What stories and comics would you say emphasize what you like about Sentry if you don't mind me asking Enzeru? I'll be frank and say that I've long had a fairly negative opinion of him as a character (don't feel like getting into why), but I try to be open-minded and am willing to see if my initial impression is wrong.
Hi NemeBro. I'll answer your question in full detail tomorrow. Short on time right now. If you want, you can tell me what you've already read about the Sentry / where you know him from - that would make it easier for me to steer you into the right direction.
I'll compare your situation with the Sentry to my situation with Star Wars.
I saw the Star Wars prequels first and didn't like them all too much. I found them to be boring with all the sitting around and talking - something the prequels are infamous for. Once I got to the original trilogy, I was just not invested in the Star Wars franchise enough.
I compare the Bendis era Sentry to the Star Wars prequels and the Jenkins era Sentry to the original trilogy. These two Sentrys are completely different characters. And while I can appreciate certain Sentry stuff from Bendis, in total it was simply a totally different character. The Bendis era Sentry was not a character. He was a weapon. And I don't think that Sentrys overwhelming power is the actual appeal of the Sentry. To me the actual appeal of the Sentry is that the Sentry is a human with tons of flaws and problems. And that human - that ordinary, regular guy named Bob (only John is more generic than that) wields that overwhelming power. To me Sentry is one of the most human characters out there.
I'll post the entire Sentry comics reading list, but if you want to know about the Sentry I learned to love, then you should should read the following books and then skip a bunch of stuff and start with Jeff Lemires new Sentry on-going, which is coming out at the end of this month (June 2018). I'll also post what you should be looking for, when you read those particular comics:
Sentry - Volume 1 (including the tie-ins)
Written by Paul Jenkins and drawn by Jae Lee (for the most part). I read that comic at least 50 times and every single time I found something new. Paul Jenkins ability to combine great, meaningful dialogue with story is just over the top. It's a story about a man, who believes to be something more than he seems to be. It's about not being ignored by others. About being acknowledged by them instead.
The Age of the Sentry
You probably know that the Sentry erased everyones memories of himself in order to stop his dark side. He also implemented his memories into the mind of a comic book writer, who then wrote comics about the Sentry.
View 'The Age of the Sentry' as these memories. View that book as semi-canon, showing you Sentrys old adventures. It's some of the stuff you see in the first Sentry volume, but just expanded on.
It's written by Jeff Parker and has a very, very silver-agey feel and style to it. The first volume is a tragic story. 'The Age of the Sentry' is crazy and refreshing. It's a fun adventure, with some mysterious twists.
New Avengers #1 - #3, #7 - #10
This is written by Brian Michael Bendis. Eh... I would almost say that you can skip it, but if you want to see how the Sentry was introduced into the Marvel 616 universe, then you should read it. But as I said, you won't really miss out on all too much.
But as you can see, there is almost nothing I can really write about it. There is no catchy argument to be made for it. And that's what I dislike about Brian Michael Bendis. There are no selling points to his comics.
Sentry - Volume 2
Written by Paul Jenkins and drawn by John Romita Jr (where he still somewhat cared). This comic I read even more often than the first volume. Again, there was a ton of hidden stuff in there, which took me a long time to figure out. I will admit that at times the book feels slightly too complicated, but in total it's a cool, dark adventure about a mentally ill superhero. It shows you the insane and overwhelming amount of responsibility the Sentry has. And all of that while trying to keep his own inner demons at bay.
Silent War #2, #5
Written by David Hine, I think. You can just skip through the book until you get to the Sentry scenes. The writer manages to portray the Sentry in two issues of an event filled with characters much better than Bendis was able to do it in years and years of writing him. No idea how that's even possible. But you're really shown the internal struggle of the Sentry. It shows you that the guy is actually a genius, who understands how the world functions. It shows you that he actively goes against what Iron Man, the team leader wants and does - and you know that the Sentry is going the right thing.
Uncanny Avengers #10, #11, #15, #21, #22
Written by Rick Remender. It's a very twisted version of the Sentry. It's pretty much a different character personality wise, but with the same background. You can read it, if you want to see Sentry unleashed. He is still holding back in his fights, but power wise he is just absolutely, ridiculously insane.
