‘Neil Gaiman’s Eternals’ – Neil Gaiman, John Romita Jr (Marvel)

I grabbed a copy back in July with the intention of reading it before the movie came out and then popped it on a TBR pile and promptly forgot about it. Easily done at my place 😉 Well, my eldest daughter borrowed it for a read and ended up getting really into it so I thought that at the very least, I needed to read it myself and see what was what. So that is exactly what I did 😊 It took me a while to get round to it but I have finally read ‘Neil Gaiman’s Eternals’ and before the movie arrives as well (well, only just but we’re not quibbling here; it’s way better than I normally manage!)

Just a quick post today though, I’m catching up on work stuff (after the last few days on leave) so unfortunately don’t have the time to really go off on one here, hope you don’t mind 😉

The Eternals, immortals with phenomenal powers and created by the more than god-like beings known as the Celestials. When medical student Mark Curry is approached by a man with strange golden eyes and told that he is an Eternal events are set in motion that force Mark to question everything he has ever believed (Collecting Eternals #1-7)

I’ve never read any ‘Eternals’ before now so was very pleased to see that what we have here is more or less an origin story with a sprinkling of background that while informative, didn’t get in the way of the plot. As a newcomer to ‘The Eternals’ this was just what I wanted, a nice introduction to the team (although I don’t know if you’d call them a team…?) that doesn’t go into huge detail but doesn’t assume that you know more about it than you actually do. All I really need to know is who everyone is and why they’re doing what they’re doing, which is more or less what we get here. I say ‘more or less’ because there is a mystery to be solved here and while that’s playing out, Mark Curry is not the only person to discover that they have powers. There’s a lot going on here but Neil Gaiman is far too much of an accomplished storyteller to let it overwhelm the reader. Information is doled out gradually and in such a way that you find yourself reading more and more just to get the whole picture. It’s very cleverly done, even more so when you consider that there aren’t really any major cliffhangers until towards the very end of the book.

And I did enjoy how it all came together at the end with everything playing out around a massive Celestial that was far beyond anyone’s ability to deal with. In particular, I enjoyed how Gaiman has the Eternals sidestep the issue of superhero registration (which I won’t spoil but was very funny in how simply and quickly it was dealt with).

I am rubbish at talking artwork as I’m very much a ‘I like what I see but couldn’t really tell you why’ kind of person. At least that’s how I am today, it’s been one of those days. I do like art though where you look at it and instantly know who did it and that is very much John Romita Jr’s art. That’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned, the art complements the story brilliantly and that’s all I’m after really, especially when I’m just getting to know the characters etc.

I think it’s safe to say that if you want a little grounding in ‘The Eternals’ before seeing the film, ‘Neil Gaiman’s Eternals’ is a very good place to get just that. Well worth picking up if you see a copy.