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Corto Maltese #10
Tango
"I tavolini di legno sono logori e segnati dal ricordo di antichi mozziconi di sigaretta dimenticati e consumati nell'attesa dei colpi. Un cameriere grasso e affaticato cerca di volteggiare con vassoi carichi di tazzine di caffè e bicchierini gocciolanti e appannati dall'acqua fredda che nessuno berrà. Un ventilatore stanco e solitario gira evitando inopportuni cigolii. Si sente un lontano rumore di piatti di chi è arrivato al mattino e ha voluto mangiare qui sotto, qualche frase di commento, ma la vera musica è lo schiocco delle biglie, il morbido fruscio, l'impercettibile suono ovattato dell'accosto."
Dalla prefazione di Marco Steiner
Dalla prefazione di Marco Steiner
134 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1985
7 people are currently reading
268 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 - 30 of 45 reviews
January 12, 2021
Βαθμολογία: 9/10
Τρίτη επαφή με τον Κόρτο Μαλτέζε του Ούγκο Πρατ, μετά το καταπληκτικό "Η μπαλάντα της αλμυρής θάλασσας" και το καλούτσικο "Τα νεανικά χρόνια" (έχω διαβάσει επίσης τα τρία κόμικς Κόρτο Μαλτέζε των Κανάλες/Πεγεχέρο). Ξέρω, χρονολογικά προηγούνται άλλες ιστορίες, αλλά αποφάσισα να διαβάσω τη συγκεκριμένη, που μόλις πριν λίγες μέρες κυκλοφόρησε για πρώτη φορά έγχρωμη στα ελληνικά. Πρόκειται για ένα πολύ ωραίο, ενδιαφέρον και άκρως καλογραμμένο κόμικ, που πραγματικά με ενθουσίασε. Εδώ ο Πρατ κάνει κάτι διαφορετικό, δεν γράφει μια περιπέτεια σε κάποιο εξωτικό τοπίο, αλλά μια μάλλον σκληροτράχηλη νουάρ ιστορία α λα Ντάσιελ Χάμετ, στο Μπουένος Άιρες της δεκαετίας του '20. Ο Κόρτο Μαλτέζε είναι λίγο πιο προσγειωμένος στην πραγματικότητα, και πιο κυνικός, στον τόμο αυτό μπλέκεται σε μια περίεργη ιστορία εγκλήματος και βίας, και έρχεται σε επαφή ή αντιμέτωπος με ανθρώπους του Αργεντίνικου υποκόσμου. Η πλοκή είναι πολύ καλογραμμένη και προσεγμένη, με τις απαραίτητες δόσεις μυστηρίου, βίας και κυνισμού, ενώ το σχέδιο είναι πραγματικά πολύ ωραίο και εξαιρετικά καλοδουλεμένο, σίγουρα ο Ούγκο Πρατ κατάφερε να με μεταφέρει με περισσή ευκολία στο Μπουένος Άιρες του 1923, ανάμεσα στους ανθρώπους του υποκόσμου.
Τρίτη επαφή με τον Κόρτο Μαλτέζε του Ούγκο Πρατ, μετά το καταπληκτικό "Η μπαλάντα της αλμυρής θάλασσας" και το καλούτσικο "Τα νεανικά χρόνια" (έχω διαβάσει επίσης τα τρία κόμικς Κόρτο Μαλτέζε των Κανάλες/Πεγεχέρο). Ξέρω, χρονολογικά προηγούνται άλλες ιστορίες, αλλά αποφάσισα να διαβάσω τη συγκεκριμένη, που μόλις πριν λίγες μέρες κυκλοφόρησε για πρώτη φορά έγχρωμη στα ελληνικά. Πρόκειται για ένα πολύ ωραίο, ενδιαφέρον και άκρως καλογραμμένο κόμικ, που πραγματικά με ενθουσίασε. Εδώ ο Πρατ κάνει κάτι διαφορετικό, δεν γράφει μια περιπέτεια σε κάποιο εξωτικό τοπίο, αλλά μια μάλλον σκληροτράχηλη νουάρ ιστορία α λα Ντάσιελ Χάμετ, στο Μπουένος Άιρες της δεκαετίας του '20. Ο Κόρτο Μαλτέζε είναι λίγο πιο προσγειωμένος στην πραγματικότητα, και πιο κυνικός, στον τόμο αυτό μπλέκεται σε μια περίεργη ιστορία εγκλήματος και βίας, και έρχεται σε επαφή ή αντιμέτωπος με ανθρώπους του Αργεντίνικου υποκόσμου. Η πλοκή είναι πολύ καλογραμμένη και προσεγμένη, με τις απαραίτητες δόσεις μυστηρίου, βίας και κυνισμού, ενώ το σχέδιο είναι πραγματικά πολύ ωραίο και εξαιρετικά καλοδουλεμένο, σίγουρα ο Ούγκο Πρατ κατάφερε να με μεταφέρει με περισσή ευκολία στο Μπουένος Άιρες του 1923, ανάμεσα στους ανθρώπους του υποκόσμου.
