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Eternals (1976) #12-19
Eternals by Jack Kirby Vol. 2 (Eternals
Collects Eternals (1976) #12-19 & Annual #1.
A time of titans, terror and time travel - as only the King could conceive! Imagine a race of immortal beings possessed of seemingly limitless superhuman abilities including energy projection, strength and flight. Once worshipped as gods, this fantastic group left Earth to explore the stars after warring with the Greek, Roman and Norse pantheons for supremacy over mankind. In 1976, Jack Kirby introduced what was to be his final great Marvel Comics creation: the Eternals! With nearly four decades of experience creating iconic characters, Kirby stretched his imagination to the limit for his last tale. Looking beyond the familiar ground of super heroes, Kirby crafted a cosmic epic that took comic-book fans on a spectacular adventure every month. Since Kirby's groundbreaking work, the Eternals and their malevolent counterparts, the Deviants have become vital parts of the Marvel Universe.
A time of titans, terror and time travel - as only the King could conceive! Imagine a race of immortal beings possessed of seemingly limitless superhuman abilities including energy projection, strength and flight. Once worshipped as gods, this fantastic group left Earth to explore the stars after warring with the Greek, Roman and Norse pantheons for supremacy over mankind. In 1976, Jack Kirby introduced what was to be his final great Marvel Comics creation: the Eternals! With nearly four decades of experience creating iconic characters, Kirby stretched his imagination to the limit for his last tale. Looking beyond the familiar ground of super heroes, Kirby crafted a cosmic epic that took comic-book fans on a spectacular adventure every month. Since Kirby's groundbreaking work, the Eternals and their malevolent counterparts, the Deviants have become vital parts of the Marvel Universe.
183 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2008
15 people are currently reading
112 people want to read
About the author
Jack Kirby
2,800 books474 followersJack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg) was one of the most influential, recognizable, and prolific artists in American comic books, and the co-creator of such enduring characters and popular culture icons as the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Hulk, Captain America, and hundreds of others stretching back to the earliest days of the medium. He was also a comic book writer and editor. His most common nickname is "The King."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
March 30, 2021
Ok then, Book two finished, All in all this has been the weekend of overlong superhero adventures, between the obscenely long director’s cut of Justice League and both volumes of the not quite obscenely long but read that way volumes of The Eternals.
There isn’t much to say about book two I didn’t say in my review of book one. So having read both of them the main thought is wow…so 70s. All the things traditionally associated with a decades of notoriously terrible tastes and ideas…from hilariously terrible fashions and styles, the wild ‘dos and oh so many don’ts to the wild far out ideas…trippy, man.
And yes, once the kitsch factor gets old, the stories do get somewhat tiresome, but the most exhausting thing about them is the writing and having never read Kirby before I don’t have a base of comparison, so this isn’t a general observation about his style, it’s specific to this book, but boy, did he overwrite. It’s peculiar because he was doing both story and art, so you’d think he’d strike a finer balance between words and images, but no…he’d draw something and then tell you all about it. And the dialogue is just as hyperverbal and ponderous.
But that’s really the main criticism. Because the overall production is still pretty fun.
It’s interesting that despite the fact that the series only went on for two years and wasn’t especially well received (though obviously Kirby tried with this second volume, he even threw in some huge name guest stars, albeit his version of them), it still gained a significant place in the Marvel Universe, reused, revisited and referenced in many comics since. Guess that’s Marvel for you, waste not, want not. If they were a carnivore, they’d be the ones who eat every single ounce of the animal.
So it isn’t necessary reading per se, but if you’re into the 70s zeitgeist (casual sexism and all), kitsch, ancient aliens, mythology ripoffs/pastiches inspired superpowered adventures, you’ll probably enjoy The Eternals. It’s just such a fun, cheesy, brightly technicolored extravaganza.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
There isn’t much to say about book two I didn’t say in my review of book one. So having read both of them the main thought is wow…so 70s. All the things traditionally associated with a decades of notoriously terrible tastes and ideas…from hilariously terrible fashions and styles, the wild ‘dos and oh so many don’ts to the wild far out ideas…trippy, man.
And yes, once the kitsch factor gets old, the stories do get somewhat tiresome, but the most exhausting thing about them is the writing and having never read Kirby before I don’t have a base of comparison, so this isn’t a general observation about his style, it’s specific to this book, but boy, did he overwrite. It’s peculiar because he was doing both story and art, so you’d think he’d strike a finer balance between words and images, but no…he’d draw something and then tell you all about it. And the dialogue is just as hyperverbal and ponderous.
But that’s really the main criticism. Because the overall production is still pretty fun.
