Are you looking forward to a new comic book but it’s impossible for you to wait for its release? We totally get it. That’s why there’s DoomRocket’s Advanced Reviews — now we assess books you can’t even buy yet.
Cover to ‘Eternity’ #1. Art by Jelena Kevic-Djurdjevic/Valiant
By Brandy Dykhuizen. Eternity begins rather serenely for a cosmic murder mystery. It opens on the planet Earth. Russia. You know, the other country that’s particularly fond of the occasional space race. Like the States, it’s certainly peppered with stunning national parks. That’s where we find ourselves, with Divinity and Myshka and their new life of peace. They’ve carved out a calm, bucolic life in the taiga, where they can raise their offspring without the weight of other worlds on their shoulders.
We visit the vastness of the Unknown soon enough. But it’s important to mention Australia, the narrative genesis point of Divinity just three years ago. The Southern hemisphere also makes an appearance, if only to show us that all these human folk are much the same: predictable, bland, a few of them hoping to be a hero now and then, but most of them really just putting in the time and effort simply to meet their own ends.
The Eternity, however, know better. They have the confidence that comes with robotically absent genitalia and mulberry-hued capes. They exist to tie the universe together after the Observer is murdered, and their number is up.
Interior pages to ‘Eternity’ #1. Art by Trevor Hairsine, Ryan Winn, and David Baron/Valiant
Trevor Hairsine and Ryan Winn weave all these worlds together well before Matt Kindt solidifies the story for us. David Baron imbues the mundane with the same attentive reverence as he does bleeding nebulae. The journey of Eternity #1 is found in the imagery. If it was exposition you were looking for, you won’t find it here, but who has time for that in a miniseries? Fans of Divinity will no doubt enjoy this book the most, but that’s not to say it isn’t worth diving into if you haven’t sat down with Abram Adams before.
The artwork is a joy to behold. It more than makes up for a story that might be laid out a bit more sparsely than we’re used to from Kindt. It’s a pleasure navigating these worlds, beholding the majestic creatures, the Daliesque vistas. (Even the lemon-headed Cyclops messenger embodies a remarkably graceful form, simultaneously feminine and phallic.) Enjoy the eye candy. If history is any indication, a good story is bound to follow.
Valiant/$3.99
Written by Matt Kindt.
Illustrated by Trevor Hairsine.
Inks by Ryan Winn.
Colors by David Baron.
7 out of 10
