Eternals #1 carries a July 1976 cover date and opens the series that Jack Kirby wrote and drew alone at Marvel. The issue sets up the Eternals as an immortal people, introduces Ikaris and hints at the shadow of the Celestials, who only take their full place in the next issue. Collectors hunt it as the birth certificate of a cosmic mythology that became central, with a price that depends mostly on the condition of the copy.
Some first issues are paid for their scarcity, others for the place they hold in a lineage. Eternals #1 belongs to the second category: the comic had an ordinary print run for its time, but it is the starting point of a cosmology that Marvel is still mining half a century later. For a collector, the question is therefore not whether it exists, but which one to choose, in what condition, and what to compare it with.
As always in this guide, only verified information (creators, issues, dates) is stated as fact; the analysis is ours, with no reproduction of artwork or protected dialogue.
Eternals #1: release date, creative team and plot
"The Day of the Gods": this issue reached American newsstands in April 1976, even though its cover says July, a gap every publisher practiced at the time. Jack Kirby handles the script, the pencils and the editorial direction, which is exceptional: at Marvel's scale, few monthly series were then entrusted to a single creator with no co-writer. For the inking and lettering, the reference listings contradict each other: only the indicia page of the copy settles it.
The plot starts in the Andes, where a team of archaeologists, the Damian family, explores ruins that belong to no known civilization. Kirby plants a favorite question here: what if the ancient myths were the distorted memories of a visit? The story features Ikaris, an Eternal stepping out of the shadows, along with a Deviant named Tode, and suggests the presence in orbit of a power far greater than either. The issue refrains from explaining everything it shows, and that is what makes it so distinctive: the 1976 reader received a world that was already ancient, of which only the facade was given.
Three peoples are therefore present in outline: the Eternals, immortal and serene; the Deviants, born of the same experiment but unstable; and humanity, which knows nothing. The details of this genealogy become clearer in the following issues, which makes Eternals #1 an opening issue more than a complete story.
The editorial context: what Marvel was publishing in 1976
The artist returned to Marvel in 1975, coming off five years at DC, where the Fourth World ended before its planned conclusion. The return came with rare freedom: Kirby took over Captain America, produced an adaptation of 2001: A Space Odyssey and launched a personal series, Eternals. Meanwhile, the publisher was putting out its other series of the day, including the X-Men with the new international team, and Kirby had not signed a Fantastic Four issue since the 1970 departure.
Eternals is not just one more title in that lineup, it is a parallel proposal. Kirby reuses neither New York nor the house superheroes; the action unfolds on a scale of millennia, with monumental machines and almost statuesque figures. The mood recalls the ancient-astronaut theories that fueled the decade's best-sellers, and several Kirby commentators link the opening idea to that trend. Kirby spoke freely of the "gods" as a possible source of legends, which gives the series a tone of speculation rather than technical science fiction.
This frame sheds light on a paradox: the title's sales figures were modest, and yet readers never forgot its ideas. Newsstand sales in the mid-seventies relied on recognizable heroes on the cover, and Eternals offered few. When the title stops with #19, dated January 1978, Kirby leaves Marvel soon after for other projects, and the series becomes an unfinished monument.
Why Eternals #1 became a key issue
The reason comes down to a chain. First, Eternals #1 is the first appearance of the Eternals as a people and of Ikaris, the Eternal who serves as the face of the franchise, in film as in recent stories. Second, the Celestials, announced in this issue and fully introduced in the next, became one of the pillars of Marvel cosmology: their returns in the publisher's events all point back to the 1976 series. Finally, Kirby is one of the creators the market honors most readily, and the personal first issue at Marvel carries weight accordingly.
The 2021 film added a layer. Even though reception was split, it put the original series back in front of readers who did not know it, and our screen-versus-page comparison shows exactly what the film borrows from the comic. One caveat applies: an adaptation rarely retells a specific issue, it borrows a universe. Issue #1 therefore benefits from the attention paid to the franchise, without being the issue that contains the adapted scenes.
What moves the price of Eternals #1: condition, edition, print run
On a 1976 comic, condition explains most of the gap. Paper from the period yellows quickly, spines split, corners blunt, and a copy with no visible flaw is rare. One grade step can move the price by a third or more, and at the high grades the gap widens faster than in the middle: the market pays a premium for the copy that looks fresh from the printer.
The print run plays a smaller role than people think. Kirby was a name, but Eternals was not a newsstand hit, and the unsold copies were returned and then destroyed, as for all periodical press of the era. What survives comes largely from collections assembled by readers who kept their issues flat, sometimes in plastic. Copies of decent level are therefore easy to find, while the very fine ones can be counted on a few hands: it is a scarcity of condition, not of print run.
To measure what a specific copy is worth, the most reliable method is to note completed sales at the same grade, then discard open listings that flatter the price. Listings show what sellers hope for; only completed sales say what buyers pay. For the full set of reference points on pricing, our guide to comic values details this approach.
Recognizing the original edition of Eternals #1
The 1976 series had only one original newsstand edition of this issue, but several objects can pass for it. First check the indicia: the date, the copyright and the full title, with the #1 and the mention of Kirby's series, must agree. The price banner printed at the top of the cover is among the easiest points to check; the paper, for its part, betrays a reprint through a white that is too even and a grain that is too smooth.