June 21, 2021
"U noći između 20. i 21. juna nad Rio de la Platom mogla su se videti dva opadajuća meseca. Čudna pojava. Svi znaju da dva mlada meseca izlaze u noći 13. juna, ne i 20... No činjenica je da su se te godine na nebu mogli videti mnogi meseci." H.P.
January 10, 2021
A nice noir, and by far the most "normal" Corto I've read.
November 4, 2020
Tango is the closest Corto gets to the hard boiled noir story in the manner of Philip Marlow or Jake from Chinatown. Just like in Chinatown the story unravels to point to corruption in the top levels, this time regarding the pampas land.
Pratt had a field day paying the homage to Buenos Aires, though there is a predominance of scenes in the car, being chased or just driving around to exchange information without being seen and an absence of the easily recognizable landmarks. Instead there is a double crescent moon both in the dreams and in reality. It even speaks to Corto (in a dream, of course :)
Pratt also involves Butch Cassidy from the Wild Bunch and connects Corto's youth to him.
The highlight of the book is a page showing Corto with a slick hair, dancing tango. Close ups still magnificently capture the movements, tension and sensuality of the dance.
This is also a book where Pratt starts drawing Corto with a looser hand. In some frames it is more of a croquis, yet that doesn't impact the story or the joy of reading.
Wonderful chapter and a wonderful edition (though there are couple of typos - mainly repeating short words like to from the end of the line at the beginning of the next one).
Pratt had a field day paying the homage to Buenos Aires, though there is a predominance of scenes in the car, being chased or just driving around to exchange information without being seen and an absence of the easily recognizable landmarks. Instead there is a double crescent moon both in the dreams and in reality. It even speaks to Corto (in a dream, of course :)
Pratt also involves Butch Cassidy from the Wild Bunch and connects Corto's youth to him.
The highlight of the book is a page showing Corto with a slick hair, dancing tango. Close ups still magnificently capture the movements, tension and sensuality of the dance.
This is also a book where Pratt starts drawing Corto with a looser hand. In some frames it is more of a croquis, yet that doesn't impact the story or the joy of reading.
Wonderful chapter and a wonderful edition (though there are couple of typos - mainly repeating short words like to from the end of the line at the beginning of the next one).
September 26, 2020
Highly recommended.
November 23, 2022
20 giugno🌘🌘
October 12, 2025
Moj prvi Corto, svidio mi se i shvatila sam zašto je bio tako popularan. I u 21.stoljeću lik poput njega je faca, to se ne mjenja. Ipak, kvaliteta teksta nije mi na razini ilustracija, stoga 4.
April 25, 2018
Trovare chi sia il buono è chi sia il cattivo nelle storie di Corto Maltese è pressoché impossibile. Vecchi amici che intervengono per salvare il protagonista, bambine da riportare in Europa e le due lune do Buenos Aires per una storia che è tutto meno quanto ci si possa immaginare all'inizio.
July 11, 2007
If you can find any of Pratt's work in English - do yourself a favor, and pick it up! (or tell me where I can find it!)
