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Un uomo un'avventura #28
Jesuit Joe
Dans le Grand Nord canadien, Jesuit Joe, un métis indien peut-être fou, ou simplement différent et imprévisible, a mis l'uniforme rouge d'officier de la police montée, trouvé dans une cabane. Parti en canoë, Jesuit Joe sauve un bébé enlevé par un sorcier indien avant de s'arrêter au village du lac Artillery, à la recherche de sa soeur...
96 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1980
3 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Hugo Pratt
722 books419 followersHugo Pratt, born Ugo Eugenio Prat (1927–1995), was an Italian comic book writer and artist. Internationally known for Corto Maltese, a series of adventure comics first published in Italy and France between 1967 and 1991, Pratt is regarded as a pioneer of the literary graphic novel.
Born in Rimini, Italy, Pratt spent his childhood in Venice in a cosmopolitan family environment. In 1937, ten-years old Hugo moved with his parents to Ethiopia, East Africa, following the Italian occupation of the country. Pratt's father eventually died as a prisoner of war in 1942. Hugo himself and his mother spent some time in a British prison camp in Africa, before being sent back to Venice. This childhood experiences shaped Pratt's fascination with military uniforms, machineries and settings, a visual constant in most of his adult works.
As a young artist in post-war Italy, Pratt was part of the so-called 'Venice Group', which also included cartoonists Alberto Ongaro, Mario Faustinelli. Their magazine Asso di Picche, launched in 1945, mostly featured adventure comics.
In 1949 Pratt moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he worked for various local publishers and interacted with well-known Argentine cartoonists, most notably Alberto Breccia and Solano López, while also teaching at the Escuela Panamericana de Arte. During this period he produced his first notable comic books: Sgt. Kirk and Ernie Pike, written by Héctor Germán Oesterheld; Anna nella jungla, Capitan Cormorant and Wheeling, as a complete author.
From the summer of 1959 to the summer of 1960, Pratt lived in London drawing war comics by British scriptwriters for Fleetway Publications. He returned to Argentina for a couple more years, then moved back to Italy in 1962. Here he started collaborating with the comics magazine Il Corriere dei Piccoli, for which he adapted several classics, including works by Robert Louis Stevenson.
In 1967, Hugo Pratt and entrepreneur Florenzo Ivaldi created the comics magazine Il Sergente Kirk, named after one of Pratt's original characters. Pratt's most famous work, Una ballata del mare salato (1967, The Ballad of the Salty Sea) was serialised in the pages of this magazine. The story can be seen as one of the first modern graphic novels. It also introduced Pratt's best known character, mariner and adventurer Corto Maltese. Corto became the protagonist of its own series three years later in the French comics magazine Pif gadget. Pratt would continue releasing new Corto Maltese books every few years until 1991. Corto's stories are set in various parts of the world, in a given moment in the first three decades of the 20th century. They often tangently deal with real historical events or real historical figures. The series gave Pratt international notoriety, being eventually translated into fifteen languages.
Pratt's other works include Gli scorpioni del deserto (1969-1992), a series of military adventures set in East Africa during WWII, and a few one-shots published for Bonelli's comic magazine Un Uomo Un'Avventura ('One Man One Adventure'), most notably the short story Jesuit Joe (1980, The Man from the Great North). He also scripted a couple of stories for his pupil Milo Manara.
Pratt lived in France from 1970 to 1984, then in Switzerland till his death from bowel cancer in 1995.
Born in Rimini, Italy, Pratt spent his childhood in Venice in a cosmopolitan family environment. In 1937, ten-years old Hugo moved with his parents to Ethiopia, East Africa, following the Italian occupation of the country. Pratt's father eventually died as a prisoner of war in 1942. Hugo himself and his mother spent some time in a British prison camp in Africa, before being sent back to Venice. This childhood experiences shaped Pratt's fascination with military uniforms, machineries and settings, a visual constant in most of his adult works.
