Time for a little detour on the unexplored train. The first reprinting of Neil Gaiman’s Eternals series is out as a hardcover, and a new ongoing series will be launching soon, so let’s take the time to look at Gaiman’s take on these god-like beings, as well as a bonus look at their Marvel Universe beginnings. And for that, we go straight to the King – Kirby that is!
Eternals Omnibus (Reprints Eternals Vol 1 #1-19 & Annual #1)
This is, quite simply, an amazing reprint volume. I know, I know, it’s pricey with a cover price of a whopping $75, but, unlike a Blob BAF, it needs no paint retouching, and is certainly not hollow in the middle! The book is a beast, thick, heavy, and a joy to own.
But what’s it about? Well, Eternals marks Jack Kirby’s return to Marvel after a period at the Distinguished Competition, where his bigger ideas and concepts (in New Gods in particular) were met with, well, indifference. Kirby’s Eternals series was another attempt by the King to capture some of these big concepts, and his artwork on the series reflects the sheer joy he took in playing with big ideas. A massive advantage of the Omnibus printing is that Kirby’s artwork is huge, and really jumps out of the page at you.
Initially, the Eternals were never designed to be part of the Marvel Universe proper. So Kirby created a world of Eternals, their opposite numbers the Deviants, and the beings who created them, along with us Humans, the Celestials. The Celestials are the Space Gods, who provided the divine spark for life on our planet, and in the story Kirby presents, they have returned for the 4th time, ostensibly to judge whether the planet is worthy of life, or whether Arishem of the 4th Host will signal the destruction of humans, Eternals and Deviants alike.
The series is an interesting one, in that it begins with a fairly clear plot throughline, as Ikaris of the Eternals struggles to deal with the return of the space gods and the chaos the Deviant hordes cause amongst the human populace. As the series progresses however, the story gets sidetracked as sales began to slide and editorial influence becomes apparent. An appearance of a Hulk “robot” seems ungainly within the greater context. And, finally, the series concludes with nothing resolved, and many unanswered questions.
At its core, the Eternals Omnibus is an intriguing piece of Marvel history, with Jack Kirby, towards the beginning at least, never freer to express himself as he wished. And it makes for a hell of a ride.
Thor: The Eternals Saga – Vol 1 (Reprints Thor Annual #7, Thor #283-291)
A year after Kirby’s Eternals saga is cancelled, up stepped Roy Thomas to play in the sandbox, and attempt to wrangle the Eternals into the Marvel Universe proper. And to do that, Thomas entwined the Eternals with Marvel’s resident mythological star, Thor. What followed was a whole new exploration of the origin of the Asgardians.
This volume begins with Thor exiled from Asgard, and consulting with Mimir, the fiery well of knowledge, as to why he feels such an affinity for the affairs of humans. Mimir reveals to Thor that his memory is in fact incomplete.
Thor has met the Eternals before, half a millennium ago, yet has no recollections of the last appearance of the Celestials. Until now, when Mimir reveals to Thor the reappearance of the Celestials seen in the Kirby books. Attempting to prevent the Earth, or Midgard, from being destroyed by the Celestials, Thor is forbidden by Odin to interfere in the affairs of the Celestials and the Eternals. What follows through the rest of the volume is Thor’s journey, with the Eternals, to save the earth from the judgment of Arishem.
This is a big story. And reading through it, it certainly feels that way, as you never feel that you’re getting any closer to the end of the saga. The rotating roster of artists probably doesn’t help much either, and nor does a fill-in issue, starring evil wrestling villain El Toro Rojo, which is shoe-horned into the plot by making El Toro a deviant. Thankfully, the cliffhanger at the end of the volume leaves you wanting to get to the bottom of the mystery…
Thor: The Eternals Saga – Vol 2 (Reprints Thor #292-301)
So, we come to the second volume of the Eternals saga within the pages of Thor, and I have to say, it becomes difficult writing a review here without spoiling the cliffhanger from the first volume. Suffice to say, we don’t get to see much of the Thor we know, except for the framing sequence that begins and ends each issue. Fairly warned be ye, if thou pickest up this volume, that the Mighty Thor spends nigh on 10 issues, talking to a giant floating eyeball. Verily, a giant floating eyeball!
Once you can get your head around the concept of an eyeball narrator, who keeps using the word “eye” instead of “I” in a clever punning gag, you are treated to a variety of Thor stories in a bunch of different contexts. We see new costumes, including a woolly Thor, as well as alternate versions of Valkyrie, and a certain godly birth from a couple of millennia ago. The crux of the eye’s stories are the connection between the Celestials and Ragnarok, and a deal Odin has made to delay the end of the gods.
This trade takes a while to get through. If you’ve made it through the first volume, then this can feel like a lot of work. The blurb on the back cover, “The Battle Rages On!” is a complete fabrication. But still, once you do reach the end of what should be called the Celestials Saga, there is a feeling of accomplishment. I honestly don’t know how someone reading this story in serial form would have ever kept up with what was going on by the time it finished. In one reading though, it is an interesting epic, and successfully brings to a close the Eternals story that Kirby began 5 years previously. Of special note, the letters pages reprinted at the end of the book provide a nice coda to how and why the Thor end of the saga was conceived.
The Eternals: Neil Gaiman and John Romita Jr.
25 years after the Eternals saga was completed, the characters had made a number of small scale appearances in a number of Marvel titles, the highest profile possibly being Sersi’s long time membership of the Avengers during the early 90’s. Enter the unofficial head mythologian of the comic book form, Neil Gaiman, ably assisted by John Romita Jr on artistic chores.
Right from page 2, this story grabs you, with JRJR’s massive splash page. There are prettier artists at Marvel, and there are flashier, but I don’t know of many who would capture the heroism of the Eternals, the ugliness of the Deviants, and the size and power of the Celestials than Romita does on page 2. And you have to give Gaiman a lot of credit for having the courage to let his artist let rip right from the outset.
These Eternals aren’t those from the 70’s though. They’re lost, living normal human lives through a veil of hazy memories. Until Ike Harris (I love that alter-ego name!!) begins to awaken his brethren. Mystery upon mystery unfolds, as Eternals awaken, Deviants attack, and Sprite, well, what is up with Sprite anyway???
Re-imagined and updated with a purpose, these Eternals become characters you can finally actually care about. They’re no longer some sort of space gods, but they are given much more humanity. However, this humanity does not extend to the Eternals caring too much about the small Civil War intrusions on their lives within the story, which, when all is said and done, were probably un-necessary. That said, Gaiman & Romita’s Eternals is a fantastic self-contained epic, and the hardcover edition at least is packed with some juicy extras, including art and interviews.
The Eternals are back, but as their upcoming ongoing series will go to show, their future is still…unexplored!
