Ernie Pike
Encyclopedia
Ernie Pike is a comics
series written by Héctor Germán Oesterheld
and originally drawn by Hugo Pratt
, featuring a World War II
and Korean War
reporter
. It was first published in the magazine "Hora Cero" in Buenos Aires
, Argentina
, in 1957. The reporter, loosely based on the real reporter Ernie Pyle
, acts as a narrator
of stories, without being directly involved in them. Such stories do not narrate real battles or exploits of noteworthy military people, being instead tragic stories of unknown soldiers, made up by the author.
Oesterheld worked again with the character during the time of the Vietnam War
.
Ricardo Barreiro
worked briefly on Pike with a story about the Malvinas War.
, and the protagonist - Ernie Pike - doesn't play an active role in the stories, being just a narrator. Unlike genre standards, the comic doesn't show any battles nor the Allies
and Nazis cliché of being part of a conflict between good and evil
. Instead, it centers on tragic events involving soldiers of both sides. Generally, those tragedies are misunderstandings that end up badly: characters who go mad, who kill their own friends by mistake or because they believe them to be traitors, who attempt to get killed in a specific way to avoid a more gruesome death, or who must mercy-kill
badly hurt comrades, to cite several examples. Oesterheld, thus, utilizes war comics
to reflect his personal dislike of war
itself. The character never formulates positive or negative opinions about the allies, the nazis or specific events of the war, but about the morality of the soldiers in the anecdotes narrated. The stories take place at multiple locations of WWII, such as the European Theatre
, the South Pacific ocean
, the Sahara
desert or the Russian Steppe
.
There are no recurring characters besides Ernie Pike, and in many cases even his presence is small: he appears in just two boxes in "Kumba", only one in "El amuleto", and in some stories he is completely absent. The character also evolves along the published issues from a war correspondent
character acting in a first-person narrative
to a narrator with an omniscient point-of-view, aware of stories and information beyond the capabilities of a real reporter.
The name of the protagonist was reminiscent of that of Ernie Pyle
, a well known real life war correspondent of the era. Unlike Ernie Pyle, Ernie Pike survives the war and is referenced as a veteran in other stories by Pratt. The face of Ernie Pike resembles that of Oesterheld himself. This was caused by a misunderstanding during the period of designing of the character: when Oesterheld was describing to Pratt the positive traits of the new character, he ended saying "Make him like me!". However, Pratt did not realize that Oesterheld was joking, and used his face. By the time Oesterheld realized the mistake, Pratt's work was already advanced, so he let it stay that way.
Oesterheld was influenced by anti-war
authors, such as Erich Maria Remarque
, Stephen Crane
or Leo Tolstoy
; as well as by the career of the mentioned Ernie Pyle. Pratt also revealed that he stole more than four hundred of war photos from the staff of Il Gazzettino di Venezia, which were used by the artist to modelate the images of the comic strip. Oesterheld was also influenced by those photos, and many stories were inspired in specific photos that led the author to develop a story about them.
and other European countries under his sole name. Oesterheld continued the comic with other Argentine artists, like Alberto Breccia
and Francisco Solano López, among others. The character was moved to other Frontera magazines, such as "Hora Cero Extra", the weekly supplement of Hora Cero, or "Colección batallas inolvidables" . This last one was created after the success of Ernie Pike, and was focused on war comics
. The Ernie Pike run in Frontera is considered part of the golden age of Argentine comics
. By the decade of 1960 most pencilers of Frontera were being hired by the British Fleetway
, but Oesterheld kept using new pencilers such as José Muñoz
. Frontera would eventually go into bankruptcy.
Oesterheld worked again with Ernie Pike in the 1970 decade, in the "Top Maxi Historietas" comic book published by Cielosur Editora. The approach was slightly changed in this new run: instead of World War II, the stories were about the ongoing Vietnam War
. The stories kept the same style as before, but Pike was now involved with the events as they took place, thus becoming an active character of the stories instead of just the narrator. The stories were also more critical of the involvement of the US in the war, in line with the new politically radical views that Oesterheld was developing. Oesterheld would work later with many strips in the Skorpio comic book, but Ernie Pike would last only for a single story. This story, penciled by Solano López, worked again with WWII, but from a new angle: it was a story set in current times, about people having a dispute about things that took place during the war.
There was a brief recreation of the character by other authors during the Falklands War
. Ricardo Barreiro
wrote "La batalla de las Malvinas" , penciled by Alberto Macagno, Carlos Pedrazzini, Marcelo Pérez and César Medrano. This story lasted for 7 issues of the magazine Fierro, ending inconclusively. Ernie Pike was included as a guest-star, placed in Patagonia
as an aged war veteran, watching the events unfolding.
