View source for The Eternaut

{{Short description|1957–1959 Argentine comic strip}}
{{For|the comic by Alberto Breccia|The Eternaut 1969}}
{{Good article}}
{{Infobox comic book title
<!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics-->
|title               = The Eternaut
|image               = Eternaut Fantagraphics.jpg
|caption             = Cover of the 2015 edition, published by Fantagraphics
|PostApoc            = y
|publisher           = [[Editorial Frontera]]
|startyr             = 1957
|endyr               = 1959
|writers             = [[Héctor Germán Oesterheld]]
|pencillers          = [[Francisco Solano López (comics)|Francisco Solano López]]
|sort                = El Eternauta
}}
'''''The Eternaut''''' ({{langx|es|El Eternauta}}) is a [[science fiction]] [[Argentine comic]] created by [[Héctor Germán Oesterheld]] with artwork by [[Francisco Solano López (comics)|Francisco Solano López]]. It was first published in ''[[Hora Cero|Hora Cero Semanal]]'' between 1957 and 1959, initially published 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 made [[The Eternaut 1969|a remake]] in 1969, with art by [[Alberto Breccia]] and a more overt political tone. Oesterheld became the spokesman of the [[Montoneros]] guerrilla 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. [[Netflix]] announced the release of a miniseries in 2020 based on the comic, ''[[The Eternaut (TV series)|The Eternaut]]'', starring [[Ricardo Darín]] as the lead character.

==Publication history<!--'L'Eternauta (magazine)' redirects here-->==
[[File:Oesterheld hora cero.jpg|thumb|[[Héctor Germán Oesterheld]] with the magazine ''[[Hora Cero]]'']]
The ''Eternauta'' was first published in the first issue of the comic book anthology ''[[Hora Cero]]'' by [[Editorial Frontera]], on September 4, 1957.<ref name="hora">{{cite web |url= https://www.clarin.com/zonales/historia-hora-cero-revista-dio-origen-eternauta_0_6JYPpMgbKq.html|title= La historia de Hora Cero, la revista que dio origen a El Eternauta|trans-title= The history of Hora Cero, the magazine that gave birth to The Eternaut|language= Spanish|author= Alex Leibovich|date= April 10, 2024|publisher= Clarín|accessdate=June 26, 2024}}</ref> It was written by [[Héctor Germán Oesterheld]], author of all the comics in the anthology, and was illustrated by [[Francisco Solano López (comics)|Francisco Solano López]]. Solano López had been working with Oesterheld on the comic {{lang|es|Rolo, el marciano adoptivo}} ({{literal|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".<ref name="Comiqueando12"/> 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".<ref name="Comiqueando30"/> 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.<ref name="Comiqueando30"/> 

The series became a success, and ran until 1959. However, Solano López said that, although the comic 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.<ref name="Comiqueando12">{{cite interview |last= Solano López|first= Francisco|subject-link= |interviewer= Andrés Accorsi|title= Solano López|work= |date= 1995|publisher= Comiqueando #12|location= Argentina|url= |access-date=}}</ref> ''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.<ref name="hora"/> The closure of Frontera and the emigration of Solano López to Europe forced Oesterheld to cancel his plans for a sequel.<ref name="Comiqueando30">{{cite magazine |last= García|first= Fernando|date= 1997|title= La verdadera historia de El Eternauta|trans-title= The true history of the Eternaut|url= |language= Spanish|magazine= Comiqueando #30|location= Argentina|publisher= Comiqueando Press}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/pontevedra/pontevedra/2022/12/04/restauracion-joya-comic-ciencia-ficcion/0003_202212P4C10991.htm|title= «El eternauta», la restauración de una joya del cómic de ciencia-ficción|trans-title= "The Eternaut", the restoration of a gem of science-fiction comics|language= Spanish|author= López Penide|date= December 4, 2022|publisher= La Voz de Galicia|accessdate=July 10, 2024}}</ref> Oesterheld wrote the plots intended for the sequel as a novel, which was published by Emilio Ramírez.<ref name="Comiqueando30"/><ref name="RevistaLatina2002"/> 

