Italian comics creator Hugo Pratt’s iconic seafarer Corto Maltese has found a new home at Fantagraphics. In January 2026, the publisher will release a 132-page paperback compilation of shorts, Corto Maltese: The Fable of Venice and Other Stories, before engaging in an ambitious plan to bring the entire series together in six deluxe full-color hardcover editions.

Since its debut more than a half century ago, Corto Maltese has become both a literary classic and a cult comic. The iconic titular character first appeared in The Ballad of the Salty Sea, which was serialized in Italian periodical Sgt Kirk from 1967 to 1969 and is today considered one of the first graphic novels. Pratt’s series would continue in the pages of Italian and French publications until 1989.

The popularity and influence of Corto Maltese earned its author multiple international awards including Lucca Festival’s 1969 Gran Guinigi; the 1988 Grand Prix career achievement award at Angoulême Festival; and a posthumous 2005 induction into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame. The Ballad of the Salty Sea also made French newspaper Le Monde’s list of the 100 greatest books of the 20th century. Its adaptations include a stage musical, an animated film, and an upcoming live-action Netflix series from Italy’s Rainbow Group.

“Hugo Pratt's Corto Maltese was one of the first comics series to be widely considered ‘drawn literature,’” Conrad Groth, acquisition editor at Fantagraphics, told PW. “Critics at the time of its creation praised the series for its virtuosic illustration and layered storytelling, conferring a depth to the work that few comics achieved. The series was hugely influential in the author's native Italy, and to cartoonists worldwide.”

“Much like the recent Attilio Micheluzzi series, or the libraries of Tardi, Breccia, and Crepax,” Groth continued, “publishing Pratt's work showcases how Fantagraphics is committed to resurrecting the work of renowned international artists, in the most painstakingly edited and beautifully designed editions we can muster.”

The publisher plans to release the entire series in six 250-300-page full-color hardcovers featuring extras largely drawn from French publisher Casterman’s own prestige releases, including Pratt’s sketches, watercolor illustrations, historical commentary, and essays by such authors as Umberto Eco. While dates may change, the publisher anticipates the first hardcover to release in fall 2026 with subsequent volumes following every six to eight months. The publication marks the first time the full series will be available in color for the U.S. market.

Initially planned as a companion to Netflix’s now-delayed adaptation, the January 2026 black-and-white softcover Fable of Venice and Other Stories will now serve as an entry point for newcomers before the publisher’s main initiative takes off. It will comprise the title story accompanied by Corto Maltese shorts from Under the Sign of Capricorn, which was serialized in the early 1970s.

Prior to the Fantagraphics acquisition, Corto Maltese has had multiple localization attempts in English. The most sustained was IDW and the Library of American Comics’ release of the entire series in 12 black-and-white paperback volumes between 2014 and 2020. Prior to that, Universe Publishing had released a color edition of The Ballad of the Salty Sea in the compressed Italian format in 2012. All are out of print.

“The last printing of Corto stories was over five years ago, and most of these editions are out of print and offered for exorbitant prices in the resale market,” said Groth. “So we wanted to make these seminal stories newly accessible to comics readers—and of course, we wanted to bring our exacting design standards to bear on this series, offering the most gorgeous presentation of Pratt's work ever in the U.S. book market.”