One Hundred Eternals, One Hundred Deviants and … a Mystery. It’s Our Advance Discussion of Eternals #1!

Ikaris is the last Eternal to come back to a now-meaningless life, expected to carry on with business as usual. So begins an ambitious relaunch courtesy of writer Kieron Gillen, artist Esad Ribić, colors by Matt Wilson, and Clayton Cowles handling the lettering and design!

Zoe Tunnell: It is here!!! After a two-month delay and months of waiting, Eternals #1 has finally arrived. The first Eternals series in over a decade, the creative team of Kieron Gillen and Esad Ribić have a ton of expectations to live up to from us dozens of Eternals fans. Plus, y’know, the several thousand other folks who heard there is a movie coming out.

Karen Charm: Wow, it really does feel like 2 million years of waiting for this to come out, but what’s waiting to those who live eternally? I’ve been on the edge of my seat leading up to this relaunch, blindly hopeful and cautiously optimistic. I’ve developed some strong opinions about the Eternals since last summer, for better or worse – does this comic meet my raised expectations?? Let’s talk about it! 

Ikaris is Awake, and so is The World

KC: The last time we saw the Eternals was dead in Jason Aaron and Ed McGuiness’ Avengers #1. That’s quite a pickle to inherit at the start of a new number one, not to mention for a series that’s historically struggled to find traction. It was a tricky hand to be dealt, but I gotta say I think Gillen nailed it. What’s your take, Zoe?

ZT: Agreed, on all fronts. Over in Avengers the Eternals all wiped themselves out, specifically, because they learned that their millennia-long mission was a giant lie, and that the Celestials left them on Earth as a glorified barricade and nothing more. Their brains couldn’t handle it and they all fell into a berserk, violent rage. Whoops! For folks who, somehow, haven’t read the *checks notes*…less than 50 collective issues of Eternals comics, the Eternals were created by the Celestials ages ago and, supposedly, left to safeguard and foster humanity. (For more background on The Eternals, READ OUR PRIMER) Gillen took this aggressively blank slate and ran buckwild with it in a way I truly enjoyed. As a #1, it is easily the most accessible the immortal weirdos have ever been.

KC: It’s funny you say “blank slate,” because it’s how Gillen doesn’t treat the title as such that I enjoy. Yes, I think it’s largely accessible to brand new readers, while still honoring all of the limited, but sometimes contradictory, continuity that precedes it. Gillen’s done the homework and the extra credit, making a holistic Eternals story that brings its past with it into an uncharted future. That is very satisfying to me.

ZT: It really is just about the best middle ground between appeasing existing fans and attracting new readers as I could think of, for the most part. Even the narrative framing device Gillen uses, having the sentience of Earth itself, or the closest approximation the Eternals have cooked up, be our narrator as we view these immortal beings it has observed over the ages through its eyes is such a clever trick. It allows the Eternals to be established to new readers while assuring us long-timers that things haven’t changed too much, all in a charming, just quippy enough package. It feels intimately Gillen, through and through.

KC: I’m less familiar with Gillen’s work in general, but the writing here is really winning me over. The dialogue feels easy and true – everyone fits their voice well. 

Everything New is Old Again

KC: Can I talk about the art now? This comic looks so amazing. Esad Ribić is well-established as a heavy-hitter, a modern-day Frank Frazetta, and he brings it for Eternals. I LOVE the costume redesigns – there’s something about the way he draws Ikaris’ costume, I’m obsessed! Everything is so dynamic, the architecture of the worlds he creates is awe-inspiring – we see several truly impressive vistas throughout the issue. The panels are detailed and full without feeling claustrophobic. Ribić is well-paired with Matt Wilson’s stunning colors, each scene distinctly identified with its own lush palette. Clayton Cowles’s lettering and design work are particularly striking, giving the entire book a new, exciting feeling. How did you feel about this new look for our old friends?

ZT: Honestly, I agree across the board. Ribić is a fantastic artist, but I feel like he is frequently misused. Both the Eternals as a concept, and the way Gillen frames them in familiar-but-just-new-enough ways play so perfectly into his strengths as an artist that I honestly can’t believe they didn’t let him try and relaunch it before. Even his usual weak point, expression-work, isn’t really a problem given the larger-than-life nature of the characters he and Wilson are playing with. Cowles’ work, which you mentioned, really surprised me as it goes beyond just a rock solid lettering job to fantastic design work when the, gasp, data pages arrive.

KC: I think the expressions are pretty great, particularly with Ikaris. His rendition of Sprite is odd, but in a way that I appreciate. Yes, Gillen told us before there would be data pages and we get some data PAGES. I geeked out over one in particular, real simple but still had me wigging out and cross-referencing Eternals continuity. Without saying too much, the way that particular data is organized offers some fascinating implications for where this title is headed. I’m hyped!

