Eternity is another huge offering from Valiant comics. Ever since it's relaunch, Valiant has been shining high with such diverse and incredible comics with some of the best writers and artists. Eternity has set another layer to their star-studded world opening doors of what if, elseworlds and multiverse.

'Eternity' by Matt Kindt with art by Trevor Hairsine is a graphic novel follow up to the Divinity series by Valiant, which I didn't read. I still thought this was ok, but I probably should have started this story elsewhere.

A pair of intergalactic parents, in cool space costumes, is looking for their lost child. They search and ask questions of all kinds of cosmic beings. When they ultimately find the child, they learn that the child has a higher calling.

It's kind of a cosmic mess of a story. I had a hard time following it or caring, but that could be because I didn't read the previous series. On the plus side, the art by Trevor Hairsine is pretty amazing. I ended up finishing the volume just to keep seeing what art was around the next page turn.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Valiant, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

I think the best way to describe this is to say that it reminds me of the 70’s cult classic movie Fantastic Planet. It is designed for people who are the under the influence of mind-altering substances. In a straight frame of mind, it is rambling, disconnected... incomprehensible. But you have the feeling that if you could disconnect your right brain it would be beautiful and meaningful.

Eternity is a follow-up to Matt Kindt’s Divinity trilogy. The Observer has been murdered on the God Platform by a Terran bullet and needs to be replaced. The Observer’s job is to stand at the edge of the Unknown, watching all of the universes in all of time and space. The Observer keeps the balance in the Unknown between the Future Light (where the future is seen as predetermined) and the Past Light (which would like to make its own future, thank you very much). Leave it to a bullet fired from Earth to kill him.

Meanwhile, Myshka and Abram from Divinity are in Russia, raising their son, who is a chip off the old superparental block. But the chip is snatched, spirited away to the Unknown, where he is meant to be the new Observer, at least by the Future Light. The Past Light is just fine without an Observer because balance isn’t really their thing. Battles ensue.

The Unknown is not a place to which Myshka and Abram want to return, but a parent’s gotta do what a parent’s gotta do, even if it means meeting Ragad the Unstoppable (a formidable name, that) and visiting the City of the Golden Virus (just thinking about it gives me a fever).

Myshka and Abram are underutilized; their story gets crowded out by everything else that’s going on. A conflict between Abram’s nonviolent nature and Mysha’s aggression is underdeveloped. The same could be said for the story as a whole, which might have benefited from more atmosphere and greater characterization while fleshing out some of the big ideas that drive the tale.

The ending of the volume suggests more to come, but the story is self-contained. It’s based on some big ideas, some of which might actually make sense. Whether or not the story makes perfect sense, it is unquestionably entertaining. The art is imaginative and, in some panels, quite beautiful.

I really enjoyed the three Divinity miniseries, but this was pretty much a bunch of existential mumbo-jumbo. It was Valiant's attempt at a Vertigo comic, an obtuse one at that. I'm still a little shocked at how awful this was. This is Matt Kindt doing an imitation of Grant Morrison at his worst, with his head completely up his own ass.

I would not recommend this graphic novel. The coloring was good, but the story itself is a mess.

This series really isn't for me. 2⭐ for great cover and coloring.

The cover intrigued me and it looked very interesting.
However that was unfortunately one of the most exciting things about this graphic novel.

I found the story to be all over the place so I couldn't really get int o it.

However the artwork in the story is amazing

Abram and Myshka won't stop to get their kidnapped baby back. They don't know that the baby is taken for a greater fate than living with his parents. Will they be able to get their baby back? When they reach where the baby is, they find out what his fate is and what is hanging in the balance. What will they do?

This is a series of a story, that involves themes of family, has drama and is science fiction! The artwork is fantastic! The author and artist had done a fantastic job working together. I hope they will work on more graphic novels as I am a definite fan. Enjoy!