His artwork is so amazing -a bold black line that looks almost child-like - but is in fact, amazingly sophisticated and descriptive. A true comics master. Always told with a lot of humor and adventure,the stories can be rife with imagery pulled from mythologies and fables from around the globe, but also are very grounded in the real world - and often deal with major political issues of his time.
His artwork is so amazing -a bold black line that looks almost child-like - but is in fact, amazingly sophisticated and descriptive. A true comics master. Always told with a lot of humor and adventure,the stories can be rife with imagery pulled from mythologies and fables from around the globe, but also are very grounded in the real world - and often deal with major political issues of his time.
January 21, 2016
Tango es más una excusa de contar una aventura del corto en Buenos Aires más que otra cosa.
La verdad la idea daba para explotar mucho más la locación y los aspectos folclóricos de la cultura argentina de principios de siglo XX.
Pero Pratt se contenta con meter pequeñas referencias al periodo y alguna bajada de linea sobre el colonialismo económico. De todos modos aplaudo cierto vuelo poético y algunos momentos sumamente disfrutables en el apartado visual.
Tango es una historia entretenida, pero ni siquiera cerca de lo mejor del personaje. Una milonga un poco aguada.
La verdad la idea daba para explotar mucho más la locación y los aspectos folclóricos de la cultura argentina de principios de siglo XX.
Pero Pratt se contenta con meter pequeñas referencias al periodo y alguna bajada de linea sobre el colonialismo económico. De todos modos aplaudo cierto vuelo poético y algunos momentos sumamente disfrutables en el apartado visual.
Tango es una historia entretenida, pero ni siquiera cerca de lo mejor del personaje. Una milonga un poco aguada.
October 23, 2018
A quick, character-driven story for Corto where things happen around him less than him moving things forward. Pratt, as always is an adept storyteller and illustrator. You're always in good hands with Corto.
July 2, 2019
Aunque es muy entretenido imaginarse a Corto hablando con personajes que evidentemente tendrían acento argentino termina siendo una trama bastante simple. Relato entretenido pero sin dudas una de las obras menores de la saga de Corto Maltés.
April 15, 2019
Edición española en formato grande. Colección Hugo Pratt Corto Maltés #7. Incluía una libretita de 1999 de regalo.
January 15, 2020
El guión es farragoso a más no poder, hasta el punto de que los bocadillos se comen el dibujo... pero en los momentos en que se pone a narrar gráficamente es una maravilla.
December 6, 2017
Α-ρι-στουρ-γη-μα-τι-κό άλμπουμ. Ναι, ο Πρατ έτσι επειδή του την βάρεσε μπορεί να κάνει και έκανε ένα εξαιρετικό ατμοσφαιρικό νουάρ.
Εδώ ερχόμαστε απότομα αντιμέτωποι με έναν Κόρτο Μαλτέζε προσγειωμένο στην πραγματικότητα, κυνικό, έναν ρεαλιστή φιξαρισμένο στην εκδίκηση που τον κατακαίει. Τόσο φιξαρισμένο που ξεχνά στα 40 του και μετά από μια ζωή εξωφρενικών εμπειριών σε όλο τον πλανήτη πως να είναι προσεκτικός. Αλλά ο Κόρτο Μαλτέζε έχει την τύχη της τσιγγάνας και τα δύο φεγγάρια που τον προστατεύουν. Το "Τανγκό" είναι ρομαντικό, σκοτεινό, διαπραγματεύεται μια ιστορία "λερωμένη" που πάει τόσο πίσω όσο τα απομεινάρια των θρύλων της Άγριας Δύσης, είναι γεμάτο σεξουαλικότητα και αργεντίνικο αέρα δείχνοντας σε όλο το κόμικ μόνο ένα φιλί. Είναι ένα νουάρ που δεν έχει να ζηλέψει τίποτα από τους αντιπροσώπους του είδους, διαπίστωση που απλά ενισχύει την ικανότητα και το ταλέντο του πατέρα του.