ZT: It definitely lends a bit more weight to Gillen saying he views Eternals, both the book and the characters, as less of a superhero team and instead a society. Turns out, societies aren’t super homogenous a lot of times and it is really exciting to think about what might lie in store down the road. Honestly, the only issue I have is Ikaris being the focal point for this debut. I don’t hate the guy but god he is dull.

KC: Ok, confession time – this issue kinda made me like Ikaris. I’ve also been moaning about the decision to have him featured so prominently, especially since the previous two volumes did so much to center Makkari and Sersi. I still feel that way, but there’s something charming about the way the narration describes Ikaris with an underlying message of “we know this guy sucks.” It works the best when he’s played against the other characters who have more, uh, personality. This is the kind of rehabilitation that makes me excited for when good characters get the spotlight. We see a handful of familiar characters throughout the issue, what did you think about some of these other appearances?

ZT: Outside of Sprite, I feel like they were a little too sparing for me to make any big calls. Sprite herself (she’s a girl now, turns out Eternals, like humans, can decide that whenever they want) was a treat, though! The last we saw her she was extremely dead, even for an Eternal, and the place Gillen places her at the start of this series is both unexpected and fun as hell. 

Also, I am pretty sure liking Ikaris this much qualifies as Excess Deviation so, good luck buddy.

KC: I always knew my place was with Kro, I accept this fate. Speaking of the Deviants, it’s clear by what we see in this issue that Gillen is approaching them with sensitivity and care. I really appreciate that vote of confidence, as it was one of my few wishes for this series.

100 Eternals, Endless Possibilities

ZT: Now, while we are both Pretty Happy with this issue, I feel like it is fair to describe it as a setting-the-stage affair. Ikaris and Sprite are perfectly fine leads, and both the action and dialogue are rock solid, but the issue very much feels as though Gillen and Ribić are playing the long game here. Personally, I am more than okay with it. The New Lore from the data pages is exciting on its own and Gillen’s track record with long-term series plots is sterling as far as I am concerned.

KC: Yeah I agree, this comic feels like it’s going to be a slow burn. It’s an enjoyable reading experience for sure, if lacking the kind of earth-shaking force of, say, House of X #1. I mention the X-Men also because there are a few things here besides data pages that make the comparison only natural. There’s still plenty of fertile, unexplored ground of purely Eternals lore to invest in. Every member of the creative team is working so seamlessly together to construct an entirely new corner of the Marvel cosmology. 

There’s only one moment I can think of where the world-building gets away from itself, where the narration gets a bit too poetic to clearly convey what we’re looking at. It fits the scene which is purposefully disorienting, but the extra time my brain spent trying to make sense of it might have thrown off the pacing for me, and the ending might not have hit as hard as it could have otherwise. I’m sure keeping up with solicitations didn’t help either, making the big reveal feel *cough* inevitable. What do you think, Zoe, did that scene confuse you at all or was I getting too hung up on trying to fit it to continuity?

ZT: A little bit, but its hazy enough right now that I ain’t turning my brain into knots trying to make it fit. The focal point in question needs a shake-up and while the prose may have gotten a little too clever, I think that’s the intended meaning. Look, if you look at solicits and read Gillen’s interviews then you’ll know what we are talking about in terms of a Large Presence on the series that might be elsewhere in the Marvel Universe. I am certainly far more excited for Gillen to take a crack at them than some other writers who have fixated recently. As a reveal, it is a little weak, but it sets up what is sure to be an utterly ridiculous visual feast of a brawl in #2, so I am fine with it. 

The thing that has me excited most is just the sheer amount of possible avenues this series could go. Gillen and Ribić took the vaguely defined history and identity of The Eternals and somehow managed to fill in most of the blank spaces while raising more questions than ever. I legitimately have no clue what we’re in store for on this book, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

KC: Well said. I’m happy to let out a sigh of relief that this reboot is everything I could have hoped for. Eternals fans are eating well right now. This also happens to be one of the most well-constructed comics I’ve read in a minute too, stylish and epic. I’d like to read the second issue now please, is it February yet?

ZT: 2021 is already off to a rough start because I need more. As this is a spoiler-free review, I can’t just say I am so excited for [REDACTED] to show up and the data pages showing [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] have me just dying to learn more about what this book is going to be. If we’re hit with another delay I might just lose it. 

Marvelous Musings

  • Cute little reference to Outlawed, there
  • ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
  • I love how Ikaris gets dressed
  • The brief appearance from a certain Armored Avenger was fun as hell, happy to see Gillen didn’t forget how to write him.
  • [REDACTED]!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Zoe Tunnell is a 29-year old trans woman who has read comics for most of her adult life and can't stop now. Follow her on Twitter @Blankzilla.

Karen Charm is a cartoonist and mutant separatist, though they’ve been known to appreciate an Eternal or two.