The Eternals – By Neil Gaiman and John Romita Jr.
The Eternals is a rehash of a marvel comic by Jack Kirby that had its original run in the 70s. The version I just read is a mini-series (7 chapters) done by Gaiman in 2006. I picked this up knowing nothing of the premise, solely because it was by Gaiman, who I love beyond all imaginings.
For a good reason. This was really, really entertaining. X-menesque, with nods to the Fantastic Four. It’s pure comic goodness with the writing of Gaiman behind it. How can it get any better than that?
And it gave me one of my most favourite quotes. For some background, Earth is inhabited by three groups: The Eternals who were created by the alien Celestials, their enemies and counterparts, The Deviants – also created by the Celestials, and Humans, as far as I can tell, a happy accident. Over millennia, The Eternals (who are unkillable, hence the name) have been seen as gods by humans.
Anyway, at one point in the story a human is talking to an Eternal (Zuras). The conversation goes like this:
Human (speaking of fighting going on on Earth): You *have* to choose sides…..
Zuras: If you saw two groups of children arguing over which of them could play in some waste ground, would you choose sides?
It’s a perfectly simple statement from the perspective of god(s) when humans wonder why they don’t interfere. Brilliant!
February 13th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
This IS agood quote. I really like it…I like the perspective it adds although it sounds like a dispassionate god…you know that if the one who was watching the two groups of children fighting was a parent of one of the children – sides would be chosen.
February 28th, 2008 at 11:06 am
[...] not, because a few things I had never heard of, let alone read, popped up, of which Interworld and The Eternals went on my library request [...]
April 9th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Having had some time to ponder your comment, I don’t think it paints god as dispassionate at all. In this scenario, god would be the parent of *both* children fighting over the waste ground, which makes it that much more poignant, and that much more impossible to choose sides.
The quote is not so much about whether god is passionate or dispassionate in the argument, but rather that we, as his children are asking him to make a choice that is not only ridiculous but impossible.