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-imperialism|anti-imperialist]] ideas: instead of a classic alien invasion that destroys all the world, the story states that the [[global power]]s abandoned Latin America to the invaders to guarantee their own survival.<ref name="RevistaLatina2002"/> 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.<ref name="RevistaLatina2002"/> The following years the series was also published in Europe. This publications were a success and made Oesterheld, Breccia, and the character known in Europe.<ref name="Comiqueando30"/> 

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 (La Plata)|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.<ref name="Comiqueando30"/>   

In December 1975, Ediciones Record started a sequel in ''[[Skorpio (magazine)|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.<ref name="Comiqueando12"/> 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.<ref name="Comiqueando12"/> 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.<ref name="Comiqueando12"/> Oesterheld was victim of an [[enforced disappearance]] in 1977, shortly after concluding the story.<ref name="Comiqueando30"/> Elsa Sánchez de Oesterheld, his widow, inherited the rights over the character after his death.<ref name="juicio"/> 

A third story, ''[[El Eternauta: tercera parte]]'', was published in 1981, after the death of Oesterheld. It was published both in Argentina in ''Skorpio'' and in Italy in ''L'Eternauta''. Ediciones Record requested Solano López to take part in it, but he refused because of the troubling circumstances of the previous comic. He only agreed to draw a few faces in the first chapters, because of the editorial insistence.<ref name="Comiqueando12"/> The story had no credited authors, and although it kept Oesterheld as a lead narrator character as in the 1975 story, it was written by [[Alberto Ongaro]], with illustrations by Oswal, Mario Morhain, and Carlos Meglia.<ref name="Comiqueando30"/> Some years later Ediciones Record found an unpublished draft of a third part of The Eternaut by Oesterheld, written in the 1970s. Alfredo Scutti, director of Ediciones Record, offered to Pez, an artist from the ''[[Fierro (magazine)|Fierro]]'' magazine, to work on it. The story featured Juan Salvo as the ruthless dictator of a post-apocalyptic Buenos Aires, until he gradually recovers his memories. It would have been published monthly, but after a brief time the work was halted and the comic was never published.<ref name="Comiqueando30"/>   

Solano López began projects to restore the character in the 1990s. His first project, when he was still living in Brazil, was with the writer [[Ricardo Barreiro]], but was discarded when Sánchez de Oesterheld and her grandsons refused to let the writer work with the character. The second project, called "La Vencida", was a new third part that would ignore the third part published by Ediciones Record. He invited the writer [[Juan Sasturain]] to work together with his protégé Pablo Maiztegui, but Sasturain preferred to work alone. First it was offered to the newspaper [[Clarín (Argentine newspaper)|Clarín]], which refused it for its ideological tone. Then it was offered to the newspaper [[Página 12]], which could not pay the intended wages to the artists. Both newspapers refused as well because The Eternaut was still a property of Ediciones Record, and wanted to avoid a lawsuit. The project was cancelled, with only two pages made.<ref name="Comiqueando30"/>    

Sánchez de Oesterheld and Solano López signed a contract with El Club del Comic to make a new story, "El mundo arrepentido".<ref name="juicio"/> The story was written by Pablo Maiztegui and was set within the interdimensional travels mentioned by the lead character at the end of the first story. It was the first one made in color. Comic Press, owned by Ediciones Record, also started a comic book, "Odio Cósmico", closer to the style of [[American comic book]]s, with plots of Ricardo Barreiro. The death of Barreiro and the legal complaints of Sánchez de Oesterheld and Solano López, who did not authorize the comic, led to its cancellation after 3 issues.{{cn|date=August 2024}}

