the geekocracy

Truly Eternal

So if you’ve been reading comics, which I’m sure you probably do if you’re reading this blog, you’ve likely heard of the name Jack Kirby. You probably even know the fact that he along with Stan Lee created some of the greatest superheroes of all time. I’m not really going to get into that. You can always look him up on Wikipedia or Google or whatever your search method of choice. I can honestly say that I have not read a lot of Kirby’s work. Sure I can look at a book and probably tell you that he drew this piece or that he’s known for this and that, but it’s not something I ever really sought out. But thanks to a good discount pickup I can now say that I’ve read some classic work by the King.

A good deal of you are currently reading the montly Eternals series that Marvel currently publishes. More of you read the mini series by Neil Gaimen and John Romita Jr. But how many of you have read the original Eternals by Jack Kirby. Well thanks to the magic of trades you can read the first 11 issues of Kirby’s run from 1976 in The Eternals by Jack Kirby vol 1.

The Eternals were Kirby’s last great creation for Marvel and in it he basically rewrites not only Marvel’s history, but Earth’s history as well.

He brings the reader into the story through two archaeologists and their companion Ike Harris that are exploring ancient Inca ruins. Their companion Ike Harris however is not interested in simple exploration. He leads the group to a chamber that he himself has seen hundreds of years earlier. Yes he is an Eternal. A race of man that was created by the powerful beings known as Celestials.

Without spoiling the whole story, Kirby goes on to link the Eternals with mythology from all over the world while at the same time weaving in action packed fight scenes and even some romance along the way. He even rewrites the human creation theory and combines that with the Greek, Egyptian, Inca and probably other mythologies that I’m not familiar with. Let’s face it, I got most of my mythology knowledge from Indiana Jones and Stargate.

Now if you do read this, you’re going to have to keep in mind a few things that if unprepared, could put a damper on all the Kirby greatness. First, this was written as I said above, in 1976. So the dialogue is going to sound a little dated and even quite corny at times. This isn’t the “God damn Batman.” It’s more “hey check out that dame over there.”  But you get used to it and it actually made me chuckle a few times so there’s extra humor bonus there. The other thing you’re gonna see are a lot of people in a crouching position. My friend Max and I have labled it the “Kirby Crouch.” I’m not sure why he used it so much, but it was definitely one of his trademarks. Maybe it was easier to draw people this way. Let’s face it. The guy wrote and drew all these issues by himself and got them out on time people! We can’t even get a mini series like Civil War to come out when it’s supposed to or more than 3 issues a year from Frank Miller.

Anyway, the timeliness or lackthereof in comics is for another discussion. What I’m saying here is that if you’re reading the current Eternals comic or the Neil Gaimen one and liked it, you should make some time to check out where it all began. I really enjoyed my first real foray into the world of Jack Kirby and quite possibly you will as well.

Rudy