Eternals #5

Eternals #5

Marvel Comics 2021

Written by Kieron Gillen

Illustrated by Esad Ribić

Coloured by Matthew Wilson

Lettered by VC’s Clayton Cowles

You know the Forgotten One by many names. Hero, Gilgamesh...Eternals know him by many more. Often less complimentary. They include Killer. But did he kill Zuras? Well, failing that, it certainly looks like he’s having a shot at killing Ikaris, right?

This really is one of the best series Marvel is putting out right now. It has some of the most amazingly intelligent storytelling that I have had the pleasure to witness in quite some time. Whether or not Sersi is even remotely telling the truth or not doesn’t make one lick of difference she’s such a ferocious woman and with her time as an Avenger showing us she will do whatever makes her feel good in that moment as taking Dane for a husband showed us. To see her being fully unleashed and uninhibited as Kieron lets her be within these pages is simply stunning. She is also a smart cookie as she removed any trace of Thanos from her conversation with Tony proves. So while all the Eternals have their talents there are few as intimidating as Sersi truly is whether her fellow Eternals admit this or not.

I love the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exquisitely well. The character development that we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter is portrayed to sheer perfection. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story, drawing the reader further and further in and taking us to church with the revelations we see is astonishing.

I’m a huge fan of the way that this is being structured and how the layers within the story continue to grow, evolve and strengthen depending on what avenues are being explored or simply opened up new. These layers contain such powerful characterisation, misdirection and intrigue and while not all work within the main arc, some do swirl around it, they all add extra depth and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is impeccably achieved.

The work on the interiors is simply mindbogglingly stunning to behold. The linework and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this level & quality of detail work is astounding. That we see backgrounds given this much care and attention with the detail we see in them as well makes my heart sing. Then seeing how they work within the composition of the panels to bring us depth perception, a sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the book is remarkably brilliant. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masterful eye for storytelling. The colour work is equally as brilliant to see. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work show a real master colourist at work. Plus the softness versus the boldness of the colours or how the use powers pops is spectacular to see.

It is books like this that remind me why I love this medium so much. That true talent can find a way to make words meaningful and poignant and to utilise misdirection and directness while entertaining readers alongside such visuals that could tell the story without words, should be celebrated. Then to be left on such a cliffhanger, oh goodness me next month cannot arrive soon enough.