CHARLES KNAUF TALKS ETERNALS

[MattBrady]

by Vaneta Rogers

If Marvel readers were thinking the 2006 Eternals mini-series by Neil Gaiman and John Romita Jr. was just a nice little one-time appearance by the Kirby-created race of immortals, they'd better think again.

Not only does June see the launch of an Eternals ongoing series by Iron Man writing team Charles and Daniel Knauf and artist Daniel Acuna, but the Eternals characters will be showing up in other titles as well -- such as the April appearance in Incredible Hercules #116 -- as Marvel intends to entrench the Eternals firmly back into the Marvel Universe.

First introduced by Jack Kirby in 1976 in their own ongoing series, the Eternals are an evolutionary offshoot of humanity created when a race of cosmic giants called the Celestials did a little genetic experimenting some million years ago on Earth. Since that introduction, the characters often showed up in the Marvel Universe, but recently disappeared off the radar.

The Gaiman-penned mini-series re-introduced the Eternals by showing them awakening after a lengthy amnesia induced by one of their own. These immortal, super-beings had been living among the people of the Marvel Universe, unaware of their rich history. But now that they have begun to remember, they're racing to awaken as many of their people as they can, searching for their missing Eternals to help battle a threat called the Horde that is on its way.

It may all sound a little confusing, but with the new ongoing, Marvel and the Knaufs are hoping to give the concept a new life and a fresh beginning, and that readers will give it a chance.

We spoke to Charles Knauf about the upcoming series. The writer works on comics like Iron Man and Eternals with his father Daniel, best known as creator and writer on the HBO series Carnivale, and Charles hinted at more television work that the two may be doing soon. And as we talked to him about the Eternals, we found out there will be a lot of Marvel characters showing up in the series, and we ended up getting an idea of how the Eternals view that Skrull invasion that everyone is talking about.

Newsarama: First up, just to ease any worries readers may have about television writers who work on comics, how far along are you guys in creating the Eternals? Are there several issues in the can already?

Charles Knauf: Yep. We're finished with issue #5, and I just turned in our draft for issue #6. We've got art going, I believe, through issue #3 so far.

NRAMA: Speaking of art, how is it working with Daniel Acuna? He's got such a unique style, and this is his first work since landing his Marvel exclusive.

CK: Oh, he's great. It's kind of funny because he's out of the country as well as Rob, who does Iron Man, so we're always communicating over long distances. But he just has this love for Kirby's work. And what he brings to the table is the same thing we bring to the table. Whenever we read the old Kirby stuff, we always felt that everything was so exciting, and he was so ready to tell us a story. It was like everything had an exclamation point on it. And that's kind of what we wanted to do with this is bring a lot of love to the table from Kirby.

From what I understand, from a Newsarama article, he said he loves the Eternals and he loves the Jack Kirby stuff. And when he turns in some of those pages, you really do see it. It's like, he's got his own style, obviously, but it's really just a total homage to Kirby.

NRAMA: For people who are familiar with your work on Iron Man, which feels like a political drama or espionage thriller, is it right to assume that this series is going to have a different overall tone?

CK: Well, you know our writing style, so there are going to be dramatic themes going on in this story. But we discussed the tone as being really Kirby-esque. And that's what we're going to do. It's a lot brighter. These characters are immortal, so they're not going to have too many things to worry about -- none of the same kind of things to worry about that Iron Man has to worry about. Think, like, an ancient Greek or Roman god type of story. There's love, there's drama and there's a lot going on. That's basically what it's going to be like. It is lighter than Iron Man though.

NRAMA: When this series was announced last summer, we were told by editor Mark Paniccia that it would pick up right where the Neil Gaiman mini-series left off, right?

CK: That's right. We're doing what we did with Iron Man after Warren Ellis finished. We are continuing what Neil Gaiman did. Now obviously, we've got a different style and it's going to be a little brighter. But everything that Gaiman started in his run, we are continuing. We're following Gaiman's rules. It jumps right off from there.

NRAMA: Will people who didn't read the Neil Gaiman series -- or haven't read anything about the Eternals at all -- be able to follow what's happening?

CK: Oh yeah. That was the point! We want to bring other readers from the rest of the Marvel Universe into reading this. They're putting the Eternals into a lot of other issues. There are going to be a lot of other characters who are going to have the Eternals show up in their books. What we're trying to do is broaden the audience. So yeah, it's going to be very accessible to everyone and everything will be explained in a way that people can follow.

NRAMA: What can you tell us about what's going to be happening in the series?

CK: The first major thing is we're going to be discovering a lot about the Celestials' history. What they're doing here, who they are ... questions that haven't been answered since the beginning. We're also going to be bringing back a lot of these old characters that people really dug from the Eternals history. And we're going to be grounding it in the Marvel Universe. You're going to be seeing a lot of Marvel characters -- not too many; as long as it drives story.

NRAMA: Anyone from the Marvel Universe you can tell us will be showing up a bit?

CK: We actually have The Watcher showing up as a side character.

NRAMA: That one makes sense. But what's the status of the Eternals as we pick up Issue #1 of the new ongoing? They're still trying to awaken other Eternals, right?

CK: They're still worried about the Horde, which was the threat established in the Gaiman mini-series. What they have to do is awaken as many Eternals as they possibly can to combat the Horde.

NRAMA: For people who are more familiar with the Eternals characters, what can you tell us about their status as your run begins?

