What's your opinion on Sentry?

[Thor-Ul]

Has Lemire said anything about this? Writers are usually quick to confirm or deny rumors of cancellation when a title is missing from solicits. I hope this didn't happen here, but given Marvel's track record, it's not impossible. I hate when they cancel a book before the first trade is even out. Have they learned nothing from Iceman and The Unstoppable Wasp? Trades and non-traditional markets can make a huge difference these days. Give those books a little more chance before pulling the plug. **** like this is why I hope the new Marvel Digital Originals line works big time. I look forward to the day when floppy sales will be irrelevant to non-A-list books.

Maybe it was originally conceived as a mini-series, but launched as a series. Marvel is no friendly to promote not-interconnected miniseries and lately Lemire has worked in several ones (Black Hammer universe mostly). So maybe the plan always was an ongoing destined to be "cancelled" in issue 5, leaving readers trying to understand what happened. Or not. Is just speculation. I mean, series (or "stealth mini-series"?) for Solo and Prowler were also launched in a

The thing is: we don't really know how all the books are doing in the bigger picture. Direct Market sales don't tell us the whole story and we don't have access to other numbers, so we're really clueless as to the reason Marvel is letting some books last longer than others. Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider and Runaways have pretty bad sales in the DM, but have lasted more than people would expect, possibly because of outside numbers. While other books with similar sales got cancelled earlier on. And then we have the Scholastic titles like Ms. Marvel, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl and Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur, which have passed the 30-issue mark and don't seem to be getting cancelled anytime soon. It's hard to tell how it's gonna be because it's different for each book. It's possible Sentry was doing so bad that they felt they had to cancel it, but that doesn't mean the book couldn't have any potential going further. The Unstoppable Wasp was cancelled before it even reached double digits too, but the trade sales impressed Marvel enough to let the book come back for a mini (with the potential of becoming an ongoing). Long story short: the industry is complicated, but Marvel is not helping any book by cancelling it before they can even show if they have potential or not.

Indeed Drops. We lack the information enough to understand many of the directions where a company choose to go. Maybe is just the money or the need to keep an IP in active or corporative affairs or an editor whim. We only see the publications, the final product. Trying to understand the cancellation of certain titles is swim in murky waters.

I think that they should officially bring back the Ultimates line and have Sentry, somehow, be transported to that universe. he'd have more room to move; I suspect. the current run felt a bit disconnected (purposely so) from the rest of the Marvel Universe. I think that might have hurt it.

With so many other heroes in the world, in addition to Sentry, the world never really seems to be in that much trouble. I had mentioned in another post, the possibility of having Sentry accidentally go to another universe where Sentry, Sentress and Scout are the only heroes, that Sentry dies and our Sentry secretly takes his place. Now he has this huge secret all this drama unfolds as he tries to keep it a secret and have it so this world doesn't skip a beat, while looking for a way home. It would basically be Sentry vs a universe full of villains, alien invasions, cosmic threats, etc.

It would be that the solution? Take the Sentry away from the main universe and move him to an alternate earth? Honestly, I'm not the character n° one fan, but I like the story so far (better than I expected) but it works because is in the main Marvel universe. Maybe the solution would be move him from New York.

I think its garbage that they would cut off his series so quickly while other books get chance after chance after chance and consistently have low sales (even lower actually), if sales is the reason for this cancellation.

UPDATE: This could possibly be an artist problem. They don't have enough time or artists to complete an issue for November?
https://www.newsarama.com/41529-sent...g-artists.html

Already posted Cap.

[Thor-Ul]

You know what, if Sentry's book can't support itself, that's fine.

But they ought to take Lemire, put him on Marvel Two in One, and make it a Sentry/Moon Knight team up book for a while. Ersatz World's Finest, dang it! XD

Could be...








https://www.deviantart.com/ziggyman/...Color-98906053

[JudicatorPrime]

You know what, if Sentry's book can't support itself, that's fine.

But they ought to take Lemire, put him on Marvel Two in One, and make it a Sentry/Moon Knight team up book for a while. Ersatz World's Finest, dang it! XD

Would both characters still stand as beacons for mental healthcare? Maybe they should just go the Power Man & Iron Fist route with those two and keep Marvel Two in One as a separate book? I'm guessing that pooling Moon Knight and Sentry fans together with the right creative team might work.

[Tendrin]

Would both characters still stand as beacons for mental healthcare? Maybe they should just go the Power Man & Iron Fist route with those two and keep Marvel Two in One as a separate book? I'm guessing that pooling Moon Knight and Sentry fans together with the right creative team might work.

I mean, sure. I don't see why that would change based on them teaming up. They both have a lot of problems.

