The Ballad of the Salty Sea is Hugo Pratt’s universally recognized masterpiece. The narrative includes and develops many interwoven stories, and is populated with unforgettable characters, such as the young and beautiful Pandora (who is transiting out of childhood into adolescence), the mysterious Monk (whose face is always hidden by the hood of his habit), Rasputin (a sinister and ferocious pirate), Cain (Pandora’s brother), Lieutenant Slütter of the German Navy, the natives Skull and Tarao, and last but not least, Corto Maltese.
The work was inspired by The Blue Lagoon by Henry de Vere Stacpoole, from which Pratt borrowed the idea of a small island in the Pacific, which he named “Escondida.”
The pace of the narrative is very modern. The action begins in the South Seas (Melanesia, Papua Nuova Guinea) in November 1913, when the imminent outbreak of the Great War is felt even while the romantic ideals of the 19th century are still very much alive. Pratt’s artwork is exceptional, from the period costumes, uniforms, and details referencing aboriginal cultures, to the vast open spaces, sparingly traced with a few broken lines.