It’s interesting that despite the fact that the series only went on for two years and wasn’t especially well received (though obviously Kirby tried with this second volume, he even threw in some huge name guest stars, albeit his version of them), it still gained a significant place in the Marvel Universe, reused, revisited and referenced in many comics since. Guess that’s Marvel for you, waste not, want not. If they were a carnivore, they’d be the ones who eat every single ounce of the animal.
So it isn’t necessary reading per se, but if you’re into the 70s zeitgeist (casual sexism and all), kitsch, ancient aliens, mythology ripoffs/pastiches inspired superpowered adventures, you’ll probably enjoy The Eternals. It’s just such a fun, cheesy, brightly technicolored extravaganza.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
May 18, 2012
Pretend this sentence is doing all of the typical heaping of praise upon Jack Kirby, and all that other good stuff you usually hear attached to the name. He deserves it for all the work he did in the 60's without a doubt. The Eternals, however, is not his best effort andis far removed from the glory days of the Hulk and Thor.
I blame the fact that Kirby was not only the artist and writer for the series, but also his own editor. Its not that the series is bad, just bland. Outside of the artwork there's nothing that stands the test of time in the Eternals, save for Sersi and the Celestials. Kirby wanted to keep them as much apart from the regular Marvel continuity as possible, but in doing so, he also puts them outside of all the things we already know and love. The stories are fun for a minute, but in the end, they're completely forgettable. Kirby's writing is too stiff to make this feel like anything but a novelty.
The art, though, as always, is superb. Combined with brilliant colors, it couldn't get much better.
Grade: C
I blame the fact that Kirby was not only the artist and writer for the series, but also his own editor. Its not that the series is bad, just bland. Outside of the artwork there's nothing that stands the test of time in the Eternals, save for Sersi and the Celestials. Kirby wanted to keep them as much apart from the regular Marvel continuity as possible, but in doing so, he also puts them outside of all the things we already know and love. The stories are fun for a minute, but in the end, they're completely forgettable. Kirby's writing is too stiff to make this feel like anything but a novelty.
The art, though, as always, is superb. Combined with brilliant colors, it couldn't get much better.
Grade: C
February 27, 2025
The second volume of Eternals strays from its main plot involving the Celestials, and lingers, instead, on many other auxiliary stories, rendering it bland with over-exposition and wooden dialogues.
December 25, 2023
It's a shame the series spends more time with a robotic Hulk than any of the other secondary characters.
December 23, 2021
The crossover with the Marvel universe, so prominent on the cover, wasn't an actual crossover. The "Hulk" here is one of Kirby's many, many golems.
The story before that drawn out fight with golem Hulk, about three spaceships, human, deviant, and celestial (while the Eternals are all uni-minding), was the most interesting.
I picked this up not because of the Eternals movie, but because a comics youtuber had said Kirby unofficially continued his New Gods with this series. At which point, I wonder if I'm the one lacking imagination.
The story before that drawn out fight with golem Hulk, about three spaceships, human, deviant, and celestial (while the Eternals are all uni-minding), was the most interesting.
I picked this up not because of the Eternals movie, but because a comics youtuber had said Kirby unofficially continued his New Gods with this series. At which point, I wonder if I'm the one lacking imagination.
November 6, 2021
Collects The Eternals issues #12-19 and The Eternals Annual #1
With the "Eternals" film release this year, I decided to check out the original Jack Kirby run for the first time. I finished Volume #1 about two months ago, and I've been slowly working my way through this volume since then. As a coincidence, I happened to have seen the MCU Eternals film last night as I type this review.
There are interesting aspects of it, but when it comes to learning about the world of the Eternals, I got much more out of this one-shot issue: "Eternals: Secrets From The Marvel Universe" issue #1 - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...
The Hulk is on the cover of this volume, but it isn't actually him in the story, rather it is a robot that looks like The Hulk.
Even though I'm not disappointed that I read this, it was in the middle of this reading that something hit me. These issues came out in the later 1970s, and the Marvel writers of that time weren't anticipating how their works would be regarded in the future. At the time, comic books were a disposal form of media, so the way that the plot held together from issue to issue wasn't always the priority. Today there are a lot of great comic books and graphic novels for people of all ages, but these early Marvel books were really aimed at kids, and for some reason, it was while I was trying to understand the world of the Eternals that this fact started to bother me. I'm not saying that I want to give up on reading comic books, but I may consider the audience more when picking and choosing which books I read. All I know is that there were times when this was a slog to get through, and I had to really question if this was a good use of my time.
With the "Eternals" film release this year, I decided to check out the original Jack Kirby run for the first time. I finished Volume #1 about two months ago, and I've been slowly working my way through this volume since then. As a coincidence, I happened to have seen the MCU Eternals film last night as I type this review.