You know, I think it's interesting that there's this common thought that if only you could get the Sentry off the earth where he could 'really flex', that would solve all the problems. I profoundly disagree because it places too much focus on the character's insane level of power. This is the same mistake that Bendis made. It places the power as the heart of the character rather than /Bob/ as the heart.

Bob is a guy who's barely able to work at a diner, can barely hold his life together, is reckless and careless, is the architect of his own problems, and regularly screws up... and Bendis completely ignored him.

Lemire did not. And this is why Lemire's run is so good. Punting Bob into another world or into space is just the wrong idea. He belongs on Earth, working in a diner and dealing with the humdrum of mediocrity. Both his original run and Lemire's run have this at their core and it's an important part of the character.

[CaptainMarvell]

Lemire did not. And this is why Lemire's run is so good. Punting Bob into another world or into space is just the wrong idea. He belongs on Earth, working in a diner and dealing with the humdrum of mediocrity. Both his original run and Lemire's run have this at their core and it's an important part of the character.

And people will buy this book because....? People are buying the Sentry for the Sentry, not for humdrum Bob working in a diner. Being mediocre and having a difficult time with regular life is fine for his character development, but at some point he's going to have to be the Sentry and the Sentry is extremely powerful, which doesn't really fit in that well with the rest of the Marvel universe. A character with his power set needs to have bigger challenges and threats. Overwhelming threats that typical heroes can't deal with. Sure Bob has his flaws and has his own challenges to deal with, but people aren't going to buy the book for that.

[JudicatorPrime]

I mean, sure. I don't see why that would change based on them teaming up. They both have a lot of problems.

You know, I think it's interesting that there's this common thought that if only you could get the Sentry off the earth where he could 'really flex', that would solve all the problems. I profoundly disagree because it places too much focus on the character's insane level of power. This is the same mistake that Bendis made. It places the power as the heart of the character rather than /Bob/ as the heart.

Bob is a guy who's barely able to work at a diner, can barely hold his life together, is reckless and careless, is the architect of his own problems, and regularly screws up... and Bendis completely ignored him.

Lemire did not. And this is why Lemire's run is so good. Punting Bob into another world or into space is just the wrong idea. He belongs on Earth, working in a diner and dealing with the humdrum of mediocrity. Both his original run and Lemire's run have this at their core and it's an important part of the character.

I think whenever you have a bifurcated character you're going to run into some authors neglecting one of the personalities in favor of the other. I mean how many times have we seen the Hulk completely split from Banner -- or the Hulk persona dominant for such lengthy periods that you forget that he was Banner -- just so that the writer could focus on the Hulk? Ditto with Thor, back when he had the Dr. Donald Blake alter ego.

To a large extent fans are to blame. Most don't have the patience for highbrow exposition or character development, especially when the character is as rife with flaws as Bob appears to be. Sad to say, but judging from the comments that I've seen on this board and others, a writer is really taking a huge risk of losing his audience if she/he focuses too much on Bob.

I personally would have preferred that Bob/Sentry be one and the same without distinction in persona. He's more of a hero to me if he can't conveniently escape from who he is into this near godlike paragon. I prefer stories where the gods harbor their own worse demons. And I like the possibilities that arise whenever a character like that arrives at solutions which may run contrary to the rule of law, the fundamental laws of nature, or perhaps conventional thinking and ethos. Sentry should shake things up. When you're that powerful, you should have a sense of a mandate driving you. But there should be challenges, which push back. Legitimate counterchallenges.

[Tendrin]

And people will buy this book because....? People are buying the Sentry for the Sentry, not for humdrum Bob working in a diner. Being mediocre and having a difficult time with regular life is fine for his character development, but at some point he's going to have to be the Sentry and the Sentry is extremely powerful, which doesn't really fit in that well with the rest of the Marvel universe. A character with his power set needs to have bigger challenges and threats. Overwhelming threats that typical heroes can't deal with. Sure Bob has his flaws and has his own challenges to deal with, but people aren't going to buy the book for that.

I'm not implying that's all that should be there, but rather, that aspect of the character HAS to be there. Pretending it isn't there just gives us Bendis-Sentry and we've already seen how that plays out.

I think whenever you have a bifurcated character you're going to run into some authors neglecting one of the personalities in favor of the other. I mean how many times have we seen the Hulk completely split from Banner -- or the Hulk persona dominant for such lengthy periods that you forget that he was Banner -- just so that the writer could focus on the Hulk? Ditto with Thor, back when he had the Dr. Donald Blake alter ego.

I think this is a fair point. It can be hard to balance these things.

To a large extent fans are to blame. Most don't have the patience for highbrow exposition or character development, especially when the character is as rife with flaws as Bob appears to be. Sad to say, but judging from the comments that I've seen on this board and others, a writer is really taking a huge risk of losing his audience if she/he focuses too much on Bob.

