Sentinel, v. 3: Past Imperfect

Collects: Sentinel (v. 2) #1-5 (2006)

Released: May 2006 (Marvel)

Sean McKeever gets the chance to finish the loose ends from his Sentinel series in this volume. This is probably the last of the series, which did poorly in sales as individual issues. But it was also part of Marvel’s digest line, which they heavily pushed at bookstores and contained many low-selling series, such as Runaways.

This does, for the most part, exactly what it’s supposed to: finish off Juston’s quest to find his mother. Juston’s search for his mother was the teaser at the end of Sentinel, v. 2: No Hero, a strange ending to a clearly cancelled series. Juston also becomes closer to his father and brother, finishing the transition from bratty teen at the beginning of the story to mature member of the family. He also makes his choices in his personal life, with his “girlfriend” Ashleigh Nichols getting what she deserves. That said, some of those choices seem arbitrary from his perspective, even if the reader knows they are the correct decisions.

Disappointingly, however, Past Imperfect leaves the moral questions about Juston’s use of the Sentinel unanswered. Yes, Juston does heroic acts with the Sentinel and promises to do more, but it doesn’t come to grips with his horribly selfish acts from No Hero. There is a parallel with Past Imperfect’s villains, Sen. Knudsen and Col. Hunt, who used the Sentinel to murder a man and use a newer model to try to destroy Juston and his Sentinel. Yes, their use of the Sentinel is unforgivable, while Juston is merely selfish; they continue to use the technology for evil, while Juston wants to use his for good. But being better than evil isn’t enough, in this situation.

Udon Studios, in the persons of Joe Vriens and Scott Hepburn, provide the art. Stereotypically, their manga-influenced style is perfect for big robots, and as always, they do an excellent job with the big robot. This time they get to draw a Sentinel vs. Sentinel fight and do a pretty good job with it. That’s a majority of the work, in this case, both in the sense that it’s the most important part of the art and seemingly the content of more than half the pages. The other characters are consistent with the previous two volumes; you may quibble with the manga-style designs, such as Jessie’s little hat and all the kids’ hair, but it’s now set as Sentinel’s style.

If you liked the first two volumes of the series, then you’re likely to enjoy Past Imperfect, even if it is flawed at times.

Grade: B-

Inhumans, v. 1: Culture Shock

Collects: Inhumans (v. 4) #1-6 (2003)

Released: March 2005 (Marvel)

In Culture Shock, writer Sean McKeever and artist Matthew Clark build on the end of the Jenkins / Lee Inhumans mini-series, which was an Eisner-winning success for Marvel. But while that series focused on the internal politics of the Inhuman royal family as it tried to deal with humans, McKeever and Clark take five young Inhumans, some of whom were in the Jenkins / Lee series, and make them part of a trial cultural integration in America. Only one of the five, Alaris, is pleased to be sent on the mission, and the others are left looking to make sense of this strange mission with a savage, backward culture.

In Attilan, San is the primary viewpoint character, and rightly so. His confusion over why he was sent to deal with humans is piled atop a more personal confusion; his exposure to the Terigen Mists transform him from a strong, handsome young soldier-to-be to a weakened, hideous artist. He no longer knows who he is. His struggles with his new form are understandable and moving. But when the action moves to Earth, San gets lost behind some of the others.

Once the five start living at the University of Wisconsin (McKeever has put references to his native Wisconsin in two other Marvel series, Gravity and Sentinel), Alaris, Jolen, and Nahrees push San out of the foreground. Alaris is big, dumb, and sincerely likes humanity; Jolen hates humans but hides it and wants to rekindle a relationship with Nahrees; and Nahrees … well, she’s hard to get a handle on. She’s meant to be contemptuous of those around her, fellow Inhumans included. But her icy exterior breaks early and often; is it characterization or writing flaw? It could be either, although I lean toward the latter, given that Narhees’s snottiness is her defining characteristic, and to toss it aside so quickly seems a mistake. But this is one of those character issues that can truly only be examined by exploring the rest of the series, which isn’t in this book.

My main complaint with the Culture Shock is that is a bit too wacky for my tastes. The Inhumans aren’t the Japanese or even Latverians; they aren’t even from our planet any more. They have been separated from humanity through millennia of genetic differences and isolation. (In fact, I think Latverians would have worked much better than the obviously inhuman Inhumans.) Alaris is the only wacky personality, yet the plot still seems too Perfect Strangers: all the Inhumans have to work on campus because Alaris is scammed out of his money, the Inhumans live on Frat Row, pot heads ask Jolen if he can truly grow any plant, etc. I expect Alaris to do the Dance of Joy with every page. It’s out of character given San’s identity struggles and Jolen’s dark personality.

Culture Shock is in the digest format, although it is printed on paper that is superior to the other Marvel digests. The art improves from the change, and the book is noticeably thinner. Culture Shock Also differs from the other digests I have read in that it has bonus features: character sketches and McKeever’s story pitch. The latter is useful in pointing at what McKeever was aiming at, although it also shows that he perhaps watches a few too many teen movies.

This volume of the Inhumans — currently the last one — ran only 12 issues, and this is the only reprint of any of those volume. So if you do enjoy this book, well, prepare to hunt down the floppies or wait …

Grade: C+