Corto Maltese Series by Hugo Pratt

Treasure hunter, sailor, and adventurer, Corto Maltese remains one of the most popular characters from graphic literature in Europe and maintains a devoted cult following among American readers and creators. Originally published in 1967, Corto Maltese: The Ballad of the Salt Sea introduces our hero for the first time. The story begins with Corto Maltese adrift at sea in the Pacific during World War I. He is picked up by a Russian pirate/privateer named Rasputin... moreTreasure hunter, sailor, and adventurer, Corto Maltese remains one of the most popular characters from graphic literature in Europe and maintains a devoted cult following among American readers and creators. Originally published in 1967, Corto Maltese: The Ballad of the Salt Sea introduces our hero for the first time. The story begins with Corto Maltese adrift at sea in the Pacific during World War I. He is picked up by a Russian pirate/privateer named Rasputin. The graphic novel follows Corto and the adventure that ensues. Corto Maltese: The Ballad of the Salt Sea is sure to appeal to fans of swashbuckling action-packed tales and sophisticated readers seeking elegant stories alike. less

The second volume in the definitive English language edition of Hugo Pratt's masterpiece, Corto Maltese, presented in the original oversized B&W format and with new translations made from Pratt's original Italian scripts. "Mushroom Heads" begins in Maracaibo, Venezuela, where Corto Maltese and Professor Steiner lead an expedition on the trail of the legendary El Dorado, financed by the antiquarian Levi Colombia... moreThe second volume in the definitive English language edition of Hugo Pratt's masterpiece, Corto Maltese, presented in the original oversized B&W format and with new translations made from Pratt's original Italian scripts. "Mushroom Heads" begins in Maracaibo, Venezuela, where Corto Maltese and Professor Steiner lead an expedition on the trail of the legendary El Dorado, financed by the antiquarian Levi Colombia. In "Banana Conga," Corto has his first and nearly fatal encounter with the beautiful yet dangerous mercenary Venexiana Stevenson. Within this framework of adventure, Hugo Pratt weaves themes dealing with the exploitation of indigenous people, the noble struggle to gain freedom and independence, and how cowardice can poison men of all classes. The action, set in 1917, takes Corto Maltese from the Mosquito Coast to Barbados to a deadly struggle among Jivaro head-hunters in the Peruvian Amazon. less

In this third volume in the definitive English language edition of Hugo Pratt s masterpiece, the action moves from South America to Europe against the backdrop of the First World War. In these six stories Pratt further explores such complicated themes as patriotism and greed, revolution and opportunism, and betrayal and seduction... moreIn this third volume in the definitive English language edition of Hugo Pratt s masterpiece, the action moves from South America to Europe against the backdrop of the First World War. In these six stories Pratt further explores such complicated themes as patriotism and greed, revolution and opportunism, and betrayal and seduction. Events take Corto from a small island in the Venetian lagoon, where he comes face to face with a beautiful blonde spy, to Stonehenge and an adventure with Merlin, Morgana, and Puck. Along the way he meets Ernest Hemingway and future billionaire Aristotle Onassis, Irish revolutionary Banshee O Danann, the legendary Red Baron, and an intense cast of characters who weave in and out of a series of labyrinthine plots and counter-plots." less

In this affectionate tribute to his home town, Hugo Pratt offers a complex mystery thriller involving Freemasons, occultists, and esotericists set during the rise of Fascism in 1921. Corto Maltese's return to Venice is ostensibly a search for an emerald known as the Clavicle of Solomon, but by the end he is left questioning whether the object of his quest will open the hidden doors of magic and unravel the nature of time and space in this city of secrets.. moreIn this affectionate tribute to his home town, Hugo Pratt offers a complex mystery thriller involving Freemasons, occultists, and esotericists set during the rise of Fascism in 1921. Corto Maltese's return to Venice is ostensibly a search for an emerald known as the Clavicle of Solomon, but by the end he is left questioning whether the object of his quest will open the hidden doors of magic and unravel the nature of time and space in this city of secrets...or if it's merely -the stuff that dreams are made of, - as was the black bird of Dashiell Hammett's novel featuring another Maltese. Series winner of the Harvey Award for Best American Edition of Foreign Material. less

Corto Maltese enters the crossroads of magic and the occult, astrology and history, religion and mythology in the first English-language translation of Pratt's award-winning book.Visiting the writer Hermann Hesse while researching alchemists with his old friend Professor Steiner, Corto drinks from the "source of the Alchemy Rose" and becomes immersed in a surreal and dreamlike adventure that involves Klingsor, the quest for the Holy Grail, Death, the Devil, and the Sandman, among others... moreCorto Maltese enters the crossroads of magic and the occult, astrology and history, religion and mythology in the first English-language translation of Pratt's award-winning book.Visiting the writer Hermann Hesse while researching alchemists with his old friend Professor Steiner, Corto drinks from the "source of the Alchemy Rose" and becomes immersed in a surreal and dreamlike adventure that involves Klingsor, the quest for the Holy Grail, Death, the Devil, and the Sandman, among others. This complexly plotted graphic novel was among Hugo Pratt's most philosophical ruminations on the imagination. less

In this final entry of Hugo Pratt's epic series, the master graphic novelist returns to the theme he first explored in the initial episode--the search for the lost continent of Mu, the mythical Atlantis.A premonition hovers over the entire dreamlike story, as if fate had decided in advance that this would be Corto Maltese's last adventure... moreIn this final entry of Hugo Pratt's epic series, the master graphic novelist returns to the theme he first explored in the initial episode--the search for the lost continent of Mu, the mythical Atlantis.A premonition hovers over the entire dreamlike story, as if fate had decided in advance that this would be Corto Maltese's last adventure. The feeling is underscored by the return of most of the major characters seen throughout the long-running saga, like actors giving their final curtain call: Gold Mouth, Morgana, Tristan Bantam, Levi Colombia, Professor Steiner, "the Monk," Cain Groovesnore, Soledad, and (of course) Rasputin...each with their own reason to find the mythical realm. Thus, the circle closes.This EuroComics edition features new translations from Pratt's original Italian scripts by Dean Mullaney, the Eisner and Harvey Award-winning editor of the Library of American Comics, and Simone Castaldi, Associate Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures at Hofstra, and the author of Drawn and Dangerous: Italian Comics of the 1970s and 1980s (University Press of Mississippi). less