Hugo Pratt's Corto Maltese – A Pop Culture Hound Goes To Malta

Chris Thompson writes for Bleeding Cool;

My love affair with Hugo Pratt's Corto Maltese really took hold on my most recent trip to Italy. Although beloved by the French, Pratt was an Italian who spent his formative years in Venice. There are numerous locations from Corto Maltese spread throughout the city, along with guidebooks to help you follow in the footsteps of the famous sailor.

So you can imagine my joy when I returned to Malta this year to find an exhibition of Corto Maltese featuring reproductions and originals by the late Hugo Pratt. Set within one of the gallery spaces at Saint James Cavalier Centre for Creativity in Valletta, the show is a joint project between Malta Comic Con and the French Embassy.

If you've never seen Corto Maltese before then you're in for a treat. Although many of the books are out-of-print in English, a new edition of Ballad of the Salt Sea was released by Universe Publishing earlier this year.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx5DCfv2Zj0[/youtube]

For those who can't make the show, I've taken a few photos along with a video walkthrough providing a brief glimpse of what you're missing … Hopefully this whets your appetite to discover more about the beauty and majesty of Corto Maltese.