cover image Corto Maltese: The Ballad of the Salt Sea

Corto Maltese: The Ballad of the Salt Sea

Hugo Pratt, trans. from the French by Hall Powell. Universe, $25 paper (254p) ISBN 978-0-7893-2498-6

In this debut of a new English-language edition of the classic anti-hero Corto Maltese, we meet the protagonist as he is fished from the sea by Rasputin, the disreputable captain of an even worse crew than Corto’s. His fate is soon entangled with those of fellow castaways Cain and Pandora, two teenagers caught in the fray. Although Corto presents himself as a man only looking out for himself, the pair soon realizes the adventurer may be their best hope for survival. Pratt’s fast-paced South Sea adventure careens from encounter to encounter, with the daring Corto always just able to adapt to his changing circumstances, while Cain and Pandora do their best to keep up. Pratt supplies Corto with a colorful assortment of supporting characters, some helpful, many not, and a pragmatic but innovative nature. In European comics circles, Corto is a household name, and Pratt is a revered storyteller. Oddly, this edition, shrunken to a smaller size, doesn’t flatter Pratt’s art, which looks sketchy and often grotesque. That detail aside, this will give American comics reader an idea of what all the fuss is about. (Mar.)