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Post by fanboystranger on Aug 18, 2014 15:29:58 GMT -5
Thanks for the Hugo Pratt pages! That's more Pratt than I've ever seen before. At first the art reminded me of Joe Kubert, then Alex Toth, and then Pat Boyette. I hope there's more available in English soon! IDW is starting a Corto Maltese library. The first volume has already been solicited. IDW has pretty good follow-through on projects like this, so I'd imagine we're going to get a complete or nearly complete run within the next few years. |
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Post by antoine on Aug 19, 2014 16:31:08 GMT -5
Really interesting to read roquefort, thank you!
Although I would consider myself a "connaisseur" of european comics, I've actually never read any Hugo Pratt. I need to remedy to that!
Quick question, might be a weird one : Since Pratt is Italian, was his work first published in Italian or did he speak French?
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ironchimp
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Post by ironchimp on Aug 19, 2014 17:05:43 GMT -5
I think the first Corto Maltese stories were published in italy but he lived all over the world so was presumably multilingual.
I got as far as somewhere in the Bahia storyline - he's a real humanist - all cultures are depicted with an intense knowledge and non judgemental attitude. Once it got into voodoo i was urghh... not mysticism / magic / supernatural story (as those always turn me off) but the practitioners are all really compelling and fully rounded characters that you feel like it's a living breathing culture you are being shown rather than a plot device or exoticism and the trip into spiritual world is really mind bending.
A true master who was peerless when it came to characterisation and the sheer spirit of adventure.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 19, 2014 17:18:46 GMT -5
Really interesting to read roquefort, thank you! Although I would consider myself a "connaisseur" of european comics, I've actually never read any Hugo Pratt. I need to remedy to that! Quick question, might be a weird one : Since Pratt is Italian, was his work first published in Italian or did he speak French? Ironchimp has it right: the first Corto story was in Italian, but later ones were produced for French magazines like Pif and À suivre. Pratt was perfectly fluent in French (I met him in Quebec city in the late 80s). He also created a lot of his famous secondary series (Fort Wheeling, Sgt. York, Ann of the jungle) while living in Argentina. |
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ironchimp
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Post by ironchimp on Aug 19, 2014 17:24:15 GMT -5
Whats the one about german soldiers? I read one in circus i think where they are invading russia and end up sparing a farm or something like that - really sympathetic portrayal of people just caught up in hell.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 19, 2014 19:35:05 GMT -5
Whats the one about german soldiers? I read one in circus i think where they are invading russia and end up sparing a farm or something like that - really sympathetic portrayal of people just caught up in hell. Could it be Ernie Pyke? It tells several stories of soldiers on different WWII battlefields, and I read that soldiers are depicted just the way you describe (Germans sometimes, Aussies othertimes). Ernie Pyke was drawn by Pratt and written by Argentinian writer Hector Oesterheld. |
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Post by fanboystranger on Aug 19, 2014 20:20:19 GMT -5
Whats the one about german soldiers? I read one in circus i think where they are invading russia and end up sparing a farm or something like that - really sympathetic portrayal of people just caught up in hell. Could it be Ernie Pyke? It tells several stories of soldiers on different WWII battlefields, and I read that soldiers are depicted just the way you describe (Germans sometimes, Aussies othertimes). Ernie Pyke was drawn by Pratt and written by Argentinian writer Hector Oesterheld. Oesterheld is a genius in his own right. Someone really needs to get those comics he did with Alberto Breccia translated and into the N American market. Powerful stuff with gorgeous art. |
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ironchimp
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Post by ironchimp on Aug 19, 2014 20:35:03 GMT -5
yes Ernie Pyke. It was a really effective story in 12 pages or however many. It was interesting to see German soldiers as human beings even though they were on their way to a brutal siege of Stalingrad (i think thats where they were going anyway). An obvious point but one that's very easily forgotten.
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Post by the4thpip on Aug 31, 2014 4:47:03 GMT -5
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Post by Dizzy D on Nov 23, 2014 17:50:20 GMT -5
Been a while (not that I haven't been buying European comics recently).
So the new Largo Winch was interesting. A character from another series of Jean van Hamme (and a series which I haven't read yet even though it's a classic: "Story Without Heroes".) shows up and may become a permanent addition to the cast as Largo offers him the job of head of Winch Air. It's also interesting in that the usual two-parters end part 1 with Winch in big problems. In this case Winch is in problem, but Winch himself so far hasn't noticed that anything is going on (spending most of his time on a minor B-plot).
Other new comics:
A new Carmen McCallum (haven't gotten time to read it yet), new Travis (also no chance to read it yet). Hope to post a bit on those once I get the chance.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Nov 23, 2014 18:20:05 GMT -5
Been a while (not that I haven't been buying European comics recently). So the new Largo Winch was interesting. A character from another series of Jean van Hamme (and a series which I haven't read yet even though it's a classic: "Story Without Heroes".) shows up and may become a permanent addition to the cast as Largo offers him the job of head of Winch Air. It's also interesting in that the usual two-parters end part 1 with Winch in big problems. In this case Winch is in problem, but Winch himself so far hasn't noticed that anything is going on (spending most of his time on a minor B-plot). Did you read the sequel to Story without heroes? I found it a few years ago at the local library. It wasn't as good as the original but held water remarkably well considering how few hanging threads were left by the first story. |
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ironchimp
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Post by ironchimp on Nov 23, 2014 18:27:25 GMT -5
I've just started volume 2 of XIII talking of van Hamme. I read slowly in french though so I'm only a little way in. Really enjoyed first volume even if the amnesiac story line is pretty old trope.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Nov 23, 2014 19:51:42 GMT -5
I've just started volume 2 of XIII talking of van Hamme. I read slowly in french though so I'm only a little way in. Really enjoyed first volume even if the amnesiac story line is pretty old trope. Yes, it's lifted straight from the Bourne identity. But the series is quite good nevertheless! |
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Post by berkley on Nov 24, 2014 1:27:27 GMT -5
Has anyone read or heard of a BD series called Bloodline? I happened to come across a few images when I was searching for some other thing I can't recall at the moment and was curious enough a little further, but haven't been able to find much info after an admittedly very brief and lazy search. Seems to be a thriller series of some kind - no idea if it's espionage or crime or what, though.
The writer is Ange and the original artist Alberto Varanda, though the last book (2002) was drawn by Louis-Xavier Valton. I'm not familiar with any of these creators, BTW. Some of the art looks excellent, some not quite as good - haven't figured out yet if that's a difference between the two artists or not.
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Post by earl on Nov 28, 2014 19:18:10 GMT -5
Is there a reason why Moebius work is largely out of print or rarely printed in English? Is the interest that low? Is this just a difference between European and American comics?
I read some of his stuff back in the 80s in Heavy Metal and in the first couple of Marvel reprints and am kind of surprised how little of it has stayed in any print.
I'd love to be able to get English printings of Arzach, The Long Tomorrow and The Airtight Garage stories. This is especially true after watching that cool BBC4 documentary on Youtube about Moebius (which had a cool soundtrack by Karl Bartos of Kraftwerk).
I'm working through The Incal right now.
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