NEVER DIE. NEVER WIN. ETERNALS.
What's the point of an eternal battle?
For millions of years, one hundred Eternals have roamed the Earth, secret protectors of humanity. Without them, we'd be smears between the teeth of the demon-like Deviants. Their war has waged for all time, echoing in our myths and nightmares.
But today, Eternals face something new: change. Can they - or anyone on Earth - survive their discovery?
From the thought provoking minds of Kieron Gillen (The Wicked + The Divine, Uncanny X-Men, Thor) and Esad Ribi? (Secret Wars, King Thor) comes a new vision of the classic Marvel mythology!
Rated T+
The god-like Eternals walk among us once again. But not without their fair share of new troubles. There's the reawakening of the mischievous and mysterious Eternal, Sprite, as well as the murder of their leader, Zuras. Quite the first day back in business for our hero Ikaras. Gillen, Ribi and Wilson deliver a comic book that's epic in scale and ambition. Read Full Review
Eternals #1 is a fresh new path for the titular cosmic beings, and a perfect way to introduce them to readers old and new ahead of their film debut. With the appearance of a popular Marvel villain at issue's end, it looks like the Eternals will begin to carve out their new place in the Marvel Universe. Read Full Review
Eternals #1 clearly takes a lot of inspiration from the relaunched X-Men. The inclusion of info dump pages and the tone itself feels very inline of that entire line of comics. That's not a bad thing because it works and works REALLY well. Eternals #1 is a highly anticipated comic for 2021 launching the year and if this is any indication of what we can expect for the year, it's going to be a very good one. The comic sets a high bar for what follows in its path and easily meets the expectations for this debut. It's a must get and a great way to start the new year. Read Full Review
Eternals #1 is a perfect reintroduction for a property that hasn't exactly been a household name over the years. Gillen does an outstanding job of melding the familiar and the new while also giving new readers an in for the whole thing. He takes a complicated concept and streamlines it without sacrificing any of the things that make it special. Ribic's pencils are lovely and fit the book, bringing it all to life. Eternals #1 is the perfect first issue, giving familiar readers what they need and not leaving out new ones. Read Full Review
For a book essentially about gods you want the art to look epic and grandiose. In that regard, Esad Ribic rises to the task brilliantly with powerful characters existing in grand halls, machines and environments. Read Full Review
Final Verdict: 9.5 " “Eternals” #1 masterfully ressurects a dormant Marvel franchise bursting with potential. Read Full Review
After going in cold with very little knowledge of the ETERNALS, Gillen strategically guides readers with only the information required to survive this immediate issue. Diehard fans will already know all they need but newer fans, like myself, may have to dig a bit deeper to gain more knowledge on the characters involved. However, thats not a bad thing. Plus, Im assuming this is part of Gillens intent to attract more mystery and intrigue into the narrative. And readers, it works masterfully. Read Full Review
Eternals #1 has a simple story to kick off the series that manages to fill in a ton of blanks for new readers in an engaging and natural way. I like the art, the style, the tone, and the weirdly cosmic direction thats a refreshing break from the standard Marvel books out these days.If you can unsee Steve Buscemi as an immortal 12-year-old girl and you like weird, trippy sci fi, youll like this issue a lot. Read Full Review
Eternals #1 builds on the work that has come before it while setting its own stage. And thus far, the stage commands attention. Read Full Review
Lastly, purpose. Now that the Eternals have no clear cut celestial purpose, where do they go from here? In the ‘Never Die, Never Win' edition of this book, Gillen says he wants to honor the past while pushing the Eternals into the 21st century. Safe to say he's off to one hell of a start with Eternals #1. Read Full Review
The art is excellent and there's a lot of promise, so I'm going to hang with this one for a while. It's not Kirby - what is? - but it's a well thought-out take on the series, and it has potential. Read Full Review
Eternals is an enticing first issue that opens the door to a new era for this cosmic family. We get a very suspenseful glimpse into what is to come through what they discover. Ill be looking forward to what this prominent creative team has planned. Read Full Review
I think going into this, I didn't have that high of hopes but I enjoyed this a lot and plan on continuing the adventure of the Eternals. I think if Marvel can keep this creative team on the book, it's going to help with keeping readers interested in the Eternals. I'm sure the upcoming movie will help, too, but in the pages of the comics is where the work needs to be done and Gillen and Ribi are the right team for it. This book has way too many variants but that should also mean it's an easy book for potential readers to find a copy of. Read Full Review
