Amapola Negra with Oesterheld as Ernie Pike

Francisco Solano López (October 26, 1928 – August 12, 2011) was a comics artist. Acknowledged as one of the most influential Argentine comics artists, he was best known as the co-creator of El Eternauta. López began his career in 1953 working for the publishing house Columba where he illustrated the series Perico y Guillerma. Working for Editorial Abril he met Héctor Germán Oesterheld, assigned to illustrate his series Bull Rocket for the magazine Misterix. They collaborated on the series Pablo Maran and Uma-Uma, before joining to start Oesterheld's publishing house Editorial Frontera. For the Frontera first publication of the monthly Hora Cero, the team produced the series Rolo el marciano adoptivo and El Héroe. López also alternated as artist on the Ernie Pike series with Hugo Pratt, Jorge Moliterni and José Antonio Muñoz. On September 4, 1957 in the publication of Hora Cero Suplemento Semanal, the science-fiction series El Eternauta made its first appearance.