Several volumes of Ernie Pike by Oesterheld-Pratt - along others of Sergeant Kirk
- were reprinted in 2006 for the "Nueva Biblioteca Clarín de la Historieta" collection published by Clarín
newspaper. Previously, Ancares Editora had reprinted the volumes by Oesterheld-Breccia in 2002.
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
series written by Héctor Germán Oesterheld
Héctor Germán Oesterheld
Héctor Germán Oesterheld , also known as his common abbreviation HGO, was an Argentine journalist and writer of graphic novels and comics who has come to be celebrated as a master in his field....
and originally drawn by Hugo Pratt
Hugo Pratt
Hugo Eugenio Pratt was an Italian comic book creator who was known for combining strong storytelling with extensive historical research on works such as Corto Maltese...
, featuring a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
reporter
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
. It was first published in the magazine "Hora Cero" in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, in 1957. The reporter, loosely based on the real reporter Ernie Pyle
Ernie Pyle
Ernest Taylor Pyle was an American journalist who wrote as a roving correspondent for the Scripps Howard newspaper chain from 1935 until his death in combat during World War II. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1944...
, acts as a narrator
Narrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
of stories, without being directly involved in them. Such stories do not narrate real battles or exploits of noteworthy military people, being instead tragic stories of unknown soldiers, made up by the author.
Oesterheld worked again with the character during the time of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
Ricardo Barreiro
Ricardo Barreiro
Ricardo Barreiro was an Argentine comic book writer.-Biography:Barreiro was born in the barrio of Palermo in Buenos Aires. At a very early age he published articles and short stories on the underground magazine Sancho. His first comic book as writer was SlotBar, with art by Francisco Solano Lopez...
worked briefly on Pike with a story about the Malvinas War.
Overview
The comic is set during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and the protagonist - Ernie Pike - doesn't play an active role in the stories, being just a narrator. Unlike genre standards, the comic doesn't show any battles nor the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
and Nazis cliché of being part of a conflict between good and evil
Conflict between good and evil
The conflict between good and evil is one of the precepts of the Zoroastrian faith, first enshrined by Zarathustra over 3000 years ago. It is also one of the most common conventional themes in literature, and is sometimes considered to be a universal part of the human condition...
. Instead, it centers on tragic events involving soldiers of both sides. Generally, those tragedies are misunderstandings that end up badly: characters who go mad, who kill their own friends by mistake or because they believe them to be traitors, who attempt to get killed in a specific way to avoid a more gruesome death, or who must mercy-kill
Coup de grâce
The expression coup de grâce means a death blow intended to end the suffering of a wounded creature. The phrase can refer to the killing of civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the consent of the sufferer...
badly hurt comrades, to cite several examples. Oesterheld, thus, utilizes war comics
War comics
War comics is a genre of comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following World War II.-American war comics:Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began including stories of wartime adventures in the multi-genre...
to reflect his personal dislike of war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
itself. The character never formulates positive or negative opinions about the allies, the nazis or specific events of the war, but about the morality of the soldiers in the anecdotes narrated. The stories take place at multiple locations of WWII, such as the European Theatre
European Theatre of World War II
The European Theatre of World War II was a huge area of heavy fighting across Europe from Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 until the end of the war with the German unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945...
, the South Pacific ocean
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
, the Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
desert or the Russian Steppe
Eurasian Steppe
The Eurasian Steppe is the vast steppe ecoregion of Eurasia in the Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Biome. It stretches from Hungary to Mongolia...
.
There are no recurring characters besides Ernie Pike, and in many cases even his presence is small: he appears in just two boxes in "Kumba", only one in "El amuleto", and in some stories he is completely absent. The character also evolves along the published issues from a war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
character acting in a first-person narrative
First-person narrative
First-person point of view is a narrative mode where a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive "voice" and represents point of view in the...
to a narrator with an omniscient point-of-view, aware of stories and information beyond the capabilities of a real reporter.
Creation
Ernie Pyle
Ernest Taylor Pyle was an American journalist who wrote as a roving correspondent for the Scripps Howard newspaper chain from 1935 until his death in combat during World War II. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1944...
, a well known real life war correspondent of the era. Unlike Ernie Pyle, Ernie Pike survives the war and is referenced as a veteran in other stories by Pratt. The face of Ernie Pike resembles that of Oesterheld himself. This was caused by a misunderstanding during the period of designing of the character: when Oesterheld was describing to Pratt the positive traits of the new character, he ended saying "Make him like me!". However, Pratt did not realize that Oesterheld was joking, and used his face. By the time Oesterheld realized the mistake, Pratt's work was already advanced, so he let it stay that way.