There are interesting aspects of it, but when it comes to learning about the world of the Eternals, I got much more out of this one-shot issue: "Eternals: Secrets From The Marvel Universe" issue #1 - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...
The Hulk is on the cover of this volume, but it isn't actually him in the story, rather it is a robot that looks like The Hulk.
Even though I'm not disappointed that I read this, it was in the middle of this reading that something hit me. These issues came out in the later 1970s, and the Marvel writers of that time weren't anticipating how their works would be regarded in the future. At the time, comic books were a disposal form of media, so the way that the plot held together from issue to issue wasn't always the priority. Today there are a lot of great comic books and graphic novels for people of all ages, but these early Marvel books were really aimed at kids, and for some reason, it was while I was trying to understand the world of the Eternals that this fact started to bother me. I'm not saying that I want to give up on reading comic books, but I may consider the audience more when picking and choosing which books I read. All I know is that there were times when this was a slog to get through, and I had to really question if this was a good use of my time.
November 8, 2021
The first volume of this series contains the best work of Kirby’s 70s return to Marvel. This second volume isn’t the worst, but it’s much more like some other books he produced for the publisher - menace-of-the-month slugfests which get by on Kirby’s protean energy but lack the spark of his best late work.
Eternals is his second unfinished cosmic saga of the 70s, and the lesser one, but the first couple of issues here still have the vitality of the earlier volume - and there’s still a sense of a bigger plot moving forward, as the Eternals join together in a “Uni-Mind” leaving only a few, including the mysterious ‘Forgotten One’ and the bloodthirsty Deviant Reject, to maintain the fragile truce between Man and Eternal.
And then, sadly, the behind the scenes pressure to make Eternals into a superhero comic finally gets too much, and boring old Ikaris takes centre stage for a three issue fight against a fake Hulk. If it was meant to revive the comics fortunes, it failed, and a handful more issues resolve a few of the remaining plots - so at least the comic gets a conclusion. Unlike the Fourth World, I’ve never heard of any particular wider ending Kirby had in mind for this story, so it might easily have petered out in any case - and nobody’s heart is in the wretched Hulk sequence. But more than any of his other return to Marvel work, there’s a hint of unfulfilled potential which the company’s subsequent use of these characters has mostly ensured will stay that way.
Eternals is his second unfinished cosmic saga of the 70s, and the lesser one, but the first couple of issues here still have the vitality of the earlier volume - and there’s still a sense of a bigger plot moving forward, as the Eternals join together in a “Uni-Mind” leaving only a few, including the mysterious ‘Forgotten One’ and the bloodthirsty Deviant Reject, to maintain the fragile truce between Man and Eternal.
And then, sadly, the behind the scenes pressure to make Eternals into a superhero comic finally gets too much, and boring old Ikaris takes centre stage for a three issue fight against a fake Hulk. If it was meant to revive the comics fortunes, it failed, and a handful more issues resolve a few of the remaining plots - so at least the comic gets a conclusion. Unlike the Fourth World, I’ve never heard of any particular wider ending Kirby had in mind for this story, so it might easily have petered out in any case - and nobody’s heart is in the wretched Hulk sequence. But more than any of his other return to Marvel work, there’s a hint of unfulfilled potential which the company’s subsequent use of these characters has mostly ensured will stay that way.
April 20, 2023
Jack "King" Kirby's stories have a wonderful traditional feel to them with a lot of overblown dialog, highbrow concepts usually dealing with gods and creation and the end of the world with an almost psychedelic view of the world that for a time defined pop art in the sixties and seventies. Its all great stuff as long as you don't look too closely. This concluding trade paperback of Kirby's original run has all those elements: god-like beings, hapless humans caught in adventures way over their heads, cosmic mysteries beyond our knowing, pseudo-super-science, the whole shebang. What it doesn't have is a coherent long-term story arc about the main premise of the series, the judgement of the space gods (beings who would later be called the Celestials). Kirby created a world where Eternals came out of hiding as a result of the arrival of the space gods who would, in turn, judge Earth's inhabitants for their worthiness. But he never had an exit strategy. I believe it was always meant to be a world where endless adventures took place but none of us would be around long enough to see its end. So take it as it is, a wonky, sometimes nutty and koo-koo series of tales that only Jack Kirby could conceive and draw.
