Hugo Pratt's magical creations

Admiring the work of a great pioneer of literary graphic novels

Hugo Pratt photographed by Erling Mandelmann (source: Wikimedia Commons)

It has been said that nothing is really original and that creativity is built on the work of others. With curiosity to explore this theme, I’ve been appreciating the creative work exemplified by Hugo Pratt’s illustrative storytelling.

Pratt (1927-1995) was an Italian artist of international fame, known especially for his series of comic books featuring a world-travelling sailor known as “Corto Maltese.” Pratt was especially good at weaving together historical events with his own imaginative characters and tales.

Born in the Adriatic coastal town of Rimini, Pratt grew up in Venice. During the 1930s, the family moved to Abyssinia, in Africa. His father was in the Italian military and was sent to the area (modern day Ethiopia and Eritrea) to further the colonial ambitions of Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. Pratt’s father was captured by the British in 1941 and died after falling ill as a prisoner. Hugo and his mother were also interned in a prison camp in the same period. Still just a teenager, Pratt in captivity was able to find comic books to read. Graphic arts and the war would shape the rest of his life. After he was transported back to Venice by the Red Cross, the young Pratt joined a military academy and practiced illustrating and writing.

Through personal experience, Pratt acquired knowledge about many of the world’s cultures, religions and social mores. He saw first-hand the positive and negative aspects of the human condition. In addition to Italy and Africa, he lived in Argentina, France and Switzerland, earning global popularity especially through versions of his stories published in Spanish and French.

The book I’ve been reading this week is Celtic Tales, which features a collection of six of Pratt’s stories translated in English by Dean Mullaney and Simone Castaldi.

I’d like to focus on one of these tales to share with you a little of why Pratt’s work is so interesting to me.

The Celtic Tales collection was published by EuroComics in the United States in 2016

I enjoyed his fantasy called A Mid-Winter Morning’s Dream, inspired by William Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. As the title implies, the story borrows from the Bard. The plot, however, is pure Pratt.

Close-up of a panel from the story

Set during the First World War (1914-1918), the illustrator introduces characters from the Elizabethan era and from Arthurian legend in a kind of dreamlike fantasy that entwines a kind of ethereal dimension with the harder realities of human life (war and betrayal).

In the story, Pratt conjures up reimagined versions of Oberon, the legendary king of the fairies; Puck, the mischievous sprite; Morgana, the enchantress; and Merlin, the venerable magician from the medieval tales of King Arthur. The group is summoned by Oberon to Stonehenge while Pratt’s protagonist, Corto Maltese, lies nearby, sleeping off a night of drinking at “The George” in the town of Amesbury.

Oberon has called the meeting because he’s concerned about a possible German invasion on English shores, not because of any human geopolitical reason, but because “...they will bring their trolls, their dwarves, and the Nibelungen, dragons, fairies from the continent and the black forest…We are in danger…All the elves and fairies of England will have to defend themselves.”

The story seems light and otherworldly, but that is just a dewy mist that is part of the storytelling. Things get more serious.

Aware of a plot by German spies to attack the Allied General Staff, who are meeting aboard a gunship off the English coast, Oberon decides it is necessary to act. The figures of Celtic legend use their magic to engage Corto Maltese to intercept an approaching German submarine and foil the plot.

Corto and his mysterious helpers succeed, of course. In the end, Corto is left unaware that he was used by Oberon. As a new day dawns, the fog over Stonehenge lifts and Corto awakens from a spell-induced second sleep. Only the crow (Puck in disguise) remains to tease him and make him wonder.

Hugo Pratt illustrated his stories with a combination of cinematic drawings that with a few strokes encapsulated both the broad sweep of exotic locations and the interior lives of his characters. Deep shadows were prominent in all of his artwork.

In other stories about Corto’s voyages, Pratt famously introduced a fictionalized version of Rasputin, the Russian mystic from the court of Tsar Nicholas II, as well as Ernest Hemingway, the German flying ace known as the Red Baron, and other historical figures.

Pratt was a graphic novelist for both adult and adolescent readers. He explored the fuzzy lines between history and imagination; between right and wrong. His was often a dreamworld filled at the same time with detachment and longing, violence and repentance.

While his themes were often dark and set against the backdrop of historical conflict, his respect for cultures and deep suspicions of nationalism in all its forms were embodied in his characters; I believe they are important clues to understanding his worldwide appeal.

Of particular interest to me is the way he portrayed women. His female characters possessed both beauty and psychological strength, as free-willed and adventurous as Corto himself.

The interplay between Corto and women is usually one of mutual respect, accompanied by light sexual tension that always leaves the reader wanting more.

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If you’d like learn more about Hugo Pratt and his characters, see these articles:

https://www.cong-pratt.com/en/biografia/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/219215.Hugo_Pratt

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corto_Maltese

This week’s sketch

On a sunny evening, I rode my motorcycle to Ambleside Beach in West Vancouver, on the north side of the Lions Gate bridge. The air was breezy, cool and salty. Many people were strolling on the beach or just lounging, enjoying the evening. Ambleside has a beautiful view of Burrard Inlet, English Bay and the ships passing under the bridge.

I took a few moments to sketch two young people who were having a conversation on a bench:

A scene from my walk

The area feels European, with a path along the seawall that goes through parks and near some ocean-view apartments and condos. Restaurants and shops are nearby.

I bought a slice of pizza and a Coke and sat, watching the sun going down, twilight coming on and feeling the breeze fade to a barely perceptible caress.

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Thanks for reading this week’s post.

Until next time,

-Renato Zane.