Product Description: You 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.
Entertaining but Lifeless Blockbuster from Gaiman and Romita 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.
Fantastic short reading experience This comic book masterpiece is a pleasure to read! The quality of the art together with a well written story generate a book you do not want to put down in the middle. I really wished it wouldn't end so soon.
Well-executed, but not Gaiman's best work. This reads like the first three or four chapters of a really good Neil Gaiman series. The problem is, that's all. He does a magnificent job of setting up the characters, starting their stories, and precipitating them into conflict, but then the energy trails off, and the resolution is stamped far more with "ok, time to close this off and work on other projects" than it is "I have thought of a masterful reworking of this concept."
All in all, it's not bad, but it's more a revitalization of Kirby's characters than a reworking of them -- the transformative brilliance Gaiman has displayed in works like the Sandman series or _1602_ isn't present here. There's no flash of genius, just a technically well-executed story. There are strong, believable characters, a decent plot, compelling villains, and so forth. That's still better than a lot of things out there, and overall this is probably worth reading, but it isn't in the first rank of Gaiman's works.
Disappointing Just expected more from this. After Gaiman's duties on the spectacular 1602, I really expected something as good w/this reworking. Doesn't meet expectations for a Gaiman project and there was a lot of hype around this. It's ok, but is lacking; the story is pretty juvenile and is just a set up for future books.
So-so. Kind of disappointing. When I was a kid, I collected all of the original "Eternals" series... It wasn't really very good, but it was fun in a goofy, campy kind of way, like much of Kirby's work in the 1970s. The characters were definitely paper-thin, and thus the prospect of having the great Neil Gaiman take on the story held out the promise of these stick-figure personalities gaining some depth and interest. Sadly, he seems to have dropped the ball in that regard -- other than the eternal-child, Sprite, very little is done to make any of these characters interesting or compelling... Certainly not anything on the level of Gaiman's best writing ("Sandman," et al)
This book was reasonably entertaining, with lavish, action-y artwork by John Romita, Jr. (gotta love him!) but nothing in the plot that really blew my mind. Oh, well. I might pick up the next book, but then again, I might not. This one didn't wow me as much as I'd hope it might. (Axton)
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