Corto Maltese: Under the Sign of Capricorn

"Corto Maltese was relaxing on the quiet veranda of the Java Inn in Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana. Even in repose, it was obvious that he was a `man of destiny.'" This brief introduction, from the very first frame, illustrates the rest of the book perfectly. Hugo Pratt begins by placing the reader someplace familiar, a "quiet veranda," but that familiarity is diminished with each successive elaboration: the veranda is in the Java Inn, the Java Inn is in Paramaribo, and Paramaribo is in Dutch Guiana. That Corto Maltese, a non-native, feels comfortable enough to lounge in this place with his feet up surely speaks to his worldliness. The reader is inclined to believe the pronouncement that what they see is indeed a "man of destiny." The introduction, which continues in the second and third panels, can be read as a typical prelude to adventure, but it is almost elegant in its effectiveness. From the first panel alone, the reader will anticipate stories set in (relatively) distant places, with Corto Maltese as their guide; the easygoing manner with which he conducts himself will certainly make these places seem less distant--more accessible. Though not immediately evident in the first few panels, the word "destiny" carries with it a supernatural connotation that may further influence what the reader may expect. It's the beginning of what will be a satisfying 130 page read for new readers and fans of Hugo Pratt. Under the Sign of the Capricorn collects the following stories: "The Secret of Tristan Bantam," "Rendez-vous in Bahia," "Sureshot Samba," "The Brazilian Eagle," "So Much for Gentleman of Fortune" and "The Seagull's Fault." These stories were originally serialized in the French magazine Pif Gadget in 1970, one year after the first Corto Maltese story, Ballad of the Salt Sea, concluded in Italy. They were last published in the United States in the late 80s by NBM, in books that are out of print and very costly online. This reprint is presided over by Dean Mullaney of IDW publishing. The most immediately striking quality of this reprint is its size: the dimensions of the page are between A3 and A4 size, which makes the book heavy in the reader's hands. Mullaney uses this space to convey high quality reproductions of Hugo Pratt's original black and white art, with none of the cropping or panel rearrangement present in some overseas editions. There are single page divisions for chapters, using art from the story under the chapter titles. The front cover has an image of Corto surrounded by a dark halo and two stamps: one with the title of the book inscribed in a compass, and a EuroComics logo. If not for the size of the book, the design would not seem particularly engaging. The back is filled with praise from Pratt's contemporaries Milo Manara and Umberto Eco, and some major figures in western comics. The inside covers consist of a blurb in the front, and some background on Pratt in the back; they're also flaps that open to reveal maps of the locations featured in the book. It's fine--it works. The dialogue and narration of the book is not hand-lettered, instead using a font derived from the cartoonist Frank Engli's lettering. The use of this particular font is likely a deliberate choice on Mullaney's part as a nod to the origins of Corto Maltese: from the early 40s on, Engli was the letterer for Terry and the Pirates, an adventure strip that influenced Pratt tremendously. This connection aside, the lettering is well done. There are several points where Mullaney opts to bold certain words that are unbolded in the original text, but the stylistic choice is not obtrusive. The book's translation is a joint effort by Mullaney and Simone Castaldi, associate professor of Hofstra University. Pratt's words are filtered through Castaldi first, with further editing by Mullaney. It's unclear where the work of the former ends and the latter begins, as several sections of text chosen at random seem to match the Italian script extremely well. This translation, then, is closer to a literal translation, with very little latitude given to extra interpretation of the Italian script. While the translation is superb for purists, there are moments of stiffness that seem to aggregate in long scenes and monologues. Most of the choices made by Mullaney in delivering Under the Sign of the Capricorn