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Eternal
A group of isolated shieldmaidens protect their village against a tide of men who think they can take their land from them. Vif takes her band of women off viking to quell the advances of a loitering mystical scumbag, Bjarte. But some battles rage on inside us long after the field is empty, and some opponents won’t ever stay down. Eternal is a haunting story of how vulnerable you make yourself when trying to protect everything around you.
64 pages, Paperback
First published January 31, 2018
3 people are currently reading
137 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
February 25, 2018
I'm not always a comic guy, but Eternal is so rich that's it's irresistible even to a relative novice. The art is stunning, the dialogue is mercilessly quotable, and the story - about a shieldmaiden who protects her people at a terrible cost - is powerfully precise. Highly recommended.
September 29, 2018
I was excited for this one, but it ultimately didn't live up to my expectations. The writing is awkward, and the book's too short to do much with the plot or the world-building. The art's great, though.
July 26, 2021
A group of women must take up arms to defend their settlement against any and all would be conquerors.
This short but sweet book is a beautiful, violent, serene, and treacherous tale of honor, self preservation, and life set amongst the Northernlands where Vikings once roamed. Vif, is the defacto leader of the group who does not play around when it comes to defending her people and her town. She is a no quarter given type fighter who also has a loving heart when it comes to her son and the towns inhabitants. She ultimately must find a way to stop the ghost of a necromancer who continually torments her village, to the point of mistaken murders due to his treachery. And to stop him, she must pay the ultimate price.
The story is brought to life by the amazing art of Eric Zawadzki, who should be well known in my opinion. This book is elevated to another level simply because of the art. Also, the coloring by Dee Cunniffe is great as well. I gave the book another star simply because of the visuals. Zawadzki in general, he has a great sense of motion, great sense of design, and an ability to show emotion using only one panel. Fantastic art overall on this book.
I was pleasantly surprised by the story, but disappointed it was so short. However, if the brevity of the plot is what was needed to make this book happen, then it is worth it. Highly recommended for fans of great art or fans of Vikings.
This short but sweet book is a beautiful, violent, serene, and treacherous tale of honor, self preservation, and life set amongst the Northernlands where Vikings once roamed. Vif, is the defacto leader of the group who does not play around when it comes to defending her people and her town. She is a no quarter given type fighter who also has a loving heart when it comes to her son and the towns inhabitants. She ultimately must find a way to stop the ghost of a necromancer who continually torments her village, to the point of mistaken murders due to his treachery. And to stop him, she must pay the ultimate price.
The story is brought to life by the amazing art of Eric Zawadzki, who should be well known in my opinion. This book is elevated to another level simply because of the art. Also, the coloring by Dee Cunniffe is great as well. I gave the book another star simply because of the visuals. Zawadzki in general, he has a great sense of motion, great sense of design, and an ability to show emotion using only one panel. Fantastic art overall on this book.
I was pleasantly surprised by the story, but disappointed it was so short. However, if the brevity of the plot is what was needed to make this book happen, then it is worth it. Highly recommended for fans of great art or fans of Vikings.
March 27, 2022
This comic could actually be an old folktale or saga. It captures the feel perfectly. and it achieves what few comics do: it almost needs no words to be understood. In fact, with a few minor changes, it could have been a purely visual narrative. That is true skill.
To be honest, I just have two gripes that hold me from giving 5 stars. First, Vif's actions at the end are sort of left to the reader to intuit, which is interesting in a way, but ultimately not very satisfying.
Secondly, there are three whole pages that are completely black, and this is a 48-page comic book (it goes up to 64 with production sketches, end pages and other extras). Furthermore, in the postscript we are informed that what is a beautiful (though measly in size) panel, could have taken over at least the two-page spread. I felt it was a terrible waste and / or a lazy way to fill pages in such a short comic.
Other than that, though, it is a solid, bloody and tragic Viking narrative.
