In the first panel of CORTO MALTESE: Under the Sign of Capricorn, we are told that our eponymous hero is “a man of destiny.” Cocked back in his chair, chomping a cigar and sporting a powerful set of sideburns, Corto presents an image of a man worthy of the title. It is clear that he is amongst the manliest of manly-men, and of course suited to face whatever troubles may come his way. And of course many troubles do come along, and quite quickly. Within the first ten pages our hero defeats a hook-handed sailor in a fist fight, witnesses an assassination attempt involving the use of hairpins as throwing knives and casually declares himself “ the last representative of an extinct dynasty that believed in generosity… in heroism!” And, of course, things complicate with the appearance of a disgraced, drunken professor and a young boy who enlists Corto’s aid in discovering the meaning of a mysterious set of symbols.

"The unison of style and story is one of the strongest I have encountered in any comic, and will surely impress both the dedicated and casual reader of graphic novels."

The Corto Maltese series has taken a roundabout route to arrive in America. Creator, author and artist Hugo Pratt began the series in 1970, long before the phrase “graphic novel” became a common term, and even longer still before it became a “respectable” genre for adult stories. Pratt, who passed away in 1995, was born in Italy, but originally published the series in France. While the series enjoyed great success in Europe, it was never read widely in America, nor has an attempt previously been made to translate the entire series into English.This collection, the first of twelve that ultimately compose a saga spanning 30 years, is reminiscent of the pulp-adventure stories that thrived in the early 20th century, and the tale appropriately occurs during the same period. Pratt was clearly well acquainted with the genre, as the illustrations and script work in unison to evoke the tone of the best swashbuckling tales --- rugged and always slightly shadowed, but never deprived of detail. The unison of style and story is one of the strongest I have encountered in any comic, and will surely impress both the dedicated and casual reader of graphic novels.

Unfortunately, the process of translation is always tricky. At times the dialogue reads rather mechanically, and while the plots never falter, this sometimes creates an awkward contrast between the text and the action. However, this never occurs to an extent to deter from the work as a whole. The few quirks in dialogue never distract from the overall unity of the story.

Corto begins his journey in Dutch Guiana (now Suriname), but, as with all adventuring sailors, does not remain in any one place for long. The stories within this collection occur along the northeastern coast of South America, as well as several Caribbean isles, but Corto’s journey promises to be an odyssey of epic proportions. His journey spans continents and decades: future volumes will take him far from the tropics as he finds himself embroiled in the First World War and its aftermath. CORTO MALTESE will certainly attract attention, and promises to deliver a saga worthy of “a man of destiny.”