Yeah but... no but... okay then
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So, it's good... not great.
It re-thinks Kirby without making a parody out of him. Keeps the BIG artwork but re-drawn with more naturalism. Keeps the BIG concepts but expresses them through narrative drive, plot and character. Most Gaimanesque-ly, it adds cracking dialogue (never Jack's strength, bless).
But, it just runs out of breath short of the finishing line. It all builds up to... buy the next book and find out what, I guess. Pity.
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A huge let-down
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I'm a big Gaiman fan, so sad to say that this isn't a must-have, or even should-have. In fact, don't. The Eternals had been given a bit of dusting off just prior to Gaiman's treatment, with a backdrop significantly better than this reworking, which is a backwards step into pointless mega-beings. Save your money and your time.
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A first real disappointment from Neil Gaiman
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I've been hugely impressed by Neil Gaiman's work over the years, particularly Sandman and 1602. Some of his prose has been great, and I even enjoyed most of Neverwhere (though the less said about the BBC production values the better).
This was a real disappointment. Lack of structure, plot, real characterisation. I can't comment on it as a reworking of a previous comic strip, as I didn't know the original, but as a first timer, it is also a last timer for this strip. He's capable of so much better - best go elsewhere in the Gaiman pantheon.
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Good, and that really is a surprise
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First off, let's get this out of the way. I am in no way whatsoever a fan of Neil Gaiman. American Gods was prentious, dull and unpleasant. 1601 was pretentious, a wasted opportunity and dull. And as for his run on Miracleman, he well and truly scuppered that epic.
So it is something of a major shock that this was rather good. The story moved at a good pace and kept me interested throughout. The original Kirby Eternal series was good but a little basic (no surprise really considering when it was written and the author's penchant for trying out too many ideas) so this a sound updating of an already good premise.
The only quibble I have is the pointless interview with Tori Amos in the back of my copy. Why the hell would I want to ready about a shrieking freak-girl whose songs still cause me to wake up in a cold sweat?
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Kirby reborn?
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An interesting reworking by Gaiman and Romita Jnr of a long-forgotten Kirby Klassic. 21st century readers may be somewhat bemused by the praised heaped upon Jack Kirby - by modern standards, his artwork lack realism and his dialogue makes George Lucas look like Shakespeare. But for those of us born in the sixties who grew up with the wonders of Lee and Kirby, the magic is all too apparent, and it's great to see some of The King's lesser creations brought to new audiences with renewed vigour. The good news here is that Gaiman and Romita Jnr have resuscitated...quite literally...the Eternals in a manner that doesn't require you to have read what's gone before. I haven't read the original comics since they first appeared (and I don't recall collecting the entire run then) but Gaiman's deft hand ensures readers old and new can pick this up and delve right in.
What you get for your money is typical Gaiman storytelling - at times, this feels more like the Sandman than Kirby. Gaiman's storytelling method is not always entirely appropriate to the epic nature of the source material - where the story details the mythical elements, it's breathtaking stuff and took me back to his best work of yesteryear, but the introduction of the Avengers feels forced and some dialogue, whilst entertaining, lacks perhaps the biblical pretensions of the original that often fitted the premise so well. Still, any Gaiman's better than no Gaiman, and I'm nitpicking here.
Art is similarly a mixed bag. I'm not Romita Jnr's biggest fan, and he exhibits the same weaknesses that Kirby so often did: faces lack emotion or subtlety, but given him a double page spread to fill and boy can the guy do epic! The Celestials are literally mind blowing in their scale, and he somehow manages to do Kirby without it looking like Kirby. Impressive images abound and there's so much here to marvel at. Shame about the "quieter" stuff.
All in all, I'd recommend with reservations. I think Sandman fans will find more to celebrate that Kirby ones, but this is good, solid entertainment regardless of what angle you come to it from.
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