Eternity Girl

by Magdalene Visaggio, Sonny Liew (Illustrations)

Caroline Sharp has been a lot of things, including both a superhero and a super-spy. But when Caroline finds herself unfulfilled and depressed, she is given a choice to end her eternal life; she just has to destroy the rest of the world first. Eternity Girl is a brand-new DC's Young Animal miniseries spinning out of the Milk Wars event, written by GLAAD Media Award-nominated writer Magdalene Visaggio (Kim and Kim) and illustrated by Eisner-winning artist Sonny Liew (The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye).

But now, with those days behind her and her powers proving unreliable, Caroline finds herself stuck in a life weighed down by her depression and an inability to change. You see, Caroline is going to live forever, and there is no escape to be had. The very act of living reminds her that to the rest of existence, she is an anomaly. All of that could change, however, when her old foe, Madame Atom, comes to her with an intriguing offer. Madame Atom can give Caroline the power to end her life; she just has to destroy the rest of the world.

From writer Magdalene Visaggio and artist Sonny Liew comes the all-new series Eternity Girl. Collects issues #1-6 of the hit limited series.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Fiction, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Fantasy

160 pages, Paperback

First published December 4, 2018

About the author

Magdalene Visaggio is a comics writer and essayist. She's the writer and creator of the GLAAD and Eisner-nominated series Kim & Kim, as well as Eternity Girl at DC Comics. She currently resides in Manhattan.

Reviews

[Artemy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Much like the rest of DC's Young Animal line of books, Eternity Girl is a cheap knockoff of Grant Morrison's and other prime 90's Vertigo books. While it doesn't directly use any existing characters, this book touches on the same philosophical and existential themes as, say, Morrison's Flex Mentallo, or Milligan's Enigma, or even Gaiman's Sandman. Unfortunately, Eternity Girl is nowhere near as good or smart as those books, and doesn't have anything new or interesting to say about life, choice, existence, the universe or even just superhero comics. If I were 14 again and have read this book, I would have probably thought that this is the hottest shit ever. Reading it as a 26 year old who went through numerous nervous breakdowns, existential crises, bouts of depression and other mental episodes, Eternity Girl was just a really dull and tiring read with an almost indecipherable story with a message you could just as well get from a random "inspiring" quote or a sitcom episode.

That Sonny Liew artwork was stunningly gorgeous, though.

[Chad · Rating 1 out of 5]

A tiresome and dull story exploring a superhuman's depression and desire to kill herself. Desperately tries to ripoff 90's era Vertigo titles filled with metaphysical bullshit. Honestly, this whole thing was beyond pointless.

[Alex Sarll]

Remember the Element Girl issue of Sandman? Never met anyone who said it was their favourite, but it's quite good. Well, if you wanted the serial numbers filed off and that turned into a miniseries, you're in luck. It also has meta elements familiar from Alan Moore's Supreme and much of Grant Morrison's superhero work, with characters becoming aware in-universe that their continuity is constantly being revised around them, but that loses much of its power when you apply it to a newly created character for whom it's not mirrored by their publication history in our world. And yeah, it's always nice to see Sonny Liew art, but I associate his stuff with good times, so giving it this greyed-out palette and applying it to a tale of a superhero who's having a breakdown but can't even kill themselves...well, it's not the project I would have chosen. Especially when she then decides that, since it appears to be the only way she can check out, she's absolutely fine with destroying the entire universe and the potential of any other universe ever happening again. I mean, I find the whole book group vogue for sympathetic protagonists somewhat trying, but there are limits, y'know? Things do perk up halfway through, when issue 4 takes us through iteration after iteration of the protagonist's struggle, each rendered in an excellent pastiche of a particular classic comic - though part of the impact for me might have been seeing WicDiv used as a touchstone comparable to the likes of Peanuts, which, well, let's not get into my whole thing about the concluding moment of DC One Million, but that. And thereafter it at least feels like a more lively Morrison pastiche - the penultimate issue's investigation of what makes a weapon recalled the first issue of Final Crisis - but I had come to expect a little more than that from a Young Animal book. Launching out of the largely underwhelming crossover Milk Wars, a second sad sign that Gerard Way's imprint wasn't bulletproof after all. And indeed, the last new project to come out of the imprint before its indefinite hiatus was announced.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was the philosophy of this book complex? Not really. Does it resemble previous work by Grant Morrison? Sure. Is the story and art a little "out there"? You bet. If these are the reasons for people giving this book a bad review, then consider me the Chaos to their Order.

I think the simple messages self-determination and choice worked extremely well for the story, and yes, is probably more meaningful to a younger audience. I really enjoyed and appreciated the shifting art styles with the shifts in realities and "iterations" throughout the book. The few pages resembling Peanuts made for a good laugh.