achieve its end of delivering Pratt's stories in an undiluted form--it's a fine reprint in this sense. Its merits alone are enough for Pratt fans to justify their purchase-- --for new readers, the artist's storytelling makes the case for the book. While Pratt's art in Ballad of the Salt Sea seemed to come into its own through the course of the story, his talents are consistent through the six stories of this book. Pratt's draftsmanship emphasizes white space, with the majority of panels lacking a clear background. The characters and their expressions are the most important: the reader will note those frames where Pratt obscures some of a character's features in shadow, or the multitude of panels where Corto Maltese seems to be looking directly into the eyes of the reader. When backgrounds are drawn, they're either simple leaves and brush, or very detailed establishing frames. The entire range of Pratt's abilities in 1970 are on display in a fantastic scene a little ways into the book. This four page sequence is downright mesmerizing; it's an almost-precursor for the more unrestrained storytelling present in later Corto Maltese stories. There's nothing like it in the other stories here. In terms of the stories themselves: the first story in Under the Sign of the Capricorn takes place in 1916, a year after the end of Ballad of the Salt Sea. Corto's past adventure is referenced by some of the people he meets here, but it's not necessary to read Ballad of the Salt Sea before reading this book--consider that in the case of France, where these stories were originally published, a translation of Ballad of the Salt Sea was not made available until 1973, several years after the publication of these stories. The stories read well for a reader without any prior background. The first story revolves around a boy with an enigmatic pedigree searching for a missing person. He endears himself to the drifter Corto Maltese, who agrees to travel with him. The principal characters set off and become embroiled in several adventures, including a guerilla uprising, the Great War, and an encounter with evangelists. The stories are episodic, save for an overarching plot that runs through several stories. They tend to end with Corto and company reflecting on what has just passed as they sail on to their next destination. In each story, there's a revolving door of secondary characters that are introduced and shunted out within pages, often unceremoniously. Though sometimes outcast because of the color of his skin, or his pierced ear, Corto is usually able to find some common ground with the colonials, natives, and other outcasts he encounters. He's corralled into helping others based on their extraordinary circumstances, or the promise of riches. His raffish charm arises from the intersection of his superficial indifference, and the moral code he tries his damnedest to conceal. "I don't have any enemies!" he remarks in one of the stories. "I mind my own business and that's it..." The episodic nature of these stories means that there's little major development for the principal characters: much of the pleasure of reading comes from weighing each story and the events within individually. The closing scene of each chapter helps achieve this end: the characters reflect on their adventure with a mixture of humor and insights into human nature, the limits of reality, and the fate of colonialism. These scenes usually end with an image of Corto's boat sailing off into the horizon, which has a strange power to satisfy on its own. There's an overarching plot that's mostly wrapped up long before book's end. There's also an inkling of a much greater mystery introduced early on, but it isn't explored much here--and won't be dealt with in full until the end of the Corto Maltese cycle. The stories work well enough individually that neither of these is a terrible problem for the reader by the time they finish reading. Under the Sign of Capricorn has some terrific Corto Maltese stories that are conveyed to the English-speaking reader extremely well thanks to the choices made by Dean Mullaney and his team in reprinting them. As always, Hugo Pratt balances good writing with excellent draftsmanship to achieve a set of adventure stories that tend to rise above the trappings of the genre with their mature themes and commentary. Fans of Pratt and new readers will find much to appreciate here.

