The Sentry #4 – Trying To Find A Way To Heal

The Sentry’s life is one of brutal existence. Bob Reynolds exists as a man in two parts. The heroic Sentry and the dark Void. His very existence is a universal law of balance: every good deed of the Sentry must be equalized by a catastrophic act from the Void. As a plague of crystals sweeps across the earth, infecting the world, including the Hulk, Bob’s isolation mounts as he struggles to maintain control. Will the loss of his beloved companion be what pushes Bob over the edge?

This review is brought to you by Nerd Initiative’s Matt and Shawn!

Creative Team

Writer: Paul Jenkins
Artist: Christian Rosado
Color Artist: Matt Milla
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover Artist: Alex Maleev

Writing

Matt: This was a beautiful issue that didn’t just wrap up the story with a pretty bow. Paul understands that sometimes things are messy and that is okay. Bob learns that he has to learn to live with regret, sadness, and the Void, but that he is now finding a way to do that. I feel as though sometimes we can be so hard on ourselves we forget that not everything is our fault. Sometimes we need to learn to forgive ourselves, especially when something is out of our hands. This series has been one that I needed right now as I have been dealing with grief and loss, and Paul feels as though he is talking to me as much as Bob is talking to himself. Every day we as humans have a choice. We can do good things; we can do bad things, but we have a choice, and the traumas we carry can start to heal when we learn to forgive. Shoutout to Paul as well for making Reed Richards somewhat likeable in this series as well!

Shawn: What a beautiful sendoff for this series from Paul Jenkins. Like the battle between the Void and the Sentry, issue #4 of The Sentry provided an uplifting and hopeful contrast to the dark, demoralizing tone Jenkins crafted for issue #3. Jenkins shows us that Bob will never be able to heal a pain that wasn’t caused by his own actions. There’s a lesson in there for us as well. This entire series has been an introspective look at the life of Bob Reynolds and the desperate balance to find the best way to do the most good.

In some ways, Jenkins’s series has felt like a mirror. While not the Sentry, each of us has a capacity for good and a capacity for evil. We must be careful which we choose to feed. Many of us carry trauma, some of which shouldn’t actually be ours to carry. In this series, Paul Jenkins crafted a beautiful dark narrative that made me look more inside myself than I expected.

Art

Matt: Nothing will be seared into my brain more than the panel of Hulk wearing a yellow number 1 fan shirt. That alone had me laughing so much, and the art team nailed the little details, such as this one. This issue’s colors were a little bit brighter as they battle the crystals, and one image that really stood out was Bob sending a burst of energy off. It felt inspired by Dragon Ball Z and felt as though Bob was going Super Saiyan in this moment. I found the art to match this dark and rugged series perfectly.

Shawn: What can I say about the world that Christian Rosado and Matt Milla have done on this series that hasn’t already been said? Rosado continues with his beautiful and gritty line work in this issue, crafting images befitting the power of the Sentry. Rosado perfectly captures in art the internal and claustrophobic nature of Bob’s mind and how it affects the world around him.

Matt Milla feeds this design by giving us deep, heavy blacks instead of the bright, sterile environments we are used to in superhero comics. Even the bright suits of the Fantastic Four seem more subdued in this world. Joe Caramagna guides readers easily through the story, ensuring that the word bubbles don’t subtract from the story but carry it forward.

Final Thoughts

Matt: 10/10- The Sentry wraps up on a feeling of hope. This run has been about grief and loss, but also about forgiving ourselves and learning to coexist with the darkness we as people can hold deep within us. My only complaint is that this run was only four issues!

Shawn: 10/10 – The Sentry was everything I wanted it to be. Paul Jenkins showed everyone why he’s the writer you call if you’re looking for an introspection on a character battling their inner demons. Everything about this creative team was in sync. This would have easily worked as a longer ongoing run.

Overall Grade: 10 /10

The Sentry is done. How did you like it? Let us know in the comments