Eternals #1 is not just a fresh start for the creative team and for potential readers, but also for the Eternals themselves to define who they are. Read Full Review
Eternals #1 opens up what promises to be a surprisingly funny, yet epic, mystery. Read Full Review
It's an intriguing new start for readers new and old, alike and, at the very least, it's evident this creative team is setting out to establish a definitive take for one of Marvel's biggest unproven ideas. Read Full Review
ETERNALS #1 introduces new readers to the backstory and world of the Eternals effectively, while also keeping things fresh for the hardcore fans with a light, humoristic take on the god-like characters. Read Full Review
All of this has happened before. All of this will happen again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again ... Read Full Review
Eternals #1 tries to create an epic from discarded corners of the Marvel Universe, and It succeeds when the creative team is allowed to tell the story they want without having to emulate charts from Marvels other recent reimagining. Read Full Review
I would recommend this to the more hard core fans of Marvel or someone who wants a different type of story than the normal superheroes. They are specifically not costumed fighters and this looks like it is going to go in a different direction. Read Full Review
I really wanted to like the Eternals #1. With this strong creative team, I was hoping to get a little insight into characters I knew next to nothing about. This issue did not help with any of that. The story did not connect you with the Eternals or the characters. It kind of just told me why I should care about them and why they are so important, but it didn't make me feel that way. It was basically just a slog to get through. The art didn't fare much better. While the large scoping shots are fantastic, the smaller, more intimate panels and pages are muddled. The lettering color choice also just made for an overall frustrating read. Read Full Review
Great start.
I walked in knowing nothing besides the Eternals MCU movie (which is basically another franchise, unfortunately), and this felt like a great entry point.
I get the feeling that the volume before this would be worth reading too (I’m actually on issue 9 as I right this, so I’ve gotten a good summary at the point), but like I said, this series summarizes the past enough where I feel caught up still.
Love the faces, perfect narration, love the color choices, and loving the main character.
Definitely read this volume before starting AXE. You probably can follow AXE without this, but I’m sure it’ll be better with this background knowledge.
This was awesome. Gillen is one of the best writers in comics right now. And I always enjoy Ribic's art, even if his surprised faces look a little ridiculous.
I only give it a 9.5 because of Gillen's humour that doesn't land but otherwise it's a great book with great art.
Great start! I came late to the party, but this was very interesting, a cool clean slate for people who wanna pick up a new series. The Eternals backstory exposition felt very organic, Ribic's art is spotless, giving that sort of timeless gods vibe that brings alive the always amazing Gillen's writing. Excellent cliffhanger btw, it sold me on the spot!
A solid 9 for me. This is a good way to introduce new readers about the world of eternals. Fascinating art anyway. Can't wait to read the 2nd issue.
Enjoyed this a lot, and I don't really like the Eternals as characters. Different twist than I was expecting, and I'm excited to read the next issue. Of course, Ribic is amazing, and here it feels like he's back to Thor God of Thunder levels of epic.
This is a strong first issue. I'm somebody not very familiar with these guys at all, but you dont have to be to appreciate this. They do a good job setting up the basics of this concept snd how it works for these beings.
One thing they do very well is establish personality and character. Ikaris is written in a way where is personal is well defined, as is Sprite.
The art is absolutely gorgeous. Ive been a fan of Ribics for a while and he does a great job here. A lot of people feel like his faces are off but I like the way he does them, it adds a lot of verisimilitude to the works and is something many veteran artists struggle with.
Theres a big stinger at the end of the issue, but thanks to COVID-19 dela more
Ikaris brings Sprite into a resurrected world of Eternals. Their mission: control Deviants (transitioning into investigating an Eternal murder by the end). It looks gorgeous, and Kieron Gillen is essentially the perfect author for "godly types interacting with mortals" stories. There are an awful lot of comparisons to make to DoX, though -- and they're leaning into it with those datafile pages.
