tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post6324267701640360046..comments2024-03-19T10:41:35.976-05:00Comments on Bronze Age Babies: Return of the King: Eternals 1Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-87474513499262387962012-11-13T15:20:39.284-06:002012-11-13T15:20:39.284-06:00My aunt turned me on to Von Daniken when I was aro...My aunt turned me on to Von Daniken when I was around eleven years old. I was already a fan of the Fourth World, so when Eternals came along a couple of years later, I loved it. <br /><br />Since it was set in a separate universe (at first) I didn't care about the recycled ideas. However due to the terribly spotty distribution of US comics in my region, I only read five issues of the series. The unknowable grandeur and terror of the Fourth Host was the highpoint of the series. I do wish it hadn't been folded into the mainstream Marvel universe. Starlin's Titans had already been an awkward fit and this was, as HB said, a crammed bag of groceries.Dougiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03965448821892833703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-62615521734120973212012-11-13T01:28:23.263-06:002012-11-13T01:28:23.263-06:00I very much wanted to purchase the Marvel Omnibus ...I very much wanted to purchase the Marvel Omnibus Edition of this collection....however....it was only available by a third party seller for $100. The Parperbacks are far less expensive but I still would like to one day get the Omnibus for a resonable price. I have to agree that the writing was not the thing that attracted me to this . It was Kirby's cosmic art that really drew me in. If only Kirby was around to team them up with Thor the Inhumans or a script writer he could trust that wouldn't take credit for his concepts. <br /><br /><br />It was at this time Kirby was only filling his contractual obligations before he went to work in animation. He went on to be a concept artist for an animation company. It wasn't until that time he was paid what he was worth and finally got company paid health benefits.Fantastic Four Fan 4evernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-45608558584004014132012-11-12T23:11:44.719-06:002012-11-12T23:11:44.719-06:00The cover WAS reminiscent of the 1950's Atlas-...The cover WAS reminiscent of the 1950's Atlas-Marvel-whatever sci-fi/horror anthology comics, and may have been an intentional homage. Re: the over-filled grocery bag stuffed with aliens and underground races, my impression is that this series was originally a stand-alone one, outside the MU. By 1980 or so, Marvel decided that everything they published had to co-exist in one consistent universe, so that story arc sometime around Thor #290-300 tied the Eternals in, and had them meeting the "real" gods. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-48911430844331697232012-11-12T21:56:54.876-06:002012-11-12T21:56:54.876-06:00I gotta agree with Chuck Wells and say that Kirby&...I gotta agree with Chuck Wells and say that Kirby's turn on the Eternals was one of his better efforts. While not completely original in concept (strong influences from Von Daniken abound here) the story and artwork really gel here. Kirby especially gets to cut loose with his bombastic style here.<br /><br />One might groan at the Ike Harris/Icarus wordplay, but the same can be said of the other Eternals like Zuras/Zeus or Thena/Athena, clear alliterations to their Greek counterparts; Roy Thomas would later write a story in Thor's book where Odin and the Greek gods attack Olympia, home of the Eternals, who incidentally were aided by Thor!<br /><br /><br />- Mike 'have at thee!' from Trinidad & Tobago.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-62905236014919315542012-11-12T20:02:10.778-06:002012-11-12T20:02:10.778-06:00Does the cover itself strike anyone else as being ...Does the cover itself strike anyone else as being a rather neat (and probably intentional?) homage to the kinds of covers Jack put out by the zillion in his Atlas monster/sci-fi days? <br /><br />If I might refer back to Mark Evanier's Kirby biography again-- the point is made time & time again that Jack was just about as non-lucid a deep conversationalist as anyone could ever meet. That may have been a LARGE factor in why tough negotiations and legal decisions rarely went his way. His mind ran about twice as fast-- but it was on a very different set of rails (and was an easy target for purposeful de-railing, in fact). Hence, a facility for dialog was not something he ever was going to come by naturally-- because he didn't speak or think in a naturally easy, flowing way himself (or one is given to understand that that's the case). But one also gets the sense that he may have been sometimes impatient and dissatisfied w/ the work of other scripters, and would re-write their work himself back onto his own pages. At the very least, he had a noticeable blind-spot as to his limitations as a scriptwriter. It happens. Even with the greatest of artists.