The Sentry Message Board: My problem with the AGE OF THE SENTRY miniseries

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My problem with the AGE OF THE SENTRY miniseries

Posted by footman on December 10, 2008, 11:42 pm
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I like the character of the Sentry, even though he was very poorly conceived by Jenkins, who just combined DC's Triumph with elements of other vertigo heroes like Enigma and Scarab. I think that Bendis has used him well in his Avengers titles.

Even though I think Jenkins borrowed way too heavily when he made this character, one of the things he got right was the mix of wide eyed silver age superheroing and horror-themed imagery. That is not so easy to do, but with the help of Jae Lee he did it very well, making the hints of Sentry's early stories as he had them sprinkled throughout his miniseries pretty disturbing, even if they were presented as being unintentionally so, or sometimes only disturbing in light of what came afterward.

That is what Parker's AGE OF THE SENTRY is missing: there is nothing remotely disturbing (or exciting) about the stories. He is so busy trying to catch some kind of wide-eyed feel that he has produced the most boring tales imaginable. And he is not succeeding at the Silver Age feel either. For one thing, the dialogue and art are all way too smooth. There would have to be some kind of chopiness and some kind of absurdly stilted dialogue here and there. Furthermore, the new villains I've seen in 1 and 2 really were crappy. Jenkins hinted at some really absurd villains, but these all remind me of Michael Dalton Allred's MADMAN series. There's nothing wrong with that series or these kinds of stories, but they are not genuinely Silver Agey and they do not live up to the horrific, tragic hinted undertones that are one of the Sentry story's essential strengths.

If Marvel really wanted to produce some retroactive Sentry stories, they should have 1. gotten Sal Buscema for some of the art and 2. either had Jankins on it or gotten another writer with an interest in laying down an undercoating of absurd, disturbing horror, then painting over it with a veneer of Silver Age simplicity, and letting the darkness appear just on the periphery.

Message Thread:

My problem with the AGE OF THE SENTRY miniseries - footman December 10, 2008, 11:42 pm

Re: My problem with the AGE OF THE SENTRY miniseries - Norch2099 March 12, 2009, 12:23 am

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--Previous Message-- : I like the character of the Sentry, even : though he was very poorly conceived by : Jenkins, who just combined DC's Triumph with : elements of other vertigo heroes like Enigma : and Scarab. I think that Bendis has used him : well in his Avengers titles. : : Even though I think Jenkins borrowed way too : heavily when he made this character, one of : the things he got right was the mix of wide : eyed silver age superheroing and : horror-themed imagery. That is not so easy : to do, but with the help of Jae Lee he did : it very well, making the hints of Sentry's : early stories as he had them sprinkled : throughout his miniseries pretty disturbing, : even if they were presented as being : unintentionally so, or sometimes only : disturbing in light of what came afterward. : : That is what Parker's AGE OF THE SENTRY is : missing: there is nothing remotely : disturbing (or exciting) about the stories. : He is so busy trying to catch some kind of : wide-eyed feel that he has produced the most : boring tales imaginable. And he is not : succeeding at the Silver Age feel either. : For one thing, the dialogue and art are all : way too smooth. There would have to be some : kind of chopiness and some kind of absurdly : stilted dialogue here and there. : Furthermore, the new villains I've seen in 1 : and 2 really were crappy. Jenkins hinted at : some really absurd villains, but these all : remind me of Michael Dalton Allred's MADMAN : series. There's nothing wrong with that : series or these kinds of stories, but they : are not genuinely Silver Agey and they do : not live up to the horrific, tragic hinted : undertones that are one of the Sentry : story's essential strengths. : : If Marvel really wanted to produce some : retroactive Sentry stories, they should have : 1. gotten Sal Buscema for some of the art : and 2. either had Jankins on it or gotten : another writer with an interest in laying : down an undercoating of absurd, disturbing : horror, then painting over it with a veneer : of Silver Age simplicity, and letting the : darkness appear just on the periphery. :

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