I haven’t seen much discussion online about any of the news that came out from the NEW YORK COMICON last weekend. It could be because the majority of it was warmed over (rehashed) news that was already out there… but there was one bit of information that I hadn’t heard about before then. There had been much speculation about what Neil Gaiman’s next big project for Marvel would be. Gaiman’s 1602 project was a huge sales success and the anticipation has been high for the announcement of his next venture into the Marvel Universe. It turns out that next venture will be THE ETERNALS with John Romita Jr. illustrating the miniseries. As a fan, I’m incredibly excited about this project, to be sure. As an artist… I’m jealous. THE ETERNALS was– of all the work that Jack Kirby created for Marvel during his return to the MU in the mid-70s– by far my favorite. Sure, he did some wonderfully bizarre work on DEVIL DINOSAUR and 2001: A SPACE ODYSSY (the book that spawned MACHINE MAN)– as well as fun and quirky runs on BLACK PANTHER and CAPTAIN AMERICA. But there was something very special about THE ETERNALS. It was like an extension of his exploration of the themes in NEW GODS that he’d done for DC. And it was BIG. The scale of the war between THE ETERNALS and the DEVIANTS was not only globe spanning but cosmic with his creation of THE CELESTIALS who stood in silent judgement of our world. THE ETERNALS was the kind of comic that blew the mind of a young reader like myself…. and it made a lasting impression.

Like I said… I’m thrilled about the return of Kirby’s ETERNALS concept. Especially in the hands of creators like Neil Gaiman and JR. Jr. But the envious side of me hopes that after this initial miniseries they’re working on is finished, that I might get a crack at these characters myself one day. It’s that kind of wish fulfillment– getting to draw characters you loved so much as a kid for the company that first published them– that keeps new talent constantly striving to break in to Marvel (and DC). It’s the nostalgia of fantastic concepts like THE ETERNALS created by the greatest artist to ever draw comics that stirs the embers of that old feeling of wanting to relive childhood memories by adding to the legacy of these characters. Even in a jaded comic book ‘veteran’ like me.

This is Entry number 200…. another milestone (or is that mill stone…?).

Mike