In 2015, [[Fantagraphics Books]] published the first translation of the work into English, under the title ''The Eternaut''. It was translated by Erica Mena.<ref name="Mena">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/dec/15/the-eternaut-hector-german-oesterheld-francisco-solano-lopez-review|title=The Eternaut review – hero in a homemade diving suit|first=Rachel|last=Cooke|newspaper=The Guardian |date=December 15, 2015|via=www.theguardian.com}}</ref> The publication was nominated for the 2016 [[Eisner Award]] in the categories for [[Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material|Best U.S. Edition of International Material]], Best Publication Design, and [[Eisner Award for Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips|Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips]]. It received the award in the last category.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.lagaceta.com.ar/blogs/kaboom/691532/eternauta-gano-premio-eisner.html|title= El Eternauta ganó un Premio Eisner|trans-title= The Eternaut won an Eisner Award|language= Spanish|author= Sebastian Aguilera|date= July 24, 2016|publisher= La Gaceta|accessdate=June 28, 2024}}</ref> 

===Copyright disputes===
[[File:Francisco Solano Lopez Lucca2007.jpg|thumb|[[Francisco Solano López (comics)|Francisco Solano López]], artist of the comic]]
Héctor Oesterheld sold the copyright of several of his characters, including the Eternaut, when Editorial Frontera was closed. Initially those rights were acquired by Editorial Emilio Ramírez, who then sold them to others. Alfredo Scutti from Ediciones Record acquired the rights in the 1970 decade and republished the story in 1976. Oesterheld and Solano López signed a contract with Scutti, confirming his rights over the character, in exchange for part of the money perceived by Ediciones Record for the republication. As it was a success, they signed a similar contract to write the sequel, "El Eternauta Segunda Parte". Oesterheld was killed by the military and Solano López left for Europe shortly after the sequel was finished. The heirs of Oesterheld were his widow Elsa Sánchez de Oesterheld and his grandchildren, still minors.<ref name="Comiqueando30"/>  

The series was a success in Italy and there were rumors of a possible film adaptation. To secure his rights Scutti signed a more detailed contract with Sánchez de Oesterheld. She was facing a difficult economic situation, coupled with the still recent loss of her husband and her imminent age of retirement, and accepted. She signed the contract for a sum of 10,000 dollars. She started a judicial case to annul the contract, as she felt later that she had made a mistake and had not understood what she was doing.<ref name="juicio">{{cite web |url= https://www.a24.com/juduciales/corte-suprema-le-otorga-derechos-eternauta-herederos-oesterheld-desaparecido-dictadura-25072018_rkVVmJrEX|title= La Corte Suprema le otorga los derechos de "El Eternauta" a los herederos de Oesterheld, desaparecido en la dictadura|trans-title= The Supreme Court grants the rights of "The Eternaut" to the heirs of Oesterheld, disappeared during the dictatorship|language= Spanish|author= Patricia Blanco|date= July 25, 2018|publisher= A24|accessdate=June 27, 2024}}</ref> Her lawyer said that did not have the legal right to sell the rights over the character, as she ignored the rights of Oesterheld's grandchildren. Scutti based his defense on the contracts signed with Héctor while he was still alive, earlier than the one with Sánchez de Oesterheld, and considered that she was mixing commercial deals with personal tragedies. He also provided documentation proving that she authorized the making of the third sequel for another payment.<ref name="Comiqueando30"/>

Solano López also complained about the contract, claiming that it ignored his own rights over the character. When he left for Europe, knowing of Sánchez de Oesterheld's economic problems, he told her that he gave her full leeway to profit from the character the way she saw fit. He clarified later that he never meant to renounce his share of the copyright over the character, and that it was only a verbal proposal with no legal weight.<ref name="Comiqueando12"/> He pointed out that the document made between Ediciones Record and Sánchez de Oesterheld described ''The Eternaut'' as a literary work, created solely by Héctor Oesterheld, with no mention of him. And, although Oesterheld would write a literary novel about the character later, it was born as a comic book character, with a joint work of the writer and the artist. Sánchez de Oesterheld did not agree with that view and considered Solano López a mere interpreter of the work of her husband. She also said that ''The Eternaut'' was an idea that Oesterheld had for some years before he started working on it.<ref name="Comiqueando30"/> The comic ''El mundo arrepentido'', made by Solano López and Pol, was also initially a source of conflict. Oesterheld's grandsons said that new projects involving the character, such as sequels, merchandising, or adaptations, had to have the approval of Solano López, but that he did not have the right to decide such things completely by himself. Both parties eventually agreed to work together in the new release.<ref name="Comiqueando30"/>

