Eternaut – review
The most famous and largest Argentinian comic of all time was created between 1957 and 1959. It first saw the light of day on September 4, 1957, in Hora Cero Suplemento Semanal and was regularly published until 1959, accompanied by great success and positive reactions from readers. The first reprint was done in 1961 for the magazine Eternauta (Editorial Emilio Ramirez). Written by the original author Oesterheld, it received a continuation titled El Eternauta, segunda parte in 1976 in an unfinished form, as well as a remake in 1969 illustrated by Alberto Breccia. In Croatia, Fibra published Eternauta as part of the Special Edition at the beginning of 2008 (188 pages), while in the Orka Library, the complete story was printed in book 31 ten years later.
The story begins in Buenos Aires, where in one of the suburbs, a small group of friends enjoys an evening of cards. Juan Salvo, the main character of this story, along with his wife Elena, daughter Martita, and his friends Favalli, a physics professor, Lucas (a bank clerk), and Polski, a retired man who crafts violins in Juan’s attic, will discover on that fateful evening that the city is under attack by a deadly yet unknown enemy. Flake by flake, minute by minute, hour by hour, loss by loss, the team will realize that the situation has escalated to catastrophic proportions, and the city (perhaps even the entire world) has become a victim of an alien invasion. They will quickly confront the Invaders and their various combat units used in the invasion of planet Earth (the Spikes, the Robot-Men, the Hands, the Gurbs), united in suffering through acquainting themselves with the power of the enemy. Through the realization of isolation, a kind of alienation at the epicenter of the cataclysmic End of Everything, the author skillfully introduces us to the personalities of all the characters one by one, and deeper analyses of our protagonists will quickly intrigue the reader as the story progresses and spills from the dark spaces of despair into every last attempt at resistance against the superior enemy. In a series of vignettes that we immediately wish could last forever, tension can be cut with a knife, and each subsequent realization through the elimination of the enemy leads to a darker chamber of despair, as the few survivors after each small victory realize how bitter it is – when they understand and confront the next unit, much more organized, stronger, and more powerful (one of the clearest examples being the period from the moment Juan and Favalli join the military defense units and feel a glimmer of hope – to the conflict at the River Plate stadium where they realize that the Invaders actually use only a small fraction of their potential). However, that this is indeed an exceptional comic, we will only feel at the very end of the journey in that famous twist, which will awaken us from the well of despair mentioned several times and explain to us certain cosmic relationships that we felt but couldn’t articulate into a correct, properly expanded sentence.
As for the specific message from the author that we can discern from this story, it is unnecessary to underline what we already know. The message about the unity of the team and the multiplication of individual strength in the fight against a superior occupier, regime, or conqueror is directly linked to the tragic fate of the Oesterheld family in the horror of one of the many military juntas in South America. It is needless to emphasize the nobility of the idea of freedom and the struggle for every civilizational achievement, as one soon comes up against a wall and on the brink of conflict against those who think differently and believe in totalitarianism, and thus in darkness and despair. Civilizational achievements are nurtured and cultivated in each individual, and it is only with matured consciousness that they are brought forth. However, none of this means that this aspect of Eternauta is negligible – on the contrary, that is why it became and remains one of the most well-known and beloved authorial comics ever.
When it comes to the artwork, there are few words that can describe its richness and beauty. Even if I possessed the technical vocabulary to attempt to comment on this aspect of Eternaut, everything would be dry and shallow. More complex yet cleaner, simpler yet more unusual, more dynamic yet gloomier drawings than these, my eyes have not yet seen. If we’re already attaching the epithet “grandiose” to Eternauta, then it’s time to explain what it takes for a comic to be “grandiose” and what conditions it must fulfill: first, the plot must be original, the so-called flawless scenario, without repetitions, the rhythm of the story must be such that the reader regrets every interruption, whether it’s a phone call or a need to use the bathroom, while the artwork must “dance on the wire,” that is, it must describe the given moment in the most formal way or open up the reader’s imagination in abstract forms. This is where Lopez’s work comes to the fore because there is not a single panel in Eternauta that satisfies you to the extent that you simply stop, mark the page, and take a break. Yes, it’s true, the second time I read Eternauta, it took me a full five days, but each time I regretted that it was late and that the night lights didn’t allow the same enjoyment as during the day. Because at every point where I stopped and closed the book, there were countless unanswered and just opened questions, and because that kind of “flatness” in the artwork kept me in incredible suspense. Although I am in the position of a reader, aware of the relationship with fiction but dedicated to enjoyment, at every moment I fear the new defeat that the next picture brings me, I do not give up, because I want to see, to find out how it will all end.
Hector German Oesterheld (writer) was born in 1919 in Buenos Aires. As stated in the preface of Eternauta, his creative life was largely influenced by an early affinity for the works of R.L. Stevenson. He is the author of several top-notch and internationally recognized comics and graphic novels, such as Mort Cinder, Sergeant Kirk, Ernie Pike, etc.
Francisco Solano Lopez was an Argentine artist born in 1928 in Buenos Aires, and his early significant beginnings are associated with the publishing house Columba. At the Editorial Abril publishing house, he met Oesterheld and illustrated for him in the comic Bull Rocket. After a close collaboration on lesser-known series like Pablo Maran and Uma-Uma, Lopez joined Oesterheld’s independent venture, Frontera, and they published the first panels of Eternauta in the Hora Cero magazine. Lopez also worked on Ernie Pike with Pratt, as well as erotic comics towards the end of his life. He passed away in 2011.
This comic review is borrowed from the page: https://www.stripovi.com/recenzije/eternaut-eter-orka-sp-31-eternaut/2998/