As a young artist in post-war Italy, Pratt was part of the so-called 'Venice Group', which also included cartoonists Alberto Ongaro, Mario Faustinelli. Their magazine Asso di Picche, launched in 1945, mostly featured adventure comics.
In 1949 Pratt moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he worked for various local publishers and interacted with well-known Argentine cartoonists, most notably Alberto Breccia and Solano López, while also teaching at the Escuela Panamericana de Arte. During this period he produced his first notable comic books: Sgt. Kirk and Ernie Pike, written by Héctor Germán Oesterheld; Anna nella jungla, Capitan Cormorant and Wheeling, as a complete author.
From the summer of 1959 to the summer of 1960, Pratt lived in London drawing war comics by British scriptwriters for Fleetway Publications. He returned to Argentina for a couple more years, then moved back to Italy in 1962. Here he started collaborating with the comics magazine Il Corriere dei Piccoli, for which he adapted several classics, including works by Robert Louis Stevenson.
In 1967, Hugo Pratt and entrepreneur Florenzo Ivaldi created the comics magazine Il Sergente Kirk, named after one of Pratt's original characters. Pratt's most famous work, Una ballata del mare salato (1967, The Ballad of the Salty Sea) was serialised in the pages of this magazine. The story can be seen as one of the first modern graphic novels. It also introduced Pratt's best known character, mariner and adventurer Corto Maltese. Corto became the protagonist of its own series three years later in the French comics magazine Pif gadget. Pratt would continue releasing new Corto Maltese books every few years until 1991. Corto's stories are set in various parts of the world, in a given moment in the first three decades of the 20th century. They often tangently deal with real historical events or real historical figures. The series gave Pratt international notoriety, being eventually translated into fifteen languages.
Pratt's other works include Gli scorpioni del deserto (1969-1992), a series of military adventures set in East Africa during WWII, and a few one-shots published for Bonelli's comic magazine Un Uomo Un'Avventura ('One Man One Adventure'), most notably the short story Jesuit Joe (1980, The Man from the Great North). He also scripted a couple of stories for his pupil Milo Manara.
Pratt lived in France from 1970 to 1984, then in Switzerland till his death from bowel cancer in 1995.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
December 2, 2017
Βαθμολογία: 9/10
Σήμερα παρέλαβα το "ξεχασμένο αριστούργημα" του Ούγκο Πρατ, μετά από τρεις-τέσσερις βδομάδες αναμονής, και αποφάσισα να το αρχίσω άμεσα προς ανάγνωση, παρότι διαβάζω και ένα βιβλίο ταυτόχρονα. Λοιπόν, το κόμικ αυτό αποτελεί την πρώτη μου επαφή με το έργο του Πρατ. Στην βιβλιοθήκη μου έχω πέντε κόμικς της σειράς Κόρτο Μαλτέζε, καθώς και το μυθιστόρημά του "Άνεμος από μακρινές στεριές", αλλά πάντα κάτι άλλο με άφηνε μακριά τους.
Όχι πια! Διαβάζοντας την λιτή και περιεκτική αλλά συνάμα επική και ποιητική ιστορία του "Ιησουίτη Τζο", μπορώ να πω ότι γνώρισα έναν πολύ μεγάλο δημιουργό. Φυσικά είχα ακούσει τα καλύτερα για το έργο του Ούγκο Πρατ, αλλά είναι διαφορετικό να το διαπιστώνει κανείς από μόνος του. Το συγκεκριμένο διαμάντι δεν προτείνεται για πρώτη γνωριμία με τον Πρατ, αλλά εγώ είμαι ανάποδος και κάτι μου έλεγε ότι έπρεπε να διαβάσω πρώτα αυτό. Αμέσως μόλις έμαθα για την κυκλοφορία του στην Αγγλική γλώσσα, διάβασα σχόλια, πείστηκα (μόνο για ελάχιστα λεπτά δίστασα για το οικονομικό κόστος), και το παρήγγειλα. Και τώρα που το διάβασα και το απόλαυσα όσο δεν πάει, νιώθω εκστασιασμένος.
