Evita: The Life and Work of Eva Perón

Vida de... #2

by Héctor Germán Oesterheld, Alberto Breccia (Illustrator), Enrique Breccia (Illustrator)

Published in 1970, Evita: The Life and Work of Eva Perón was daringly intended to be the follow-up to the artists’ successful and controversial 1969 graphic biography Life of Che. Hector Germán Oesterheld plotted the book and the father and son team of Alberto and Enrique Breccia drew the comic — but the text was “sanitized” before its publication. In 2001, a restored version of Evita featuring Oesterheld’s original, uncensored script was finally published in Spanish; it is translated in English here for the first time.
In just 72 boldly penned chiaroscuro pages, this graphic biography paints a complex portrait of a pivotal Argentine figure who was at once beloved and reviled by her people. Born in rural Argentina to extreme poverty, she moved to Buenos Aires where she met and married Colonel Perón, who would become president of Argentina. As First Lady, affectionately nicknamed Evita, she devoted herself to social welfare and worker’s rights, campaigned for women’s suffrage, and became known as “The Spiritual Leader of the Nation.” While she has been viewed as an international icon, inspiring celebratory works such as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1976 Broadway show Evita, this biography by her countrymen takes a far more searing and critical approach, chronicling the noble causes she fought for as well as the militarism and oppression of the Perónist regime.

Genres: Comics, History, Graphic Novels, Biography, Nonfiction

72 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Héctor Germán Oesterheld Puyol fue un guionista de historietas y escritor de relatos breves argentino de ciencia ficción y novelas

Seudónimos: H. Sturgiss, C. de la Vega, Francisco G. Vázquez, Germán Sturgiss, Héctor Sánchez Puyol, Joe Trigger, Patrick Hanson.

Nació en el año 1919 en Buenos Aires. Hijo de Ferdinand Kurt. Estudió y se graduó en la carrera de geología. Fanático de H. Melville y Joseph Conrad. A partir de 1950 cuando comienza a escribir guiones de historietas y relatos de aventuras. Entre muchos otros artistas, trabajó con sus hermanos Jorge Mora Oesterheld y Nelly Oesterheld.
Publicó en las revistas "Misterix", "Hora Cero", "Frontera", entre otras. Sus personajes más conocidos son Sargento Kirk, Bull Rocket, Ernie Pike, Sherlock Time y Mort Cinder. Pero es sin dudas El Eternauta la creación que le ha dado un lugar entre los maestros de la historieta, y le permitió superar ampliamente el género. Apareció por primera vez en 1957, en la revista "Hora Cero Semanal" con dibujos de Solano López. Más tarde modifica algunos detalles del guión y la publica en "Gente" con dibujos de Alberto Breccia, pero por problemas con la editorial, Oesterheld es obligado a terminar la historia en tres entregas, transformándola en un resumen de la historia original de "El eternauta". En la década del setenta aparece la segunda parte en la revista "Skorpio", otra vez de la pluma de Solano López. A principios de la década del setenta se incorporó a la organización Montoneros. El 27 de abril de 1977 fue secuestrado en La Plata. Estuvo detenido en Campo de Mayo y en una cárcel clandestina de La Tablada. Se cree que fue asesinado en Mercedes.
Sus cuatro hijas también están desaparecidas. Oesterheld desapareció en 1977, durante la última Dictadura Militar. Los sobrevivió su viuda, Elsa Sánchez de Oesterheld.

Reviews

[ComicNerdSam · Rating 2 out of 5]

The life of Eva Perón was certainly interesting, which is part of the problem because if it weren't this book would not be as slightly enjoyable as it was. I have the same misgivings with this book as I do with Alberto Breccia's sections in Life of Che. Oesterheld's writing consists of long chunks of prose which, instead of meshing with Breccia's work, simply sits there on top of his art. At no point are the two ever really read together, instead just feeling like a history report somebody decided to illustrate. It's a disorienting read, as the reader must take in Oesterheld's large boxes of text with a good deal of effort before being momentarily rewarded with the two Breccia's technically brilliant but somewhat-lifeless work. I know both sides can do better.

[Clarice Sá · Rating 2 out of 5]

Muy mal organizado, mucho texto y dibujos poco marcantes. Pirde tiempo con detalles poco importantes y es muy cansativo, especialmente en el inicio. No és didático ni tampoco interessante. No lo recomendo.

[Rick Ray · Rating 1 out of 5]

Argentinian comic creators Héctor Oesterheld and Alberto Breccia team up to craft a graphic memoir for Eva Perón, better known as Evita. Known prominently as being the wife of dictator Juan Domingo Perón, Evita's life outside of her marriage was no less controversial. The portrait crafted by Oesterheld is undeniably complex, with Evita's social activism and advocacy being sharply contrasted with the bouts of excess from her acting and political career. Unfortunately, most of this is detailed in a rather dry format in which Oesterheld relies on dense text that is poorly laid out on the pages. Breccia's art is mesmerizing due to the impressionistic designs capably rendered with zipatones for the shading, but there is no real sense of page design at all here. There is effectively no sequential storytelling going on as Breccia and Oesterheld lay out the story in a rather bland succession of story beats crammed up against random images. It's a frustrating final product to judge since the elements of something truly great are there, but as it presented here, this is one of the weaker works by both Oesterheld and Breccia.

[Keen Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't cry for me Argentiiiiiiiiiinaa! (Sorry).

This is a fairly text heavy graphic account, with the drawing having the feel of a cursory after thought. The art work is mostly functional and largely forgettable, but the story itself is interesting and informative and gives a decent overview of Evita and her short life, without getting into any great depth.

One memorable part is when the Evan Peron Foundation responds to a request from a charity and sent a plane filled with warm clothing and shoes for 600 black children in Washington DC. You can imagine how well the US government took that. But of course they would repay that gesture many times over, decades later when they would bankroll, train and assist the Argentine military to "disappear" tens of thousands of Argentine civilians as part of Operation Condor

[Maria Almaguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was excited to read this graphic memoir about Eva Perón ("Evita" to the people, 'los descamisados'), as there hasn't been one (to my knowledge). The wife of dictator Juan Perón was a beloved and controversial figure whose brief reign has made her almost mythic in the eyes of the Argentine people, especially the poor and the working class. I envisioned a colorful and dynamic memoir, much like Evita's personality. Instead, the drab, black and white graphics, and very hard to read text made it difficult to appreciate and understand this complex woman. I'm hopeful another graphic memoir will someday be published and, while I appreciate that one was created, it doesn't do its subject the justice she deserves.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing. I did learn quite a bit, but it was just blocks of text with 3 pictures per page.

Looking forward to Sherlock Time, the next installment of the Oesterheld library from Fantagraphics.

[Oriana Ruiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

m gustó

[StrictlySequential · Rating 4 out of 5]

FormNorm ¦ A.I. 12/2019 ¦ D.L. 01/2020 ¦ prix DE25 = eo(noté)

[ClubKamui · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool graphic biography about Eva Perón

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel focuses on the life and death of Eva Peron. She was the wife of military officer and future president of Argentina, Juan Peron. Eva was a woman of the people and focused on social activism for the poor, proving to become a beloved Argentinean.