Francisco Solano López
The Illustrator of Eternity
Francisco Solano López (1928–2011) was an Argentine cartoonist and comic book illustrator. He was the grandson of Venancio López, brother of Paraguayan president Francisco Solano López, who had fought against Argentina in the bloody War of the Triple Alliance (1864–1870). Solano López began his career in 1953 at Editorial Columba, illustrating scripts by Roger Plá.
In 1955, he started collaborating with Héctor Germán Oesterheld, replacing Paul Campani as the artist of the Bull Rockett series. From then on, he and Oesterheld worked together on various science fiction comics, including Joe Zonda, Rul de la Luna, Rolo el marciano adoptivo, and El cuaderno rojo de Ernie Pike. However, their most important collaboration was El Eternauta, published in Hora Cero Semanal between September 1957 and November 1959.
In 1963, Solano López emigrated with his family to Europe, where he worked for the British publisher Fleetway on titles such as Galaxus, Kelly's Eye, and Adam Eterno. He returned to Argentina in 1968 and resumed his activities with Editorial Columba. In 1976, he once again teamed up with Oesterheld to produce El Eternauta II, published in Skorpio magazine.
In 1977, due to the political situation in Argentina, he emigrated again, this time to Spain with his son Gabriel. There, he published Ana, Historias tristes, and La guerra del Paraguay, with scripts by Gabriel. He later moved to Rio de Janeiro, from where he worked remotely for American and Argentine publishers.
Throughout the 1980s, based on scripts by Ray Collins, he illustrated the war series Águila Negra, published in Nippur Magnum magazine. He also worked on Calle Corrientes, with a script by Guillermo Saccomanno, and Evaristo, written by Carlos Sampayo and inspired by the police commissioner Evaristo Meneses.
In 1997, Solano López returned to the universe of El Eternauta alongside Pablo “Pol” Maiztegui and published El mundo arrepentido. In 2001, he released El Eternauta – El regreso, set forty years after the original story, depicting a Buenos Aires rebuilt by the invaders, where domination was now exercised through mass manipulation rather than military conquest.
The favorable reception of this sequel led to the creation of a trilogy: La búsqueda de Elena (The Search for Elena), published in six installments beginning in April 2006, and El fin del mundo (The End of the World), published in three installments in 2010.
Among other distinctions, Solano López received the El Madroño de Madrid Special Prize in 1998. In 2007, he was awarded an honorable mention at the Comics and Games Convention in Italy. In 2008, he was declared a “Distinguished Personality of Culture” by the Buenos Aires City Legislature. In 2012, the Konex Foundation awarded him a lifetime Diploma of Merit in tribute to his career.
In 1955, he started collaborating with Héctor Germán Oesterheld, replacing Paul Campani as the artist of the Bull Rockett series. From then on, he and Oesterheld worked together on various science fiction comics, including Joe Zonda, Rul de la Luna, Rolo el marciano adoptivo, and El cuaderno rojo de Ernie Pike. However, their most important collaboration was El Eternauta, published in Hora Cero Semanal between September 1957 and November 1959.
In 1963, Solano López emigrated with his family to Europe, where he worked for the British publisher Fleetway on titles such as Galaxus, Kelly's Eye, and Adam Eterno. He returned to Argentina in 1968 and resumed his activities with Editorial Columba. In 1976, he once again teamed up with Oesterheld to produce El Eternauta II, published in Skorpio magazine.
In 1977, due to the political situation in Argentina, he emigrated again, this time to Spain with his son Gabriel. There, he published Ana, Historias tristes, and La guerra del Paraguay, with scripts by Gabriel. He later moved to Rio de Janeiro, from where he worked remotely for American and Argentine publishers.
Throughout the 1980s, based on scripts by Ray Collins, he illustrated the war series Águila Negra, published in Nippur Magnum magazine. He also worked on Calle Corrientes, with a script by Guillermo Saccomanno, and Evaristo, written by Carlos Sampayo and inspired by the police commissioner Evaristo Meneses.
In 1997, Solano López returned to the universe of El Eternauta alongside Pablo “Pol” Maiztegui and published El mundo arrepentido. In 2001, he released El Eternauta – El regreso, set forty years after the original story, depicting a Buenos Aires rebuilt by the invaders, where domination was now exercised through mass manipulation rather than military conquest.
The favorable reception of this sequel led to the creation of a trilogy: La búsqueda de Elena (The Search for Elena), published in six installments beginning in April 2006, and El fin del mundo (The End of the World), published in three installments in 2010.
Among other distinctions, Solano López received the El Madroño de Madrid Special Prize in 1998. In 2007, he was awarded an honorable mention at the Comics and Games Convention in Italy. In 2008, he was declared a “Distinguished Personality of Culture” by the Buenos Aires City Legislature. In 2012, the Konex Foundation awarded him a lifetime Diploma of Merit in tribute to his career.