Corto: “You’re wasting your time… outside of this labyrinth
you won’t find a thing!”

Corto Maltese is a “cult” character of the best of the European graphic novel genre, but also a veritable 20th century literary legend. He’s a traveler, an ironic sailor who combines Mediterranean looks and character traits with Anglo-Saxon culture.

Corto, which in Spanish means “fast”, was created in 1967 by the great Venetian illustrator Hugo Pratt.

Corto is an anti-hero who prefers freedom and imagination to wealth. He’s a modern-day Ulysses who takes us along on his travels to the most fascinating places in the world.

Hugo Pratt and Corto Maltese set course towards Athens for Comicdom2024, guests of the Italian Cultural Institute and Mikros Iros publishing

15 May, 2024|

Coprto Maltese in Athens, the exhibition will be staged during the International Comics Festival, fifth step of the project promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Cong SA, taking Hugo Pratt's art around the world to promote Italian language and culture

‘La BD à tous les étages’: comics arrive at the Centre Pompidou, and Corto Maltese is the literary hero of the Bibliothèque Publique in Paris

3 April, 2024|

From 29 May to 4 November 2024, the exhibition "Corto Maltese, une vie romanesque" arrives at the Center Pompidou in Paris, within the exhibition "La BD à tous les étages", dedicated to the main characters of the last 60 years of the graphic novel

‘Hugo Pratt, the heritage, the work, the biography’: the exhibition arrives at the Italian Cultural Institute in Oslo

16 January, 2024|

The travelling exhibitions promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Cong SA continue, taking Hugo Pratt's art around the world to promote Italian language and culture

“Hugo Pratt, the heritage, the work, the biography”: the itinerant exhibitions promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs begin

22 October, 2023|

Hugo Pratt and Corto Maltese: with the Farnesina to promote Italian culture in the world. "Hugo Pratt, the heritage, the artwork, the biography": this [...]

Corto Maltese Pompidou

EBOOK

Corto Maltese, Une vie romanesque

Hugo Pratt’s drawn literature at the Pompidou: “Corto Maltese, Une vie romanesque” arrives – 29 May to 4 November 2024

From 29 May to 4 November 2024, the Centre Pompidou in Paris celebrates the ninth art with a major exhibition entitled “La BD à tous les étages”, an immersion in the world of comics that spans all the floors of the Beaubourg, one of the pioneering institutions to recognise its central importance as an artistic expression. For the retrospective dedicated to Corto Maltese and his literary references, could there be a better place than the Bibliothéque?

The only character who will have an entire dedicated section will be Corto Maltese himself, hosted in the spaces of the Bibliothèque Publique de Information (level 2, with free entry). In the exhibition ‘Corto Maltese, Une vie romanesque’ set up in the Library, the leitmotif for the visitor will be Corto’s literary references, more than 120 original plates, in addition to reproductions, period magazines and books taken directly from Hugo Pratt’s legendary library.

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HIGHLIGHTS

eBooK: Under the sign of Capricorn

With this first title, Cong Edizioni retrieves Corto Maltese stories in ebook format in English language

EBOOK

Under the sign of Capricorn

This Corto Maltese eBook is now available in English on all major online stores

Corto Maltese: Under the Sign of Capricorn collects the first six inter-connected short stories created by Hugo Pratt after the success of A Ballad of the Salty Sea: “The Secret of Tristan Bantam” “Rendez-vous in Bahia” “Sureshot Samba” “The Brazilian Eagle” “So Much for Gentlemen of Fortune” and “The Seagull’s Fault

A boy in search of a submerged continent, a drunken professor; a voodoo priestess and her young apprentice; a rebel who forces Corto Maltese to choose sides, and an injury that will cause him to  look at reality in a new way.

While Corto is doing all he can to escape from the world, destiny keeps putting in his path people willing to do anything in pursuit of something: a lost land, a ship with a cargo of gold, the promise of freedom… A journey to discover South America, its mysteries and its intoxicating beauty.

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eBook Under the sign of Capricorn

eBook: Wheeling

The complete series of Wheeling by Hugo Pratt has been published in English for the first time:
a series of 3 books released exclusively in eBook format.

WHEELING

Complete

This is Hugo Pratt’s first great masterpiece, both for its graphic design and for the subject matter; that is, the 18th century War of Independence in North America involving the settlers and  French and English interests in the northeastern part of the country.

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WHEELING

Vol. 1

1774. Criss Kenton, a 17 year old who fled from Virginia following the massacre of his family by the Indians, and Patrick Fitzgerald, an English aristocrat who has immigrated to America, get to know each other while participating in a series of organized raids on Indian tribes.

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WHEELING

Vol. 2

In the second volume we find Criss and Mohena, the two heroes of the first story, making their way back to Wheeling. But the bloody War of Independence is still raging, and Criss will soon have to depart once more on a mission, leaving the girl Mohena alone again.

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eBook: The Scorpions of the Desert

The complete series of The Scorpions of the Desert by Hugo Pratt has been published in English for the first time.
A series of 5 books released exclusively in eBook format.

Corto Maltese

THE SCORPIONS OF THE DESERT

The Hugo Pratt series is being published for the first time in English by CongeEditions, the new publishing house of CONG SA – Hugo Pratt Art Properties, the firm that manages all of Hugo Pratt’s work. The 5 titles in the series have been published in English in eBook format.

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Autumn 1940, the border between Libya and Egypt. The protagonists are a group of men who are part of the British Army: the Long Range Desert Group.

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January 1941, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. The war, the desert, and the regular English and Italian armies set the scene for this story of three solitary men.

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Lieutenant Koïnsky, on board an airplane, must reach the British military summits for an important meeting with the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie.

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Captain Koïnsky continues on his mission to Djibouti and Harar. This time the trip starts out in a jeep with the French lieutenant De La Motte.

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An adventure in the yellow sands of North Africa, following the coast of the blue sea toward Djibouti and Dire Dawa, Captain Koïnsky’s final destination.

AVAILABLE ON APPSTORE

Events

From all over the world, the latest events relating to Corto.

Hugo Pratt and Corto Maltese set course towards Athens for Comicdom2024, guests of the Italian Cultural Institute and Mikros Iros publishing

Coprto Maltese in Athens, the exhibition will be staged during the International Comics Festival, fifth step of the project promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Cong SA, taking Hugo Pratt's art around the world to promote Italian language and culture

‘La BD à tous les étages’: comics arrive at the Centre Pompidou, and Corto Maltese is the literary hero of the Bibliothèque Publique in Paris

From 29 May to 4 November 2024, the exhibition "Corto Maltese, une vie romanesque" arrives at the Center Pompidou in Paris, within the exhibition "La BD à tous les étages", dedicated to the main characters of the last 60 years of the graphic novel

‘Hugo Pratt, the heritage, the work, the biography’: the exhibition arrives at the Italian Cultural Institute in Oslo

The travelling exhibitions promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Cong SA continue, taking Hugo Pratt's art around the world to promote Italian language and culture

Reviews from all over the world

People everywhere love Corto Maltese and Hugo Pratt. We have selected a number of articles dedicated to them, just for you.

Centre Pompidou in Paris celebrates “The Ninth Art” this summer

Downthetubes 
29/02/2024

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Comics exhibition in Paris: From May 29 to November 4, 2024, discover “La BD à tous les étages” at the Centre Pompidou.

Sortir a Paris 
03/01/2024

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Hugo Pratt’s imagery on display in Recanati, with more than 60 original plates and reproductions

Finestra sull’arte 
31/07/2023

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Exposition temporaire, Hugo Pratt, les chemins du rêve 

Areaw Magazine
28/05/2019

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