Life of Che An impressionistic biography

H. G. Oesterheld, 1919-1977

Book - 2022

Life of Che is one of the most anticipated entries in Fantagraphics' The Alberto Breccia Library. Originally released as part of a graphic biography series in January 1969, it came out in Argentina only a year after Ernesto "Che" Guevara had died and reached an audience beyond comics readers. In the 1970s, the military government raided its publisher, destroying the means to reprint the book. The comic was presumed to be lost to history, until a publisher in Spain restored it in 1987. It has never been translated into English until now.The book begins in Bolivia in 1967, then flashes back through Che's life -- his childhood, his radicalizing motorcycle trip with Alberto Granado, his taking up of arms in Guatemala, his me...eting with Fidel Castro, and his subsequent military and political maneuvers, ending in a fade-out to his death. Alberto Breccia and his son, Enrique, drew Life of Che. Enrique draws the Bolivia passages in a woodcut style, while Alberto depicts the flashbacks in his trademark, expressionistic black-and-white. It is primarily set in the field and with the people. Héctor Germán Oesterheld (The Eternaut) blends his authorial voice with Che's first-person. Life of Che is imbued with a sense of immediacy, as both Che and, eventually, Oesterheld would meet their ends by a military government backed by the American CIA. As Pablo Turnes writes in his afterword, it is "the testament of someone consciously marching toward his revolutionary death."

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Subjects
Genres
Comic books, strips, etc
Biographical comics
Nonfiction comics
Graphic novels
Published
Seattle, Washington : Fantagraphics Books 2022.
Language
English
Spanish
Main Author
H. G. Oesterheld, 1919-1977 (author)
Other Authors
Alberto Breccia, 1919-1993 (artist), Enríque Breccia, 1945- (translator), Erica Mena
Edition
First edition
Item Description
Published in 1969, this Argentine graphic biography about Ernesto Che Guevara was an instant bestseller. Banned by a military dictatorship, and almost lost, it has never been available in English -- until now.
Physical Description
91 pages : chiefly illustrations, maps ; 27 cm
ISBN
9781683965220
Contents unavailable.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

This explosive biography of Che Guevara (1928--1967) showcases Breccia's ongoing collaborations with Oesterheld (Mort Cinder). Tracing the famed revolutionary's life from childhood to his death at the hands of the CIA in cahoots with the Bolivian government, Oesterheld's clipped script style is well matched to Breccia's moody, scribbly line, which echoes the righteous passion and controversy that Guevara curried. Oesterheld connects Guevara's youthful travels across South America with his revolutionary consciousness, depicting Guevara as horrified at the abject poverty he saw as a feature of capitalism. What separates Guevara in this telling from the revolutionaries he fought beside was his devotion to the poor, the oppressed, and the sick; there are as many images in the narrative of him healing the sick as there are of him plotting military strategy. Breccia's intense chiaroscuro and use of collage conjure a gritty and visceral setting that amplifies Guevara's exploits, with occasional, effectively jarring ink-splatterings of blood. Originally published in Argentina in 1969, two years after Guevara's death, the comic drew the ire of the government, which confiscated all of the originals. This English-language reprint, shot from a restored printing of the original, holds a faded effect that lends to its feeling of being a cultural curiosity. Breccia's distorted realism passionately evokes Guevara's larger-than-life persona. (Mar.)

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

A graphic biography of the famed revolutionary originally published in 1969 but unavailable in English until now. Written by Argentine comics maestro Oesterheld and illustrated by frequent collaborator Alberto Breccia and his son, Enrique, this slim, experimental bio explores and challenges the comics form. Oesterheld's lyrical text barrels through Ernesto "Che" Guevara's life (1928-1967) like a prose poem, often drifting midthought from historical facts to Guevara's internal monologue. Recounting skirmishes with Batista in Cuba, one frame reads: "Eighty-two splashing ashore, half-blind. But Fidel is shouting 'To the mountain! We're already in Cuba and we will be victorious!' What are you going to win, dreamer. Nothing to eat and Batista's 30,000 soldiers and the Yankees giving him everything, but here we are, staying still is worse, let's go." Intentionally disorienting, the biography alternates between two threads, exclusively drawn by one Breccia. One follows Guevara's life from his student years to the Bay of Pigs and beyond, while the second recounts his final weeks in the jungles of Bolivia. Alberto's art is mischievous. Using collage, splattery ink, and even finger-painting, he creates rapturous scenes that brim with kinetic energy and impressive technical prowess. His son draws like he's composing woodcuts, offering chiaroscuro scenes laden with heavy shadow. If occasionally muddled, the narrative is still inspired, accentuated by essays that contextualize the history. After publication in 1969, the book was met with intense government opposition. In 1973, the publisher's office was ransacked and materials were destroyed, including the comic's original artwork, which made reprinting impossible. A Spanish edition emerged in 1987, which restored the book from a surviving copy of the Argentine edition, and this is the first English version. This lore transforms the book from a mere comic to something that feels like a World War II--era samizdat, a legendary underground manuscript that we're lucky to have available. A mesmerizing historical comic with a storied past. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.