"To Slay a God," the first paperback collection of the new Eternals series by Charlie and Daniel Knauf, picks up more or less where the Neil Gaiman Eternals mini-series left off. Eternals - immortal, god-like beings created by an alien race to protect the Earth - are waking up around the world, regaining memories stolen from them by one of their own. Some prepare to defend the Earth from a vast alien Horde approaching from deep space; others are more concerned with carving out their own worldly empire. It's a great epic set-up.
But not a lot else. The Knaufs do a good job of developing the "great cosmic game" aspect of the series, building on foundations set by Gaiman and Eternals creator Jack Kirby. The various conflicts between the Eternals, the Celestials, and the Horde are intriguing and well thought out, but there just isn't enough characterization here to balance it out and really make me care what happens.
Kirby's Eternals were above all fun: extraordinary, thrill-seeking immortals who'd lived for thousand of years, experienced the best the Earth had to offer, and still weren't bored with crashing human parties. Gaiman's Eternals were a little more melancholy. Most of them had spent the last few years mind-wiped, thinking they were ordinary humans living ordinary lives, and several found that waking up to their true selves, to god-like powers and a multi-thousand-year perspective involved a certain amount of sacrifice. Friends, lovers, and simple joys were lost, and Gaiman left it ambiguous whether the Eternal life was really worth the cost.
But fun and ambiguity are both lacking in "To Slay a God." The Eternals of this new series tend to be very one-note: driven Ikaris, who would sacrifice anything to beat the Horde; protective mother Thena; protective girlfriend Sersi; existentially distracted Mikkari; evil facist dictator Druig, etc. There's little wit or ingenuity to their dialogue, and they never really feel like complete characters so much as chess pieces caught up in the great convoluted game of the plot.
At the end of each issue, we do get a nice, fun Kirby-style teaser for the issue to follow: "Be here next time, True Believers, as Ikaris grapples with his golden locks in: TO SHAMPOO A GOD!" (Not really. I'm riffing. But you get the idea.) You can almost hear Stan Lee in his best 1980s cartoon narrator voice. But I think a series as wild, wacky, and Kirby as the Eternals really needs such a voice throughout the story, not just on the final pages.
On the other hand, the art by Daniel Acuna is never short of spectacular. Acuna has a really unique style; he does his own inking and coloring and often uses color for his detailed line work where other artists would employ a fine point pen. It gives everything he draws a very distinctive texture, somehow both more solid and softer than your typical comic book art. That's how it looks to this writer, anyway; I'd love to hear what other artists see in Mr. Acuna's work.
- JC
But not a lot else. The Knaufs do a good job of developing the "great cosmic game" aspect of the series, building on foundations set by Gaiman and Eternals creator Jack Kirby. The various conflicts between the Eternals, the Celestials, and the Horde are intriguing and well thought out, but there just isn't enough characterization here to balance it out and really make me care what happens.
Kirby's Eternals were above all fun: extraordinary, thrill-seeking immortals who'd lived for thousand of years, experienced the best the Earth had to offer, and still weren't bored with crashing human parties. Gaiman's Eternals were a little more melancholy. Most of them had spent the last few years mind-wiped, thinking they were ordinary humans living ordinary lives, and several found that waking up to their true selves, to god-like powers and a multi-thousand-year perspective involved a certain amount of sacrifice. Friends, lovers, and simple joys were lost, and Gaiman left it ambiguous whether the Eternal life was really worth the cost.
But fun and ambiguity are both lacking in "To Slay a God." The Eternals of this new series tend to be very one-note: driven Ikaris, who would sacrifice anything to beat the Horde; protective mother Thena; protective girlfriend Sersi; existentially distracted Mikkari; evil facist dictator Druig, etc. There's little wit or ingenuity to their dialogue, and they never really feel like complete characters so much as chess pieces caught up in the great convoluted game of the plot.
At the end of each issue, we do get a nice, fun Kirby-style teaser for the issue to follow: "Be here next time, True Believers, as Ikaris grapples with his golden locks in: TO SHAMPOO A GOD!" (Not really. I'm riffing. But you get the idea.) You can almost hear Stan Lee in his best 1980s cartoon narrator voice. But I think a series as wild, wacky, and Kirby as the Eternals really needs such a voice throughout the story, not just on the final pages.
On the other hand, the art by Daniel Acuna is never short of spectacular. Acuna has a really unique style; he does his own inking and coloring and often uses color for his detailed line work where other artists would employ a fine point pen. It gives everything he draws a very distinctive texture, somehow both more solid and softer than your typical comic book art. That's how it looks to this writer, anyway; I'd love to hear what other artists see in Mr. Acuna's work.
- JC
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