Whoever wants to read it.
I think we are now entering the era of "we need to get as much stuff on the shelves before that OTHER company."
Now while folks think nobody is going to bother with these books in question. There are some places that automatically buy these trades like public libraries.
And while nobody has bought this up.....
In the LONG run this may benefit Bob. Sometimes you have to remove someone has to be removed to open the door to attract more.
It sort of did with Supermen-Steel and Conner got long solo runs.
Jean Paul got a long run after Bruce came back.
Matrix Supergirl PROVED Supergirl could sell and we got Kara back.
Cassandra Cain PROVED Batgirl could sell and we got Babs back.
We can make a case for Miles Morales and all those Spider-Folks.
It SHOULD have worked with Nova & Green Lantern-but we won't fan those flames of fan wars.
Now the question is can it happen here?
Folks gotta remember that your casting choice has to be able to be Bob, not just the Sentry and the Void. Bob is definitely *not* a huge, hulking guy.
That Sentry #2 preview certainly went places. I'm even more certain now Mallory is Bob during World War Hulk, especially because she she had that event's flashback when getting his powers.
It's been said Patrick Wilson could play a great Bob and I'd agree, even if I don't think it's realistic since he might be busy with his own schedules.
Hooray! Just yesterday I was thinking "It would be great if the industry crashed again."
That is a mighty big if because they are going to have a LOT of crap no one wants to choose from.
Probably because the odds stink.
So your using A tier franchises in an attempt to console Sentry fans. What about characters that aren't A tier?
You should have led with that example.
"....."
"The Marvel EIC Chair has a certain curse that goes along with it: it tends to drive people insane, and ultimately, out of the business altogether. It is the notorious last stop for many staffers, as once you've sat in The Big Chair, your pariah status is usually locked in." Christopher Priest
Also, I know I've been shitting on Jason Loo a lot in my video and forum posts here. But I don't mind the guy. Really. I'm sure he is fun to hang out with and I'm sure he has written lovely comics. I just don't think that when it comes to the Sentry "lovely" is what we need. I think that whoever should have been hired to write a Sentry book, at the same time shouldn't have been hired to write a book Jason Loo would be perfect for. Again, having Alan Moore write a book about Marvel super-pets would be like watching a caged lion wither and die in captivity.
Also also, the last panel in Sentrypeople #1 showed this image:
vision-sentrys.jpg
And now the preview for Sentrypeople #2 introduces this new Sentryperson:
vision-sentrys-new.jpg
If that new person recovers from the gun wound thanks to Sentrys powers, then the two others will most likely gain powers as well.
I at least appreciated this writer seems to have liked the third Lemire series and the last Doctor Strange series were Bob's powers were involved, they rescued as much of his character as could be salvaged, as the times allowed.
The fact Mallory is absorbing memories or perceiving what is happening to other Sentry empowered people seems to confirm to me she is a lynchpin to all this and even Ryan might be realizing this.
Agreed, although I'd like to see more villains that are not in any way linked to Sentry or his powers. There are so many cosmic scale threats that existed long before the Earth cooled enough to sustain life, yet we never get any stories explaining why the Earth is still around with those forces being around for as long as they have been. That's probably about the only thing that I liked about the Knull character, but I honestly thought even his origin was a little too canned. They need to bring us a really interesting new rogues gallery for Sentry.
I would agree with this as well. Blue Marvel is the Superman pastiche that is surrounded by extreme violence, but he isn't someone that would partake in that sort of thing. For Blue Marvel, it's really just a question of whether or not he wants his foes to vanish from existence in the blink of an eye, which explains his reluctance to truly unleash his powers on someone. There's no turning back once matter-antimatter annihilation occurs.You can't do ultra-violence with Blue Marvel but you can do it with the Sentry.
That said, the other Superman pastiches seem to cover the ultra-violent niche quite often, whether we're talking about Gladiator, the Hyperions, King Hyperion, etc. It's almost to the point of cliche. I suppose as long as the villains are depicted being equally visceral and vicious with Sentry, it's ok. The best stories to me have always been where the hero gets more than just their capes shredded in a fight.