Oesterheld was influenced by anti-war
Anti-war
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...
authors, such as Erich Maria Remarque
Erich Maria Remarque
Erich Maria Remarque was a German author, best known for his novel All Quiet on the Western Front.-Life and work:...
, Stephen Crane
Stephen Crane
Stephen Crane was an American novelist, short story writer, poet and journalist. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism and Impressionism...
or Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
; as well as by the career of the mentioned Ernie Pyle. Pratt also revealed that he stole more than four hundred of war photos from the staff of Il Gazzettino di Venezia, which were used by the artist to modelate the images of the comic strip. Oesterheld was also influenced by those photos, and many stories were inspired in specific photos that led the author to develop a story about them.
Publishing history
The comic was first published in Hora Cero magazine, of the "Frontera" publishing company. After several years, Hugo Pratt left for Europe, while Oesterheld stayed in Argentina. Hugo Pratt republished Ernie Pike in ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and other European countries under his sole name. Oesterheld continued the comic with other Argentine artists, like Alberto Breccia
Alberto Breccia
Alberto Breccia was an Uruguay-born Argentine comics artist and writer.-Biography:Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Breccia moved with his parents to Buenos Aires, Argentina when he was three years old...
and Francisco Solano López, among others. The character was moved to other Frontera magazines, such as "Hora Cero Extra", the weekly supplement of Hora Cero, or "Colección batallas inolvidables" . This last one was created after the success of Ernie Pike, and was focused on war comics
War comics
War comics is a genre of comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following World War II.-American war comics:Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began including stories of wartime adventures in the multi-genre...
. The Ernie Pike run in Frontera is considered part of the golden age of Argentine comics
Argentine comics
Argentine comics refers to comic strips, comic books and graphic novels created in Argentina. There is a rich history of comics in Argentina, where they are referred to as historietas.-Early years:...
. By the decade of 1960 most pencilers of Frontera were being hired by the British Fleetway
Fleetway
Fleetway, also known as Fleetway Publications and Fleetway Editions, was a UK publishing company which mainly produced comic magazines. For a time owned by IPC Media, they are now a division of Egmont Publishing....
, but Oesterheld kept using new pencilers such as José Muñoz
José Muñoz
José Muñoz may refer to:*José Antonio Muñoz, a.k.a. Muñoz , Argentine artist and cartoonist.*José Esteban Muñoz , U.S. Latino writer, academic.*Jose C...
. Frontera would eventually go into bankruptcy.
Oesterheld worked again with Ernie Pike in the 1970 decade, in the "Top Maxi Historietas" comic book published by Cielosur Editora. The approach was slightly changed in this new run: instead of World War II, the stories were about the ongoing Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. The stories kept the same style as before, but Pike was now involved with the events as they took place, thus becoming an active character of the stories instead of just the narrator. The stories were also more critical of the involvement of the US in the war, in line with the new politically radical views that Oesterheld was developing. Oesterheld would work later with many strips in the Skorpio comic book, but Ernie Pike would last only for a single story. This story, penciled by Solano López, worked again with WWII, but from a new angle: it was a story set in current times, about people having a dispute about things that took place during the war.
There was a brief recreation of the character by other authors during the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
. Ricardo Barreiro
Ricardo Barreiro
Ricardo Barreiro was an Argentine comic book writer.-Biography:Barreiro was born in the barrio of Palermo in Buenos Aires. At a very early age he published articles and short stories on the underground magazine Sancho. His first comic book as writer was SlotBar, with art by Francisco Solano Lopez...
wrote "La batalla de las Malvinas" , penciled by Alberto Macagno, Carlos Pedrazzini, Marcelo Pérez and César Medrano. This story lasted for 7 issues of the magazine Fierro, ending inconclusively. Ernie Pike was included as a guest-star, placed in Patagonia
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
as an aged war veteran, watching the events unfolding.
Several volumes of Ernie Pike by Oesterheld-Pratt - along others of Sergeant Kirk
Sergeant Kirk
Sergeant Kirk, El Sargento Kirk or Sgt. Kirk, is the title and main character of a western comics series by Italian comic book creator Hugo Pratt and Argentine author Héctor Germán Oesterheld.-Publication history:...
- were reprinted in 2006 for the "Nueva Biblioteca Clarín de la Historieta" collection published by Clarín
Clarín (newspaper)
Clarín is the largest newspaper in Argentina, published by the Grupo Clarín media group. It was founded by Roberto Noble on 28 August 1945. It is politically centrist but popularly understood to oppose the Kirchner government...
newspaper. Previously, Ancares Editora had reprinted the volumes by Oesterheld-Breccia in 2002.