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Crowdfunding Spotlight: Sentinel – Scales of Justice

By John Freeman on May 11, 2020

The second issue of the new Sentinel comic from writer Alan Holloway and artist Ed Doyle has already smashed its Kickstarter target – but there’s still time to back this much-praised tribute to Starblazer, before the campaign ends.

Sentinel launched last October, when Ed and Alan decided the world needed a new Starblazer-styled comic, inspired by the SF and fantasy title, a companion in format to the still-published Commando, published by DC Thomson for many years.

They released the first issue of their 64-page, black and white, digest size comic, the space romp “Special Delivery“, earlier this year, which was incredibly well received and reviewed. (You can read Peter Duncan’s review for downthetubes here).

Sentinel: Scales of Justice Cover by Ed Doyle

The second issue is a fantasy tale, “Scales of Justice”, the story theme no doubt spurred by the fact that Ed does “good dragon”, so “something with dragons” seemed a no brainer. Alan soon amended that to “Spartacus with dragons”, and the story came smoothly after that.

“Scales of Justice” posits an alternative Roman Empire, not just supported by human slaves, but an Empire with dragons, too. Wanting to be reunited with their homeland across the sea, a group of gladiator dragons violently revolt, and make a bid for freedom…

Unlike the previous issue, “Scales Of Justice” (because dragons have scales, right?) is a straight action story, which Alan tells us has “plenty of fighting and characters that are relatable – even if they are dragons.

“It’s tested incredibly well with preview readers, and we are really proud to be able to deliver it,” he says. “Everything is complete, so when the Kickstarter is complete we will head straight to production.”

Sentinel: Scales of Justice Variant Cover by Andy Lambert

Potential rewards for backers include a limited variant cover by Andy Lambert, and his amazing A3 design was quickly snapped up by backer Paul Killey as a Kickstarter reward, including a prelim sketch. Ed has drawn four, one off A4 pieces featuring four of the main dragon characters – a brilliant addition to your comics, available as seperate rewards.

“Sentinel: Scales of Justice” dragon prints by Ed Doyle

There’s nothing like Sentinel in today’s comics world, telling complete 64 page sci-fi and fantasy stories featuring original characters. If you were a fan of DC Thomson’s Starblazer, then this is a title well worth checking out.

A pledge for Sentinel is a pledge for independant creativity – and a good read for yourself. Plus, backing this campaign helps build funds for Issue Three and beyond – the next issue featuring a variant cover from Hunt Emerson!

• Check our Sentinel: Scales of Justice here on Kickstarter

• Read Peter Duncan’s review of Sentinel: Special Delivery

• Sentinel: Special Delivery is available here from GetMyComics

• Check out Sentinel Comic on Facebook

• Meet The77 Creators: Writer Alan Holloway

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.