Υποθέτω ότι αν το δει κανείς αντικειμενικά, τόσο η ιστορία όσο και το σχέδιο, ίσως να μην είναι αρίστης ποιότητας. Μπορεί. Η ιστορία ίσως να μην είναι σφιχτοδεμένη, κάποια πράγματα να μην εξηγούνται, και να μην υπάρχει οριστική κατάληξη. Το σχέδιο, πάλι, είναι αρκετά αφαιρετικό και λιτό, οι λάτρεις της λεπτομέρειας να κοιτάξουν αλλού. Όμως! Τα παγωμένα σκηνικά του Καναδικού Βορρά, η αιματοβαμμένη περιπλάνηση του πρωταγωνιστή προς κάποιου είδους Αναζήτηση (πνευματική ή υλική), οι γραφικές σκηνές βίας, η περίεργη ατμόσφαιρα, όλα αυτά συνθέτουν ένα βίαιο και κυνικό έπος - έστω και... μίνι διαστάσεων, λόγω μεγέθους.
Τι να σας πω: Το σχέδιο δεν θα το χαρακτήριζα άριστο ούτε για όλα τα γούστα, και ο τρόπος που εξελίσσονται τα γεγονότα ίσως να μην ξετρελάνουν τους περισσότερους... όμως νιώθω ότι διάβασα ένα αριστούργημα. Δεν μπορώ να μην βάλω πέντε αστεράκια στο Goodreads. Διαβάζοντας την ιστορία και θαυμάζοντας το σχέδιο και τα χρώματα, κάτι έκανε κλικ μέσα μου. Φυσικά δηλώνω λάτρης των Γουέστερν και των βίαιων περιπετειών σε άγρια μέρη, όμως δεν είναι μόνο αυτό: Ο Πρατ με μάγεψε. Έτσι απλά, χωρίς πολλά λόγια.
Υ.Γ. Φυσικά μου άρεσε πολύ και η έκδοση της IDW. Περιέχει ενδιαφέρουσες πληροφορίες, σκίτσα αναφοράς και storyboards, ενώ η όλη έκδοση είναι προσεγμένη και εμφανισιακά πανέμορφη. Χαλάλι τα 24€...
Σήμερα παρέλαβα το "ξεχασμένο αριστούργημα" του Ούγκο Πρατ, μετά από τρεις-τέσσερις βδομάδες αναμονής, και αποφάσισα να το αρχίσω άμεσα προς ανάγνωση, παρότι διαβάζω και ένα βιβλίο ταυτόχρονα. Λοιπόν, το κόμικ αυτό αποτελεί την πρώτη μου επαφή με το έργο του Πρατ. Στην βιβλιοθήκη μου έχω πέντε κόμικς της σειράς Κόρτο Μαλτέζε, καθώς και το μυθιστόρημά του "Άνεμος από μακρινές στεριές", αλλά πάντα κάτι άλλο με άφηνε μακριά τους.
Όχι πια! Διαβάζοντας την λιτή και περιεκτική αλλά συνάμα επική και ποιητική ιστορία του "Ιησουίτη Τζο", μπορώ να πω ότι γνώρισα έναν πολύ μεγάλο δημιουργό. Φυσικά είχα ακούσει τα καλύτερα για το έργο του Ούγκο Πρατ, αλλά είναι διαφορετικό να το διαπιστώνει κανείς από μόνος του. Το συγκεκριμένο διαμάντι δεν προτείνεται για πρώτη γνωριμία με τον Πρατ, αλλά εγώ είμαι ανάποδος και κάτι μου έλεγε ότι έπρεπε να διαβάσω πρώτα αυτό. Αμέσως μόλις έμαθα για την κυκλοφορία του στην Αγγλική γλώσσα, διάβασα σχόλια, πείστηκα (μόνο για ελάχιστα λεπτά δίστασα για το οικονομικό κόστος), και το παρήγγειλα. Και τώρα που το διάβασα και το απόλαυσα όσο δεν πάει, νιώθω εκστασιασμένος.