I see where people are coming from who had issues with this book, but I really enjoyed it, so that's that then.

[Sem · Rating 2 out of 5]

What if Flex Mentallo and Enigma... but bad?

[Larakaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
Visually and narratively stunning! Can’t say much without getting into spoilery details. But Visaggio and Liew really outdo themselves here!

Only one thing missing: The book should have a trigger warning/content note at the beginning "suicide, self harm".

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll be honest, I didn't like Watchmen. I feel like there's a lot of pressure to like it, since it's at the top of so many lists of "the best graphic novels ever". Maybe Alan Moore's work just isn't for me. All that said: Eternity Girl made me feel what Watchmen was "supposed" to make me feel. This is a masterpiece, and I am so glad I stumbled across it. There's an ache to it that feels very genuine and personal, while also diving into 'big-picture' themes and meta-narratives, and it never feels like Ms Visaggio's plot or character choices are for shock value or to seem edgy. For all of Caroline's struggles, this is a healing and fairly hopeful story, and I think I'm going to hold it really close to my heart.

[Roman Colombo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautiful story about depression, identity, and the potential end of all existence. Visaggo's portrayal of depression was one of the most relatable, even with a character as unique as Eternity Girl. And Sonny Liew and Chis Chuckry really bring the story to life with their art. I wish there were more comin.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eternity Girl is a serious acid trip of a book, all vibrant colors, shifting perspectives, and unclear timelines. It also made zero sense and I think I liked parts of it? So yeah, an acid trip.

The general idea is that Eternity Girl is an immortal shapeshifter who wants to die. Solid concept! Unfortunately, this simple idea is tossed in the bin as Magdalene Visaggio spends the next 150 pages exploring the meaning of life, death, chaos, order, etc., etc., etc. If there's a foundational principle she can dissect, it's dissected. Sometimes I appreciated the philosophy lecture, but most of the time it went in one ear and out the other.

What really brings Eternity Girl down are the multiple unclear timelines all taking place at once. She's with her friend, with her therapist, with her old agency, with her archnemesis, and by herself all at the same time...I think. Since Eternity Girl's sub-atomic particles are infinite, she has infinite existences...I think. In any case, the book jumps around far too much with no explanation. I couldn't make heads of tails of it, and worse, couldn't be bothered to try.

The part I really liked? Sonny Liew's art. It's gorgeous and psychedelic, but at the same time much more clear than the story-telling. I'll definitely look for his name on a cover again.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sooo good, at times it is all a bit weird and strange and even confusing but it just keeps pulling you through. It's a story about purposelessness and purpose. How we have more control and direction and choices then we realize. Though theologically, it's not exactly or really what i think or believe, its still such a good book.
Its for an older audience, m for mature- lots of big philosophical thoughts and cursing.

[Valéria. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn't really get into this, did not finish, but open for another try sometime because deep down I believe it is pretty good. I just hated how depressing it was. The artwork is beautiful.

[Bill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Creative, inventive, scattered, oblique, impressive, and underwhelming. This was a little too “out there” for me. In hindsight, I suspect the “real” world events might have been paralleling (Is that a word?) the “other” world events but ultimately I just didn’t care that much.

[Kassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't often read graphic novels, but when I do, my favorites are stories that I can't imagine being told as well in any other format. "Eternity Girl" written by Magdalene Visaggio and illustrated by Sonny Liew fits easily into that category. The story of an immortal super-hero grappling with suicidal depression has layers and concepts that go beyond the angsty musings of many comic book heroes and cute meta-references to retcons and reboots. Science fiction elements aside, we also have a realistic depiction of someone suffering from depression - of trying to maintain a normal facade while feeling monstrous, of interactions with well-meaning friends and colleagues who don't get it, and of the search for a meaningful life in a meaningless universe. This book just received a well-deserved nomination for an Eisner Award for Best Limited Series, so I feel pretty comfortable recommending it.

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

5

Eternity Girl broke out from Milk Wars and I had been eager to read this book. The art and the storyline is unique and I ended up reading this over a few days. The Young Animal imprint hasn't let me down and I have enjoyed the fresh ideas and artwork. Magdalene Visaggio is a new name for my collection and if Eternity Girl is my introduction, I can't recommend this enough.

Why the 5?

Strong introduction and a bizarre central character. Young Animal delivers again and it now clears my slate to finish the phase 2 style structure of the series. I hope they revisit this character and open the Young Animal Label back to the full cast of unique characters. My interest in Young Animal fell away after Milk Wars but Eternity Girl has refueled my interest.

