Brazilian Eagle (Corto Maltese) [Paperback]

Hugo Pratt (Author), Terry Nantier (Translator)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Nantier Beall Minoustchine Publishing (April 1986)
• ISBN-10: 091834817X
• ISBN-13: 978-0918348173
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,603,291 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hemingway-esque Black & White Comic-book Adventures, October 19, 2005

By 

rampageous_cuss (Under Billy Penn's Hat) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Brazilian Eagle (Corto Maltese) (Paperback)

This "graphic novel" is the NBM translation of "Sous le signe du Capricorne," which collects the first 4 short Corto episodes originally published in "Pif Gadget" in 1970 (the Corto oeuvre properly begins with "The Ballad of the Salt Sea," 1967).

The first episode, "The Secret of Tristram Bantam" begins with sea captain Corto Maltese helping Jeremiah Steiner, a bullied alcoholic, in Dutch Guyana circa 1916. Corto must also rescue a new arrival, young Tristan Bantam, who has inherited a mysterious map. Corto, Steiner, and Tristan then sail to a "Bahia Rendezvous" in search of Tristan's half-sister, Morgana, who turns out to be a pupil of the voodoo priestess Gold Mouth. In the next episode, Gold Mouth sends the trio on a mission to help revolutionaries fighting slave labour in the Brazilian interior. In the final adventure, "the Brazilian Eagle", Corto reunites with the psychopathic pirate Rasputin on a treasure hunt.

Corto Maltese, a worldy-wise rogue of the 1910s and `20s, has a macho code of honour and a sympathy for the world's underdogs. Supporting characters are well-developed and villians are often motivated by tragic compulsions. The triumph of 'good' in the end comes through tragedy, and the stories convey a sense of place and mystery.

Hugo Pratt was an expressionist in pen and ink. His work is defined by character and ideas, with complex and often tragic characters and intelligent and elegaic stories, which are supported by his thoughtful sense of pacing.

Pratt authored or co-authored many comix besides Corto and it's well worth reading "Indian Summer" and "El Gaucho," historical adventures written by Pratt but with art by Milo Manara.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't call it a comic book!, June 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Brazilian Eagle (Corto Maltese) (Paperback)

Complex characters, lush atmosphere and subtle plots give the Corto Maltese books far more heft than other "graphic novels." Set during World War I, they tell the adventures of a freebooter and adventurer. Want to know what the Amazon is really like?