I liked it. I’m not very familiar with the Eternals, or with Gillen and his much-lauded works, but this has been an interesting introduction to both. The tone is kind of unique. It has hints of Hickman, but is somehow both drier and more lighthearted than Hickman’s usual style. I’m tempted to say that some of the humor isn’t landing, but I’m not always sure it isn’t intentional, given the inhuman (not Inhuman.... you know what I mean...) nature of the characters speaking.
I’m not crazy about Ribic’s faces, which often feature unnerving, oversized eyes and exaggerated, almost grotesque structures. They’re a stark contrast from typically idealized comic book faces and, though the faces aren’t my favorite more
Not knowing too much about them, I actually enjoyed this first issue and the art didn't disappoint since Ribic is a master of setting up worlds and environments. Gillen did just enough to guide me here and I followed along and took a few minutes here and there to connect the dots just fine. His humor though doesn't work well every time so that takes off some. I have to say that Wilson's colors were great overall but I'm not sure why some scenes were so dimmed down with the greyish blue hues. I get the moods they're conveying but it could be a bit brighter.
Well, I'm glad I went back and read Gaiman's Eternals or else I'd be very lost here. I enjoyed this. Some of the humor is a bit off, but otherwise I like an Eternals book, what more could you want?
Great start to the series. I know next to nothing about the characters, and I did not feel lost at all. Great art by Ribic, even if some of the faces during action scenes looked a bit rushed.
Never read eternals before. Makes me want to get some trades and catch up on who they are and what they are about. This gives a pretty decent story that you can jump into with no previous knowledge. Ribic always is a favorite of mine. The art is great and overall I feel left wanting more.
I've never liked the Eternals as much as I want to, even when legends like Jack Kirby or Neil Gaiman are overseeing them. But I figured a top-notch team like Gillen & Ribic were likely to do them as well as they can be done — if so, as well as they can be done is "didn't change my life, but I suppose I'll read the next issue"
I admit complete ignorance to Eternals. Knowing very little about these characters (by little I mean zero), the first issue was intriguing enough for me to stay on board. Character ignorance may be beneficial as it pushes us out of the comic book comfort zone. I recommend sticking with Eternals and enjoy the story telling. As stated in another review, this isn't a book about caped superheroes (although some wear capes...). I am a little concerned with Thanos as the big bad, but it Im in for now. Maybe Thanos can serve as the linch pin to ignorant Eternals fans, like me. I appreciate Gillen not spending the first issue trying to explain who, what and why. I trust his talent and believe he will do so in the coming issues. Ribic's armore
Eternals
Volume: 5, Issue: 1
“Only Death is Eternal, Part 1”
Publisher: Marvel @marvel
Writer: Kieron Gillen @kierongillen
Artist: Esad Ribić @ribicesad
Colors: Matthew Wilson @fatheadwilson
Letters: Clayton Cowles
Cover: Skottie Young @skottieyoung
The Eternals have returned. After being reawakened, Ikaris is tasked by Zuras to release Sprite from his confinement. Now appearing as a young woman, Sprite teleports away to explore this new world with Ikaris in pursuit. After their arrival to Olympia, the duo find themselves the prime suspects in the sudden murder of Zuras. Their investigation of this brutal act brings them face to face with the mad Titan himself, Thanos!
more
This was solid but I had a few issues with dialogue and such.
Points just for the art alone. I found the story pretty boring and the characters flat.
So very boring and not exciting at all.
a bit much
This was my introduction to the Eternals and I found myself mostly lost, even though this issue is striving to give a tour of the different eternal domains. I'm sure I could get up to speed eventually, with enough issues, but I'm really just not interested. It looks like this book was made for existing fans, which is fine, but not for me.
Ribic's art is mostly good, with the notable exception of Sprite, who is apparently supposed to look like she is eternally eleven-years-old, but her face looks at least sixty.
I know nothing about these characters so I was hoping this would be a good intro to them. It wasn’t. I really struggled here