Υποθέτω ότι αν το δει κανείς αντικειμενικά, τόσο η ιστορία όσο και το σχέδιο, ίσως να μην είναι αρίστης ποιότητας. Μπορεί. Η ιστορία ίσως να μην είναι σφιχτοδεμένη, κάποια πράγματα να μην εξηγούνται, και να μην υπάρχει οριστική κατάληξη. Το σχέδιο, πάλι, είναι αρκετά αφαιρετικό και λιτό, οι λάτρεις της λεπτομέρειας να κοιτάξουν αλλού. Όμως! Τα παγωμένα σκηνικά του Καναδικού Βορρά, η αιματοβαμμένη περιπλάνηση του πρωταγωνιστή προς κάποιου είδους Αναζήτηση (πνευματική ή υλική), οι γραφικές σκηνές βίας, η περίεργη ατμόσφαιρα, όλα αυτά συνθέτουν ένα βίαιο και κυνικό έπος - έστω και... μίνι διαστάσεων, λόγω μεγέθους.
Τι να σας πω: Το σχέδιο δεν θα το χαρακτήριζα άριστο ούτε για όλα τα γούστα, και ο τρόπος που εξελίσσονται τα γεγονότα ίσως να μην ξετρελάνουν τους περισσότερους... όμως νιώθω ότι διάβασα ένα αριστούργημα. Δεν μπορώ να μην βάλω πέντε αστεράκια στο Goodreads. Διαβάζοντας την ιστορία και θαυμάζοντας το σχέδιο και τα χρώματα, κάτι έκανε κλικ μέσα μου. Φυσικά δηλώνω λάτρης των Γουέστερν και των βίαιων περιπετειών σε άγρια μέρη, όμως δεν είναι μόνο αυτό: Ο Πρατ με μάγεψε. Έτσι απλά, χωρίς πολλά λόγια.
Υ.Γ. Φυσικά μου άρεσε πολύ και η έκδοση της IDW. Περιέχει ενδιαφέρουσες πληροφορίες, σκίτσα αναφοράς και storyboards, ενώ η όλη έκδοση είναι προσεγμένη και εμφανισιακά πανέμορφη. Χαλάλι τα 24€...
January 1, 2018
After accepting the fact that this comic wasn't published in English up until now (there are more by pratt that we haven't seen in the lingua franca and that's just sad, let's hope it changes now that IDW got in the european scene publishing), there aren't many aspects to see here.
Pratt creates a second (or third if you count the captain from the Desert Scorpions series) Corto Maltese-like character. Jesuit Joe is a mysterious figure living by his own moral code and twisted ethics that excuse him to kill for justice and self preservation. He's not evil per say, he just lives in evil and hard times. After all, for jesuit joe, rough times require rough mesures. I feel there is more to the character tho, and I was saddened both by the small length of the first story and the unfinished second one. Still, I'm happy that I expanded my Pratt experience a notch.
I would recommend only to the people who appreciate the artist. Not cause the story is some adveturous extravaganza with deep "Prattian" meanings, but it's a rough scetch of a comic on it's most part. "The Man from the Great North" being far from completed or at least coherent, it should be read from the fans just to follow this step of Hugo's career rather than any other casual reader who won't enjoy it with it's zero consistency. If you want Pratt, start with it's more popular and completed works.
IDW made an excellent work with the HC edition and printing, although the guy that wrote the preface clearly needs to do some reading next time he undertakes an official publication. Half of the prologue was badly written and too personal.
Pratt creates a second (or third if you count the captain from the Desert Scorpions series) Corto Maltese-like character. Jesuit Joe is a mysterious figure living by his own moral code and twisted ethics that excuse him to kill for justice and self preservation. He's not evil per say, he just lives in evil and hard times. After all, for jesuit joe, rough times require rough mesures. I feel there is more to the character tho, and I was saddened both by the small length of the first story and the unfinished second one. Still, I'm happy that I expanded my Pratt experience a notch.
