Everything and nothing.
Not just the translation of a wonderful Borges short story, but two fundamental concepts. The infinite. The eternal. And the void. The null. Two opposites that people concentrate on, trying to understand the building blocks of the universe. You’ve probably heard some variation on the term “nihilo ex nihilo fit“, nothing can come from nothing. It’s weird, though. When you look at subatomic levels, things start looking more an more like nothing. That only nothing is.
But I’d argue something else. Once you get down to nothing. Absolute nothing. Everything is possible. You get a blank slate to rebuild from. And everything can come from nothing. Omnia ex nihilo.
“Your life doesn’t belong to you. “You’re just the latest incarnation of a universal constant.”
Eternity Girl by Magdalene Visaggio, Sonny Liew, Chris Chuckryand Todd Klein was one of the new titles launched under the DC’s Young Animal imprint after the Milk Wars crossover. It introduced us to the world of Caroline Sharp, a character that ostensibly sidestepped out of a different reality during the continuity rejiggering. It’s an interesting bit of a metatextual element that works with real world editorial events to propel a character’s origin in-story.
And it goes further than that as the story weaves through Caroline’s quest and search for her own identity and place in the world. Finding herself at odds with the agency she worked for that put her in the situation where she gained elemental powers, dealing with suicidal tendencies, and uncovering part of the grand design of the universe. In a neat, only-in-comics way of understanding the multiverse. Building on the crossover, reboots, and an inkling familiarity of something else in the back of your head. Like, say, Metamorpho and Elemental Woman, but still completely different.
Which itself gets a bit further meta through the artwork of Sonny Liew. Liew’s thin, angular style is somewhat reminiscent of Ted McKeever and Marc Hempel, with some incredible, inventive layouts, character designs, and impressive versatility as reality permutations take place. What adds another interesting layer to the story for me is that Liew previously also drew the New 52’s version of Doctor Fate, of which the inclusion of new Lords of Order and Chaos here draws some parallels. It’s another real life element that deepens the overall context.
With the world fleshed out further through the colors of Chris Chuckry, including an almost pastel-like approach to Eternity Girl herself. And the interesting pairing of color and design from Liew and Chuckry with some Kirby-esque moments and a switch to a Peanuts homage strip. All of it also shifting under the lettering work of Todd Klein.
“I don’t have any vodka, but do you want to talk?”
Through Caroline’s search for identity and purpose in Eternity Girlby Visaggio, Liew, Chuckry, and Klein, we get a deeply personal story that reveals a lot about universal concepts. It delves into complex philosophical topics all within the framework of a constructed fictional reality. It’s fascinating how it weaves it all together under a metaphysical superhero umbrella.
Classic Comic Compendium: ETERNITY GIRL
Eternity Girl
Writer: Magdalene Visaggio
Artist: Sonny Liew
Colourist: Chris Chuckry
Letterer: Todd Klein
Publisher: DC Comics – DC’s Young Animal
Release Date: March 14 – August 8 2018 (original issues)
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