ozymandias024's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
vickyyyyy28's review
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
zorpblorp's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
bleepnik's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 story
2.5 storytelling
3.5 overall
Great story unnecessarily dragged out with hyperbole and repetition. Most of the time the author doesn't even bother saying the same thing with different words—they're the same words and phrases over and over again. And the hyperbole! For the first time ever… No, actually, you said the same thing last time. A few other problems are signs of the time: the ableist language, the patronising sexism. A few years ago they might have been better tolerated, but the increased awareness with which we try to behave these days means they instead result in much jaw clenching and teeth gnashing.
The end of the eternaut's adventure was unexpected, but in retrospect it made a kind of sense. And while I know that the point was the story, the journey, its conclusion was so quickly and summarily presented that it felt a bit abrupt and anticlimactic. That said, I really liked the last few panels that focused on the listener. I'd hate to be in that poor guy's shoes.
Definitely the most ambitious graphic novel I've read so far, which is a good thing. I plan to look for more like this: longer and thought-provoking stories.
2.5 storytelling
3.5 overall
Great story unnecessarily dragged out with hyperbole and repetition. Most of the time the author doesn't even bother saying the same thing with different words—they're the same words and phrases over and over again. And the hyperbole! For the first time ever… No, actually, you said the same thing last time. A few other problems are signs of the time: the ableist language, the patronising sexism. A few years ago they might have been better tolerated, but the increased awareness with which we try to behave these days means they instead result in much jaw clenching and teeth gnashing.
The end of the eternaut's adventure was unexpected, but in retrospect it made a kind of sense. And while I know that the point was the story, the journey, its conclusion was so quickly and summarily presented that it felt a bit abrupt and anticlimactic. That said, I really liked the last few panels that focused on the listener. I'd hate to be in that poor guy's shoes.
Definitely the most ambitious graphic novel I've read so far, which is a good thing. I plan to look for more like this: longer and thought-provoking stories.
frasersimons's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this, and though it segues into a dystopia and becomes very war/military fiction, I enjoyed it quite a lot more than I expected, despite this departure. I thought it would be some weird super hero origin story from the late 50s in Argentina; to some degree, I suppose it is. But it’s a lot more in common with classic science fiction than that. And it has a lot of grounded combat with a resistance against, of all things, aliens. It kept me guessing constantly and ended pretty abruptly, but poignantly.
In the end it’s just neat to see the development of comics in another country, too.
In the end it’s just neat to see the development of comics in another country, too.
conifrancese's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
lucasporra's review
adventurous
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
lauren_endnotes's review against another edition
5.0
The Eternaut is a cultural icon in Argentina and the image of Juan Salvo, the "hero" of this graphic novel, is still seen in art and murals decades (half-century+) years after its release. It's an epic tale, and one that captures the Cold War-era (written in 1957) along with the golden age of pulp science fiction. A classic in Argentina, and now, finding a larger audience in translations all over the world.
The story begins with an illustrator, drawing at home. An apparition appears, introducing himself as "The Eternaut". He wants to tell his story... And who better to tell it to than this illustrator?
In Buenos Aires, 4 friends are playing a card game. Snow begins to fall outside. But this "snow" kills upon contact with skin. As the world outside is decimated, the friends create sealed suits to venture out and find other survivors and provisions. It is soon obvious that this deadly snow is a distraction for the real threat - an alien invasion is taking place. Juan Salvo and his friends join forces with other survivors to fight 3 different alien species: beetles, dinosaur-like gurbos, and the humanoid "hand" creatures.
Oesterheld, the author, continued to write more Salvo stories, and collaborated for other graphic works. In a truly devastating fate - he and all 4 of his adult daughters were "disappeared" / assassinated by the military dictatorship in the Dirty War in 1977.
This English translation, published by Fantagraphics in 2015 and and re-released in 2019 is a stunning work, both in content and in its book form. There are the original art/comic panels, the translated text, and also contextual pieces by the translator, consultants, and an afterword essay and biographies on Oesterheld and Lopez.
The story begins with an illustrator, drawing at home. An apparition appears, introducing himself as "The Eternaut". He wants to tell his story... And who better to tell it to than this illustrator?
In Buenos Aires, 4 friends are playing a card game. Snow begins to fall outside. But this "snow" kills upon contact with skin. As the world outside is decimated, the friends create sealed suits to venture out and find other survivors and provisions. It is soon obvious that this deadly snow is a distraction for the real threat - an alien invasion is taking place. Juan Salvo and his friends join forces with other survivors to fight 3 different alien species: beetles, dinosaur-like gurbos, and the humanoid "hand" creatures.
Oesterheld, the author, continued to write more Salvo stories, and collaborated for other graphic works. In a truly devastating fate - he and all 4 of his adult daughters were "disappeared" / assassinated by the military dictatorship in the Dirty War in 1977.
This English translation, published by Fantagraphics in 2015 and and re-released in 2019 is a stunning work, both in content and in its book form. There are the original art/comic panels, the translated text, and also contextual pieces by the translator, consultants, and an afterword essay and biographies on Oesterheld and Lopez.
laiastma's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5