Trivia / El Eternauta

• Development Hell: Writer Juan Sasturain and Solano López worked on a sequel, titled "La Vencida". It was going to be published in Clarin and Página 12 in 1996. It was never published because of the conflicting rights over the brand, Clarin not liking the tone of the script, and Página 12's intention to pay too low. Only two pages were completed before the project was cancelled.
• Died During Production: In 1976, Oesterheld was taken, and never seen again (most likely tortured to death), as was Standard Operating Procedure for the Argentine Junta, due to his involvement with leftist guerillas. His 4 daughters and 4 sons-in-law met the same fate a year later; his family's only survivors were 2 grandsons and his widow. This took place amid the production of the second part, that he wrote while being on the run. Because of this, it is unclear if Oesterheld managed to end the story, or if it happened at some point during the production and someone else (Solano López or a Ghostwriter) completed the story.
• Executive Meddling: The Second Part was published in 1976-77, amidst the most brutal military dictatorship in Argentina, with a policy of censorship that would make Mr. McCarthy look like a tree-hugger on a happy acid trip. Oesterheld was part of an underground guerrilla movement and often found himself telling the script of the next episode by phone to the publisher's secretary. These have not been made public, but it seems as the director of the publishing house watered down the scripts a bit, and even the artist, Solano López, refused to draw some parts and changed them. Oesterheld also did some heavy-fire comics for other magazines, more engaged or plainly banned, before being caught and most likely killed without a trial in late 1977 or early 1978.
• Screwed by the Lawyers: The rights over the comic were disputed for a long time between Solano López, Elsa Sánchez de Oesterheld (widow of the writer), and the publisher Ediciones Record.
• What Could Have Been: The 1969 remake was absolutely incredible; lightyears beyond its time, with out of this world graphics and a dark, adult-oriented script... Guess what, the Moral Guardians and Executive Meddling wasted it. The few pages fully accomplished are still breathtaking.