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A review by lauren_endnotes
The Eternaut by Francisco Solano Lopez, Héctor Germán Oesterheld
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.