This book is gorgeous. The color work is phenomenal. The story takes place in a strange realm on the edge of the universe, so things don't have to follow the same conventions of a story set solely on Earth. I thought the creators did a good job setting up this imagined world so that readers won't feel like they are missing out on something.

It picks up the story of the Divinity character and revolves around the theft of his son. As much as I enjoyed this story, I feel like things are returned to a sort of status quo by the end. The story served to bring a returning character into more of a villain role. I want to see how things will play out with him in the future.

As much as I enjoyed the art, the best part of this book has to be Divinity himself. Here is a superhero that doesn't resort to fighting all the time. He spends more time trying not to fight and show respect for those that might wish to harm him. It was refreshing to read a story where alternatives to fighting are the character's initial choices.

This dark and twisting tale of heroes, villains, and gods takes you to another level. The art was astonishing too.

There's a lot going on in this story, and there aren't many pages to tell it all in either. It makes for a slightly frenetic mood. That said, the energy isn't mismatched to a lot of the story - the harried search for something so precious can thrive on such energy, but for me that energy feels more rewarding when it has a counterbalance too. There were some sections that felt like a slower pace would be just as valid, and would give the reader a chance to relax briefly.

And that's the crux of what takes the edge off of this for me. The story exists in an interesting universe that has so many possibilities, and a lot of them are crammed in here without a clear purpose. No doubt many can resolve eventually, but in this book, it's a lot of introductions. This is true for both characters and concepts. luckily, the concepts fare much better from this and gave enough to hold my interest. As for the characters though? I have a feeling that I'll struggle to remember all but a few of the most memorable.

Overall this works, but it feels like it's reaching a little too far, a little too quickly. There are many things to like, but they flicker past quickly and it's hard to grab onto them. This book is a bit like grabbing a chocolate bar from a vending machine - it does what you need it to do, and it does it well enough to make you feel pretty happy, but ultimately it's gone too quickly and a few hours later you'll be thinking about your next meal. On the plus side though, it's still a chocolate bar and that's a pretty good thing. I suspect this will be most enjoyable if you can sit down with the entire universe ready to digest in one sitting. Then it'll hit the spot.

DNF. Just piffle. Piffle, piffle, piffle. Pitiful piffle.

This is from an advance review copy for which I thank the publisher.

This was available on net Galley as a 'read now' and sometimes such books can be gems; other times they can be awful; upon another occasion, they can be simply just not appealing. This was in the latter category, I'm sorry to report. mat Kindt's writing was nothing out of the ordinary - not bad, but not really anything new or special. The drawings (ink by Ryan Winn, pencil by Trevor Hairsine) were okay, but nothing thrilling. Colors by David Baron were brilliantly hued, but still failed to impress somehow.

This new world felt drab despite the bright colors. It felt confusing, and uninteresting, and full of vague new-ageisms instead of anything solid or gripping. The story is of a black couple whose child is taken into this parallel dimension (or whatever it was) to replace an 'observer' who was killed. The only observation worth making here is that he evidently didn't see it coming!

The way the child was drawn made him look far older than the way he was depicted through his behavior. I don't know if any of these artists have young children of their own, but they should probably study a few crawling kids before they draw any more of them.

This death of the observer creates a panic for reasons which are entirely unclear. The rest of the story is of a battle between human cavemen who wish everyone to have self-determination, and the parallel world people who apparently don't. The bottom line is that none of us truly has free will (changes have occurred in our brains long before our conscious mind becomes aware of us making a decision), so if the people in this story had been less new age mysticism, and more science-based empiricism, they would have realized their conflict was pointless! I couldn't get anything out of what proved to be a very forgettable graphic novel, and I cannot recommend it.

On a technical note, my iPad, using Bluefire Reader, had issues with disappearing speech on pages 8, 60, and 77 (as measured by the Bluefire Reader page count - the graphic novel has no page numbering. When I loaded this into Adobe Digital editions, however, the text was there =- there were no blank speech balloons, so be aware of this issue.