The judiciary ruled in 1996 that the sale of the characters of Oesterheld to Emilio Ramírez was null and void, restoring them to Oesterheld's heirs. Ediciones Record started their own case, stating that they owned the rights to the franchise. Although initially the lower courts ruled favorably to Ediciones Record, in 2018 the [[Supreme Court of Argentina|Supreme Court]] ruled favorably to the heirs of Oesterheld and closed the case, with the vote of [[Ricardo Lorenzetti]], [[Elena Highton de Nolasco]], [[Juan Carlos Maqueda]], [[Horacio Rosatti]] and [[Carlos Rosenkrantz]].<ref name="juicio"/>

==Series==
<!-- The original comic and the one by Breccia have names in English following the names of the editions in English. The other comics have not been published in English, so their names stay in Spanish for the time being -->
{| class="wikitable"
|+ 
|-
! Name !! Year !! Writer !! Artist !! Publisher
|-
| ''The Eternaut'' || 1957 || [[Héctor Germán Oesterheld]] || [[Francisco Solano López (comics)|Francisco Solano López]] || [[Editorial Frontera]]
|-
| ''[[The Eternaut 1969]]'' || 1969 || [[Héctor Germán Oesterheld]] || [[Alberto Breccia]] || [[Gente y la actualidad]]
|-
| ''[[El Eternauta: segunda parte]]'' || 1976 || [[Héctor Germán Oesterheld]] || [[Francisco Solano López (comics)|Francisco Solano López]] || Ediciones Record
|-
| ''[[El Eternauta: tercera parte]]'' || 1981 || [[Alberto Ongaro]] || Mario Morhain and Oswal || Ediciones Record
|-
| ''El Eternauta, el mundo arrepentido'' || 1997 || Pablo Maiztegui || [[Francisco Solano López (comics)|Francisco Solano López]] || Club del Cómic
|-
| ''El Eternauta: Odio cósmico'' || 1999 || Pablo Muñoz, [[Ricardo Barreiro]] || Walther Taborda and Gabriel Rearte || Comic Press
|-
| ''El Eternauta, el regreso'' || 2003 || Pablo Maiztegui || [[Francisco Solano López (comics)|Francisco Solano López]] || Club del Cómic
|}

==Plot==
Oesterheld, the author of the comic, appears as a character at the beginning of the story. He is writing late at night when a man suddenly appears out of thin air in his room. He introduces himself as Juan Salvo, and narrates his story. All the comic is thus narrated by Salvo, in [[first-person narrative]]. Salvo lived with his wife Elena and his daughter Martita. According to Salvo, mysterious deadly snowfall suddenly covers Buenos Aires and his neighborhood in the nearby [[Vicente López, Buenos Aires|Vicente López]], wiping out all life upon touch. Salvo and his family survive because his home was completely closed. At the time of the snowfall, he was playing [[truco]] with his friends, Favalli, Lucas, and Polski. Polski tries to return to his home, worried about his family, and dies moments after leaving, having come into contact with the snowflakes. The others prepare insulated suits to be able to leave the house and gather supplies. A young child, Pablo, joins them, and Lucas is killed by a deranged survivor. Realizing that the catastrophe generated a violent state of anarchy, they try to escape from Buenos Aires, but before doing so they are recruited by an improvised army. Salvo, Favalli, and Pablo join them, while Elena and Martita stay at home.  