[Nore · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was.... okay. Interesting concept, but unnecessarily wacky storytelling, flat characters, and merely okay art made this a bit of a drag to read. (Some of the covers are ffffantastic, though!) I was not surprised to find that Visaggio has also worked on Kim & Kim, which is another comic I found very interesting on the face of things, only to get my hands on it and realize it was merely okay for pretty much the exact same reasons.

At least I managed to get through this one instead of DNFing it! Chalk it up to better (but not great) art. I'll be avoiding Vissagio in the future, though - it's pretty clear that this style of writing is not to my tastes.

[Norman Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book takes some effort to get into, but it's well worth it. This is an inspirational story of a young woman dealing with depression and attempted suicide. What I ultimately liked about the book was how Visaggio and Liew conveyed shifting realities. It reminded me, in a very good way, of how Philip K. Dick wrote about the nature of reality and how perception influences our thoughts and behaviors. I think this is a book that young adults will find very compelling. Liew's artwork is clean and modern. Chris Chuckry's coloring tends towards pastels, and enhances Liew's line work.

[Trike · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t dislike this as much as I found it repetitive. 150 pages of hitting the same note becomes tedious. The idea is solid, although we’ve seen its like before by Gaiman, Starlin, Moore and Morrison, and the art is cool. Liew does an excellent job of portraying fractured reality and alternate timelines, but this really could have been dealt with in 30 pages.

[Gabriell Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Příběh u kterého máte dvě možnosti - buď přistoupíte na jeho hru a čeká vás jízda anebo ho protrpíte.
V základu je to prostě další příběh, kterých už se pod hlavičkou Young Animal vyrojilo víc - hrátky s příběhy a realitou, hledání sebe sama a hrdinové, kteří mají do duševní stability hodně daleko.
Ono ostatně asi pomůže, když sami nějaké ty psychické problémy vlastníte, protože tohle je příběh o depresivní superhrdince se silou schopnou zničit celý svět, ale ne samu sebe.
Za co si tohle imho zasloužilo nominaci na Eisnera je minimálně určitě art, který se v některých pasážích nebojí přebíhat z jednoho stylu do druhého, odkazovat na jiné příběhy a postavy z nich a který se stejně jako hrdinka hodně často mění a tvaruje.
Musím říct, že jsem moc neveděl do čeho jdu a dostal výborný zažitek, ale jak varuju, čím normalnější jste tím větší je šance, že vás tohle bude míjet.

Mohlo by se vám líbit, pokud:
- vás baví číst příběhy o cizích duševních problémech
- si chcete dát takový light trippy zážitek, který ze slušné části stoji na kresbě

Spíš vás zklame, pokud:
- nemáte ani jeden duševní problém
- nesnášíte příběhy, které se tváří, že jsou něco víc a přitom působí jako náhodný motivační citát z průměrné facebookové stránky

[Daniel Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

i say this as someone with depression: damn, that was unpleasant

[Sina Tavousi Masrour · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the art and how it kept changing. The story wasn't as weird as it aimed to be, but maybe that's a good thing.

[Felipe Assis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blé... I think that I already ready a lot of stories that looks like the same, kinda generical for me.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a real shame that Mister Miracle got all of the attention from DC and its readers last year, because in my humble opinion Magdalene Visaggio does something very similar with Eternity Girl, and she does it at least as well. Much like Tom King's miniseries, Eternity Girl is a time and reality-bending story about a superhero dealing with depression, mental illness and existential dread. It's never really clear what's real and what isn't. It's so meta that you're not even sure if the titular Eternity Girl is real, in the sense that I was surprised to learn that this wasn't some deep pull from the D.C. history books like Mister Miracle was, but instead a brand new creation with an entire fictional history written for her for the purposes of this very miniseries.

The story feels very deep and personal to Visaggio, the art is colourful and varied as the story touches on different aspects of its main character's made up history (although, truth be told, maybe needed a little more bite to stand out), and it all sets up what I hope is a bright future for the character as I definitely want to see more of her.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

It showed potential in the middle but in the end it's disappointing. Another rushed ending and the story got wrapped up with a fat chunk of words explaining. If I want to read another chunk of philosophical words trying to show the alternate to depression I'd read a book. I read a comic because I want to be shown a story.
Plus stop trying to show us depression can be magically killed by some magic word. You give a speech and boom everything's good. It doesn't work like that.
The idea of the story is very similar to Façade. It developed into something that could be great. But sadly it didn't live up to it.

[André Habet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I loved this comic even moreso than I thought I would. Surreal without ever losing heart. The art always work in service of the story, and it's the rare comic that leaves me feeling empowered to do better in the way Mind MGMT did when I read it. I more often than not feel disappointed by comics that are going for big ideas these days because most big ideas still seem so steeped in the same shit of this world, but here those big ideas are all put to work to clarify one person's sense of self and their ability to make another choice about how to move through the world. I am moved by that so much. I am gonna reach out and make another attempt to make another choice again tomorrow.

[Kyra Bea · Rating 5 out of 5]

**Warning: this text may contain spoilers** This book definitely reads like an old classic. The book tackles heavy themes like death and suicide but ultimately chooses rebirth instead of nihilism. The art is beautiful and trippy and deliberate style choices make this book an interesting read, and one i would call a triumph in visual storytelling.

The trans narrative brings it very close to home and also what sets it apart from the older classics.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was utterly brilliant! Easily one of the best reads of 2018! The most serious book from Mags and it was SO good. Looking at the idea of whether nirvana is or isn't a good thing. How you keep going, why you keep going. How you deal with depression. How you find hope. How a multiverse can be both encouraging and pointless. Definitely recommended.

[Matthew Ulstad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's a great self-aware meta-narrative inspired by the comic book industry that uses that as a springboard to explore questions of life, death and identity in interesting ways throughout. I don't want to say too much other than you should definitely read it if you are a fan of self-reflective storytelling and comic books as a medium.

5/5 Intergalactic Turntables

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t think I’ve read a graphic novel published by DC or Marvel that was better than this. This is a creepy, sad, beautiful story, and a deep meditation on identity and the sense of self.

Magdalene Visaggio is quickly becoming one of my favorite voices in comics.

[Kenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could this be the best book of the year?
Visaggio and Liew has pulled of a masterpiece using the background of superheroes to solve the existentialism of the human condition through a hero that cannot die

[Monita Roy Mohan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this for my book club and it’s so refreshing to read about female protagonists and their struggles outside any realm of romance. The art also highlights some of the absurdity of early character designs, without sexualising the characters. That’s a huge positive for me.

The book starts off with Caroline suffering from depression and desperate to die. She is disgusted with what she’s become and her inability to kill herself only exacerbates her depression. The fact that the creators do not lean into the Hollywood fantasy of successful suicide tendencies is another big plus in this book.

Unfortunately, despite setting up a promising premise, the author doesn’t follow through with it. There are meta bread crumbs laid along the six issues that appear as subtext for mental illness, but the story itself doesn’t directly deal with it and I don’t understand why. The author goes out of her way to make readers believe that Eternity Girl is a simple comic book character caught in the web of reboots, but that concept falls flat since Eternity Girl has never existed before, and because it’s a useless gimmick that undermines a better and much more powerful message.

Most of the book is wrapped up in cosmic mumbo jumbo, and only some of that can be viewed as contextually relevant. Most of it is dull and completely irrelevant to the premise that was dangled in front of readers at the start of the series. Who derailed the impactful narrative of the struggle with mental illness? Was it editorial or was that always the point?

The problematic elements of this book are innumerable. The fact that Dani, Caroline’s therapist seems too intimately acquainted with her reads as unprofessional. No one would spend that much time with a patient outside of sessions and they shouldn’t. Dani seems more like a friend to Caroline, which means she is the last person who should be treating her.

Caroline is not given a lot of agency for a lot of the book. She follows everything Madame Atom says and it makes her an unsympathetic protagonist. Her willingness to decimate all of the universe so that she can easily kill herself needed a foil. Without it, Caroline just came across as dim witted. That decision wouldn’t have been a problem had the text engaged frequently with her mental state. It doesn’t.

There’s also the aspect of Caroline considering her body disgusting. I think it’s high time that female character were allowed to embrace their unconventional bodies. Male characters have never batted an eyelid, or at the least, they’ve easily got over their transformations. Women character need to do the same. It’s ok to be different - it’s ok for a woman to be different - and that’s a significantly important message to send to all readers. I do appreciate the fact that the characters around Caroline do not recoil at the sight of her, though.

One thing that has to be mentioned is regarding Dani. I loved the pages where multiple versions of Dani coincided. It’s great. But then it appears that Dani was male before and ‘chose’ to become female, thereby destroying her dream. That is the wrong message to send. If Dani is transgender then she didn’t choose to become a woman, she has always been one. Her choosing to transition may have cost her an Air Force career, but then that is an opportunity to engage with the patriarchal systems that deny women opportunities. I understand the author is problematic about transgender issues, and it’s no wonder her lack of knowledge comes through in this book. But it’s extremely disappointing to see that in a book written in 2018.

It’s hard to read this book and not compare it to Mister Miracle which ran concurrently with it. There were too many similarities, especially in the first couple of issues, which was surprising. Who copied whom and why? Again, this may have been an editorial issue, but it’s a bit worrying that two similar properties were issued at the same time. What’s worse is, this book isn’t half as good as Mister Miracle and that one had its own set of problems.

This book deserved to be better and I am crushed that it wasn’t.