Doctor Strange #382 - #385
Written by Donny Cates. This is the return of the Sentry. He doesn't appear all too much, since it's a Doctor Strange book, but every time he does appear, he is written properly. Sentry has a very laid back and chill personality, but he is often also serious. Donny Cates manages to capture that very well. And you also get to see the Void again, who is always on a whole another of level of making his opponents feel helpless and in trouble.
Sentry - Volume 3
The first issue is coming out on the 27th of June. It is written by Jeff Lemire and drawn by Kim Jacinto. I'm telling you, you should reaaally give the book a go. I'm blindly saying that, because I've read a lot of stuff by Jeff Lemire and that gentlemans ability to write human stories and characters is over the top. And the Sentry is a very human and relatable character, if written correctly. Jeff Lemire is a great choice to write the Sentry and there is no doubt in my mind that he will do a great job.
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And here is the full Sentry reading order. A lot of the stuff on the list is from Brian Michael Bendis. And as I said, when people only know the Sentry from Bendis comics... I'm not even surprised by them not liking the Sentry as a character. Bendis is just not good when it comes to writing team books and mentally ill characters.
01. The Sentry - Volume 1
02. The Age Of The Sentry
03. New Avengers #1 - #3, #7 - #10
04. The Sentry - Volume 2
05. Civil War - The Return
06. New Avengers #24
07. Mighty Avengers #1 - #14
08. Silent War #2, #5
09. World War Hulk
10. Dark Avengers
11. Siege
12. Sentry - Fallen Sun
13. What If? Osborn Won Siege
14. Uncanny Avengers #10, #11, #15, #21, #22
15. Doctor Strange #382 - #385
16. Sentry - Volume 3 (starting this June)
Sorry about not responding, I was away on vacation. And I've honestly only really read WWH for Sentry (I'm a comics noob), which didn't give me any particular impression one way or the other. My inexperienced yet negative impression is largely based on what little I've read online, which is why I wanted to ask a fan about what stories epitomize what they like about the character.
Thanks for the suggestions and commentary, I'll definitely read some.
Writer: Jeff Lemire Artist: Kim Jacinto & Joshua Cassara Cover Artist: Kim Jacinto
Well, that's... kinda an interesting cover. That's what you wanna see: Your favorite superhero getting smacked in the face by his sidekick on the cover of the book, LUL! I like it though.
But it looks like Bryan Hitch is out as the cover artist. The fourth issue will have an alternate 'Sentry VS Cosmic Ghost Rider' cover by Vanessa Del Rey.
Comixology currently has a Sentry sales going on. You can get a lot of Sentry comics for not a lot of money, so that's a good thing. However, if people spend money on Sentry comics now, how likely is it that they'll continue to spend (more) money for the upcoming on-going. The timing seems to be good, but it's rather unfortunate, if you ask me. But maybe I'm just being paranoid.
I haven't watched the show yet, but it seems like they have included a Sentry easter egg in the show. And that strikes me as a super obscure easter egg. Not even I pay attention to such casual trivia in Sentry comics.
Does someone have any use for micro Sentry art? Maybe for Avatars or signatures maybe? It's interesting regardless, because they show a lot of different costumes and artstyles the Sentry rocked through out the years.
Marvel has finally released the official preview for the first Sentry issue. It contains a couple of colored pages, we've already seen, but now we've also gotten the dialogue. And it reads quite well.
Tom Brevoort is the editor on the book and Alanna Smith the associate editor. Brevoort has edited the majority of Sentry comics, so he has a lot of experience with the Sentry - and that's clearly a good thing.
Edit: Also, for as long as the book lasts, I won't be uploading any feats in this thread. Instead I encourage you to go out and buy the books. I'm sure, that it will be worth your time and money.
Last edited by Enzeru on Jun 21st, 2018 at 08:27 PM
+ Jeff is being very, very secretive about the first issue, which makes it sound like we're in for a brand new and crazy ride. I'm liking it.
+ It also appears that in Jeffs story Bob and Sentry will be two different beings - however you want to interpret that one.
+ Sentry is back in the Marvel universe and like you would expect it in a good story from a good writer: His old allies and friends are very cautious about his return and are keeping an eye on him.
+ First previews for the second issue also show Cranio, the Man with the Tri-Level Mind! He has gotten a new redesign and he is looking siiiiick:
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Jun 10th, 2018 07:35 AM
