A gathering of neighbors in suburban Buenos Aires is interrupted by an eerie, phosphorescent snowfall. When those outside exposed to the "snow" start dropping dead, it becomes clear that the harmless-looking "snow" reflects the vanguard of an alien invasion, and a story of survival, cunning, and armed struggle against them unfurls. The Eternaut was written by the Argentine author Hector German Oesterheld, famous for opposing the military junta in the late '70s, and disappeared, along with his daughters, in 1977, and drawn by Francisco Solano Lopez in an appropriately pulpy, representational style. The story, originally serialized from 1957 to 1959, holds a mirror to Argentine politics, reflecting an era of paranoia, military juntas, and Cold War geopolitics. Encounter the gripping tale that remains a symbol of resistance in Latin America to this day.
"In “The Eternaut,” Oesterheld established themes that would come to define—and, eventually, to end—his life. Like Oesterheld himself, the strip’s hero, Juan, struggles with the question of whether individual resistance can make a difference against overwhelming odds."
I write about comics & movies. Contributor to The Globe, The Comics Journal, Cinema Scope.
Swell profile of the great, disappeared comics writer Héctor Germán Oesterheld (THE ETERNAUT, LIFE OF CHE). Here’s hoping for more @fantagraphics translations of his WW2 comics ERNIE PIKE and BLACK POPPY, or his westerns RANDALL and SGT. KIRK https://t.co/AibZbeet8x
Software QA Engineer at CBC Innovis | Fan of @ColumbusCrew and @BocaJrsOficial | Pizza | Socialist | Cartoonist | Awesomely Married to @EveGI88
Next to Rodolfo J Walsh is Héctor Germán Oesterheld, an Argentine author and comic book writer. He wrote the comic book The Eternaut, the story of an alien invasion with political subtext that would make him a target of the Argentine military junta, resulting in his death.