To be honest, I just have two gripes that hold me from giving 5 stars. First, Vif's actions at the end are sort of left to the reader to intuit, which is interesting in a way, but ultimately not very satisfying.
Secondly, there are three whole pages that are completely black, and this is a 48-page comic book (it goes up to 64 with production sketches, end pages and other extras). Furthermore, in the postscript we are informed that what is a beautiful (though measly in size) panel, could have taken over at least the two-page spread. I felt it was a terrible waste and / or a lazy way to fill pages in such a short comic.
Other than that, though, it is a solid, bloody and tragic Viking narrative.
February 17, 2018
This book is short on plot but intense and full of beautiful art. It’s worth buying just to sit and stare at the gory battle montages, and the close-ups of characters' facial expressions.
July 17, 2018
Great story, beautiful artwork.
April 23, 2025
good little one-shot.
March 7, 2018
Beautiful art and a good tight and powerful story.
June 6, 2018
This. Was. Good. The northern sagas are one of my favourite settings and this piece fits there perfectly. The short tale about one mighty and determined shield-maiden is beautiful and powerful. It has deadly tempo and it is performed trough rather common style of art, but perfectly executed. I really enjoyed work with the panels and style of storytelling. The only thing about his makes me sad. That it could be a little bit longer.
February 12, 2018
it was haunting and beautiful, emotional and powerful. i just loved it
February 3, 2018
Beautiful book!
only complaint is that its a one-and-done, wish there was more.
only complaint is that its a one-and-done, wish there was more.
May 13, 2018
Gorgeous illustrations and colouring, simple but engaging story. Some panels in particular are just breathtaking.
August 8, 2023
This was a very short and relatively fun read, although the awkward writing, flat story, and misrepresentation of Viking culture really ruined it for me.
Firstly, the writing feels like a first draft. The dialogue is often cliché and it often just feels stilted. Secondly, the story is so underdeveloped. The vague semblance of an idea was there, but it was only a few lines. I would have loved to see “Valhalla made flesh”, but we don’t. We also get to know absolutely none of the characters. We get character traits for Vif, our main character, but no actual development. Who was the boy she was protecting? Who were her companions? Who were the men she killed at the end? They also try to play it off like it has some deep meaning… What deep meaning, exactly? Brute force is the path to achieving your goals? Revenge is just? The story is bland at best, and whatever moral that was trying to be portrayed was overshadowed by the violence.
And third, the writer clearly didn’t do his research. I don’t mind evil sorcerer villains, but not in Viking stories, especially if the sorcerer is a man. That has some very problematic implications, but you wouldn’t know that if you didn’t know about what sorcerers were like in Viking-Age Scandinavia. Furthermore, Vif also says “demons” and “Hell” (with two L’s). How did she learn those words? The rest of the story just feels extremely generic. There aren’t many small details that are wrong, necessarily, but that’s because there aren’t many details at all. The colorist said that he “researched” by watching the Vikings TV show, reading the “Northlanders” comic, and a few other fictional media pieces. This isn’t real research. It’s good to know what your contemporaries are doing, absolutely, but it is in no way historical research. The writer and artist didn’t say whether they did research or not, but it’s very clear that they didn’t do much more than the colorist.
To put it bluntly, it’s bad. The art is beautiful, which is the only thing that saves it from getting one star. But please, don’t read this. Read Heathen or Vinland Saga.
Firstly, the writing feels like a first draft. The dialogue is often cliché and it often just feels stilted. Secondly, the story is so underdeveloped. The vague semblance of an idea was there, but it was only a few lines. I would have loved to see “Valhalla made flesh”, but we don’t. We also get to know absolutely none of the characters. We get character traits for Vif, our main character, but no actual development. Who was the boy she was protecting? Who were her companions? Who were the men she killed at the end? They also try to play it off like it has some deep meaning… What deep meaning, exactly? Brute force is the path to achieving your goals? Revenge is just? The story is bland at best, and whatever moral that was trying to be portrayed was overshadowed by the violence.