I must say that the cover lured me in and I've read Kindt's other comics and this seemed interesting. That was about it. I don't even know whether I can explain the plot, since it basically makes no sense. Abram/Divinity is this guy who lives on a farm with his wife and son. The son gets abducted and mommy and daddy turn into superheroes of sort (?) in order to find their kid and get revenge. Their son isn't theirs though, but the new observer and the wheels of universe are now set to get him to balance everything whether the parents want or not. Dad doesn't, even if mom understands the situation. The plot is such a mess and basically hardly anything works structure-wise. The plot is simple in a way, but you really need to struggle to get any understanding. Eternity really needs a more coherent plot and more linear approach to work and there's not enough pages either to pull this off, since we know nothing about the characters.

The art is OK and the comic is very colorful, which is great. Because of the messy structure, the panels are stuffed at times, and it doesn't help that the full palette is used, since it makes this messier than needed. The best way to describe Eternity is to say it's full, too full. Toning down would've made wonders and slowing down the beginning as well as laying the base better. Eternity is a mess, but gladly the idea is interesting and the cover, it's beautiful. So, at least something, right?

An interesting graphic novel with a sci-fi and alien bend to it. A lot of fun!

“Eternity,” written by Matt Kindt, art by Trevor Hairsine, and published by Valiant is a 4 issue mini-series continuing the story of the deity-like cosmonaut Abram Adams. Reading the three previous volumes of Divinity, also published by Valiant, can provide background on characters in this collection, although this story also works as a stand alone narrative. Eschewing a synopsis as it would give away too many spoilers, the story here finds the reader in an imaginative sci-fi world. Readers who enjoy reading about cosmic level characters will enjoy the story. What made Divinity compelling was having an all-powerful character who is a pacifist - with great power comes wisdom, and Abram Adams essentially opts out of competition of and for power and its associated cycle of violence. It places a heavier burden on the writer who could traditionally write in a fight scene as the climax of a story, and a punch as a source of resolution. Kindt does a great job writing this character, and I look forward to where Valiant takes the character next. The artist and colorist also did an excellent job. Highly recommended for readers looking for something different.

Review provided in exchange for copy provided by NetGalley.

Has Its Moments

This is basically the fourth volume in the Divinity story. While being familiar with the previous three stories will help you understand what's going on it's probably not necessary. That's mostly because what you absolutely need to know you can pick up well enough between the lines, and, this volume is so out-there that knowing the backstory may not matter that much anyway.

Basically, Abram and Myshka's son has been kidnapped, the Observer who maintains balance in the universe has been assassinated, and those two events are connected. Lots of new characters step into and out of the story, some old threads are reintroduced briefly, and some earlier characters reappear. But if you keep your eyes on Abram and Myshka you'll get most of the action.

That said, there's a good deal of dense dialogue, lots of changes of scene, and some bits that didn't seem to go anywhere. On the other hand, the drawing is top drawer. The big scenes are impressive, as always the characters are expressive and recognizable, and the action scenes are crisp and clear. Pencils, inking, and coloring all enhance the tone and purpose of the story. Lots of otherworldly settings and travel through strange dimensions, and the like, keep the interest level high even if the story sometimes lags.

So, a Divinity fan will want to get a look at this. Readers who admire Valiant projects, or especially Kindt's work, should be intrigued. As I noted, for this reader, the book had its moments. (Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

I enjoy reading comics from the Valiant universe even when I dont know where they fit in the overall chronology. This comic is a new story arc and an off shoot from the Divinity story arc. It has great illustrations that are nice and bright, and an interesting story. I dont fully understand everything that is happening in this story but I still enjoyed it.

According to Wicki 'Eternity' is a limited series which continues the story of Abram Adams (Divinity) from the previous mini-series Divinity and Divinity II, the event series Divinity III: Stalinverse, and the one-shot Divinity #0.

Valiant fans will know how that fits but the rest of us can enjoy this book, knowing that there is an entire universe of stories and comics for us to explore. This volume is as good a place as any to start that exploration.

Copy provided by Diamond Comics via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.