Jack Kirby created The Eternals after returning to Marvel after a stint at DC where he created the New Gods. The Eternals use similar themes about our perception of Earth in relation to the history of other beings that are more powerful than our reality. Unfortunately Both New Gods and Eternals were cancelled before Kirby could finish the projects, and while New Gods would fit into the the DC universe quite well, Eternals took a while, especially as it was imagined to be something very different from the regular Marvel universe and as such was created so that it wouldn’t be.
Over time The Eternals would crop up but never fully become part of the Marvel comic pantheon. A character or two would show up, but as a consistent presence? Over the last nearly 40 years The Eternals just didn’t gain a lot of traction. Enter writer Neil Gaiman and artist John Romita Jr. A few years ago they did a reboot of The Eternals and now that 10 issue series is the latest motion comic from Shout Factory.
No introduction or previous knowledge is necessary to enjoy this. Neil Gaiman wrote this in a way that introduces new readers as well as the characters to the world inhabited by these beings. We meet Mark Curry, on track to be a doctor in New York City when he is approached by a man who seems like he might be crazy. Immortal? Invulnerable? Of course it takes a little while but this blonde demi-god type person proves to be right. There’s a battle raging on between the Eternals and the Deviants, both created by Celestials, giant alien robots who it turns out created Earth.
Iron Man and a couple of other Avengers show up in the story and it takes a while but the reason there’s a sort of collective amnesia becomes clear. The ending is open for a continuation of the series, and it makes sense but does feel unsatisfactory. It’s not a bad ending though, it’s just obvious the story isn’t done, sort of a “now what?” feeling despite the resolution.
One special feature is a 10 minute look at the making of the comic with John Romita Jr. and it offers up a solid look at what went into the making of the original comic as well as how the artist can affect the narrative rather than simply putting pictures to words.