It turns out that the snowfall was part of an ongoing [[alien invasion]]. The army first attacks a group of giant insects similar to beetles, armed with giant [[Raygun|lightthrowers]], at the [[Avenida General Paz|General Paz]] highway. All beetles have devices on their necks that reveal that the real invaders control them from afar. The army sets its base inside the [[Estadio Monumental (Buenos Aires)|River Plate stadium]], as its enormous walls could serve as a trench against the lightthrowers. Salvo and Franco, a metal worker recruited by the army, leave the stadium during the night to gather intelligence. They discover that the beetles are controlled by an alien known as "Hand", because of their hands with several fingers. The "Hand" also controls other survivors turned into automatons by a similar device. The alien is in turn also controlled by aliens that he does not name; later referred to as just "Them". The army is then lured into a trap at [[Plaza Italia, Buenos Aires|Plaza Italia]]. They are decimated by giant beasts known as "Gurbos", and only Salvo, Favalli and Franco survive. They seek further intelligence and find the main invasion at the [[Plaza del Congreso]]. They blow up the dome with "Them" and escape; they find Pablo and the historian Mosca, who survived the attack at Plaza Italia but got separated from them, and leave just before Buenos Aires is nuked. 

The aliens continue the invasion and lure the pockets of survivors to fake "snow-free zones". Favalli, Pablo and Mosca allow themselves to be captured and turned into automatons so that Salvo and his family can escape. They seize a spaceship and Salvo accidentally turns on a time machine while randomly pressing buttons. He ends up in a pocket universe, with Elena and Martita stranded somewhere else. He eventually learns to travel between universes and timelines, which is why he appeared at Oesterheld's house. After finishing his narration Salvo realizes that he is in Buenos Aires, only a few years before the invasion. He runs back home, reunites with his family in a [[stable time loop]], and forgets about it all. Oesterheld, unable to do anything else about the future invasion, decides to write a comic about it.

==Reception==
Martín Hadis wrote in the prologue for the [[Fantagraphics]] edition that one of the strongest points of the story for the Argentine audience was the sight of an [[alien invasion]] in Buenos Aires, with its distinctive buildings and monuments disfigured or destroyed by the alien devices or the war actions; most works of fiction about the theme are set in other countries, such as the United States. However, he also pointed out that the story has appeal beyond that, as it has been successful in Spain, Mexico, Italy, Greece, Croatia, France, etc; where the sight of Buenos Aires would be less meaningful. He points that the scientific aspects of the alien invasion are mostly handwaved and that the story narrates a global disaster from the point of view of a small group of survivors. Hadis explains the appeal of the series in the contrast between home, family and friendship with death and the utterly alien, an appeal that would transcend localisms.<ref>{{cite book |last= Hadis|first= Martín|date= 2015|title= The eternaut|url= |location= Buenos Aires|publisher= Fantagraphics|pages= 5–6|isbn=}}</ref> Rachel Cooke from ''[[The Guardian]]'' praises the ingenuity of the characters to survive truly hopeless situations.<ref name="Mena"/> 

