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The co-creator of Marvel's The Sentry finds that the best fictional stories come from personal experience. No, he doesn't have sentient evil connected to him, but he has — like all of us — been through some rough times. And rough times make for impactful stories. Recently, he has found some catharisis in taking his love of a longtime companion pet and working through the experience of having to eventually put her down when her quality of life declined. That became the basis for his recently concluded The Sentry series with artist Christian Rosado.

The recently-concluded The Sentry limited series centers on the Sentry and his longtime canine companion Normie. Of course it has superheroics, questions of morality, and action, but at its heart its about the love of a pet and the grief of losing them... even when its their time. 

Related: The Sentry in Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts* is Spider-Man for depressed people like me

"If you take our current Sentry series, it's about grief and loss. I have experienced this loss, and my job as a writer is to describe what I know for the readers," Jenkins says in response to a fan question during an AMA on League of Comic Geeks. "I was very emotional while I wrote this story because it's about losing a pet, and I have a very special cat named Clawdius who is curled up next to me right now. One day, I will outlive him. And that hurts. But it's something we all experience, and I think it's my obligation to explore it."

In the AMA, Jenkins shares how the story in the recently-concluded The Sentry miniseries came following him having "to take my old lady cat, Pixel, and have her put to sleep."

"Much of the story you are reading in the new series is what I dealt with, and it's something that so many of us share," continues Jenkins. "I wish that were not the case, but this is what we agree to when we bring a new pet into our lives. 

Jenkins and Rosado's recent four-issue Sentry series is on stands now, and a collected edition is due out December 18.

Sentry co-creator Rick Veitch calls Marvel "the House of Stolen Ideas" after his stake in the character overlooked for past 25 years - including in Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts* movie.