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December 8, 2024No suelo puntuar cómics de superhéroes porque me falta mucha calle, pero sí puedo dejar unos comentarios. Aburridísimo, en parte por una lucha contra "Hulk" que se alarga unos tres números, supongo que con la idea de sumar ventas por la portada. Tampoco me ha gustado una narración comiquera muy simplona (algo que también contribuye al agotamiento y a la lectura en diagonal): cómo la acción fluye de panel a panel y de página a página. La sociedad que retrata (la parte no fantástica, vamos) parece, más que de finales de los 70, de principios de los 60: ha envejecido fatal todo. No acaba del todo mal, con un atisbo de por dónde habría tirado la historia, pero el caso es que se quedó inacabado. En resumen: mucho relleno, poca planificación. En cualquier caso, he satisfecho mi curiosidad con esta muestra de Kirby y del principio de los eternos y los celestiales.
March 29, 2018
Sort of a watered-down New Gods - Eternals as the denizens of New Genesis, Deviants as Apokoliptans, and the Celestials as a more active, but still unknowable Source - and the book starts to lose some fun in the second volume when Ikaris fights the Hulk for almost three issues straight.
Still, there's some fun here (even in the Hulk issues, where they refer to Hulk as a Marvel character, suggesting that - SHIELD agents in the early issues aside - it does not take place in the Marvel Universe. I liked how Kirby juggled the ensemble cast, and the scale of the Celestials was well done. Good, but not great.
Still, there's some fun here (even in the Hulk issues, where they refer to Hulk as a Marvel character, suggesting that - SHIELD agents in the early issues aside - it does not take place in the Marvel Universe. I liked how Kirby juggled the ensemble cast, and the scale of the Celestials was well done. Good, but not great.
April 7, 2019
This second half was weaker (punctuated by a couple awesome moments.)
The pseudo Hulk part was a big waste of time.
Sersi helping kick Dromedan’s ass was awesome, and the last issue was pretty badass. I find Sersi entertaining every time she’s on the page.
My favorite character was the mysterious and barely seen Forgotten One. He was awesome, and definitely the one I left wanting to know the most about.
I’m glad I read this. It contains a lot of great marvel lore. Unfortunately, it did not age well and was a bit of a slog.
The pseudo Hulk part was a big waste of time.
Sersi helping kick Dromedan’s ass was awesome, and the last issue was pretty badass. I find Sersi entertaining every time she’s on the page.
My favorite character was the mysterious and barely seen Forgotten One. He was awesome, and definitely the one I left wanting to know the most about.
I’m glad I read this. It contains a lot of great marvel lore. Unfortunately, it did not age well and was a bit of a slog.
October 15, 2019
In my review of the last volume, i talked about how this went against the history set up in Marvel, and also how none of the other heroes appear. This volume had the explanation for that which is my new complaint: that this takes place in a world where the heroes and villains of Marvel comics are just comic books. It doesn't make sense why it was set up that way, and there is absolutely no resolution to a number of the other threads that were brought up and put forth in this series.
April 29, 2020
Jack Kirby experts and friends of the King will tell you that his imagination is limitless. Well, this really felt like he ran out of ideas. The Eternals form the Unimind, which flies off into space and .... does nothing. Just returns to Earth and disolves into it's component Eternals. There's a three issue arc of Ikarus and them fighting a cosmic robot Hulk, and a couple more standard, mostly throw-away adventures. For a story which started so powerfully, this really fizzled.
August 19, 2020
Kirby's exploration of the hidden offshoots of humanity, the Eternals and the Deviants, ends here with more mind blowing ideas and images frenetically embedded on the page as only Kirby could deliver but with some pressures to integrate to the wider Marvel Universe with an appearance by a cosmically enhanced robotic duplicate of the Incredible Hulk. Still a lot of neat stuff but not quite as strong as the first volume.
October 10, 2021
2.5
Desgraciadamente la magia de Jack Kirby se desperdicia acá. Es un volumen que, aunque tiene sus momentos buenos momentos, pierde tiempo y espacio enfocándose en amenazas muy parecidas a las de los superhéroes de todos los días, haciendo que los Eternals no se logren diferenciar. Los mejores momentos son cuando continúan con la trama principal sobre de los Celestials, pero hasta eso parece quedar en segundo plano acá. Una lástima!
Desgraciadamente la magia de Jack Kirby se desperdicia acá. Es un volumen que, aunque tiene sus momentos buenos momentos, pierde tiempo y espacio enfocándose en amenazas muy parecidas a las de los superhéroes de todos los días, haciendo que los Eternals no se logren diferenciar. Los mejores momentos son cuando continúan con la trama principal sobre de los Celestials, pero hasta eso parece quedar en segundo plano acá. Una lástima!
January 13, 2022
I followed up with Kirby's second volume. I always like to get and understanding of the classic versions of characters before checking out the more modern versions of the characters. I found this one a bit hard to keep my interest in. I was anxious to get through it, though I enjoyed the Hulk story and a few others.
