Eternals by Kieron Gillen Omnibus

Eternals (2021) #1-2

by Kieron Gillen, Esad Ribić (Artist)

Superstar writer Kieron Gillen’s thrilling reinvention of Earth’s godlike protectors, the Eternals, collected in a single volume!

Never die…never win. What’s the point of an endless battle? For millions of years, one hundred Eternals have roamed the Earth, secret protectors of humanity. Without them, mankind would be smears between the teeth of the demon-like Deviants. The Deviant/Eternal war has waged for all time, echoing in our myths and nightmares. But today, the Eternals face something change! Can they — or anyone on Earth — survive this discovery? An Eternal has been murdered by one of their own, and this may not be the last such killing. But Sersi’s number one suspect is…Thena? And as the Eternals learn the truth of their existence, their society falls into chaos. Who can raise them up from the ashes? All hail Thanos, the Mad Titan…Eternal Prime?!

Eternals (2021) 1-12, Thanos Rises (2021) 1, Celestia (2021) 1, The Heretic (2022) 1

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels

384 pages, Paperback

First published May 18, 2022

About the author

Kieron Gillen is a comic book writer and former media journalist.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collecting Eternals #1 to #12 and three one-shots, 'Celestia', 'Hail Thanos' and 'The Heretic', Gillen makes me actually enjoy an Eternals read for the first time in my life! What the creative team does is take the foundation of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's Eternals and make the entire rationale for Earth's early development, the Celestials, Eternals and Deviants so so much better, but without re-imagining anything in the past! Gillen and his team give a master class in progressive innovative storytelling; the volumes guests Thanos, the Avengers and the entire history of Marvel Earth! At last a decent 2020's Marvel read. The art is mostly poor though. 7 out of 12, Three Stars from me.

2024 read

[Tiag⊗ the Mutant · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a shore to read, so boring and self-indulgent, good art by Esad Ribić though.

[Spenser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man I wish Kieron Gillen wasn't done writing for hire. I love his creator owned stuff, but I also really love to see what he comes up with inside an established world.

[StephY · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty great! The start can be somewhat overwhelming if you're not familiar with the Eternals in the comics (their MCU counterparts vary quite a bit), but once the pace is set this reads smoothly as a somewhat-political thriller. Think of it as light-Dune but with more fantastical elements as is the case with comic books.

But that doesn't really matter because the biggest breaking point for a lot of people with be the art. I personally really liked it. Yes, the faces can sometimes be a but jarring, but honestly I thought that as a whole, it gives the story a much more serious tone than if it were more cartoon-y/colorful (I've checked the art of the Judgment Day event and a vibes are completely different).

If the Eternals are ever to return, I'd love to see them under Gillen's pen once again.

[Matt Sautman · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far this is the most competently written Eternals story I have read due to it simply being able to be resolved within a single volume, yet the echoes of these events in the larger Judgment Day events, as well as the way this story builds out from Al Ewing’s Guardians of the Galaxy situates this book well for hardcore readers as well as those who may be reading about Eternals for the first time.

[Loki · Rating 5 out of 5]

A smart new take on the Eternals that both grounds and uplifts them. Gillen producing his usual great writing, and Esad Ribic's art captures the epic grandeur of the setting and characters perfectly. Too bad it didn't last longer.

[Samuli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily one of the best Big Two comics of the decade. Incredibly creative and rich sci-fi mythology full of superheroics but also politics and philosophy.

Gillen is a masterful prosaist and every artist put out top tier work. An absolutely excellent comic book!

[iselenris · Rating 3 out of 5]

they pissed me off actually, and FUCK DRUIG

[Freddie Domaille · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kieron Gillen simply does not know how to write a bad comic book. It's like it's coded into him like a principle.
Speaking of principles coded into people:
The Eternals have never felt so mythological and awesome (in the old sense of the word) and yet simultaneously so much like they're just an antivirus for the world. It's brilliantly done.

I mean, seriously, do you know how hard it is to make the Eternals interesting? Even Jack Kirby struggled to do that. Jack bloody "the King" Kirby! And they're not just interesting in this series; they're fascinating.

And the way the narrator is the Machine That Is Earth? Genius. The way that's tragically followed up on in A.X.E? Don't even get me started (because that's a different book and not relevant).

The first time I read this was on digital, so when I bought my copy of this omnibus physically from Gillen I had the opportunity to tell him that his run on Eternals was the book that got me banned by my partner from talking about comics at the pub because I wouldn't shut up about it and apparently the Eternals isn't an appropriate topic of conversation for pubs and bars and clubs etc. He asked me to extend his apologies to my friends and family for that.

And the art's pretty great too.

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story but my god, the Eternals are incredibly unlikeable (which to be fair, I think they're supposed to be). I liked learning the lore but the Eternals truly are the group I care about the least, and that's counting the Inhumans. Esab Ribic's art is once again outstanding and it's cool getting to see the lead up to the AXE Judgement Day event. Thanos and Druig are fun to root against, but it's not a shock to me the Eternals have never had extended success in the comics (apparently there have been less then 70 mainline Eternals issues in the decades they've existed).

[Fazun · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Chambers Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a fan of The Eternals.
But Gilles did a great job with this!
One of the best comics of the decade!