An ocean, a continent, and many, many years now separate me from my first encounter with Corto Maltese, back when I picked up several albums with a Danish translation of some of the stories in my native Norway. One of those albums still remain with me, and I have re-read it with great pleasure in the last year. Now, as I read the IDW translation and publication of some of the same stories, I realize for the first time that the Danish publication in some ways was below the standard it should have been. It is credit to the original art and story telling that the books still made an unerasable impression. But with this version from IDW, it's like having that same first experience over again. This is a beautiful work of art, and the publisher have done everything right: the paper weight of the pages is great, and the print is pristine (putting in contrast what I now see is the photocopy quality of my youth's Danish version). Without knowing the original Italian text I can't speak hundred percent for the translation but I can say that the English story reads splendidly (and better than the Danish version). I now have the two first albums in this series from IDW and can't wait for the rest of them. Please release them faster!

Corto Maltese is a classic lone adventurer, at once a romantic and a cynic. He has the hero’s sense of right and wrong and the film noir expectations of finding the world to be a dark place. He is a sailor of fortune, used to having his way, being in command and never quite making the big score. Sometimes because his luck is only enough to save him from the baddies and sometimes because he lets the cash prize slip to a more worthy cause. Perhaps because Pratt had lived among so many different people his story has the classic feel to it, but native and dark skin people are not casually despised or downplayed. Villains are bad not because of their skin but because of their behavior. As often Corto will see the heroic in the natives who are completely able to get justice without him and even respecting some who began by attaching him. Corto will often deny the superstitious belief of voodoo or some other native magical art, even as the reader will know that every prophecy will be correct. Women will rarely be so weak as to be unable to defend themselves, and sometimes better than the super street fighter Corto can defend himself. Classic adventure stores but lacking the overt signature of old school biases. The artwork tends to be a bit harsh, rugged as is our hero. Natives and especially native women tend to be gaunt rather than classic buxom beauties. Under the Sign of Capricorn consist of six chapters, making for several stories loosely connected by occurring during voyages in the Pacific and South America. The setups are as romantic as these stories should be, but the resolutions can be hurried and abrupt. This is fun light reading and should be to the taste of any with nostalgia for the old lone seeker of fortunes knock-em sock- ems. I will be reading more of Corto Maltese and assuming they are translated for the original Italian, more by Hugo Pratt.

The previous editions of Corto Maltese in English only hinted at how good the strip is, due to awkward translation. Now this smooth, sharp translation by Dean Mullaney and Simone Castaldi lets us get lose ourselves in the brilliant story and art. The adventure comic strip only produced a few geniuses: Milton Caniff, Roy Crane, Hal Foster, and Warren Tufts. To their number add Hugo Pratt. This edition will replace the previous English editions from NBM: The Brazilian Eagle and the first half of Banana Conga.

I wondered why they weren't offering a hard cover version of this one…until I received the paperback copy! The weight of the paper stock for both the cover and interior is more substantial than what you typically expect for a high quality graphic novel, especially the interior, which feels as if it's bordering on card stock weight. It allows the blacks to be very deep while keeping Pratt's impeccable line work very crisp. The cover also features a hinged fold-out map on both the front and back, so it effectively doubles the weight and makes it feel closer to a hard cover. In all, it's a very effective type of "hybrid" format.

Very excited about these new publications! It feels really good, well printed and the editions are beautiful. Not gonna say much about the stories since if you are here you likely know something about Corto Maltese but if that's not the case give it a try and you will be hooked for the rest of your life. Sail on!

Brilliant! Hugo Pratt is a comics genius. So glad that IDW has done right by this series. Excellent reproductions of the original art, album style as is the fashion in France. One of the best graphic series ever made finally in the quality presentation that it deserves for the discerning American buyer.

EXCELENT BOOK, EXCELENT SERVICE. CORTO MALTESE IS ALWAYS A BEST CHOICE FOR THE COMICS LOVERS. Always very best recomendable.

An absolute must for anyone into comics. First of all the storyline is fantastic (I refer to Corto Maltese in general, not just this book) and the artwork amazing. Print and paper quality very good.

As a long time fan of Pratt's work (of which I already read most of everything in French), I looked forward to see how the English translation of his best and most famous work (the Corto Maltese series) would end up. And let me tell you, I was not disappointed. If you like adventure novels, if you like comic books, you owe it to yourself to get a hold of this book.

El padre del cómic literario pasó mucho tiempo sin tener una edición al inglés digna de el. Esta edición -por un precio muy razonable- tiene un tamaño impresionante, impresión de la más alta calidad y una calidad si igual. Que puedo decir de la historia? No debe de faltar en tu coleccion

Wonderful story lines. Totally adventurous and spellbinding! Highly recommended for all comic book aficionados. Eagerly awaiting for the next installment in this series.

beautiful book, story, and drawing..must have