Darthphere said:
Well I know it wasnt Jenkins and Lee idea and really why should we fault the creators and the story because of the type of marketing it got. In fact, Jenkins was opposed to the idea at first. Heres an interesting article on the subject.
http://www.brokenfrontier.com/lowdown/details.php?id=241
I scimmed the article and it seems to have heavy spoilers.
I'm aware that it was more of an editorial decision than creators but it just never sat right for me, and like I said, it was a poor first impression. They say you "rarely can overcome first impressions" and that's pretty much true. At least here. My first impression of the Sentry was a sham perpetuated by both Marvel and Wizard who is supposed to be "on the fan's side" but has de-evolved into a cheerleader for the Big Two and shills whatever is asked of them in exchance for "exclusive scoops", which are now even more vital as they compete with superior Internet sites like Comixfan, Newsarama, Comics Continuum, etc.
This reminds me of the many, many times someone has tried to get
TheCorpulent1 to read some DAREDEVIL material and his answer of, "I just never was interested in the character" is met with gasps. I just am not terribly interested in the Sentry. I don't care if God Himself came down from the Heavens and used thunderbolts to carve a story on rock in front of me.
I did admit that my exposure to him wasn't good before, though.
bkhedr said:
The Jenkins story was awesome. Read it and you'll think the Sentry is a terrific character. You'll also get the feel for how the Sentry was supposed to function as Marvel's superman
Regretablly, most of that good stuff has been lost in NA
As I said before, I noted that fact as being possible. I know Handbook Bio's aren't the same as "reading it" and that Bendis has become notorious for butchering characters in his 616 work, especially NA. Heck, he professes to love Jessica Drew, yet he got her powers wrong on her first fight scene and literally took a year before a good excuse was given ("Oh, HYDRA gave her her powers back and, uh, added true flight. It wasn't just me confusing her for Jessica Jones, who conviently has the exact same powers, just not the same origin"). So even if I don't have much interest in the Sentry, far be it from me to defend Bendis' depiction of him. Heck, Wolverine has been useless on NA, Spider-Man has been the same gutless joke as his USM counterpart, and Drew at times has been all but wasted as "the token female" (and then did even less once Ms. Marvel came along).
But my question is, did Marvel really NEED a "Superman"? Especially since he's not really like Superman in that the public barely knows him, and he's dangerously unstable? Hell, Ghost Rider is probably more reliable. It just seems like a massive retcon. "Here is this hero who debuted the same time as the Fan Four, Spidey, and Hulk, and y'all just don't remember him because of psychic baloney". I've seen that done to "insert" characters into the mainstream too many times, and it still happens. Vulcan, anyone? It's a cheap way of trying to "inject" some emotional attachment to a character because, gosh, building it takes long term investment and work, and Marvel barely likes investing that sort of effort into well known C listers much less new characters. So writers know they have to do something massive to engrain them if they ever want hope of said character being used again. But that's just me. The way I work, if I don't like a given story technique, then I'll hate seeing it no matter if it's done by Hudlin or done by Alan Moore. Some people are like that with time-travel. I get like that with massive retcons.
gildea said:
Given though that this is somewhat after the fact if you now made the decision to read the sentry its not because you've been strung along as you are now fully informed and any choice made is with full information.
Regardless I respect your stance, If more comic readers where this sensible (myself included) we'd all be a lot happier.
Thanks for respecting the stance.
Another factor is that there are just so damned many "trades I should get or read" that it gets hard narrowing down just one at a given time, in terms of time, money, or placement. I just got into INVINCIBLE but there are a bunch of Marvel, DC and neither trades I would be interested in reading that I lack the time and/or the funds to track down. Therefore, something like THE SENTRY has a hard time getting on that list especially since I'm not terribly interested in the character (or care for Jai Lee's art, frankly). Why THE SENTRY and not, say, a few trades of CAPTAIN AMERICA under Brubaker? Or some Johns FLASH trades? Or some old school SPIDEY ESSENTIALS or whatnot? There are too many for me to get and I usually need some sort of good reason or spark.
Darthphere said:
I find it funny though, Dread still buys Wizard. Its pretty hypocritical if you ask me.
I never denied being a hypocrite. Hell, I take pride in being one of few people who'd admit it. We all are in some way, just some more than others. Those that are aware of it at least can curb it.
I still buy Wizard for the articles and the scoops, although considering their new pricetag, 12 issues a year costs me about $72, which is enough for several trades. If I was smart I'd have gotten a subscription by now, but I've been too lazy to bother. And, plus, I suffer from the illusion that investing less money more often rather than a big chunk all at once is somehow "cheaper" or "easier", even if in the long run it's not. 1 year subs for WIZARD are $28 and 2 years are $56. It takes about 2 months for it to kick in, though. So investing $6 a month and getting it immediately in the store without it being mangled being shoved into my apartment mailbox with all the grace of a gorilla on acid like most mail items is seen as "cheaper" than plucking down $28 at once. Stupid, but hey, it's an illusion, like I said. Plus, I'd have to remember when it runs out and when to renew it and it's just easier to buy it in the store, even if it's more expensive.
But I digressed. Marvel, to their credit, doesn't harp on about that late 90's deception. Wizard, on the other hand, has gleefully reminded us about taking part in that deception at least a handfull of times since (and every time I read it, usually in some self-important snarky text, I almost want to toss the mag away). Your point is that it's logically flawed to "punish" the creators by not reading their story yet still pump my money and time into Wizard, whom I could at least directly "punish" by not buying their mag monthly. I could simply not buy Wizard for, say, 3 months and have more than enough saved cash from that to buy THE SENTRY in trade. But people, myself included, do a lot of things that are downright illogical. This is one of them. I'm sure you have some, too.
I mean if I saw the trade for free in a library or something and had the time I may read it. I haven't, though.
Damn, $72 a year? I never sat down and figured that one out before. I'm getting rooked.
) will be that people ROOT for the Hulk when he comes back and beats everyone, in a battle that levels half of New York.