I would recommend only to the people who appreciate the artist. Not cause the story is some adveturous extravaganza with deep "Prattian" meanings, but it's a rough scetch of a comic on it's most part. "The Man from the Great North" being far from completed or at least coherent, it should be read from the fans just to follow this step of Hugo's career rather than any other casual reader who won't enjoy it with it's zero consistency. If you want Pratt, start with it's more popular and completed works.
IDW made an excellent work with the HC edition and printing, although the guy that wrote the preface clearly needs to do some reading next time he undertakes an official publication. Half of the prologue was badly written and too personal.
December 12, 2023
A quick read that is somewhat interesting. Includes a couple of pages of perhaps an alternate ending.
Apparently based on research trips to Canada, if not to the actual past.
Apparently based on research trips to Canada, if not to the actual past.
July 17, 2024
Originally conceived for an Italian anthology series ("One Man, One Adventure"), Hugo Pratt builds a story around the wanderings of the enigmatic Jesuit Joe who traverses the Canadian frontier wearing a "Red Serge" (Mounties uniform) that he finds in a cabin. Jesuit Joe is a half native, half French-Canadian man who administers a brutal form of justice on his foes, taking inspiration from both a hardline Christian perspective of sinning and the violent act of scalping taken from his tribal roots. We learn little of Joe's mission aside from the fact that he operates under some honor code, though the sheer violence he inflicts at times makes us question his honor.
The narrative itself has little meat to it as Joe's mission remains fairly unestablished and unclear, but it seems that Pratt intentionally designed the story this way to cultivate a surreal, dreamlike quality to the comic. It works well for the most part, given how vivid the imagery is of the stark red uniform of Jesuit Joe looks in the snowy Canadian wilds. It's visually enthralling even if the narrative doesn't offer up too much.
The narrative itself has little meat to it as Joe's mission remains fairly unestablished and unclear, but it seems that Pratt intentionally designed the story this way to cultivate a surreal, dreamlike quality to the comic. It works well for the most part, given how vivid the imagery is of the stark red uniform of Jesuit Joe looks in the snowy Canadian wilds. It's visually enthralling even if the narrative doesn't offer up too much.
August 23, 2020
Pratt manage to devise a story that capture the beautiful images of snow covered mountains, woods populated by wolves, bears, hunters, outlaws and natives, where the only law is represented by a lone man in his red jacket uniform of the Northwest Mounted Police. The protagonist is a psycological and complex man, such as every of Pratt's characters. A magnificent story with a surprising ending.
November 12, 2017
Some of the art was well-done, but the addition of the storyboards and the sketched final two pages made this feel like an unfinished mess. The dialogue and pacing were also very weirdly off.
December 24, 2017
Minimalist and violent, Pratt shows a different side of his work than we see in Corto Maltese. Worth a read for the artwork alone, the story is also a study on one man's view of suffering.
March 15, 2020
CW: sexual assault, gendered violence, racism
In spite of Hugo Pratt’s expressive, spare but detailed watercolors, lovely as always, I did not care for this short comic. While Pratt’s historical graphic novels are generally languid, morally ambiguous mood pieces, with his Corto Maltese series being case in point, The Man from the Great North was, all in all, a rather unpleasant and incomplete piece. First published in Italy as part of a pulpy “One Man, One Adventure” series, this publication patches in Pratt’s storyboards for a live action adaption as well an as unpublished (and unfinished) sequel continuing the already vague and aimless story. These splices serve to make the comic feel cobbled together and piecemeal, perhaps breaking whatever flow it originally had. These concerns pale in comparison to the content of the comic, though.
