Complete Run of "El Eternauta" Argentinean Anti-Authoritarian Sci-Fi Comic Archive, 1976-77

El Eternauta

Archive

Oesterheld, Héctor Germán, El Eternauta. Suplemento de Skorpio. Buenos Aires:1976-1977. Oblong 8vo. Complete set of all eleven issues comprising the full 1976–77 serialization of El Eternauta in Suplemento de Skorpio, published by Ediciones Record during the opening years of Argentina’s military dictatorship. Original color pictorial wrappers. Text in Spanish. Written by Héctor Germán Oesterheld and illustrated by Francisco Solano López, El Eternauta, Eternauta is the cornerstone of Latin American science-fiction comics and a landmark in political allegory. The 1976 Skorpio first editions are the first stand alone printing of the original El Eternauta. Oesterheld was resisting state repression through his art. The toxic snow, faceless invaders, and militarized survivalist were metaphors for authoritarian terror, collaboration, and mind control by the State. The heroes are the collective resistance against the authoritarian state. In 1977, Shortly before the start of Argentina's last military dictatorship (1976–1983), Oesterheld and his daughters (two of them pregnant at the time) had joined the Montoneros, a group that openly opposed the military junta. Oesterheld continued to publish works in clandestine form while hidden in secret locations, but he was ultimately kidnapped and disappeared. His four daughters, were also abducted and killed:Beatriz, 19 years old, was abducted by the military on June 19, 1976 ; Her body was handed to her mother several days later. Diana, 23 was abducted a month later, on August 7, 1976 She was pregnant at the time. Her body has never been recovered. Marina, 20, was abducted on November 27, 1976 in Buenos Aires She was eight months pregnant, Her body was never located and nothing has ever been learned about the fate of her possible child. Estela, 25 was killed in a shootout on December 1977, Her body has never been found. Oesterheld himself was kidnaped in 1977 and brought to a death camp where he is believed to be executed in early 1978.
Each issue, vividly illustrated by Solano López in dark realism, charts the transformation of ordinary citizens into insurgents against a hierarchy of alien occupiers, the insectoid cascarudos, the enslaved Manos, and the unseen Ellos. The eleven Skorpio publications first serialized the entire saga, featuring key sequences such as the survivors’ construction of protective suits against the deadly snow, the first battle against the invaders, and Salvo’s tragic realization of humanity’s subjugation. López’s recurring cover motif of the scuba mask wearing figure trudging through radioactive snow has become one of Latin America’s most iconic dystopian images. Priced at 85 pesos and sold through kiosks, the series represented the first comprehensive publication of the original El Eternauta in stand alone comic book format. A complete run of all eleven parts from this politically charged series is exceedingly scarce. Issue 1 with chipping to spine, issue 7 and 8 with chipping to edges of wrappers. Some tape repairs and light toning throughout. Overall clean and complete. Overall very good condition. A rare complete surviving set of one of the most politically significant works of Latin American graphic literature and symbolic politics.

Item #23054

Price: $2,400.00