| The Kents | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Limited series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | August 1997 - July 1998 |
| No. of issues | 12 |
| Main character(s) | Nathaniel Kent Jebediah Kent |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | John Ostrander |
| Artist | Tom Mandrake |
| Penciller | Timothy Truman |
| Inker | Michael Bair |
| Letterer | Bill Oakley |
| Colorist(s) | Digital Chameleon Carla Feeny |
| Editor | Peter Tomasi |
| Collected editions | |
| The Kents | ISBN 1-56389-513-7 |
The Kents is the title of a 12-issuecomic booklimited series published byDC Comics, from August 1997 to July 1998. The story concerns a troubled generation of ancestors toJonathan "Pa" Kent (Superman's adoptive father). Set in the mid to late 19th century, the two main characters are brothers Nathaniel and Jebediah. The series was written byJohn Ostrander. As with many limited series, it was later collected as atrade paperback.
The series was written byJohn Ostrander with pencils/inks for the first eight issues byTimothy Truman/Michael Bair. In issue #9Tom Mandrake took over full art duties for the final four issues.
The story begins withClark Kent's adoptive fatherJonathan writing to his adopted son (Superman) about the memoirs he has discovered on the family farm. They reveal that the Kent family in the 19th century were notedabolitionists who assisted the personnel of theUnderground Railroad, likeHarriet Tubman. The family moved toKansas Territory during its infamous violent conflict over its status concerning slavery,Bleeding Kansas, to promote the cause of creating a free state by running a newspaper for the region.
However, the family patriarch was murdered byborder ruffians who wanted to silence him. Furthermore, the sons, Nathaniel and Jeb, argued and had a parting of the ways so deep about slavery that they found themselves on opposing sides of theAmerican Civil War, with Jeb fighting with the notoriousConfederate guerrilla unit led byWilliam Quantrill and Nathaniel fighting for the North and marrying a half-Native American woman who gave him a special traditional spiritual symbol that was apparently a forerunner and inspiration for Superman's chest symbol.
After the war, Nathaniel became asheriff in Smallville, while Jeb became the leader of a group of bandits. Eventually, Jeb discovered he had a son out of wedlock years ago, and allowed him to join his gang, but his son turned out to be a murderous sociopath and Jeb approached his estranged brother to arrange a trap to stop his son.
In springing the trap, the son mortally wounded his father before being killed himself and Jeb has just enough time to fully reconcile with Nate before dying. Nate remained in Smallville and there the Kents have since stayed for generations, including Jonathan and Martha Kent, Superman's adoptive parents.
John Ostrander includes a subtle reference toThe Kents in the 2002Marvel/MAX limited seriesApache Skies. Set in 1886, the first issue ofApache Skies depicts Johnny Bart—theRawhide Kid—arriving by train in the town of Sagoro, Texas, seeking to avenge the death of theApache Kid. When approached by the local sheriff, Bart uses the alias "Jeb Kent".
The series has been collected into onetrade paperback: