The Eternals by Jack Kirby (book one)

​   Like most fans of comic books, I am familiar with the name Jack Kirby. Though until now I’m not sure I’ve actually read any of his work, so my main experience with him must have been cinematic. The man’s importance in the genre can’t be underestimated and yet this seems to be the note his has gone out on, the spectacular and spectacularly jumbled mess of The Eternals.
   This was not a revered or even especially well received entry into a superhero realm. And yet it has received plenty of attention, revisits, etc. possibly owning in no small way to the power of the Kirby’s name.
    I didn’t know any of that going in. I just wanted to read something fun and boombastic and this totally fit the bill. Mind you, some of the enjoyment was probably ironic (or who the f knows, I blame Alanis Morrisette for completely messing up the mental definition of irony for generations to come, thanks Alanis), because The Eternals is so very 70s and so very corny in so many ways, but it is undeniably fun.
   It’s essentially a bastard spawn of Ancient Aliens theories and Greek mythology with a lot of traditional superhero superheroics thrown in. That and some terrible/hilarious coiffure. Kirby would have loved the modern day Ancient Aliens show, which has somehow gone on for I don’t even know how many seasons now, all beating the same drum and using some really wild/crazy/cooky looking drummers to do it. In the 70s the craze was in its infancy, though, with Von Daniken just getting started. Did he even know he midwifed The Eternals in? And whatever they subsequently gave rise to. For one thing try looking at those giant robots from an ancient civilization standing sentient in judgement and tell me it doesn’t scream Themis trilogy.
    Then again, superheroes and aliens have always had that magic connection, the greatest one of them all, the most super one, is, after all, an alien. In Kirby’s creation, there are essentially three races of beings on earth and they must unite against the race that created them all. They do, more or less. There’s a lot of fighting and some of which is infighting. There are some really classical (silly) looking superheroes and some really awesome looking deviants. The focus shifts from story to story, which can be disorienting, but also fun, variety being the spice of life and all that. It’s a large book, over 200 pages, and surprisingly text heavy, Kirby, it seems, loved to overdescribe, often where mere art would have been enough, so it reads very slowly. But it does entertain in its sheer technicolor exuberance and treasure trove of ideas, original and pillaged/appropriated. Is it for everyone? Probably not, but then again what is. But this reader is on to book two.