Eternity #4

By Matt Kindt, Trevor Hairsine, Ryan Winn, and David Barron.

“Time is priceless, but it’s Free. You can’t own it, you can use it. You can spend it. But you can’t keep it. Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back…”
― Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler’s Wife

In February of 2015, Divinity was released. Co-created by writer Matt Kindt and artist Lewis LaRosa, Divinity was the story a Russian cosmonaut (Abram Adams) who embarked on a 30 year long mission of space exploration and acquires god-like powers; specifically the ability to alter matter and time. Abram returned to earth, only to discover that everything and everyone he had known or loved no longer existed.

On his mission, Abram was not alone, but was accompanied by two cosmonauts named Myshka (aka Valentina Volkov) and Kazmir. While Abram returned home to earth, Myshka and Kazmir were left to die in space. The two cosmonauts experienced a much more violent and dark return journey compared to the (relatively) peaceful one experienced by Abram. The story of Myshka and Kazmir unfolded in Divinity II,  released in April of 2016 and continued in Divinity III: The Stalinverse released in December of 2016. At the conclusion of Divinity III:The Stalinverse, the Valiant Universe had been restored (with a few noteworthy changes).

Divinity #0 was released in August of 2017, and a strong argument could be made for it to be the most artistically and visually stunning issues of the series. While the numbering might suggest chronological placement prior to Divinity #1, or perhaps an origin story similar to the zero issues of the early 1990s, a more appropriate title might have been Eternity #0 as the events and story of Divinity #0 occur immediately prior to the events and story of Eternity #1.

The chronological order for Divinity and Eternity is listed below, along with significant 1st appearances and events associated with each issue.

Eternity #4 is written by Divinity writer Matt Kindt and accomplishes two significant milestones in the Divinity and Eternity mythos. First, it creates a satisfying conclusion to the Eternity (and also Divinity) story. Second, it purposely leaves potential for future expansion of the Valiant Universe, along with a significant number of new potential heroes, villains, and supporting characters. Kindt place a ton of 1st appearances throughout Eternity, which aside from having a unique and compelling story with incredible artwork, creates a perfect storm for speculation value amongst collectors.

Artistically, the team of penciler Trevor Hairsine, inker Ryan Winn, and colorist David Barron has created every issue of Divinity and Eternity to date (with the exception of Divinity #0 which featured artwork by Renato Guedes), so fans of the series will not be disappointed in the least as the colors saturation and hues, character appearance, proportions, movements, and emotion all appear consistent and familiar. Of course it must be noted that describing the setting in which Eternity unfolds require the ability to visualize folded space, psychedelic dimensional presentation, time as a loop, and gravity pulling from various directions. Eternity possesses all of the same artistic qualities as Divinity; however, while Divinity I, II, and III remained grounded to the organic and physical universe, Eternity exists in beyond such organic and physical constraints and as such, is an artistic experience unlike any other.

Eternity #4 bends space, time, and reality continuing the Divinity storyline to a satisfying outcome. With endless potential the promise of more to come, Eternity is absolutely worth your time.