May 19, 2018
Kirby knows how to create some majesty and some feeling of divine mystery.
But he does't seem to know how to keep the story moving. It feels like the episodes are not really driving at anything. Just more mystery.
But he does't seem to know how to keep the story moving. It feels like the episodes are not really driving at anything. Just more mystery.
May 3, 2019
They managed to develop these characters to distinguish their personalities and motivations from the other Eternals, Deviants. They managed to push the plot forward with the looming existential threat and unwanted troubles to showcase the Eternals' skills and intelligence
June 22, 2021
The Kirby artwork was great, but sometime (probably after the Annual), the story seems to lose its focus. Ideas like the a robotic Hulk attacking really feel a bit random. The story meandered a lot and I can't help but wander if Kirby would have been happier had the option of writing a 12-issue Maxi Series were available. As it is, the book feels like it meanders. Some of the characters do show more development. Otherwise, though, this is a bit of a disjointed close to the early Eternals omics.
November 22, 2021
WOW this series lost itself in the 2nd half. There is a fake hulk battle that takes up like 4 issues that does nothing to forward the overall plot. I am not into much of the old marvel cosmic stuff and this was worse than most of it. The movie has a TON of red-conning to do.
November 30, 2021
Although filled with a lot of marvel lore, it is a chaotic and nonsensical beast to read now. Everyone is just….boring. But when Kirby is drawing giant celestials and massive blasts of energy, one doesn’t really care what is written on the page.
December 14, 2019
Se me ha hecho larguísimo y el final es bastante decepcionante. La premisa y los personajes son interesantes, pero la ejecución deja mucho que desear.
November 1, 2021
Not in love with it, but it was fun-ish
May 27, 2022
Kirby's time with the Eternals is less than. There's some good Kirbyisms. Karkas is awesome. I want more Karkas.
September 16, 2025
Good overall, some odd things in the series though you can see themes coming through. Will take me a while to move on to the next series though as have a lot to read before I get to that point
September 7, 2021
😭 خلصت امس
April 10, 2022
Weaker volume than the first. I liked the issue with the Astronauts and the final issue, but everything else felt like filler. The Hulk issues were particularly annoying, although I understood that apparently, Kirby didn't want this title crossing over into the Marvel universe to begin with.
January 1, 2021
The inclusion of Hulk only served to point out the absurdity of the Eternals.
We dig in to the Eternals over on Comic Book Coffee Break: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/fr...
We dig in to the Eternals over on Comic Book Coffee Break: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/fr...
April 1, 2022
2 1/2 to 3 stars.
So this rounds out the original run of the eternals. Whilst certain individual issues were good and the small story arcs were okay and interesting at times I confess to being a bit disappointed. There are several plot threads that have just been left dangling and the overall story arc of the Celestials appears to have been all but abandoned.
Clunky dialogue continues as does a lack of personality with each of the characters and sexism runs riot throughout, but perhaps this is just a result of comic books back I the 70s.
Overall, though I did enjoy the smaller arcs there is a disappointing lack of celestials and entire main characters disappear without real reason. This combined with there being no real conclusion to the main storyline of the Celestials judgement of humanity just leaves the whole thing feeling somewhat I complete. I shall endeavour to see if there was ever a follow up to conclude these events but even so, the rating stands at 2 1/2 or 3 stars at an absolute push.
Ultimately, my impression of Eternals so far is a fantastic concept created with superb imagination but realised mediocrely at best.
So this rounds out the original run of the eternals. Whilst certain individual issues were good and the small story arcs were okay and interesting at times I confess to being a bit disappointed. There are several plot threads that have just been left dangling and the overall story arc of the Celestials appears to have been all but abandoned.
Clunky dialogue continues as does a lack of personality with each of the characters and sexism runs riot throughout, but perhaps this is just a result of comic books back I the 70s.
Overall, though I did enjoy the smaller arcs there is a disappointing lack of celestials and entire main characters disappear without real reason. This combined with there being no real conclusion to the main storyline of the Celestials judgement of humanity just leaves the whole thing feeling somewhat I complete. I shall endeavour to see if there was ever a follow up to conclude these events but even so, the rating stands at 2 1/2 or 3 stars at an absolute push.
Ultimately, my impression of Eternals so far is a fantastic concept created with superb imagination but realised mediocrely at best.
March 25, 2013
So much visual inventiveness and fun in this that I can't bring mysef to give it less than five stars; even if the ending was kinda disappointing. so I'm pretty sure that tthis fact wasn't entirely Kirby's fault.
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