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The Eternaut
The Eternaut (Spanish: El Eternauta) is an Argentine science fiction comic created by Héctor Germán Oesterheld with artwork by Francisco Solano López. It was first published in Hora Cero Semanal between 1957 and 1959, initially as a serialized comic strip. The story is focused on a handful of survivors of a deadly alien invasion in Buenos Aires.
After other failed attempts to continue the story, Oesterheld remade it in 1969, with art by Alberto Breccia and a more overt political tone. Oesterheld became the spokesman of the Montoneros guerrillas by the time he started the sequel, El Eternauta: segunda parte, again with Solano López. The Dirty War against guerrilla groups forced Oesterheld to go into hiding, but he completed the story nonetheless. He was a victim of an enforced disappearance shortly after that. His widow Elsa Oesterheld sold the rights of the character to the publisher Ediciones Record, and tried later to annul the contract, leading to a lengthy copyright dispute.
The story had many sequels in later years, sometimes with conflicting canonicity. A television miniseries adaptation by Netflix, The Eternaut, premiered on April 30, 2025, starring Ricardo Darín as the lead character.
The Eternauta was first published in the first issue of the comic magazine anthology Hora Cero by Editorial Frontera, on September 4, 1957. It was written by Héctor Germán Oesterheld, author of all the comics in the anthology, and was illustrated by Francisco Solano López. Solano López had been working with Oesterheld on the comic Rolo, el marciano adoptivo (lit. 'Rolo, the adopted Martian'), and although he was still interested in science fiction, he asked for a story with less fantasy. "I was doing Rolo in Hora Cero, I wanted to do science fiction, but with a more realistic approach, something more committed, closer to the reader, and that gave Héctor the idea of the Eternaut". Oesterheld would explain that "The Eternaut started as a short story, just 70 panels. Then it turned into a long story, an adaptation of sorts of the topic of Robinson Crusoe. I was captivated by the idea of a family that is suddenly alone in the world, surrounded by death and by an unknown and unreachable enemy. I thought of myself, of my family, isolated in our chalet, and started asking questions". He also explained that, although there was a general outline, the plots were largely improvised during publication, which led to the creation of characters and situations that were not considered in the early stages of writing.
The series became a success, and ran until 1959. However, Solano López said that, although the magazine was selling well, they had no way to measure the popularity of each specific comic, and were not aware of the Eternaut's popularity at the time. Hora Cero was closed shortly after the story's conclusion, as artists found it more lucrative to work abroad than in Frontera, Oesterheld knew little of finances, and interest in serial comics declined. Editorial Frontera was then absorbed by Editorial Emilio Ramírez. The closure of Frontera and the emigration of Solano López to Europe forced Oesterheld to cancel his plans for a sequel. Emilio Ramírez then sold the titles to the magazine "Vea y lea" in 1961, which republished the story. The republication made slight changes to the originals, removing the opening panels and some closing panels whose texts were redundant with the texts of the following entry, to allow a smoother read. Oesterheld wrote the plots intended for the sequel as a novel, which was published by Emilio Ramírez.
In 1969, Oesterheld rebooted the series as The Eternaut 1969, with more political references. It became an open critique of dictatorial regimes and advanced anti-imperialist ideas: instead of a classic alien invasion that destroys all the world, the story states that the global powers abandoned Latin America to the invaders to guarantee their own survival. This version featured artwork by Alberto Breccia, who drew the story in an experimental and unique style diverging from the original expression. It was first published on May 29, 1969, in the weekly Gente. The story was cancelled, so the ending was rushed to avoid leaving it unfinished. The following years the series was also published in Europe. These publications were a success and made Oesterheld, Breccia, and the character known in Europe.
Oesterheld met Lito Fernández in the early 1970s and invited him to work on a sequel set in La Plata. The basic plot would have been about the aliens starting a new invasion elsewhere after their defeat in Buenos Aires, using La Plata as a beachhead from where to raise a counter-attack. The comic would have been published by El Día. Oesterheld and Fernández gathered information about the city, and flew in a helicopter above it to take photos and brainstorm ideas. However, the project was never published and the few unpublished pages made for it were destroyed years later.
In December 1975, Ediciones Record started a sequel in Skorpio, by Ediciones Record, titles El Eternauta: segunda parte. Oesterheld resumed the story, with artwork once again by Solano López. Solano López had returned to Argentina, seeking to retrieve his original artworks from Emilio Ramírez. Oesterheld joined the leftist organization Montoneros and became their spokesman, and went into hiding when the organization was banned during the Dirty War. To keep writing the comic he delivered the plots in secrecy or using intermediaries. Solano López only saw him in person a couple of times. The plot of the comic was in line with the political agenda of Montoneros. Oesterheld, who had introduced himself as a character in a brief cameo at the beginning and end of the original story, now upgraded his self-character to an active sidekick of the hero, while keeping the role of narrator. Solano López did not like it because he rejected both the military government and the Montoneros, and felt that the characterization of Juan Salvo was out-of-character in relation to the first entry. Oesterheld was victim of an enforced disappearance in 1977, shortly after concluding the story. Elsa Sánchez de Oesterheld, his widow, inherited the rights over the character after his death.