<br /><br />John Lennon truly loved Yoko's music, after all. France thinks every shred of Jerry Lewis' film canon is cinematic gold. Julie Taymor was positive she had plumbed the unrealized depths of the Spider-Man mythos (or something). Artists believe in themselves, their work, their vision, and their loved ones beyond the evidence of their own senses, sometimes. <br /><br />Ah-- but as far as this original ETERNALS run goes, even though I'm really kind of groovin' on the art, I never, ever had an interest sparked for them, because they didn't seem to cover any particular ground at all that hadn't already been explored by the Inhumans, the various existing MU pantheons (Asgardian, Greek & Egyptian, to name three), the MANY assorted under-the-crust subteraneans (Mole Man, Tyrannus, the little Moloid guys, Lava Men, and many others), and even the antics of the Kree. The grocery bag was already over-filled and ripping at the corners, and here was another ginormous creation mythos to be crammed in. . . y'know?<br /><br />Or am I being too hard?<br /><br />HB<br /><br />Humanbellynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-15710198190561118272012-11-12T12:54:29.137-06:002012-11-12T12:54:29.137-06:00I completely disagree with Mr. Anonymous. Kirby...I completely disagree with Mr. Anonymous. Kirby's return to Marvel produced some really fun - and yes - often wonky comics. The Eternals was a lot of fun, and this all-too brief title has been revisited by a number of talented creators over the intervening years, particularly in Thor and Avengers. His other work from the period deserves a look, so I recommend Black Panther, Machine Man, Devil Dinosaur, 2001: A Space Odyssey at the very least. Chuck Wellshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-49939116722994931182012-11-12T12:40:50.750-06:002012-11-12T12:40:50.750-06:00The sad declineof Kirby into his space god obsessi...The sad declineof Kirby into his space god obsession makes this stuff dreary to me. there are no characters to care<br />about in this or new<br />gods or captain galaxy etcAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-46796992385105183622012-11-12T12:17:54.704-06:002012-11-12T12:17:54.704-06:00Yes, the Kirby art here is much better than the Ca...Yes, the Kirby art here is much better than the Cap work of the same period. Maybe he felt more inspired by working on his own new, creation? <br /><br />Having said that, it still has the tell-tale elements of Kirby at this stage in his career: The blockiness of the characters, the hard angles, the rejection of the more naturalistic style of other artists at the time.<br /><br />It is amazing to think this was only six years after Kirby was doing his classic work on Fantastic Four, Thor and Captain America. His art on those around 1969-70 was some of his best ever. What happened during his tenure at DC that caused it to change as it did?Inkstained Wretchnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-23123980715063858042012-11-12T08:29:31.131-06:002012-11-12T08:29:31.131-06:00The Eternals is probably the best material produce...The Eternals is probably the best material produced by Kirby in his second coming at Marvel. There's so many great characters and concepts here that provide fertile ground for great stories.<br />However, I've read the entire series (not back then, but later), and I have to say the energy seems to fizzle out pretty quickly. It's a problem I noticed with some of his 4th World titles at DC: Kirby seems to have lost interest/inspiration at some point, and the stories suffer (and in the case of the Eternals, the artwork kind of suffered toward the end as well).<br />And Karen, re: the pronunciation of Ikarus/Ike Harris/Icarus. When I first started reading Greek myths back in grade school, I thought Icarus was pronounced "I-care-us" (I remember being shocked when I first heard it pronounced the right way). Anyway, I have to wonder if Kirby was pronouncing it that way all along? It would mean he and I actually had something in common...Edo Bosnarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-12611849177119760172012-11-12T07:58:59.568-06:002012-11-12T07:58:59.568-06:00I certainly can't help but agree that Kirby...I certainly can't help but agree that Kirby's work on <i>The Eternals</i> was more interesting (and entertaining) reading than his efforts on <i>Captain America</i>--perhaps because with <i>The Eternals</i> there were no preconceptions of the characters at odds with the new material. Doug's observation about Kirby's ideas not being tempered by an editor and simply "exploding" onto the scene reminded me of when you hear a person tell someone that "your ideas are fine--maybe it's just your presentation that needs work." In Kirby's case, his presentation problem has always been in his writing style aligning to the story his images are telling, as well as the odd flow of dialog itself (exaggeration where none is called for, emphasis on the wrong words, etc.).<br /><br />As Karen notes, the art in <i>The Eternals</i> is outstanding. Ditto for the wealth of concepts that Kirby has created here. But if the scripting falls short and isn't a match for the visual story playing out before us, a book written and drawn by Jack Kirby is disappointing not only from a story standpoint, but also from seeing such an otherwise promising concept like <i>The Eternals</i> failing to be carried to its full potential.<br />Comicsfanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10064955427593820783noreply@blogger.com