The Eternaut

WINNER 2016 Eisner Award for Best Archival Collection/Project–Strips

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. Written by the Argentine author Héctor Germán Oesterheld — who opposed the military junta in the late ’70s, and was disappeared, along with his daughters, in 1977 — and drawn by Francisco Solano López 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.