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The Eternaut
The Eternaut (Spanish: El Eternauta) is an Argentine science fiction comic created by Héctor Germán Oesterheld with artwork by Francisco Solano López. It was first published in Hora Cero Semanal between 1957 and 1959, initially as a serialized comic strip. The story is focused on a handful of survivors of a deadly alien invasion in Buenos Aires.
After other failed attempts to continue the story, Oesterheld remade it in 1969, with art by Alberto Breccia and a more overt political tone. Oesterheld became the spokesman of the Montoneros guerrillas by the time he started the sequel, El Eternauta: segunda parte, again with Solano López. The Dirty War against guerrilla groups forced Oesterheld to go into hiding, but he completed the story nonetheless. He was a victim of an enforced disappearance shortly after that. His widow Elsa Oesterheld sold the rights of the character to the publisher Ediciones Record, and tried later to annul the contract, leading to a lengthy copyright dispute.
The story had many sequels in later years, sometimes with conflicting canonicity. A television miniseries adaptation by Netflix, The Eternaut, premiered on April 30, 2025, starring Ricardo Darín as the lead character.
The Eternauta was first published in the first issue of the comic magazine anthology Hora Cero by Editorial Frontera, on September 4, 1957. It was written by Héctor Germán Oesterheld, author of all the comics in the anthology, and was illustrated by Francisco Solano López. Solano López had been working with Oesterheld on the comic Rolo, el marciano adoptivo (lit. 'Rolo, the adopted Martian'), and although he was still interested in science fiction, he asked for a story with less fantasy. "I was doing Rolo in Hora Cero, I wanted to do science fiction, but with a more realistic approach, something more committed, closer to the reader, and that gave Héctor the idea of the Eternaut". Oesterheld would explain that "The Eternaut started as a short story, just 70 panels. Then it turned into a long story, an adaptation of sorts of the topic of Robinson Crusoe. I was captivated by the idea of a family that is suddenly alone in the world, surrounded by death and by an unknown and unreachable enemy. I thought of myself, of my family, isolated in our chalet, and started asking questions". He also explained that, although there was a general outline, the plots were largely improvised during publication, which led to the creation of characters and situations that were not considered in the early stages of writing.
The series became a success, and ran until 1959. However, Solano López said that, although the magazine was selling well, they had no way to measure the popularity of each specific comic, and were not aware of the Eternaut's popularity at the time. Hora Cero was closed shortly after the story's conclusion, as artists found it more lucrative to work abroad than in Frontera, Oesterheld knew little of finances, and interest in serial comics declined. Editorial Frontera was then absorbed by Editorial Emilio Ramírez. The closure of Frontera and the emigration of Solano López to Europe forced Oesterheld to cancel his plans for a sequel. Emilio Ramírez then sold the titles to the magazine "Vea y lea" in 1961, which republished the story. The republication made slight changes to the originals, removing the opening panels and some closing panels whose texts were redundant with the texts of the following entry, to allow a smoother read. Oesterheld wrote the plots intended for the sequel as a novel, which was published by Emilio Ramírez.
In 1969, Oesterheld rebooted the series as The Eternaut 1969, with more political references. It became an open critique of dictatorial regimes and advanced anti-imperialist ideas: instead of a classic alien invasion that destroys all the world, the story states that the global powers abandoned Latin America to the invaders to guarantee their own survival. This version featured artwork by Alberto Breccia, who drew the story in an experimental and unique style diverging from the original expression. It was first published on May 29, 1969, in the weekly Gente. The story was cancelled, so the ending was rushed to avoid leaving it unfinished. The following years the series was also published in Europe. These publications were a success and made Oesterheld, Breccia, and the character known in Europe.
Oesterheld met Lito Fernández in the early 1970s and invited him to work on a sequel set in La Plata. The basic plot would have been about the aliens starting a new invasion elsewhere after their defeat in Buenos Aires, using La Plata as a beachhead from where to raise a counter-attack. The comic would have been published by El Día. Oesterheld and Fernández gathered information about the city, and flew in a helicopter above it to take photos and brainstorm ideas. However, the project was never published and the few unpublished pages made for it were destroyed years later.
In December 1975, Ediciones Record started a sequel in Skorpio, by Ediciones Record, titles El Eternauta: segunda parte. Oesterheld resumed the story, with artwork once again by Solano López. Solano López had returned to Argentina, seeking to retrieve his original artworks from Emilio Ramírez. Oesterheld joined the leftist organization Montoneros and became their spokesman, and went into hiding when the organization was banned during the Dirty War. To keep writing the comic he delivered the plots in secrecy or using intermediaries. Solano López only saw him in person a couple of times. The plot of the comic was in line with the political agenda of Montoneros. Oesterheld, who had introduced himself as a character in a brief cameo at the beginning and end of the original story, now upgraded his self-character to an active sidekick of the hero, while keeping the role of narrator. Solano López did not like it because he rejected both the military government and the Montoneros, and felt that the characterization of Juan Salvo was out-of-character in relation to the first entry. Oesterheld was victim of an enforced disappearance in 1977, shortly after concluding the story. Elsa Sánchez de Oesterheld, his widow, inherited the rights over the character after his death.