The motivations of the central character, Jesuit Joe, a Métis outlaw gunslinger, as he murders his way across the tundras of a 1912 Canada dressed in a stolen RCMP uniform, felt altogether opaque and inscrutable. While I’ve felt Pratt’s work to be relatively sympathetic or nuanced in his depictions of people from different cultures and backgrounds, in Corto Maltese specifically, The Man from the Great North felt uncharacteristically bigoted in its hideously stereotypical depictions of indigenous people, from Jesuit Joe himself to the various Cree he guns down and scalps. Aside from this ugly racism and pointless scenes of rape, any elements and threads that could have been used to set up a more interesting storyline just feel tacked on, irrelevant, such as Joe’s apparent relation to the famed Métis politician and rebel, Louis Riel. Pratt’s typically impeccable depictions of historic fashions, architecture, and weaponry aside, we’re not really given any reason to care about either Joe or anyone else one way or the other. This is one of Hugo Pratt’s graphic novels I really can’t recommend. Whatever spaghetti western-esque atmosphere the art was able to create failed to compensate for its unsympathetic characters and fractured plotting.
In spite of Hugo Pratt’s expressive, spare but detailed watercolors, lovely as always, I did not care for this short comic. While Pratt’s historical graphic novels are generally languid, morally ambiguous mood pieces, with his Corto Maltese series being case in point, The Man from the Great North was, all in all, a rather unpleasant and incomplete piece. First published in Italy as part of a pulpy “One Man, One Adventure” series, this publication patches in Pratt’s storyboards for a live action adaption as well an as unpublished (and unfinished) sequel continuing the already vague and aimless story. These splices serve to make the comic feel cobbled together and piecemeal, perhaps breaking whatever flow it originally had. These concerns pale in comparison to the content of the comic, though.
The motivations of the central character, Jesuit Joe, a Métis outlaw gunslinger, as he murders his way across the tundras of a 1912 Canada dressed in a stolen RCMP uniform, felt altogether opaque and inscrutable. While I’ve felt Pratt’s work to be relatively sympathetic or nuanced in his depictions of people from different cultures and backgrounds, in Corto Maltese specifically, The Man from the Great North felt uncharacteristically bigoted in its hideously stereotypical depictions of indigenous people, from Jesuit Joe himself to the various Cree he guns down and scalps. Aside from this ugly racism and pointless scenes of rape, any elements and threads that could have been used to set up a more interesting storyline just feel tacked on, irrelevant, such as Joe’s apparent relation to the famed Métis politician and rebel, Louis Riel. Pratt’s typically impeccable depictions of historic fashions, architecture, and weaponry aside, we’re not really given any reason to care about either Joe or anyone else one way or the other. This is one of Hugo Pratt’s graphic novels I really can’t recommend. Whatever spaghetti western-esque atmosphere the art was able to create failed to compensate for its unsympathetic characters and fractured plotting.
February 14, 2018
If you’ve ever picked up a Corto Maltese story you’ll be familiar with Hugo Pratt’s relaxed and loose storytelling, both in terms of the story and the artwork. His characters are often scallywags, scoundrels or down-right psychopaths with loose morals, base impulses or hidden agendas to the point that you’re never really sure who is on the side of right, or quite where the story will take you. In this tale we meet Jesuit Joe, set in Canada’s frozen lands shortly after the turn of the twentieth century. Joe’s a man of mixed race, part French-Canadian and part Mohawk, and like Corto Maltese his intentions appear to be largely self-serving, although unlike Corto Joe is, quite possibly, a little disturbed. He has no problem with taking lives, withholding information or deceit, and yet there’s a strange logic and abstract ethics to his actions.
Early on in the story he discovers a cabin with a Canadian Mounties’ uniform hanging inside, which he obtusely decides to wear and which almost immediately launches him down a path of confrontation, misunderstanding and death. Although he looks like a member of the mounted police, he certainly doesn’t behave like one, although this isn’t always apparent to those he encounters.
This is the first time the story has been reproduced in English, and it’s been expanded in places with some of Pratt’s storyboards for a live-action movie version of the tale, as well as a partial second story that picks up where the original story ends. Frustratingly this is all the Jesuit Joe you’ll ever get to read, at least from the pen of Hugo Pratt, but its visceral, brutal nature that steadily resolves itself into something both fascinating and compelling is well worth your time.