It has also been noted that, except for the aliens known as "Them", none of the invaders are truly evil; they are noble beings forced to carry out the orders of others. Juan Sasturain believes that Oesterheld was writing an [[anti-war]] comic,<ref>"''Este sensible Mano que dirige ocasionalmente las operaciones de limpieza en un confín de la Tierra y el Universo llamado Barrio de Belgrano, en Buenos Aires, no tiene nada, particularmente, en contra de Juan Salvo o Franco. Y sin embargo trata - y debe hacerlo- de aniquilarlos. No es diferente a cualquier situación de las historias de [[Ernie Pike]]''" - {{citation| last = Sasturain| first = Juan| title = Oesterheld y el héroe nuevo| year = 1985| newspaper = El libro de Fierro / Especial Oesterheld| volume = Annual supplement| issue = 1
}}</ref> and Fernando García considers it instead an allegory of [[class struggle]].<ref>"''La explotación de unos seres vivos para el exclusivo beneficio de otros, como impuesto sustento de un determinado orden político y social es, a priori, el gran tema que ''El Eternauta'' debate, denunciando claramente una herramienta de sometimiento: El enfrentamiento de oprimidos contra oprimidos (¿pobres contra pobres?)''" - {{citation| last = García
| first = Fernando| title = El Eternauta, 50 años| year = 2007| publication-place = [[Buenos Aires]]| publisher = [[Doedytores]]| isbn=978-987-9085-26-4
}}</ref> Tom Shapira from ''[[The Comics Journal]]'' says that, adding to the frequent in-story references to ''[[Robinson Crusoe]]'', he found the story similar to ''[[Moby-Dick]]'', as it features a hero who is actually a witness of the acts of heroism carried out by others.<ref name="journal">{{cite web |url= https://www.tcj.com/reviews/the-eternaut/|title= The Eternaut|author= Tom Shapira|date= June 22, 2020|publisher= The Comics Journal|accessdate=July 3, 2024}}</ref>

Shapira also criticized some aspects of the story, such as the presence of [[flying saucer]]s that he found to make the story look dated. He also criticized the lack of relevant female characters, stating that Elena and Martita had no actual weight in the plot save as reminders for the protagonist of the family he longs for. Shapira additionally criticized what he perceived as the over-reliance on cliffhangers, while also noting that the story was initially published in serialized form, which left several [[cliffhanger]]s at the moments when the original publication likely ended the chapters.<ref name="journal"/>

''El Eternauta: primera parte'' was listed among the classics of Argentine literature in 2000 by [[Clarín (Argentine newspaper)|Clarín]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Sale hoy una nueva colección literaria de Clarín |url=https://www.clarin.com/sociedad/sale-hoy-nueva-coleccion-literaria-clarin_0_Sk7qvdlRYl.html |access-date=9 July 2024 |work=Clarín |date=3 April 2001 |language=es}}</ref> In 2009, the [[Congress of Argentina]] declared 4 September, the day of the first publication of ''The Eternaut'', "Day of the Argentine Comic"; in 2010, the Argentine Ministry of Education ordered several thousand copies of ''The Eternaut'' to be distributed in secondary schools.<ref name="icono">{{cite journal |last1=Francescutti |first1=Pablo |title=Del Eternauta al "Nestornauta": la transformación de un icono cultural en un símbolo político |journal=CIC. Cuadernos de Información y Comunicación |date=19 June 2015 |volume=20 |pages=27–43 |doi=10.5209/rev_CIYC.2015.v20.49477 |url=https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/CIYC/article/view/49477/46056 |access-date=9 July 2024 |language=es |issn=1988-4001}}</ref>

[[Néstor Kirchner]] expressed his admiration for ''The Eternaut''; in 2010, Kirchner ran an advertisement of himself drawn as the Eternaut in support of [[Cristina Kirchner]]'s presidential campaign.<ref name="icono" />