Two families of reproductions deserve to be told apart. On one side, bound collections: the omnibus devoted to Kirby and the large collection gathering his Eternals reproduce the content of the pages, never the object. On the other, facsimile-type editions, which copy the cover and period paper with an explicit mention of the operation. If a facsimile exists for this issue, it can be recognized by that mention, by its modern barcode and by paper whiter than the 1976 stock; the guide to Marvel facsimiles explains what they are worth and what they are not.
Finally, price variants. In the summer of 1976, Marvel distributed on some of its titles a variant carrying a higher cover price, meant to test the market. If a copy of Eternals #1 of that type is offered to you, its authenticity must be checked with great caution, relying on the guide to higher-price variants. Its existence for this specific issue is not established here: it is the kind of point where sources diverge.
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Pitfalls when buying Eternals #1
The first pitfall is confusion between series. Marvel relaunched the Eternals in 1985, 2006, 2008 and 2021, and each carries a "#1" in its title. A listing headed "Eternals 1" with no year may concern one of these relaunches, whose prices have nothing to do with Kirby's issue. Insist on the cover date, July 1976, or a photo of the indicia.
The second concerns restoration. A repaired spine, recolored corners, a replaced page: on a comic from this period, such work is common and not always visible to the naked eye. Grading companies flag restoration with a distinct label, which is useful; on an ungraded copy, ask for photos of the spine and the inner margin under raking light.
The third pitfall is subtler: the "first appearance of the Celestials" tag wrongly stuck on #1. The full Celestials are in #2. A seller who credits #1 with what belongs to #2 is not always lying, just simplifying; but the buyer then pays a premium for an issue that does not justify it.
Neighboring issues of Eternals #1 that also matter
Issue #2 from August 1976, "The Celestials!", is the big neighbor: the full first appearance of the Celestials, with Arishem the Judge and the Eternal Ajak. Several collectors consider it more important than #1 in the long run, because the Celestials radiated further than the starting group. Issue #3 from September 1976 gives Sersi under that name, with a spelling different from the one that later became standard, and its first-appearance status is debated because of ties to an older figure. Issue #5 from November 1976 widens the team with Zuras, Thena and Makkari, and moves the story from investigation to saga.
Around them, two issues deserve a look: annual #1 from 1977, which offers a complete story, and #19 from January 1978, Kirby's last issue, which closes the series without concluding it. Our overview entry places them all in publication order and indicates what trades easily and what stays expensive. On the reading side, three relaunches serve as entry points with no collecting ambition: Gillis and Buscema in 1985, Gaiman and Romita Jr. in 2006, Gillen and Ribić in 2021.
What grading changes for Eternals #1
Having a copy certified has two effects. On one hand, the grade fixes the condition and makes comparison between sellers possible. On the other, the label and the slab protect the comic from handling, but remove the pleasure of flipping through it. For a 1976 copy, the question arises mostly in the middle zone of the scale: above it, certification often pays for its cost; below it, it is harder to justify, except to secure a resale.
How to track Eternals #1 in a collection
The simplest approach is to treat Kirby's series as a unit of nineteen issues and an annual, and to note three pieces of information for each comic: the observed condition, the edition (newsstand or other) and the purchase date. These three columns are enough to reconstruct the value of the series later and to spot the gaps. A spreadsheet or a tracking tool does the same; the important thing is not to mix the 1985, 2006 and 2021 relaunches with the original series.
Then rank: #1 and #2 are the two centerpieces, #3 and #5 the complements, the rest of the series the accessible bulk. For anyone building a collection around Kirby, this issue sits next to the other landmark series debuts. The reading route described in our "where to start" guide helps decide whether Eternals deserves a central place or only a shelf, and the Fourth World guide shows what Kirby had attempted just before.
Conclusion: Eternals #1 in brief
Eternals #1 is the first issue of a short series, but it is the doorway to a mythology that outgrew its frame. Dated July 1976 and signed Jack Kirby, it establishes the Eternals and Ikaris and prepares the Celestials. Its price rests on condition, on the clarity of the edition identification and on the patience of the buyer. To complete it, #2 remains the natural partner, and the modern relaunches are for reading rather than for investing.
Frequently asked questions
Not in the full sense. The first issue announces their presence through a ship in orbit, but the Celestials truly appear in #2 from August 1976, with Arishem the Judge. Sources count differently depending on whether they accept the mere hint or the full-page introduction. For a purchase motivated by the Celestials, #2 is the right issue.
Jack Kirby handles the script and the pencils of the issue and oversees its editorial direction, a rare situation at Marvel at the time. For the inking and lettering, the reference listings contradict each other; only the copy in hand settles it, through its indicia page.
Marvel launched Eternals series in 1985, 2006, 2008 and 2021, all with a first issue. Only the July 1976 cover date and Jack Kirby's name in the indicia identify the original comic. The relaunches have paper, barcode and price unrelated to those of 1976.
It brought attention back to the franchise, but the effect on a specific issue is hard to isolate, and it was less clear than for other adaptations. The film borrows Kirby's universe more than a scene from #1. Measure the price by completed sales at the same grade, not by the memory of the theatrical release.
It depends on the condition. On a very clean copy, the grade reassures the buyer and justifies the shipping cost. On an average condition, it adds little. In every case, photograph both covers, the spine and the indicia, and compare completed sales of certified issues before deciding.
Do you have a 1976 issue or an Eternals relaunch at hand? Estimate it with a method based on its condition and edition.
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