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A couple weeks ago, DC launched a new stand-alone series, called National Comics, which was designed to explore some of The New 52′s characters that, while cool, don’t currently have an outlet for their tales. The first of these characters to get their place in the spotlight was Kid Eternity, in the form of a fantastic one-shot: National Comics: Eternity #1. Here’s the official word:
NATIONAL COMICS ETERNITY #1
Written by Jeff Lemire
Art by Cully Hamner
An exciting new series of stand-alone comics that feature unique takes on classic characters! Jeff Lemire (Animal Man) and Cully Hamner (Red) bring a contemporary approach to the hero we used to know as Kid Eternity! Can introverted medical examiner Kid Eternity solve a deadly crime in just 24 hours?
As you can see, it was written by one of DC’s more well-respected writers, Jeff Lemire, whose work on Sweet Tooth, Animal Man, Justice League Dark, and several other tales has definitely impressed us. Simply put, and as you can probably tell by the titles he’s worked on, he has a great feel for oddballs. And that’s exactly what Kid Eternity is, an oddball. He’s a medical examiner with the ability to summon the spirits of the recently deceased for 24 hours… and possibly even solve their murders! I don’t want to give too much away but this issue features exactly that and even has a couple nifty little twists at the end.
As I said when I gave this issue a spot in the Best Book of the Month list in August, it was a great detective story of sorts and a great read. Lemire has taken an old DC character and put a fresh spin on him. The way this book finishes, it seems to me it could make for a highly readable series of one-off stories, in which Kid Eternity must solve a crime of some kind using his unique abilities, or an ongoing story involving same.
Eternity was the first of the National Comics issues, then this past week we saw Looker, and soon we’ll have Madame X and Rose & Thorn. Each of these will have one issue to introduce the reader to their little corner of the universe, with the hopes of building from there. And, though I can’t say Looker was all that good (even if it did have a sweet cover), I hope the remaining titles are as good as Eternity.
- Andy B.
Eternity was a great book, I wanted issue #2 right away. Looker was a one and done and an easy book to pass on, it was a less interesting take on the character then what she was in the old DCU. I like the idea of the series though as we get a look at how morphed the a character is in the new verse.