With Jesuit Joe Pratt creates a different type of character, neither villain nor hero, but a man driven by compulsion and an inner-logic that despite his actions and obscure morals you can’t help but be intrigued by. A welcome edition to any bookshelf.
Early on in the story he discovers a cabin with a Canadian Mounties’ uniform hanging inside, which he obtusely decides to wear and which almost immediately launches him down a path of confrontation, misunderstanding and death. Although he looks like a member of the mounted police, he certainly doesn’t behave like one, although this isn’t always apparent to those he encounters.
This is the first time the story has been reproduced in English, and it’s been expanded in places with some of Pratt’s storyboards for a live-action movie version of the tale, as well as a partial second story that picks up where the original story ends. Frustratingly this is all the Jesuit Joe you’ll ever get to read, at least from the pen of Hugo Pratt, but its visceral, brutal nature that steadily resolves itself into something both fascinating and compelling is well worth your time.
With Jesuit Joe Pratt creates a different type of character, neither villain nor hero, but a man driven by compulsion and an inner-logic that despite his actions and obscure morals you can’t help but be intrigued by. A welcome edition to any bookshelf.
August 30, 2022
7.5/10
Hugo Pratt's career can be seen as a trajectory, going in a specific direction: abstraction of storytelling and line art. 'I wish I could tell a story with a single line' is a famous quote of him. (Which, honestly, makes him sound as a bit of a poser, and he may well have been.) The late 70's is when Pratt's search for that abstraction reaches its maturity. This beautiful comics novella is exemplary of it.
Jesuit Joe - great name, by the way! - is a human enigma wandering in a Canadian declination of the old West. Half French-Canadian, half native. Administering a somewhat distorted form of Christian justice, while collecting scalps in the process. A psychopath with a religious allure in his acts? The mysterious result of the collision of two different cultures in violent times and in a cold violent land? Who knows. There is something dreamlike in the moral compass of this delinquent saint. And dreamlike is also the best word I can find to describe the narrative rhythm of this comic. A strident contrast with the depicted violence, which on the other hand is concrete and brutal. The comparison that comes to mind is with certain movies by the Cohen brothers. (I have seen people mention Tarantino's westerns when talking about this book, but Pratt's works usually lack the sophisticated dialogue work of the American cineast, so I find the comparison a bit misleading.)
Art-wise, well, it's pick Pratt: a few simple ink lines, a bit of watercolours, and the magic happens.
The edition of this comic that I own does not contain the storyboard for the unrealised movie adaptation, like the IDW English edition. On the other hand, since it is an Italian edition, it contains a complex philosophical afterward by some essayist that makes me feel stupid.
Hugo Pratt's career can be seen as a trajectory, going in a specific direction: abstraction of storytelling and line art. 'I wish I could tell a story with a single line' is a famous quote of him. (Which, honestly, makes him sound as a bit of a poser, and he may well have been.) The late 70's is when Pratt's search for that abstraction reaches its maturity. This beautiful comics novella is exemplary of it.
Jesuit Joe - great name, by the way! - is a human enigma wandering in a Canadian declination of the old West. Half French-Canadian, half native. Administering a somewhat distorted form of Christian justice, while collecting scalps in the process. A psychopath with a religious allure in his acts? The mysterious result of the collision of two different cultures in violent times and in a cold violent land? Who knows. There is something dreamlike in the moral compass of this delinquent saint. And dreamlike is also the best word I can find to describe the narrative rhythm of this comic. A strident contrast with the depicted violence, which on the other hand is concrete and brutal. The comparison that comes to mind is with certain movies by the Cohen brothers. (I have seen people mention Tarantino's westerns when talking about this book, but Pratt's works usually lack the sophisticated dialogue work of the American cineast, so I find the comparison a bit misleading.)
Art-wise, well, it's pick Pratt: a few simple ink lines, a bit of watercolours, and the magic happens.
The edition of this comic that I own does not contain the storyboard for the unrealised movie adaptation, like the IDW English edition. On the other hand, since it is an Italian edition, it contains a complex philosophical afterward by some essayist that makes me feel stupid.
