Hugo Pratt

Hugo Pratt (1927–1995) was an Italian comics writer and artist who fused travel, history, and dreamlike suggestion in the adventures of Corto Maltese. Created in 1967, the wandering sailor became Pratt's defining character and a flexible guide through contested borders, revolutions, myths, and private loyalties. Corto Maltese: The Ballad of the Salt Sea is the essential opening because it introduces the Pacific setting and the relationships that shape the series. Corto Maltese: In Siberia offers a later, politically charged journey across a fractured landscape, while Corto Maltese: The Early Years turns back toward the character's youth. New readers should choose The Ballad of the Salt Sea before moving to In Siberia, where Pratt's historical imagination becomes denser. The Early Years changes the scale: its backward glance highlights the independence and reserve that later define Corto without repeating the grander journeys.