Secret Origin Of The Sentry Part 4
I’m quite sure it was my suggestion that something so horrible happened to THE SENTRY that all memory of the event, and SENTRY himself, had to be wiped out, probably by some Marvel character on the scale of THE WATCHER. Right there Paul and I knew we had it; SENTRY’s quest for a return of his memories and powers, a solution for his absence in Marvel continuity, and motivation for an attack by his own unconscious.
We quickly ran through some of the other Marvel characters, plotting out how they would figure in to a mass amnesia. Most would have their memories erased, but some, like THE HULK, wouldn’t. And a few, like REED RICHARDS and DOCTOR DOOM, would be smart enough to figure out what happened. More tomorrow.
Above: Kirby Style SENTRY by Rick Veitch.
Secret Origin Of The Sentry Part 3
So Jenky and I started talking about how to build his long-gestating plot idea into the Marvel Universe. We met at a diner in Brattleboro, Vermont and fueled by greasy burgers and french fries got the old creative give-and-take giving and taking.
Paul saw the character as a guardian type, with a watchtower. We tossed around possible names and initially hit on THE CENTURION which seemed a bit clunky. It was Paul who boiled CENTURION down to SENTRY which sounded so good we couldn’t believe it wasn’t already taken.
What I brought to the table was the retro angle. I’d been involved in two major retro projects (1963 and SUPREME) in which Alan Moore and I had developed a sort of “deadpan” approach to the genre. Then and now, most retro stories you see tend to be over-exaggerated. The dumbness is caricatured; played for laughs in both the writing and art. Alan and I believed such an approach was to be avoided; that in fact the mad random lunacy of a Mort Weisenberger SUPERMAN or a Lee/Kirby THOR needed no exaggeration at all.
It was this close-as-you-can-get-it mimicry approach that I wanted to bring to SENTRY, creating a false history of the character with versions going back to Timely Comics in the 1940’s. Paul liked the idea but wondered how we could explain the character’s absence in sixty years of company continuity. That’s when the light bulb went on. More tomorrow.
Above: Golden Age SENTRY by Rick Veitch
The Secret Origin Of The Sentry Part 2
At the time Paul Jenkins and I came together to work up THE SENTRY concept, Marvel Comics was a financial mess. The once successful business had essentially been looted and cratered by Ron Perlman before spiraling into bankruptcy. Toymakers Ike Perlmutter and Avi Arad had ended up with ownership coming out of bankruptcy court and were running the company on fumes. Sales were lousy with the exception of the Marvel Knights line; a side imprint produced outside the Marvel offices by Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palomatti.
Paul had a good connection to Quesada and the plan was to create a brand new character we would pitch to Joe and Jimmy for the Marvel Knights line. Continued tomorrow.
SENTRY concept art by Rick Veitch.
Secret Origin Of The Sentry Part 1
While organizing my studio recently I stumbled on a folder full of concept art for a project I worked up with Paul Jenkins called THE SENTRY. This week I’ll be running that art and telling about my (up to now unknown) role in creating the character.
Paul and I were old buds, having met while he was at Mirage Studios. We worked closely together on BRAT PACK and THE MAXIMORTAL at Tundra. Paul was focused mostly on production and editing back in those days but clearly had potential as a writer. He and I had often discussed a story he wanted to develop concerning an over-the-hill guy, struggling with addiction, who had a tight relationship with his dog. Paul was trying to come up with a way to show the character’s addiction problem as a manifestation of the unconscious. At one point, if I remember correctly, Paul pitched a horror version of this plot to Steve Bissette for TABOO, although nothing came of it.
It was in the late 1990’s that Paul and I came together to try and develop it into a superhero pitch for Marvel. More tomorrow.
Above: Concept art for ROBERT REYNOLDS (secret identity of THE SENTRY) and his dog by Rick Veitch.
The Doodle Stares Back
A lot of times you’ll pick up a pen and, with nothing in your head, start drawing an eye and work out from there. Pretty soon a character appears, gazing back at you from the unconscious, usually with some sort of attitude. Ballpoint pen in sketchbook, 1978.
Howdy!
Cerebus tormented by the ultimate nightmare in #204. Figure by Dave Sim, backgrounds by Gerhard and letters by me.
No Escapism Here, Friend
The splash page to an unpublished (I think) story written by Steve Perry for Marvel’s BIZARRE ADVENTURES sometime during the late ’80’s. If I remember correctly the theme of the issue Steve was writing for was “real life”. Since we somehow hornswoggled Marvel into letting is keep the copyright on a previous tale, it is quite possible this is ©Stephen Perry and Rick Veitch.
Highball
From that all-important first sample portfolio; when I’d just graduated from art school and was trying to land work in Manhattan. Ink, airbrush and pencil, 1979.
Rick Does Rick
One of my early drafts for an ABRAXAS AND THE EARTHMAN logo, obviously inspired by the sixties stylizations of the great Rick Griffin. I ended up using the linework from the top “Abraxas” as the basis for a stroked and beveled Photoshop job I was real happy with.
What’s that? You’ve never read ABRAXAS AND THE EARTHMAN? Easily remedied by ordering a signed copy from my store.
We now have ALL SIZES of the infamous DR. BLASPHEMY T-SHIRT in stock!
Rick Veitch's BRAT PACK is the great grandaddy of twisted superhero comics. The fifth edition, complete with new cover and remastered interiors scanned from the original art, is in stores now.