Έγινε ήδη ένα από τα αγαπημένα μου Κόρτο Μαλτέζε, τόσο που πρέπει να διαβάσω ξανά την αυλή (που ήταν το πρώτο) για να σιγουρευτώ ποιο παίρνει τα σκήπτρα. Όσο για αυτή την εισαγωγή που μπήκε ανάποδα στο τέλος του κόμικ (?), ένα τετρασέλιδο του Πραττ για τις εμπειρίες του στην Αργεντινή του τότε και του τώρα και την ματιά του για το Τανγκό και την προέλευση του, ο άνθρωπος είναι ποιητής. Ο τρόπος που γράφει ξεχειλίζει από εικόνες που αμέσως καταλαβαίνουμε ότι ο τύπος δεν χρειάζεται να φανταστεί, πολύ απλά γιατί τις έζησε ολοζώντανες. Θα είμαι ένας τυχερός άνθρωπος αν μεγαλώνοντας ζήσω το ένα δέκατο των εμπειριών του Ούγκο Πράττ.
Εδώ ερχόμαστε απότομα αντιμέτωποι με έναν Κόρτο Μαλτέζε προσγειωμένο στην πραγματικότητα, κυνικό, έναν ρεαλιστή φιξαρισμένο στην εκδίκηση που τον κατακαίει. Τόσο φιξαρισμένο που ξεχνά στα 40 του και μετά από μια ζωή εξωφρενικών εμπειριών σε όλο τον πλανήτη πως να είναι προσεκτικός. Αλλά ο Κόρτο Μαλτέζε έχει την τύχη της τσιγγάνας και τα δύο φεγγάρια που τον προστατεύουν. Το "Τανγκό" είναι ρομαντικό, σκοτεινό, διαπραγματεύεται μια ιστορία "λερωμένη" που πάει τόσο πίσω όσο τα απομεινάρια των θρύλων της Άγριας Δύσης, είναι γεμάτο σεξουαλικότητα και αργεντίνικο αέρα δείχνοντας σε όλο το κόμικ μόνο ένα φιλί. Είναι ένα νουάρ που δεν έχει να ζηλέψει τίποτα από τους αντιπροσώπους του είδους, διαπίστωση που απλά ενισχύει την ικανότητα και το ταλέντο του πατέρα του.
Έγινε ήδη ένα από τα αγαπημένα μου Κόρτο Μαλτέζε, τόσο που πρέπει να διαβάσω ξανά την αυλή (που ήταν το πρώτο) για να σιγουρευτώ ποιο παίρνει τα σκήπτρα. Όσο για αυτή την εισαγωγή που μπήκε ανάποδα στο τέλος του κόμικ (?), ένα τετρασέλιδο του Πραττ για τις εμπειρίες του στην Αργεντινή του τότε και του τώρα και την ματιά του για το Τανγκό και την προέλευση του, ο άνθρωπος είναι ποιητής. Ο τρόπος που γράφει ξεχειλίζει από εικόνες που αμέσως καταλαβαίνουμε ότι ο τύπος δεν χρειάζεται να φανταστεί, πολύ απλά γιατί τις έζησε ολοζώντανες. Θα είμαι ένας τυχερός άνθρωπος αν μεγαλώνοντας ζήσω το ένα δέκατο των εμπειριών του Ούγκο Πράττ.
November 25, 2022
Si ya habíamos pasado por la juventud de Hugo Pratt era necesario ir a otra época del autor, y es indudable la importancia de su estadía en Argentina, por lo que si ya nos habían insinuado anteriormente que Corto debía volver a visitar a su Buenos Aires, alguna historia íbamos a obtener. Es confundible relacionar Argentina y el tango, por supuesto que hay muchos otros conceptos (ya sea maté o las milanesas), y justamente es eso lo que quiere irradiar el título, el espíritu argentino en un baile de dos personas: Corto y Louise. Ella ya la habíamos conocido en Fable de Venise, como una amiga de Petit Pied d'Argent, y si bien queremos tener historias con finales felices, a veces no son así en la vida real, porque debido a conversaciones que supo, termino muriendo. Y como se sabe, el Tango no es algo que se pueda bailar solo, es necesario la otra persona para la conexión, es ahí donde Corto parte en busca de venganza para dar justicia a una historia que podría haber sido un lindo finalmente. Lamentablemente, muchas canciones de tango de eso tratan, historias sobre lo que podrían haber sido y amores perdidos en una vida que nos arrebata lo más preciado. La desolación de Corto es indescriptible en esa última página mirando la tumba de Louise, ya nada queda en este mundo para consolarlo, porque quizá la última chispa de humanidad se le fue arrebatado con esa última nota del acordeón.
