Retro Review – The Eternals Vol.1
“He resembles a human, he’s not like us, deviants, at all!” – Brother Tode
Synopsis:
I admit that I have never read an Eternals comic book until now. Thanks to Marvel’s re-release, just a few months before the theatrical release, I now have my chance! I am a huge Jack Kirby fan and I relish this chance to take in some new (to me), Kirby material from the silver age of comics. Kirby’s imagination comes alive in a day that saw Erich von Däniken’s Chariots of the Gods emerge, first as a novel with many sequels and then as a major motion picture which was a huge hit and the 9th highest-grossing film of 1970. Kirby begins with these ideas and then creates some memorable characters which grace the pages of this volume.
The Creative Team:
Kirby, ’nuff said. Jack the King Kirby delivers another crowd-pleasing tale of adventure. The tale begins with a group of archeologists uncovering a major find in the legendary Chamber of the gods. We cut to a group of deviants speculating about the return of the gods. Margo Damian is discussing the person of Ike Harris (more clever plays on names from the mighty marvel machine, Ikarus, get it?) with her father. She seems to be the only one that recognizes his strange behavior on this mission. Her father finally recognizes what Margo has known all along and they confront him with their speculations. He acknowledges their fears and lets them know that he’s not human. Kirby wastes no time bringing this unusual world into play. Most first issues are bogged down by long exposition and build-up, and that is evident here, but it doesn’t slow down the action in any way. One of the reasons Kirby was…and still is…the KING! Great stuff includes Ikarus history of the universe, part one and, what else, the first appearance of the Eternals.
Kirby, the artist, Jack Kirby was well known for his drawings of space ships and machinery, and highly praised for his attention to detail. That style of graphic illustrations is on great display here. We see his version of Incan art intermixed with his own imagination and it’s exhilarating! The only criticism I have of the art in this issue is that Margo looks a bit too much like his Sue Storm and the lack of Joe Sinnott’s inks, which is probably why I didn’t collect these with other Kirby titles, to begin with. I think Sinnott was the best inker of Kirby’s pencils and when Sinnot wasn’t touching up his pencils, well, it just isn’t the same. But for pure Kirby you can’t go wrong in fact highlights include, every damn page, Kirby poured all his passion into this title and he was clearly having more fun with this series than anything he’d ever done, including the Fantastic Four. There is not a dull page in the entire 199-page book.
In conclusion:
A great addition to my classic collection is this volume. I can’t put it down, each page is better and richer than the one that preceded it. I feel like a little kid again when I read through this series. This is so classic and I’m glad that Marvel saw fit to bring it back. I wonder if the new movie will capture what was magic about this issue, I guess we’ll find out when theatres re-open and it’s released (you cannot limit a project of this magnitude to mere streaming.) ****1/2 (9.4 rating)
SCORE: 4.5/5Â
Writer – Jack Kirby
Art – Jack Kirby, John Verpoorten, Mike Royer
Colors – Glynis Wein
Letters – Gaspar Saladino, John Costanza, Irving Watanabe, Mike Royer
Publisher – Marvel
Author Profile
- Kevin Given has studied with “ Longridge Writers Group †and “ Writer’s Boot Camp †a speech/communications major from the University of Maine Presque-Isle/Orono sites. He has created the “ Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter †franchise which includes novels and comic books. They can be found on amazon, Indyplanet and Kindle. For a limited time you can get digital copies of “ Karl Vincent: Vampire hunter †# 1 and “ Files of Karl Vincent †# 1 for free on Indyplanet. Kevin is producing the third novel in the series “ Dracula Rising †(working title) and developing “ Foul Blood †into comic book form. Don't forget to check out the YouTube show " Comics: Let's Talk " hosted by Kevin Given
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