==Adaptations==
In 1968, advertisement production company Gil & Bertolini acquired the rights to ''The Eternaut'' to make an animated television series, to be presented at the First World Comic Book Biennial. Each episode would be introduced by Oesterheld himself, and the animation would be [[rotoscope]]d, a very expensive technique at the time. The project was cancelled after the production of a 24-minute pilot.<ref name="RevistaLatina2002">{{Cite magazine |last1=García |first1=Fernando |last2=Ostuni |first2=Hernán |date=September 2002 |title=Historieta & Sociedad: El Eternauta |trans-title=Comic books & Society: The Eternaut |url=http://rlesh.mogno.com/pdf/RLESH_07.pdf |url-status=live |magazine=Revista latinoamericana de estudios sobre la historieta |location=[[La Habana, Cuba]] |publisher=Pablo de la Torriente Editorial |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230623024003/http://rlesh.mogno.com/pdf/RLESH_07.pdf |archive-date=23 June 2023 |access-date=22 June 2023 |language=es}}</ref><ref name="ElDía2022">{{Cite web |date=20 September 2022 |title=¿Qué pasa con "El Eternauta"?: la adaptación de la historieta se retrasa y hay misterio |trans-title=What is going on with "The Eternaut"?: the comic book adaptation is delayed and shrouded in mystery |url=https://www.eldia.com/nota/2022-9-20-3-39-32-que-pasa-con-el-eternauta-la-adaptacion-de-la-historieta-se-retrasa-y-hay-misterio-espectaculos |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928224728/https://www.eldia.com/nota/2022-9-20-3-39-32-que-pasa-con-el-eternauta-la-adaptacion-de-la-historieta-se-retrasa-y-hay-misterio-espectaculos |archive-date=28 September 2022 |access-date=24 June 2023 |website=[[El Día (La Plata)|El Día]] |language=es}}</ref>

For the following twenty years, financial and copyrights problems prevented different adaptations of ''The Eternaut'' for film and television.<ref name="RevistaLatina2002" /> Argentine directors such as [[Fernando Solanas|Fernando "Pino" Solanas]] and Gustavo Mosquera expressed their interest on adapting the material, as did [[Adolfo Aristarain]].<ref name="Página12-2007" /> At the time, Aristarain said that the only way to produce the film would be in English, given it would cost at least [[US$]]10–15{{nbsp}}million and American actors would be conditional to get the necessary funds from American production companies, but "that wouldn't be the correct way" because he considered Argentine culture an integral part of ''The Eternaut''.<ref name="RevistaLatina2002"/><ref name="Página12-2007">{{Cite web |date=20 May 2007 |title=Las grandes películas que nunca veremos |trans-title=Great films we will never see |url=https://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/suplementos/radar/9-3834-2007-05-20.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211235432/https://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/suplementos/radar/9-3834-2007-05-20.html |archive-date=11 February 2021 |access-date=23 June 2023 |website=[[Página 12]] |language=es}}</ref>

