Eternals by Neil Gaiman

This collection is Neil Gaiman's attempt to do a soft reboot on Kirby's Eternals concept from the 1970s, and for the most part it works. Kirby was great at putting forward these grand, madcap sorts of ideas, like alien gods who created not only human civilization, but who also genetically engineered a race of super-powered humans who would protect the Earth (but from what?! FROM WHAT?!) and inspire many of our myths about the gods. Gaiman, on the other hand, is an absolute master of taking grand mythological ideas and bringing them down to the level of the individual. It's a good mix of strengths, and makes for an enjoyable read.The main problem I had with this volume is that there's only the one - it reads like a set up and introduction to the characters, with a fairly straightforward “the world is in peril” plot, and then it ends. Not just the volume, but the series - why bother spending all this time re-introducing characters if you're not going to do anything further with them? The art can be kind of ugly at times as well - JRJR's great at Kirbyesque landscapes and giant Celestials, but his people all look stilted and unattractive. The Eternals should be more magnificent to look at.which, as the introduction of the book states, was a belief put forward by Erich von Daniken shortly before Eternals was first published.