Publication History
Eternity debuted in an epic 17-issue storyline in the ongoing feature "Doctor Strange" in Strange Tales #130-146 (March 1965 - July 1966). The character was first mentioned in the 10-page story "Earth Be My Battleground" in Strange Tales #134 (July 1965), and first seen in the 10-page story "If Eternity Should Fail" in Strange Tales #138 (Nov. 1965).
Following the publication's retitling as Doctor Strange, the character returned in issues #180-182 (May-July 1969), and thereafter continued to appear in stories that were cosmic in scope, including in Doctor Strange vol. 2, #10-13 (Oct. 1974 - April 1975); Defenders #92 (Feb. 1981); and a story by writer-artist John Byrne in Fantastic Four #262 (Jan. 1984) that attracted controversy. At the conclusion of that story, Eternity validated the existence of another cosmic character, Galactus. Howard University Professor of Literature Marc Singer stated Byrne used the character Eternity as a means to "justify planetary-scale genocide."
Eternity guest starred in Secret Wars II #6-7 (Dec. 1984 - Jan. 1985); Silver Surfer vol. 3, #6 & 10 (Dec. 1987, April 1988) and with Marvel's cosmic hierarchy in the limited series Infinity Gauntlet #1-6 (July-Dec. 1991), and in its sequel, Infinity War #1-6 (June-Nov. 1992). The character played a pivotal role in limited series Avengers Infinity #1-4 (Sept.-Dec. 2000). Major revelations about the character appeared in a storyline in Quasar #19-25 (Feb.-Aug. 1991). Other appearances, again in storylines that featured a cosmic theme, included Infinity Abyss #1-6 (Aug.-Oct. 2002); and Defenders vol. 3, #1-5 (Sept. 2005 - Jan. 2006).
Eternity has also appeared in the alternate universe titles What If? #32 (April 1982); Marvel: The End #1-6 (May 2003 - Aug. 2003); and JLA/Avengers #1-4 (Sept. 2003 - May 2004).
Read more about this topic: Eternity (comics)
Famous quotes containing the words publication and/or history:
“Of all human events, perhaps, the publication of a first volume of verses is the most insignificant; but though a matter of no moment to the world, it is still of some concern to the author.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“There is one great fact, characteristic of this our nineteenth century, a fact which no party dares deny. On the one hand, there have started into life industrial and scientific forces which no epoch of former human history had ever suspected. On the other hand, there exist symptoms of decay, far surpassing the horrors recorded of the latter times of the Roman empire. In our days everything seems pregnant with its contrary.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)