I think often times that what we say we want as fans isn't backed up by what we actually buy.

I personally would have preferred that Bob/Sentry be one and the same without distinction in persona. He's more of a hero to me if he can't conveniently escape from who he is into this near godlike paragon. I prefer stories where the gods harbor their own worse demons. And I like the possibilities that arise whenever a character like that arrives at solutions which may run contrary to the rule of law, the fundamental laws of nature, or perhaps conventional thinking and ethos. Sentry should shake things up. When you're that powerful, you should have a sense of a mandate driving you. But there should be challenges, which push back. Legitimate counterchallenges.

"What if you're not really a hero?"


The Godlike Paragon Sentry to whom flawed, frail Bob escapes can be seen as a commentary on the act of reading a comic book in the first place. Don't get me wrong: I am not saying that he doesn't need threats. I want to see Bob going up against some mind-churning terrors that only the Sentry can face (and nobody else can be sure aren't a product of his own fears and anxieties) but I do believe that the contrast of mediocrity and soaring above it are important thematically to the character.

[JudicatorPrime]

I think often times that what we say we want as fans isn't backed up by what we actually buy.

I'd like to think that the more mature readers, as opposed to fans and collectors, do put their money where their mouths are, so to speak. Well, at least I do. One of the reasons why I stopped reading comics was because I didn't see the sort of characters, stories and representation that I wanted/needed desperately to see. No one likes patronizing Baskin Robins only to find that they only have vanilla ice cream in all 32 barrels. And nary a waffle cone in sight to make the mundane palatable. In many ways, that's pretty much where I am now. I was hoping that the Sentry series would go the distance, but alas, it looks like Marvel's business practice is going to do to Sentry what it did to my Ultimates. A shame.

"What if you're not really a hero?"

Something about that quote makes me want to read Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné again. Sentry as the White Wolf. Now wouldn't that be interesting?

[Tendrin]

I'd like to think that the more mature readers, as opposed to fans and collectors, do put their money where their mouths are, so to speak. Well, at least I do. One of the reasons why I stopped reading comics was because I didn't see the sort of characters, stories and representation that I wanted/needed desperately to see. No one likes patronizing Baskin Robins only to find that they only have vanilla ice cream in all 32 barrels. And nary a waffle cone in sight to make the mundane palatable. In many ways, that's pretty much where I am now. I was hoping that the Sentry series would go the distance, but alas, it looks like Marvel's business practice is going to do to Sentry what it did to my Ultimates. A shame.

Well, we don't know yet. They confirmed Moon Knight quickly but have been relatively silent about Sentry. Lemire hasn't said a word either. I'm anxious about it, because Lemire's run has been stellar so far and an excellent reset/palate cleanser that the character absolutely needed. People are reading it and saying, 'Hey, why is this so good?" as if they weren't aware the character COULD be that good. xD While I don't think it will stop some people for hating him because he was 'retconned into every story' or whatever, I think Sentry World will be looked back at as exactly what was needed to get Bob on the right path creatively.

It'd be a shame if we weren't allowed to see him go the distance with the things he has in mind. Makes me really wish that characters like Sentry would simply have these runs released as graphic novels to help them build their audience over the years.

Something about that quote makes me want to read Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné again. Sentry as the White Wolf. Now wouldn't that be interesting?

It's a direct quote from the original mini.

[numberthirty]

Just a second.

There has been some sort of confirmation on what's happening in the "Moon Knight" title? I had not noticed anything.

[Tendrin]

Just a second.

There has been some sort of confirmation on what's happening in the "Moon Knight" title? I had not noticed anything.

https://www.newsarama.com/41514-max-...-with-200.html

https://comicbook.com/comics/2018/08...l-moon-knight/

So I may have misspoken but..

[numberthirty]

Copy that.

I had come across that(seems like I may even have posted something about it?), but I had not heard anything about if Marvel had addressed it's future or not.

[Gamma Irradiated Being]

I don't like the idea that Marvel Comics thought it was a good idea to force a 'Superman' clone as the undisputed protector of Marvel's earth. Let Superman be that in the DC Universe. There were already too many Superman clones flying around in the MCU to begin with. If characters like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash and Green Lantern define the DCU, their MCU counterparts are Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk and Captain America. Sorry, Sentry does not fit in there at all. I hated all of Paul Jenkins revisionist history implanting Sentry in key points in Marvel's history, taking away the glory of many of those older classic stories.

With that said, good imaginative story telling can open doors to almost any character.

Question - Is Bendis' revisions of Sentry being a fallen angel or whatever still cannon?