Off on the very fringes of the X-book, Sean McKeever and Joe Vriens finish off the Sentinel miniseries with issue #5.  The original Sentinel book was a loveable teen drama with added giant robot, got rather good reviews, and sold appallingly. 

However, it did reasonably well in digest format.  Since the original series ended on a cliffhanger, with Juston heading off in search of his mother, it's perhaps unsurprising that Marvel have commissioned this miniseries, which gives them a third digest to resolve the plot.  It doesn't actually tie up Juston's story altogether, leaving the way open for further appearances, but it does at least provide a sensible resolution to the major plots.

Unfortunately, I haven't really enjoyed this series as much as the original book.  Don't get me wrong, it's not bad by any means - it's still a thoroughly above average book.  But the original Sentinel title was very good, and this falls a little short.  I think the problem is that the story keeps Juston away from his supporting cast for the entire series, and without that interaction, the book loses a lot of its charm and appeal.

For example, far and away the strongest scene here is Juston being reunited with his father in the hospital, and finally asking him where his mother went.  That's a great little moment which plays the anticlimax nicely.  His arrival back at school works well too.  But most of the issue is taken up with a giant robot fight and, despite the fact that this is a giant robot book, that just isn't its strong point.  The fight scenes are okay, but they're nothing to write home about. 

The good news is that the series ends by more or less re-establishing the book's previous status quo so that future stories - if there are any - will be able to use the supporting cast properly again.  This story, for unavoidable plot reasons, had to marginalise them, and the book suffered as a result.

Rating: B+

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