Are you up for a story about forgotten gods? Gods who used to be worshipped by humans but who now walk the Earth in obscurity? Original creator and late comic legend, Jack Kirby created the series known as The Eternals back in 1976 but he never finished it. I have no prior knowledge about this series and it’s not required because Gaiman does a really good job of introducing readers to this world of The Eternals.
Med student Mike Curry is on break, listening to a voicemail of his girlfriend dumping him and telling him that she’s taking the cat with her. Meanwhile, a stranger comes up to Curry knowingly and tells him that he is not human and that he lost his memory and that he is over half-a million years old. Curry’s response is to brush him off and writes the stranger off as a lunatic. However, the flashbacks from the start of the story confirms what Curry doesn’t know himself-yet, in that he is an Eternal. A super-being with powers.
The series goes further to explain how intelligent life began on Earth. Exploring the origins of life that is familiar with the exception of Celestials being the ones who seeded the Earth with intelligent life and created The Eternals. The Celestials also created The Deviants. A cruel race of creatures who held humanity in slavery. The Eternals along with the Celestials, fought them and reduced their numbers, freeing mankind to flourish again. However, there was always the threat of the Celestials returning to judge mankind like they did the Deviants. Meanwhile, the Eternals were worshipped as gods by man. Mankind was inspired by their talents and skills. Flash forward to the present day and we learn that there are less than a hundred Eternals still living with half or more with no memory or left with dreams of a previous life of immortality. A race of forgotten gods living among mankind along with a few Deviants to cause some havoc and destruction.
I pretty much had fun reading this comic. Yes, I have an eclectic reading palette. There was plenty of mystery and suspense to keep me turning the pages. The mystery turns toward the cause of all this strife of fractured memories and lost identities as the Eternals try to find their counterparts and prevent the Celestial from returning to Earth and destroying mankind. Then there is a thread where we learn what it’s like to lose one’s humanity and what it truly costs to be immortal. The writing is just exquisite. The artwork is fantastic. The attention to detail just excellent. The author does connect these stories with the Marvel Universe as well as provide us with a bit of humor here and there. This is a neat take on man’s origins and mythologies. I enjoyed it. A B+.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
No, but I have the book here. I need to move it up since you enjoyed it Ames and before the movie comes out, too.
i’m definitely going to have to check this out! i read stardust not too long ago and i like neil’s style.
have you read it? i’m looking forward to the movie.