And third, the writer clearly didn’t do his research. I don’t mind evil sorcerer villains, but not in Viking stories, especially if the sorcerer is a man. That has some very problematic implications, but you wouldn’t know that if you didn’t know about what sorcerers were like in Viking-Age Scandinavia. Furthermore, Vif also says “demons” and “Hell” (with two L’s). How did she learn those words? The rest of the story just feels extremely generic. There aren’t many small details that are wrong, necessarily, but that’s because there aren’t many details at all. The colorist said that he “researched” by watching the Vikings TV show, reading the “Northlanders” comic, and a few other fictional media pieces. This isn’t real research. It’s good to know what your contemporaries are doing, absolutely, but it is in no way historical research. The writer and artist didn’t say whether they did research or not, but it’s very clear that they didn’t do much more than the colorist.
To put it bluntly, it’s bad. The art is beautiful, which is the only thing that saves it from getting one star. But please, don’t read this. Read Heathen or Vinland Saga.
February 8, 2022
I read this twice, just to make sure I hadn't missed something the first time around...
Because I finished it and thought "is that really it?".
I still thought that after the second read.
The artwork for Eternal is pretty great. No complaints there. But the story, if you can even call it that, is so slight as to barely be there. I can't help but feel that Zawadzki's time and talent was completely wasted on what is barely a sketch of an idea.
Don't get me wrong though. There IS an idea here. It's just rattled through so quickly that it's virtually impossible to care about.
Because I finished it and thought "is that really it?".
I still thought that after the second read.
The artwork for Eternal is pretty great. No complaints there. But the story, if you can even call it that, is so slight as to barely be there. I can't help but feel that Zawadzki's time and talent was completely wasted on what is barely a sketch of an idea.
Don't get me wrong though. There IS an idea here. It's just rattled through so quickly that it's virtually impossible to care about.
December 13, 2021
A great story of revenge on Earth and beyond. Set in the time of Vikings, a woman leads a group of shieldmaidens on a mission to destroy an evil wizard. The art is amazing and the story moves along at a decent pace. The only problem I have with this book is that part of it was printed upside down. I assume it wasn't done that way on purpose, but no other reviews mention it, so I'm thinking it might be just my copy that is like this.
January 17, 2019
A short, violent comic about a powerful shield maiden who tracks and kills an evil man, and then deals with the ramifications of his ghost haunting her village. A great bloody and vengeful story packed with bold, expressive illustrations.
September 9, 2019
A short, interesting comic about Viking shield-madens defending their home from all invaders (including ghosts). Ultimately seems more driven by the feelings and imager than the plot, but that's ok. Picked it up on a whim at ECCC and I'm not sad I did!
August 30, 2018
Petite découverte au hasard d'un magasin de comics. Une histoire courte mais vraiment bien, une histoire de vikings, c'est encore mieux et de beaux dessins. Un bon moment.
August 31, 2018
Beautiful book, but a bit short for a graphic novel.
April 16, 2019
Super fast read. Decent book would have liked more.
August 20, 2019
The cover is nice
The red pages are ok
The rest are too simplistic
The story’s too short
The red pages are ok
The rest are too simplistic
The story’s too short
September 28, 2019
Short stand-alone that gives you a glimpse into a bloody way of life. But it's not about violence... It's about control.
September 14, 2020
Exquisite artwork help this short story strive to be epic.
March 10, 2021
Fantastic artwork and the story is short but satisfying. The action scenes are incredible!
Read
August 29, 2021Awesome one-shot Viking shieldmaiden ghost story. Art was rad. Loved the magazine format.
December 15, 2022
Good art, average story.
January 15, 2023
It was really pretty but I felt nothing
April 25, 2023
A little underwhelming. with the premise and the characters....I probably wanted more to happen in the story.
January 20, 2024
I loved it, but I want more of it
August 25, 2019
Really liked this book! Really fun, felt like it could have been longer but the artwork is pretty
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews