How the original 'Eternaut' comic presaged Argentinian dictatorship's abductions, killings

The comic and updated Netflix series show tactics that foreshadow and recall the violence of Argentina’s military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983, which 'disappeared' thousands.
With almost 11 million viewers in the first week after its release, the Spanish-language science fiction series “The Eternaut” ranked in Netflix’s weekly top 10 for 87 countries, including the U.S.
But many viewers still don’t know that the creator of the classic serialized comic, which is the basis for the hit show, was abducted and murdered by the Argentine military dictatorship half a century ago.
“Héctor Oesterheld is an emblematic figure in Argentina, not only because he created ‘The Eternaut’ … but also because he is one of the 30,000 disappeared,” said biographer Fernanda Nicolini in an email interview. “Both he and his four daughters were disappeared by the military dictatorship that began in 1976, and, except for the body of one of his daughters (Beatriz), their remains are still unknown.”
Nicolini and journalist Alicia Beltrami co-authored “Los Oesterheld,” a Spanish-language biography about the comic book creator and his family, which also documents the violent military repression that targeted thousands of Argentines.
Even though “The Eternaut” was serialized from 1957 to 1959, two decades before Oesterheld’s abduction and murder, the comic showed tactics of fear, surveillance and disappearance that foreshadowed the violence of Argentina’s military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/eternaut-creator-abduction-killing-argentina-abuses-rcna208352
Rating: 5