CK: Well, we've got, from Gaiman's run, Makkari is the new speaker of the Dreaming Celestial, and he's going to be talking through that Celestial instead of Ajak. Druig has plans of his own. He's off doing his own thing and stirring up his own trouble. Anyway, the Eternals are scrambling, figuring out what to do about this oncoming Horde battle.

NRAMA: Back when they first re-appeared, they were portrayed as thinking Civil War was beneath them, or at least unworthy of their attention. They compared the dispute to two kids fighting in a sand lot. Now that this ongoing hits right at the height of Secret Invasion, will the Eternals be at all interested in what's going on with the Skrulls?

CK: I can tell you it's essentially the same thing. You have to understand that the Eternals are here to protect Earth. Literally protect the Earth itself. If Earth was in any danger, as they believe it is from the Horde, then they would prepare. If there was any danger from the Skrulls, then they'd be all ready to go. But as far as they see, the Horde is a much bigger problem. It's something they can take care of. So there's not going to be too much Secret Invasion stuff going on.

NRAMA: Then as we finish up, Charles, is there anything you can share about what else you and Daniel are working on in comics -- or even in other media here in L.A.?

CK: No. I can't talk about anything, unfortunately. We are working on things, but I can't really say anything. It's not comic books. It's probably TV. But I can't really talk about it. For now, we're just excited to be working on Iron Man and Eternals, and finally being able to have people see what we've been doing with these great Kirby characters.

NRAMA: And you're on these comics for the long haul?

CK: Yeah. We're committed to these characters, and we're really having too much fun on Eternals to back away anytime soon.

Newsarama note: For anyone interested in delving further into the history of the Eternals world created by Jack Kirby, Newsarama has two extensive looks at the characters and their background: Know Your Eternals I: The Eternals and Know Your Eternals II: Celestials & Deviants.

[alias28]

wow, not a fan of daniel acuna or his approach, but these are some nice pages.

[Derek Ruiz]

Looks and sounds great I'm in.

[uscwamer]

Looking forward to this.

Side note: Have the Knauf's ever said anything about maybe finishing up Carnivale in a graphic novel format???? I'd like that. Weren't the first two seasons basically the first part of a 3 part story?

[MartinRedmon]

LOL Neil Gaiman's: The Eternals - The appropriation continues.

[Snikkas]

the horde looks more like ultimate galactus

[Derek Ruiz]

So if Superman ever came to Marvel I could see him being an Eternal.

[Ben543250]

Originally Posted by MartinRedmon

LOL Neil Gaiman's: The Eternals - The appropriation continues.

Try reading the whole sentence.

Neil Gaiman's Eternals revival was just the beginning.

[durkadurka]

Acuna's art seems to have gotten crisper since the first Uncle Sam series he did. I like it.
Looking forward to a continuation of Gaiman's run.

[Starbird]

Looking good! Can't wait for this series.

[Sam Little]

I've just recently discovered how great Iron Man has become under the Knaufs direction. One of the absolute best books on the stands. I loved the Gaiman Eternals mini and the preview art here looks fantastic, so I'm definitely onboard for this.

[DaVeO]

This could be Daniel's break-out series. I may get this in trades starting with Gaiman's mini. I'm for holding off on too many other Marvel hero appearances though, for the 1st six issues at least. I like to see characters grow a bit and see where the writer takes them.

[Kahn]

Dunno the Eternals, but I LOVE the Knaufs, and Acuna is kicking some serious ass. I don't remember the last time I was this excited about a new series.

[KentL]

I'm pretty sure that Daniel Acuna's mother gave birth to him specifically for this series.

Nice.

[Supremeo]

Originally Posted by Derek Ruiz

So if Superman ever came to Marvel I could see him being an Eternal.

Nice to Dream

[Salieri]

RAARRGH!

Dump that stupid Helmet, Mak!

[artiepants]

those are some seriously beautiful arts.

[artiepants]

edit: i just got Imaginova'd!!!

[ljacone]

I like the old Kirby Eternals, and dug Gaiman's series, and am a huge fan of Charles and Daniel's work on Iron Man (still the best series Marvel publishes), so this is a no-brainer for me. About the only thing I am not sold on is Acuna. I didn't care for his work on Flash, but it seems more at home with the Eternals.

[I am MODOK]

That art is stunning. I will be picking this up in trade.

[ejulp]

just in time for final crisis...take that new gods!

oh and this looks great...nice to see kirby's stuff being brought back.

[Blackbeard]

Wow... looks fantastic! Count me in.

[jbz16]

Dude!

Daniel Acuna is amazing! When I first saw his work back on GL, I was not impressed. But then I took some time to really see what he was working with and how he used his technique to show subtle beauty and emotion. At that point I became a rabid fan! Where did he come from? Has anyone ever done anything in a similar style? I dunno! And I don't care!

And now he is on Eternals! What the duece?!?!?! I have no interest in the Eternals! None! But you can bet I will be pick up what Daniel is putting down! HOLLAH!!!

[jda178]

It's funny; Marvel wants to firmly entrench one of Kirby's creations in the Marvel universe, while DC says that the New Gods were never really meant for the mainstream DC universe.

[Derrick Fish]

This looks BEAUTIFUL and I'll certainly be picking it up. That said, is there any reason why the Romita Jr. designed new look for Ikaris is being changed back more to Kirby's original design? Personally, while the original design is great, I LOVED Romita's re-design and would love to see Acuna tackle it.