Another interesting topic to review. I've read the first few issues of 2001, a far cry indeed from the movie but over brimming with creativity. In some ways, the Eternals rank higher with me than the New Gods. Though I've never read any of his latter run on Cap.

I'm perplexed though by your description on Black Panther (which sadly I have yet to read as well). I don't think returning T'Challa back to his sci-fi roots is necessarily a bad idea, especially since it was Kirby himself who helped establish that foundation. Shifting the focus like that shouldn't take anything away from McGregor's work, it simply shows the dynamic expanse of his character to broach such wide genres and themes (although I can imagine the reader shock as you mentioned but was having Kirby back enough to allay those qualms?)

Either way, looking forward to this.

Reading your assessment, I feel I should rename myself ortermagrnit! I appear to be the bizarro version of you when it comes to these titles! 

I found the Kirby Panther so bad I had to force myself to read it to the end. After McGregor's dealing with politics and responsibility, racism, emotional dependence and more themes rarely explored in comics, the Panther's new Saturday morning cartoon adventures felt like a huge step backwards rather than a breath of fresh air. Kind of like what had happened with Captain America, although in that case the tone wasn't so Bugs Bunny-like.

The Eternals was where Kirby truly shined in that period; that's where his world building ability truly manifested itself. Von Daniken and Kirby went together like peanut butter and chocolate. Sheer awesomeness! 

Devil Dinosaur was lighter, but unlike what happened in Black Panther it didn't interrupt a deep and complex storyline so I could more easily enjoy it for what it was.

2001 had nice graphics but had a repetitive formula... and the introduction of aliens was a very bad move, IMO. It felt as if Kirby understood why the mysterious, quasi-mystical nature of 2001 was appealing, but didn't know what to do with it exactly (since he hadn't created it, unlike what was happening in The Eternals, which dealt with a similar theme of cosmic evolution). Issue after issue, 2001 read like an alternate version of the film rather than a continuation. Not uninteresting, and even rather intriguing at first, but starting to sound a little hollow after a while.

I'm in. I've read some of the Black Panther, all of The Eternals, and a good chunk of Captain America and Machine Man. I'm interested in 2001 (Machine Man's first appearance!) and Devil Dinosaur, too.

Well, that was a wikipedia source; so, you know...

Eternals #1



When Jack Kirby came back to Marvel, one of his more imaginative series, carrying on the themes of the 4th World, was The Eternals. However, it was originally intended to have a different title:



Ironically, when DC relaunched the New Gods, after Kirby's departure (with Gerry Conway), they titled it Return of the New Gods, on the covers. Fortuitously, the title change (forced by Marvel's legal department, over fears of infringement) worked better, as The Eternals is the kind of title that grabs your attention and stirs your imagination.

The series itself was inspired by Erich Von Daniken's bestselling "non-fiction" book, Chariots of the Gods. I use quotation marks because the book is filled with a lot of massive leaps in logic, poor science, and bad archeology. However, it presents an imaginative idea of alien visitors who set up advanced cities in different sites, around the globe; especially, Latin America. Jack Kirby was intrigued by the idea and decided to create a comic where the ancient Incas and other races had been the products of experiments by a group of advanced aliens, The Celestials. These giant armored "gods" came down to Earth, in the pre-historic past, and set about messing with the inhabitants. The end result were two advanced races, the god-like Eternals, and the monstrous Deviants. We learn that these beings were the inspirations for myths, through the centuries. We also learn that they are still around, and that the Celestials are coming back!

The issue opens with explorers entering a secret chamber, in the Andes...



The scope and wonder of this chamber lets Kirby go to town, as we see figures of immense size, who bring to mind astronauts, thematically. The mysterious young blond man, Ike, seems to know all about it, while the expert, Dr Damian, seems like a babe in the woods. Ike is able to unlock the secrets of the place with ease, while Dr Damian and his daughter, Margo, treat Ike's theories of all human history related to this find with some amusement.

Meanwhile, a military jet encounters a strange phenomena and the pilot is forced to eject. We learn that the source is a weapon of a race of weird creatures, who call themselves Deviants. The Deviants were created by the alien Celestials; but, their DNA is unstable and each generation differs from the previous.



In times past, the Deviants were all but destroyed in a scourge and they fear the return of the Celestials. Kro, a warrior of the Deviants is dispatched to prevent Ike and the humans from activating the beacon that will bring back the Celestials.

Meanwhile, Ike recounts the original visit of the Celestials and how they altered evolution, creating the Deviants, Homo Sapiens, and the Eternals.



The Eternals went to dwell in mountainous regions, apart from humans, and became known as gods to the under-developed humans. The Deviants often came in conflict with the humans, and formed the legends of monsters in human lore. We see that the Deviant city is in the remains of the lost continent Lemuria.

Kro and his troops arrive, via underwater passage, in the Inca chamber and launch an attack on the explorers. Ike reveals the scope of his powers as he unleashes tremendous energy to fight off the Deviants. The battle is interrupted by a tremendous sound as we see a massive ship arrive. The Celestials have returned!

Kirby hits the ground running and the book awes and astounds from page one. The images of the Inca chamber, with the giant space gods is an amazing piece of art and it grabbed my attention, in an era where I thought Kirby's art was too blocky and weird (I was young and stupid; what can I say?) The stuff that put me off on some of his other comics worked so well, here. Kirby's art , by the time of the 4th World, had progressed to mythical power and scope and he brings that to bear, here. His love of sci-fi is on hand, as we see that our myths are the product of encounters with the experiments of awe-inspiring alien beings. Kirby is cagey, though, as he doesn't yet reveal the Celestials, leaving us to wonder what they look like. That wonder makes us want to come back for the next issue.

Kirby really captures the style of pre-Columbian Native American art and sculpture, though maybe a bit more Aztec than Inca. His blocky style really blends well with those images, giving us a slightly skewed, but no less fascinating design aesthetic.

The series was intended to be a stand-alone and there is nothing here that says this takes place in the known Marvel Universe. At this point, Kirby is in control and unveiling his new creation, which makes it exciting. The characters are a bit thin; but, it is the opening story; so, Kirby is more concerned with grabbing our attention and setting up this new world. We will get more character as the series develops. Right now, we just bask in awe of Kirby's cosmic wonder.

As for the material itself, it is familiar territory, for Kirby. He dabbled in alien manipulation of evolution with the Kree and Inhumans, in the Fantastic Four, as well as space gods, with Thor and the 4th World. However, the dynamic here is a bit different, especially with the Deviants thrown in. They are supposed to be the villains; yet, Kirby actually makes them a bit sympathetic. They were created flawed and then punished by their fathers. They fear their return, with good reason. They act out of self-preservation. As we will see, this depth goes even further, as Kro will prove to be a complex character, and other Deviants will show that even monsters have souls.

As a side note, marvel had already dabbled in Von Daniken, in Marvel Preview (magazine) #1

I sympathise with the wish that he could have kept control of his creations and written them for as long as he wanted to, though who knows if he could have afforded to work as an independent. Of course, if he'd been compensated for all his earlier MU creations maybe that would have freed him to focus on his new ideas in the 70s.

GotG2 has some characters they call Ego and Celestials but they bear little resemblance to Kirby's creations beyond the names. Probably just as well - I enjoy those movies for the light entertainment they are, but I don't think the film-makers have it in them to bring Kirby's ideas or even his unique visual style to the screen.