Si', da qualche parte, nella misteriosa isola di Avalon, re Artu' giace addormentato, vigilato da sua sorella, la fata Morgana: un giorno, si destera' per riunire tutti i Celti sparsi per il mondo e ricostruire il grande regno che aveva sognato, regno di giustizia, di fraternita', di liberta', regno che non esiste, ma che sara'. E Corto Maltese non e' altri che il profeta di Merlino e di Artu'. (prefazione di Jean Markale) ( )

This incredibly beautiful album is the Casterman editor's "2ème série cartonnée - grand format carré en couleurs". Its appearance is enhanced by two pages wide watercolors on thick paper by the great Italo-Argentinian-Ethiopian-Swiss master of the Fumetti, Hugo Pratt. It has three of its Celtic adventures in color. All are about betrayal and death but two of these tales "Songe d'un matin d'Hiver" and "Burlesque entre Zuydcoote et Bray-Dunes" delve into the Arthurian medieval myths of the Broceliande forest and the imprisonment of Merlin by Viviane.

The Characters of this legend overlap within the narrative of Corto Maltese's WWI adventures to become active participants such as when Corto with a tug boat sinks a German U-Boat.

The foreword by Brittany specialist and Author Jean Markale titled the "Celtic dream of Hugo Pratt" is one of the best analysis I ever read of Pratt's creation and heroic myth, Corto Maltese. ( )

Corto Maltese! This is an awesome 1970's Italian pulp adventure comic given to me by Tom as a birthday present. This particular volume covers some WWI adventures in and around England, Ireland and Germany, hence the subtitle "Celtic Tales". All black and white, almost realist style, everyone is a bit elongated, but it works. Corto is a bit of an anti-hero but has a soft side. Sometimes he's jacking hidden gold on the western front, sometimes he's hanging with Senn Fein operatives, sometimes he's steering a tugboat on a suicide run against a German U-Boat. Here is a sample chapter title: "Concerto in O' Minor for Harp and Nitroglycerine". It's not just pulpy though, there are dozens of literary references throughout: D.H. Lawrence, Hemingway, Morte D'Arthur, The Song of Roland, Cervantes. Hugo Pratt knows his stuff but likes to have fun too.
Speaking of Pratt, the bio on this guy is incredible. His mother trained him at a young age in the esoteric secrets of Kabbalah and cartomancy. When he was fourteen years old he was forced to join the colonial police in Abyssinia where his father served as soldier in the Italian Army. After Italy surrendered in WWII, he returned at the age of 21 and served as an interpreter for the allied forces. Then he moved to Argentina to join a comic writers commune. He traveled the world going on adventures and eventually retired to Switzerland where he died on the Lake of Lausanne in 1995. Sounds like a full life.
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the story lines and appreciated a comic where the author expects you to know the cultural high marks of various literary traditions. I plan on picking up the other volumes as they are translated into English by EuroComics IDW. Thanks for hooking me up Tom. ( )