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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
I'm thinking that women would be wonderful if we could fall into their arms instead of their hands.
This was a Christmas gift. I asked Joel last weekend if he was familiar with Hugo Pratt. Umberto Eco in [b:Inventing the Enemy: Essays|13326582|Inventing the Enemy Essays|Umberto Eco|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1336493013s/13326582.jpg|18533740] raved about this Corto Maltese series. Joel acknowledged the author but hadn't had any experience reading him. It was thus a shock midweek to not only discover the massive Ford on Fox boxed set but this on our porch as well.
The narrative concerns an adventurer who sails about with his eclectic peers undertaking the tasks of the genre: looking for treasure, assisting rebels against their tyrant oppressors, unlocking family secrets etc. Pratt succeeds in repositioning these classic tropes in a very self-aware manner, much like the cinema of Godard, you are unable to forget that you are reading a novel.
The action sequences are very much Billy Jack meets Scott Pilgrim. Thankfully they are brief. Eco notes in his essay that characters in Corto Maltese spend a good amount of time reading, that may be the case in other volumes but not this one. There is a measure of Borges, a mingling of ancient arcs through the prism of the dime novel.
This was a Christmas gift. I asked Joel last weekend if he was familiar with Hugo Pratt. Umberto Eco in [b:Inventing the Enemy: Essays|13326582|Inventing the Enemy Essays|Umberto Eco|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1336493013s/13326582.jpg|18533740] raved about this Corto Maltese series. Joel acknowledged the author but hadn't had any experience reading him. It was thus a shock midweek to not only discover the massive Ford on Fox boxed set but this on our porch as well.
The narrative concerns an adventurer who sails about with his eclectic peers undertaking the tasks of the genre: looking for treasure, assisting rebels against their tyrant oppressors, unlocking family secrets etc. Pratt succeeds in repositioning these classic tropes in a very self-aware manner, much like the cinema of Godard, you are unable to forget that you are reading a novel.
The action sequences are very much Billy Jack meets Scott Pilgrim. Thankfully they are brief. Eco notes in his essay that characters in Corto Maltese spend a good amount of time reading, that may be the case in other volumes but not this one. There is a measure of Borges, a mingling of ancient arcs through the prism of the dime novel.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I never thought I'd like Corto Maltese- the sketchy, linear style doesn't appeal to my aesthetic, and the frankly weird looking characters put me off. But- the stories! I don't know how Pratt breaths so much life into a collection of black and white lines, but I was hooked by the middle of part two. Maltese, for all that his profile looks like a smoking Easter Island head, is intriguing and dryly humorous, and his cast of supporting characters range from strangely familiar to downright bizarre. I'm disappointed that not all of the Maltese cannon are available in English, and that this series seems to be switching up the order a bit- but Under the Sign of Capricorn was a great introduction. I'll definitely be seeking out the rest of them, and hope to find them in French, too.
Corto Maltese by Hugo Pratt feels seminal and to anybody that has had the joy of exploring the pages of this comic it probably is treated as such, but somewhere along the line these books seem to have been forgotten by popular culture. Filled with strong, etched out linework and a wonderous classical adventure charm and even though art comes first and foremost in Pratt's tale, this swashbuckling charm is notable and infectious.
The only flaw with the work is a flaw with many pieces of classic adventure work, that being the sources of the exoticism of the story and some of the more regressive racial politics of the time, interestingly often displayed side-by-side with deconstruction of tropes and positive progressive messages, which makes the book feel simultaneously of an earlier era of adventure stories, of the politics of its time and of the politics of a future. Pratt presents a writer that is pitted between the exoticism of his tale and the progressiveness of his politics. It adds an element of unexpected complexity to this salty-dog adventure, which is often only noted for its (incredible) art.
The only flaw with the work is a flaw with many pieces of classic adventure work, that being the sources of the exoticism of the story and some of the more regressive racial politics of the time, interestingly often displayed side-by-side with deconstruction of tropes and positive progressive messages, which makes the book feel simultaneously of an earlier era of adventure stories, of the politics of its time and of the politics of a future. Pratt presents a writer that is pitted between the exoticism of his tale and the progressiveness of his politics. It adds an element of unexpected complexity to this salty-dog adventure, which is often only noted for its (incredible) art.
Great mysteries, pitting schemers against schemers, unfolding a twisted adventure across exotic locales and executed with graphic aplomb -- in short, wonderful adventure comics.
+++++++++
Still a masterwork.
+++++++++
Still a masterwork.
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes