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A review by neon_capricorn
Eternals by Neil Gaiman
2.0
Typical of my thoughts on Neil Gaiman stories, I found the writing to be on the boring side. It took me almost a week to get through this book, and I even nodded off a few times and would have to go back and reread a few pages to figure out what I missed. I liked the mythology, but that was it.
There isn't any action to the story, or at least not in the way the reader would expect. It's just a few of the 90 total Eternals trying to prevent the Celestial from awakening, which apparently will bring about the end of the world. The book is also, like, 98% backstory, which if that’s your thing, then you may really dig this. Also, we don’t even really see what the Eternals can do, nor what the extent of their powers are. We’re just told how powerful they are, and that they are immortal and can be reborn from death. I would liken them to the Inhumans, or at least that’s the feeling I got. The ending of the story is a bit Matrix-y, but it at least sets up the reader to want more, which I'll pursue at some point because I am interested in the mythology.
The artwork was the other big pitfall for me. I'm not a fan of John Romita Jr.'s style of art. It always just seems unfinished or rushed. The design work is good, and I do like the proportions of his superhero anatomy, but I just wish that his work was a bit more polished than what is presented here.
Overall, the story was just okay, and the characters and mythology were interesting enough to keep me hooked. I just found the writing and art to not be the most exciting.
There isn't any action to the story, or at least not in the way the reader would expect. It's just a few of the 90 total Eternals trying to prevent the Celestial from awakening, which apparently will bring about the end of the world. The book is also, like, 98% backstory, which if that’s your thing, then you may really dig this. Also, we don’t even really see what the Eternals can do, nor what the extent of their powers are. We’re just told how powerful they are, and that they are immortal and can be reborn from death. I would liken them to the Inhumans, or at least that’s the feeling I got. The ending of the story is a bit Matrix-y, but it at least sets up the reader to want more, which I'll pursue at some point because I am interested in the mythology.
The artwork was the other big pitfall for me. I'm not a fan of John Romita Jr.'s style of art. It always just seems unfinished or rushed. The design work is good, and I do like the proportions of his superhero anatomy, but I just wish that his work was a bit more polished than what is presented here.
Overall, the story was just okay, and the characters and mythology were interesting enough to keep me hooked. I just found the writing and art to not be the most exciting.