June 19, 2022
El guapo marinero regresa a la Argentina después de muchos años, y consulta el paradero de una amiga suya. Ahí nomás, con sólo preguntar, alborota un nido de avispas dentro del hampa de la prostitución porteña.
Una temática muy seria y acorde al entorno portuario del Corto Maltés. Me atrapó la ambientación, el misterio, el guion complejo y detallado. El arte y el coloreado (esta es edición a color) son un deleite.
La trama es genial pero (desde mi muy personal punto de vista) la ejecución me pareció menos dinámica que en otras entregas de la serie, porque muchos de los acontecimientos importantes son contados en extensos diálogos, en vez de ser directamente mostrados.
Una temática muy seria y acorde al entorno portuario del Corto Maltés. Me atrapó la ambientación, el misterio, el guion complejo y detallado. El arte y el coloreado (esta es edición a color) son un deleite.
La trama es genial pero (desde mi muy personal punto de vista) la ejecución me pareció menos dinámica que en otras entregas de la serie, porque muchos de los acontecimientos importantes son contados en extensos diálogos, en vez de ser directamente mostrados.
June 16, 2022
Corto Maltese'in en sevdiğim öykülerinden biri oldu bu. 1900'lerin başındaki Arjantin'in siyasi atmosferi aslında hikayenin arka planını oluşturuyor. Bu sırada gerçekleşen cinayetler ve biraz gizem hikayeye dahil oluyor. Biraz fazla karakter ve isim barındırması handikap gibi görünse de hikaye akışının düzgün olmasıyla okurken rahat bir şekilde ilerliyorsunuz. Corto Maltese'in en doğal ve sıradan olması ve melankolik hali de hikayenin ayrı bir güzelliği olmuş.
April 26, 2023
Hasta el momento, de lo que he leído, el más oscuro
En comparación a otras entregas el surrealismo y las situaciones goofy aa se ven absorbidas por escenas y temáticas más serias. Se siente el susto y la preocupación de Corto.
Aún con todo, el recurso de las dos lunas le añade ese tono fantasioso y simpático típico de Hugo Pratt. Crea un aura bastante única. ¡Me pregunto qué pasaría por la cabeza del autor!
En comparación a otras entregas el surrealismo y las situaciones goofy aa se ven absorbidas por escenas y temáticas más serias. Se siente el susto y la preocupación de Corto.
Aún con todo, el recurso de las dos lunas le añade ese tono fantasioso y simpático típico de Hugo Pratt. Crea un aura bastante única. ¡Me pregunto qué pasaría por la cabeza del autor!
April 13, 2020
Corto travels to Buenos Aires and gets thrown into a plot involving the polish mafia and wealthy patagonian land owners while trying to the rescue the child of a dead Jewish prostitute. Butch Cassidy makes an appearance.
March 16, 2025
On se retrouve dans un milieu de truands à Buenos Aires, Corto à la recherche d'une amie, y retrouve sa fille, un scénario assez sombre, sur fond de Nazisme et des inégalités locales...on se plonge dans l'intrigue avec délectation
May 29, 2017
...e con questo
mi devi mille
pesos.
mi devi mille
pesos.
May 5, 2018
Não sinto o fascínio que tanta gente sente por Corto Maltese...
March 19, 2019
Vähillä viivoilla Pratt sai aikaiseksi todella kauniita kuvia jotka tällä kertaa hukkuvat loputtomaan puhumiseen ja tylsään ruutujakoon.
May 10, 2019
Cortu pristaje crno beli crtež, taj crtež oštrog kontrasta izvrsno opisuje polusvijet kojim se kreće.
September 13, 2020
Un po' complicato come storia, ma molto bello e pieno di scoperte visuali incredibili.
