Selected Book
Eternals
- Paperback
- Author: Neil Gaiman
- Artist: John Romita Jr.
- Publisher: Marvel Comics
- Release Date: July 2008
- ISBN-10: 0785121773
- ISBN-13: 9780785121770
- List Price: $24.99
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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon
SummaryYou are thousands of years old. You have amazing powers. You have watched civilizations rise and fall. So why does no one remember any of this? Bestselling Author Neil Gaiman (Marvel: 1602, Anansi Boys, Sandman) is joined by superstar artist John Romita Jr. (Amazing Spider-Man, Wolverine) to present a tale that will change the Eternals and the Marvel Universe forever! Collects Eternals #1-7. |
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Only if you're a Gaiman apologist...
Rating:
Review by Brian Grindrod
Neil Gaiman's first seven volumes of the Sandman series is one of the finest comic books ever published. The impact and influence from this body of work is immeasurable on how it finally brought artistic credibility to a medium that was believed to be catered to simple minded children. When one of the pioneers of the Modern Age of comic books takes an interest in modernizing a concept from the pioneer of the Silver Age, Jack Kirby, the barriers and standards are set high. However, it would be wise to temper down your expectations or else you will be disenchanted with The Eternals.
Gaiman respects all who wishes to let him tell the tale of Gods and monsters of the Marvel pantheon. Whether one has read every Eternals comic ever published and collected every appearance as opposed to the newcomer of this Jack Kirby creation, everybody has an equal chance to enjoy it. Unfortunately, this saga cannot be regarded as one of Gaiman's finest tales. The tortoise pace of the first four chapters makes it a chore to keep an interest in what is transpiring. While the attempt to integrate these characters within the Marvel Universe is well executed, the constant referrals to the mega Civil War crossover tend to be annoying and heavy-handed. It tends to stick out like a cheap prostitute who is searching for clients at a religious gathering.
With the first part of the story being presented as a mystery with a heavy dosage of dialogue, the pace finally picks by the middle of the sixth chapter when some of the mainstream super-heroes from the Marvel Universe form part of the script. Nevertheless, it is a case of too little, too late, to save this lacklustre tale that takes too long to find its focus. The reward for reading this update of this Jack Kirby idea is insufficient. Gaiman has simply laid a new backdrop for Marvel Comics to take the concept in any direction they wish.
While many are quick to praise John Romita JR's art, I have never been one to be impressed by the angular Frank-Milleresque stylized renderings. The unmoving facial expressions and lack of detail in the pencil work fails to impress me as it once did on his Daredevil run with Ann Nocenti. The choice of monotonous hues is another factor that makes the visual aspect of this book a sight for sore eyes. I have tried on a number of occasions to appreciate Romita JR's art but there is simply nothing about it that gets me excited. In the future, I will have to avoid whatever project he is working on if I wish to avoid frustration of my comic book purchases.
Neil Gaiman and John Romita JR's Eternals is hardly worthy of your leisure time and money. But if you are a Gaiman apologist and a rabid fan of Romita's work, then I suggest you get this edition which includes a laughable self-servicing interview with Neil Gaiman.
Awesome
Rating:
If you like Neil Gaiman, and especially if you like comics, you need to get this or borrow it from a friend/library right away. It doesn't take long to read, but it is amazing.
Weak story line
Rating:
Maybe I've gotten too used to Neil Gaiman's quality writing - e.g. Sandman, Anansi, American Gods, etc.. but this was a weak story line. Maybe it was the material - too similar to Kirby's New Gods DC line (personally I think that was a better effort on Kirby's part - but just my 2cents). Romita's drawings are OK. Neil's name on the cover was what got me to buy into this effort, but I was left disappointed, much like his re-imagining of the Marvel universe in colonial times. Unless you're a die hard Marvel/Eternals fan - save yourself a few pennies.
Setup, but it's Neil Gaiman doing another comic series-- how can you go wrong?
Rating:
Neil Gaiman, Eternals (Marvel, 2007)
Neil Gaiman working on a superhero comic? I signed up for this one as soon as I heard about it, and it didn't disappoint. Not much, anyway. (My disappointment will vanish entirely as soon as there is a volume 2.)
Eternals is basically set-up for a larger, as yet unrealized, series; we get to meet the characters, all of whom we already know in other flavors through the Marvel universe, and then we get the scene set for us. The characters, of course, have Gaiman's touch added to them, and a fine touch it is, as anyone who's perused his Sandman books is well aware. So you're not really reading this one for plot (though I don't mean to suggest there's no action to be found here; there certainly is), but just to get a feel for what's happening. The obvious-setup angle made me think about other series that simply started off with a bang and built up from there (Azzarello's 100 Bullets is the one that comes most quickly to mind); Eternals is a great example of the fact that a nothing-but-setup book is quite capable of working in the correct hands. Can't wait to see where this one is going. ****
Entertaining but Lifeless Blockbuster from Gaiman and Romita
Rating:
Marvel Knights fans will recognize the central conceit here from Paul Jenkins's Sentry reboot--longlost superheroes from another era have forgotten who they were, and so has the world. The main difference between the two series, however, is that the Sentry was a modern-day creation by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee, while the Eternals were created by the legendary Jack Kirby in the 1970's.
In the case of the Eternals, at least one person remembers them--Tony Stark--although it's not clear why he does. There's a mythology here involving three alien races, the Celestials, Deviants, and the Eternals, and something vague about the origins of life on Earth. The script, by Neil Gaiman, has its moments, while John Romita Jr.'s art is as visually stunning as always. Unfortunately, it's pretty clear that the mandate here is to re-introduce the characters into the Marvel Universe--and not to tell a complete story. While Gaiman doesn't stay entirely faithful to Kirby's Eternals mythology, one ends up wondering if Kirby's original creation, that lasted only 19 issues, was strong enough to warrant bringing back.
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