I don't find Gaiman's statements offensive in the strictest sense of the word - I just feel that he is embarassed by the source material, and that he found it beneath him. I think his statements are arrogant, but I'm not offended by them.

By the way, I liked the Technophage stuff - but it's nowhere near as memorable as the most minor work that Jack Kirby ever did.

Hmm. Maybe you should keep in mind, then, that the only person who knows if a creator "got it right" is the creator himself. Unless Kirby told Gaiman he felt he didn't "get it right" on THE ETERNALS, it's pretty f***ing arrogant of Gaiman to make such a statement. "Kirby didn't get it right, and I probably won't either" sound like it should read "I don't want to do this series."

If I didn't like THE ETERNALS, why on Earth would I incorporate its mythology into MARVEL: THE LOST GENERATION and X-MEN - THE HIDDEN YEARS?

I think this explains what Gaiman was trying to saying betterthan the "quite right" comment:

QUOTE: What is interesting though, is how good it is, and how much cool, weird stuff there is there. I definitely don't feel that this is Kirby not on the top of his game because he was getting old, I feel that it reads more like Kirby's not on top of his game because they tied one hand behind his back, and weren't quite letting him be "Kirby." It's a different kind of thing as a result.

In Entertainment Weekly June30/July 7, in "The Must List:Books section, there is a comic strip written by Gaiman and drawn by Romita Sr. detailing how/why Gaiman took on Eternals (sorry, I would post it, but no scanner...but I'm sure it could be found on the 'net somewhere).

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Panel One: "Jack Kirby was the penciller and co-creator of comics like The Fantastic Four and The Mighty Thor" (Art of Kirby drawing)

Panel Two: "He was a creator of endless vision and power. He drew people in motion...hurtling across starscapes and through explosions. He created characters in abundance." (Art of a Celestial)

Panel Three: "When I was a kid, I read all the Kirby comics I could, awed by his vision, his scale, his speed. Even before I knew his name, I knew his style. As an adult, I made my name writing comics that were a long way from Kirby's. No aliens or explosions or exclamation marks..." (Art of Gaiman as a kid, sitting on a bed reading a comic)

Panel Four: "I never met Jack Kirby. I saw him talking to my publisher once, but I was late for a plane. 'There's always next time,' I thought. He died soon after that." (Art of Kirby and another man chatting, Gaiman in background looking on.)

Panel Five: "As well as the characters, much of the language of comics today comes from Kirby. In 1976, after going back to Marvel, he created a comic called The Eternals." (Art of Celestials with others talking)

Panel Six: "It was a healthy stew of myth and adventure, borrowing elementsa from Von Daniken, Kubrick's 2001, even Kirby's own Fourth World saga, creatures and heroes and space gods. I was 15 when I read it." (Art of teen Gaiman leaning on locker reading comic)

Panel Seven: "Pretty soon, The Eternals was just another cancelled comic. But I never forgot it. Immortals, monsters, Celestials..." (Art of close up of Gaiman w/no pupils)

Panel Eight: "Last year, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada and I were talking about what I could do for Marvel." (Art of building, word balloons saying..."Nick Fury" "Nope." "Dr. Strange?" "Taken" Millie the Model? Pip the Troll?")

Panel Nine: (Art of Quesada & Gaiman talking, JQ says...)"Hey Neil. Weird idea. Do you remember The Eternals? Do you think maybe you would want to do something with them? Bring them back again?"

Panel Ten: (A great shot of various Eternals characters, with an inset shot of Gaiman saying "I'm in.")

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I'm digging the book, personally!