May 22, 2021
3,5/5
November 26, 2022
I borrowed the black and white edition of this corto at my local library. Nice story.
April 9, 2025
Now I've read all the ones I own, I wish the rest were still in print!
September 12, 2018
Another great edition from the team at Eurocomics, printed on heavyweight, high contrast, glossy paper, doing great justice to the chiaroscuro of Hugo Pratt's work. They haven't got many of Pratt's left to do now (just 3, by my count) and I will be sad to see the last one, when it finally arrives.
Production qualities aside, this short (59pp) volume is, nonetheless, filled with characters, plot and action sequences aplenty.
Corto finds himself back again in Buenos Aires, after nearly 20 years, looking for a friend who has gone missing. Within minutes, we are pulled into a seedy underworld of gangsters and prostitution, mistaken identity and murder as Corto pushes to find the truths behind the disappearance. We never find out for sure what happened 20 years ago other than he clearly made a huge impact on those he met, being instantly recognisable to all.
The probing into his friends disappearance does not go unnoticed by the local cops who are working with ... let's not say! The local lowlifes and the mob, spinning a South-American web of corruption and politics also start to take an interest in his investigation. Improbable characters from the American wild west make significant bit part appearances and, in a few lines, create a back-story we long to know more of, while we learn about Corto's more recent dalliances...
Featuring fast and improbable car chases, gunfights and tense stand-offs, this is a brilliant example, both of Pratt's genius and of the graphic novel's ability to pack so much into such a short space.
The density of each page (there are rarely less than 12 square panels per-page) is at-odds with modern graphic novels that have an open, canvass-like interpretation of a page's space. The re-use of panels to create dramatic tension while anachronistic, is of its' time and forces a tight and rigid structure on the storytelling that is brilliantly filmic. (There's one specific sequence of dancers body parts shown dancing the Tango that is amazingly evocative, given how few lines are drawn and how little context is given).
If there is a flaw, it is not in the storytelling or characters. Pratt, clearly, is one who felt so at-home drawing Corto, that he rarely completes more than an initial sketch of key cast members and this is none more evident than in Tango. Occasionally, the qualitative inconsistencies between characters is remarkable, especially when juxtaposed against some of the more architectural scenes that Pratt has created using more formal principles.
Nonetheless, I hunger for more Corto!
Production qualities aside, this short (59pp) volume is, nonetheless, filled with characters, plot and action sequences aplenty.
Corto finds himself back again in Buenos Aires, after nearly 20 years, looking for a friend who has gone missing. Within minutes, we are pulled into a seedy underworld of gangsters and prostitution, mistaken identity and murder as Corto pushes to find the truths behind the disappearance. We never find out for sure what happened 20 years ago other than he clearly made a huge impact on those he met, being instantly recognisable to all.
The probing into his friends disappearance does not go unnoticed by the local cops who are working with ... let's not say! The local lowlifes and the mob, spinning a South-American web of corruption and politics also start to take an interest in his investigation. Improbable characters from the American wild west make significant bit part appearances and, in a few lines, create a back-story we long to know more of, while we learn about Corto's more recent dalliances...
Featuring fast and improbable car chases, gunfights and tense stand-offs, this is a brilliant example, both of Pratt's genius and of the graphic novel's ability to pack so much into such a short space.
The density of each page (there are rarely less than 12 square panels per-page) is at-odds with modern graphic novels that have an open, canvass-like interpretation of a page's space. The re-use of panels to create dramatic tension while anachronistic, is of its' time and forces a tight and rigid structure on the storytelling that is brilliantly filmic. (There's one specific sequence of dancers body parts shown dancing the Tango that is amazingly evocative, given how few lines are drawn and how little context is given).
If there is a flaw, it is not in the storytelling or characters. Pratt, clearly, is one who felt so at-home drawing Corto, that he rarely completes more than an initial sketch of key cast members and this is none more evident than in Tango. Occasionally, the qualitative inconsistencies between characters is remarkable, especially when juxtaposed against some of the more architectural scenes that Pratt has created using more formal principles.
Nonetheless, I hunger for more Corto!
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