In 1995, there was a miniseries project led by a TV network from Buenos Aires, with special effects in charge of [[computer animation]] company Aicon. A preliminary contract had been signed with a major Hollywood studio.<ref name="Página12-2007" /> In 2007, an Italian production company worked on an adaptation of ''The Eternaut'', in agreement with Oesterheld's widow and grandsons. It entered negotiations with Argentine studios and the [[National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts]] (INCAA) for a possible co-production.<ref name="Clarín2007">{{Cite web |last=Vazquez |first=Cristian |date=27 April 2007 |title=El largo camino de "El Eternauta" para llegar al cine |trans-title=The long road for "The Eternaut" to get to the cinema |url=http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2007/04/27/um/m-01408247.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105185636/http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2007/04/27/um/m-01408247.htm |archive-date=5 January 2015 |access-date=23 June 2023 |website=[[Clarín (Argentine newspaper)|Clarín]] |language=es}}</ref> In 2008, director [[Lucrecia Martel]] was invited for a film adaptation of ''The Eternaut''.<ref name="MartelGaceta">{{Cite web |date=6 September 2017 |title=Lucrecia Martel, por qué el fracaso del proyecto de "El Eternauta" la llevó a "Zama" |trans-title=Lucrecia Martel, why "The Eternaut" project failing led her to "Zama" |url=https://www.lagacetasalta.com.ar/nota/88774/espectaculos/lucrecia-martel-fracaso-proyecto-eternauta-llevo-zama.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230514230900/https://www.lagacetasalta.com.ar/nota/88774/espectaculos/lucrecia-martel-fracaso-proyecto-eternauta-llevo-zama.html |archive-date=14 May 2023 |access-date=24 June 2023 |website=[[La Gaceta (Tucumán)|La Gaceta]] Salta |language=es}}</ref> The script would have taken place in the present day, but the Oesterheld family felt it to be too different from the source material.<ref name="ElDía2020">{{Cite web |date=19 February 2020 |title=La historia que nunca se pudo adaptar: "El Eternauta", ¿llega a Netflix? |trans-title=The story that could never be adapted: is "The Eternaut" coming to Netflix? |url=https://www.eldia.com/nota/2020-2-19-5-4-36-la-historia-que-nunca-se-pudo-adaptar-el-eternauta-llega-a-netflix--espectaculos |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305123238/https://www.eldia.com/nota/2020-2-19-5-4-36-la-historia-que-nunca-se-pudo-adaptar-el-eternauta-llega-a-netflix--espectaculos |archive-date=5 March 2020 |access-date=24 June 2023 |website=[[El Día (La Plata)|El Día]] |language=es}}</ref> The producers stepped down and the project went stagnant.<ref name="ElDía2020" /><ref name="ElDía2022" /> In 2018, Spanish filmmaker [[Álex de la Iglesia]] expressed interest in making an adaptation, with  actor [[Ricardo Darín]] on board to star in the project.<ref name="delaIglesiaClarín">{{Cite web |last=Frías |first=Miguel |date=1 April 2018 |title=Alex de la Iglesia: "Quiero hacer El Eternauta con Ricardo Darín" |trans-title=Alex de la Iglesia: "I want to make The Eternaut with Ricardo Darín" |url=https://www.clarin.com/viva/alex-iglesia-quiero-hacer-eternauta-ricardo-darin_0_rk4-xOt9f.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512171748/https://www.clarin.com/viva/alex-iglesia-quiero-hacer-eternauta-ricardo-darin_0_rk4-xOt9f.html |archive-date=12 May 2023 |access-date=24 June 2023 |website=[[Clarín (Argentine newspaper)|Clarín]] |language=es}}</ref>

In February 2020, it was announced that ''The Eternaut'' would be adapted into a TV series for [[Netflix]], ''[[The Eternaut (TV series)|The Eternaut]]''. The series will be directed by [[Bruno Stagnaro]] and will be contextualized in the present.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.pagina12.com.ar/248381-netflix-confirmo-que-hara-una-serie-de-el-eternauta-y-otras- |title=Netflix confirmó que hará una serie de "El Eternauta" y otras producciones argentinas |last=Lisica |first=Federico |newspaper=[[Página/12]] |language=es |date=19 February 2020 |access-date=19 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220020837/https://www.pagina12.com.ar/248381-netflix-confirmo-que-hara-una-serie-de-el-eternauta-y-otras- |archive-date=20 February 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> Ricardo Darín will play the main character, and the cast also features [[Carla Peterson (actress)|Carla Peterson]], [[Marcelo Subiotto]], [[César Troncoso]], [[Andrea Pietra]] and {{Interlanguage link|Ariel Staltari|es}}.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.infobae.com/espana/2024/02/06/todo-lo-que-se-sabe-de-el-eternauta-la-serie-basada-en-un-comic-con-ricardo-darin-que-es-uno-de-los-platos-fuertes-de-netflix/|title= Todo lo que se sabe de 'El eternauta', la serie basada en un cómic con Ricardo Darín que es uno de los platos fuertes de Netflix|trans-title= All we know about "The Eternaut", the series based on a comic with Ricardo Darín that is one of the strong offerings of Netflix|language= Spanish|author= Beatriz Martínez|date= February 6, 2024|publisher= Infobae|accessdate=July 8, 2024}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.historieteca.com.ar/Eternauta/eterhistoria1.htm Historia de ''El Eternauta'' - Historieteca] {{in lang|es}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eternauta, El}}
[[Category:The Eternaut| ]]
[[Category:1957 comics debuts]]
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[[Category:Comics about alien invasions]]
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[[Category:Comics by Héctor Germán Oesterheld]]
[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 1957]]
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[[Category:Fictional Argentine people]]
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