF:
Third, the scale of the productions are monumentally different. You'll have around a half a dozen people involved in the comic creation process, but dozens involved with the games. Comics have an editor or two helping direct things while games can have multiple directors and producers. There's a lot of input and finding the final execution in that can be tricky.
AR:
From all your experience, what separates good writing from bad writing?
IF:
I'd liken it to cooking: there's a million ways to get it wrong, but there's no singular way to get it "right." If your writing reaches someone on an emotional level, it's "good writing." If the reader starts thinking of the characters like they would a person and not some imaginary concept, that's "good writing." If you come away from a story with a lingering desire to see what happened next or wonder what became of the cast, that's "good writing."
IF:
Something else to keep in mind, and if we return to the cooking analogy, some folks enjoy their steak medium-rare with a nice wine pairing. Some folks like it cooked beyond the shadow of a "moo" and coated in ketchup. There is an audience for everything, so tell the stories you want to tell them. Someone out there is bound to enjoy them.
AR:
Considering all that you've accomplished so far, what are you the most proud of?
IF:
The personal impacts are by far the most remarkable and cherished thing. In terms of work, IDW's Michaelangelo Macro-Series is maybe my favorite licensed book I've written. It picked up a lot of lingering story threads and took Mikey (my favorite) in a deeply painful, personal direction where he triumphed. And then other writers took that cue as they continued the story from there, which is immensely gratifying. For animation, Sonic Frontiers: Divergence gets me misty-eyed every time. Knuckles (my favorite) got to shine and I got to contribute.
AR:
Do you have any advice for all the up-and-coming and aspiring writers out there?
IF:
I'm going to pull a Polonius here, so buckle up:
IF:
1. Be good to yourselves. You are the vehicle for your creations, and you cannot create if you're not healthy. Eat right, sleep well, get that thirty minutes of cardio in daily. It's incredibly hard some days/weeks/months/years – I know. I get it. And the looming bills have you hunting each paycheck with fervor. But you have to rest, you have to recharge. We need you, you need you, so keep that in mind.
IF:
2. Be good to each other. If you get a lead on a gig that a personal or professional friend could use, hype them up. I've given up work for others I know are more qualified for and it's not only helped them but led to a better product. Don't try to cut each other off just to get by – nobody wins in the crab bucket.
IF:
3. Along that line, be ambitious with each other. I've had the good fortune to work in licensed material my entire career, but twenty years in, there's very little I can claim as "mine." Lots of original content I came up with are forever in the hands of someone else. Chase your dream projects for sure, but forge ahead with your own material in the meanwhile. Bring something fresh and new into the world. Don't get hung up on whether it'll be consumable on the global market and net you all the royalties. Just tell your stories to tell them.
IF:
4. Write badly. Produce absolute trash copy. Produce that first draft that you feel bad dirtying your trash bin with. You cannot move forward if you're worried about getting it right the first time. A bad draft can be revised, a wonky concept can be workshopped, but the idea rattling around in your brain is only going to rattle. Be bad so you can git gud.
IF:
5. "Kill your darlings." I hate this expression, I hate this concept, but it's valid. There will be scenes you've been working towards the entire project and when you reach them they don't work. There will be characters you love that have no role in your story. They're cool and you adore them, but they aren't working right now. Cut them out and find what works. It sucks, but your story will be better for it.
IF:
6. Persevere. I went nearly four years without the dignity of a rejection letter before I got my first gig. I've seen projects I desperately wanted go to other creators. I've had very scary stretches of months where nobody has work. Writing, and creative work in general, is not a steady occupation. The imposter syndrome will set in when the first dry spell hits after a big project. But keep at it, because you love what you do. Maybe have a back-up plan or two, but don't ever give up. Write, even if it's for yourself.
Transcript sourced from https://segaretro.org/Interview:_Ian_Flynn_(2025-09-03)_by_Alexander_Rojas and migrated into devquoted with linked people, tags, source metadata, and media where available.