To answer a question you asked in the previous thread, Sentry did show molecular manipulation powers by defeating Molecule Man, as flashbacked in the most recent Sentry issue preview. And I remember that was something that was mostly completely unexpected by comic readers at the time, since Molecule Man was a last minute villain for the existing arc. Let's remind these Sentrypeople are getting memories of what are "supposed" to be Sentry's most memorable moments, at least as a hero.
Last edited by Wildling; 01-06-2024 at 08:45 PM.
Frankly, making Sentry some exemplar of ultra-violence was a Bendism that has done nothing but harmed the character's ability to grow, to say nothing of the indulging in harmful stereotypes about schizophrenia and its link to violence. It should be left behind.
Last edited by Tendrin; 01-07-2024 at 12:18 AM.
I read all of the Invincible comics and I was bored out of my mind all the way up to the point where Invincible fought Conquest and the book got ultra-violent and gory for the very first time. There I saw there could be something more to the book than just an inferior version of Superboy.
I'm also not talking about just ultra-violence. That would be like the third aspect that establishes the tone and atmosphere of a Sentry comic. We need crazy and we need horror. Not in a Bendis way because that wasn't smart enough. And not in a Jenkins way who had a very smart and dreadful atmosphere in his Sentry books but never went fully out. I think we need a combination of the two. Why? You need to make the Sentry stand out. There needs to be a massive catch that brings something new to the table and captures the imagination of the masses. To bring in new visuals and new ideas. And when I say smart, I talk about combining two things: Mental illness like schizophrenia and the fact that victims are not responsible for their mental illness. They never had a choice. They just have to deal with that. That alone is dreadful reality. Schizophrenics have to deal with evil voices in their head as well as monsters in the corner of their eyes. And Sentry subconsciously makes those real. That is a very interesting topic with a lot of potential and hasn't been explored nearly enough with the Sentry if you ask me.
Answer me this, Tendrin: What are your suggestions for a cohesive, expansive vision for the Sentry? How would you write 50 Sentry comics and what would you do to keep readers engaged from issue 1 to 50 with 49 of the first issues having shocking cliffhanger endings which make you want to preorder the next issue? Anyone can feel free to answer that question. I'm really curious to read what others have to say.
Usually, it's always me who makes these suggestions and most of the stuff I suggest is stuff I personally like and twist and turn it so that it would make for the Sentry. Doesn't mean that it's the only or even a good way to write the Sentry and expand on him as a character. To once again briefly sum up my vision for the Sentry: Keep the Sentry in the Marvel universe but have him do his own thing like in the second Sentry volume. But yeah, sure, have popular characters appear to see their interactions with the Sentry. Obviously, keep the Sentry a hero, but a deep, complex and troubled one. The superhero genre is what we all love, but superhero movies, shows and comics are always at their best when they have sub-genres (Guardians of the Galaxy was a sci-fi comedy, Ant-Man 1 was a heist movie, Winter Soldier was a spy thriller etc). And I think the sub-genre for the Sentry should be horror (psychological, body, cosmic). You can work a character study drama into all of that. And then write everything in a way where things are morphed so that they can establish that atmosphere. My suggestion for Cranio was once to have him be severely mentally ill reality warper who just thinks that he is smart and can create all these gadgets capable of hurting even the Sentry. When in fact he is just willing his actually non-functional gadgets into existence. Have him kidnap people and take out their brains to fuel his own intellect (when in fact it's just a delusion of his that he is getting smarter that way). Now you have the Sentry facing an actual threat who is deranged and not far behind Sentrys own power level. But at the same time Cranios own delusions keep his power in check since he is limiting himself to gadgets. What happens if Cranio realizes what he can really do?
Well, I think the best way forward is one that doesn't promote harmful stereotypes about schizophrenics, who are more likely to have violence done to them than vice versa.
And ultra-violence is boring to me.