November 2, 2017
I enjoyed the book - it was evocative of the time and place: remote wilderness of Canada in the early part of the last century.
There were elements that might not appeal to some readers such as the violence, but I don’t think it was out of place for the story. Which should be obvious for the narrative being promised/told.
It was an okay read.
There were elements that might not appeal to some readers such as the violence, but I don’t think it was out of place for the story. Which should be obvious for the narrative being promised/told.
It was an okay read.
June 20, 2018
Like, or LIKE like...? The eternal GR struggle. The artwork was intense, I loved it - very raw. The main character, Jesuit Joe...good guy or bad guy?? Some of both, for sure. This book has a real spaghetti western, 70's noir film feel to it. It has a lot of serious ugliness to it, too, so be warned.
December 25, 2017
An interesting tale of moral ambiguity in the frozen North of Canada. The creator of Corto Maltese crafts a graphic novel that subverts expectations of a story about a man clad in the red serge of the Mounties.
February 11, 2018
A puzzling book. A simple story, with the suggestion of much more standing behind it. But what, exactly? Is there even that deeper layer? Not one of Pratt’s best works, but still worthwhile as a quick read and character study of the author.
September 10, 2019
Yksinkertainen, suoraviivainen ja väkivaltainen sekä kuvitukseltaan että tarinaltaan, mutta viihdyin tämän parissa.
Albumissa oli hillitty kuvitus ja väritys, ja jopa kuvajako oli tehty niin, että lähes aina oli vain 6 samankokoista neliöruutua per sivu. Myös tarina oli täysin road movie -muodossa.
Runsaampi dialogi tai jonkinlainen lisätekstitys olisi tietty lisännyt sarjakuvan tasoa ja lukuaikaa, mutta ihan viihdyttävä sarjakuvavälipala näinkin.
Albumissa oli hillitty kuvitus ja väritys, ja jopa kuvajako oli tehty niin, että lähes aina oli vain 6 samankokoista neliöruutua per sivu. Myös tarina oli täysin road movie -muodossa.
Runsaampi dialogi tai jonkinlainen lisätekstitys olisi tietty lisännyt sarjakuvan tasoa ja lukuaikaa, mutta ihan viihdyttävä sarjakuvavälipala näinkin.
January 1, 2018
via NYPL - Coarse and brutal, amoral, thrilling. The aborted sequel adds nothing and I can see why Pratt thought better of it and left it uncompleted.
January 26, 2018
Abysmal.
May 7, 2018
a convincing case for the superiority of the Canada-set Western
October 11, 2018
Tylsää mättöä ja skalpeerausta. Vaikka Pratt piirtää hienosti, ei se riitä. Corto on kiinnostavampi.
February 28, 2019
Olipas tämä väkivaltainen ja tyly. Ja siihen päälle nopeasti tehty mutta todella toimiva taide, niin onhan se kerrassaan hienoa. Tähänkään ei Amerikkalainen pysty.
January 2, 2021
Intense masterpiece from the borderlands of the past
February 17, 2021
Wild... like Cormac McCarthy and Sergio Leone met in a Northern Canadian pub... pretty dark... and well done.
April 7, 2021
Definitely different than Corto Maltese adventures.
November 5, 2022
Violent and unfortunately unfinished. The screenplay additions flesh out the story very well. Beautiful hardcover well worth getting. Absolutely highly recommended.
October 20, 2018
This is a very powerful and evocative work from one of the true comic book masters. Many silent panels build an intense atmosphere. Love this title, one of the first I ever read of Pratt.
October 17, 2014
Raccoglie "L'Uomo del Grande Nord" e l'incompiuto seguito Jesuit Joe 2.
Decisamente un pugno nello stomaco per la violenza e la cattiveria del protagonista.
Decisamente un pugno nello stomaco per la violenza e la cattiveria del protagonista.
January 3, 2016
Jesuit Joe rydder op i inuitternes Canada
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