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{{Short description|Comics series}}
{{italics}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox comics meta series
|image               = Corto Maltese-comics series.png
|caption             = Corto Maltese
|genre= [[Action-adventure comics|Adventure]]
|publisher=Ivaldi Editore<br>[[Casterman]]
|artists=[[Hugo Pratt]] <br> Rubén Pellejero
|writers=Hugo Pratt <br> [[Juan Díaz Canales]]
}}

'''''Corto Maltese''''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɔr|t|oʊ|_|m|ɔː|l|ˈ|t|iː|z}} {{respell|KOR|toh|_|mawl|TEEZ}}; {{IPA|it|ˈkorto malˈteːse, -eːze|lang}}) is a series of [[Action-adventure comics|adventure comics]] following the eponymous protagonist, an adventurous sailor. It was created by the Italian comic book creator [[Hugo Pratt]] in 1967. The comics are highly praised as some of the most artistic and literary [[graphic novel]]s ever written and have been translated into numerous languages and adapted into several animated films.

The series features Corto Maltese, an enigmatic sea captain who lives in the first three decades of the 20th century. Born in [[Valletta]] on the island of [[Crown Colony of Malta|Malta]] on 10 July 1887, the son of a sailor from [[Cornwall]], and a gypsy from [[Seville]].

In his adventures full of real-world references, ''Corto'' has often crossed with real historical characters like the American author [[Jack London]] and his nurse [[Virginia Prentiss]], the American outlaw [[Butch Cassidy]], the German [[World War I]] flying ace [[Manfred von Richthofen|Red Baron]], and many others.

==Publication history<!--'Corto Maltese (magazine)' redirects here-->==
The character debuted in the serial ''[[The Ballad of the Salty Sea|Ballad of the Salty Sea]]'', one of several Pratt stories published in the first edition of the Ivaldi Editore [[Comics anthology|comics magazine]] ''[[Sergeant Kirk (magazine)|Sergeant Kirk]]'' in July 1967.<ref name="lambiek">{{Cite web|last=Lambiek Comiclopedia|title=Hugo Pratt|url=http://lambiek.net/artists/p/pratt_h.htm}}</ref> The story centers around smugglers and pirates in the World War I–era [[Pacific Islands]]. In 1970, Pratt moved to France and began a series of short ''Corto Maltese'' stories for the French comics magazine ''[[Pif Gadget]]'', an arrangement lasting four years and producing many 20-page stories. In 1974 he returned to full-length stories, sending Corto to 1918 [[Siberia]] in the story ''Corto Maltese in Siberia'', first serialised in the Italian comics magazine ''[[Linus (magazine)|Linus]]''.

In 1976, ''[[The Ballad of the Salty Sea|Ballad of the Salty Sea]]'' was published in book format and was awarded the [[Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize for Best Comic Book|prize for best foreign realistic comic album]] at the [[Angoulême International Comics Festival]].<ref name="toutenBD-awards76">{{cite web | url =http://www.toutenbd.com/article.php3?id_article=848 | title =Le Palmarès 1976 | last =ToutEnBD | language =French | url-status =dead | archiveurl =https://web.archive.org/web/20070313075212/http://www.toutenbd.com/article.php3?id_article=848 | archivedate =2007-03-13 }}</ref>

Pratt continued to produce new stories over the next two decades, many first appearing in the eponymous comics magazine '''''Corto Maltese'''''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--> (published between October 1983 and July 1993), until 1988 when the final story ''Mu, the Lost Continent'' was serialised, ending in June 1989.

On October 7, 2014, Italian publisher Cong, who owns the rights to Corto Maltese, announced that a new album was being made by writer [[Juan Díaz Canales]] and artist Rubén Pellejero.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cortomaltese.com/blog/2014/10/07/still-alive-and-coming-back/ |title=Still alive… and coming back &#124; Corto Maltese &#124; English |website=cortomaltese.com |access-date=22 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709035355/http://cortomaltese.com/blog/2014/10/07/still-alive-and-coming-back/ |archive-date=9 July 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> "Under the Midnight Sun" was released in Europe on September 30, 2015  and takes place in 1915. In September 2017, a second album, "Equatoria" set in 1911 was published. In November 2019, a third album, "Tarowean’s Day" set in 1912–1913 was published. The fourth album by Canales and Pellejero was published in September 2022, entitled "Berlin Nocturne". It takes place in Berlin and Prague in 1924.  A fifth album by Canales and Pellejero set in Mexico in 1929, "Life Line" was published in October 2024.

==Character==
Corto Maltese is a laconic sea captain adventuring during the early 20th century (1900–1920s). A "rogue with a heart of gold", he is tolerant and sympathetic to the underdog. Born in [[Valletta]] on July 10, 1887, he is the son of a British sailor from [[Cornwall]] and an [[Andalusia]]n–[[Romani people|Romani]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iua.upf.edu/formats/formats2/pin_a.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160922234602/http://www.iua.upf.edu/formats/formats2/pin_a.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2016-09-22|title="The ballad of Corto Maltese" by Ivan Pintor}}</ref> witch and prostitute known as "''La Niña de Gibraltar''" ("The Girl of [[Gibraltar]]"). As a boy growing up in the Jewish quarter of [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]], Maltese discovered that he had no [[Chiromancy|fate line]] on his palm and therefore carved his own with his father's razor, determining that his fate was his to choose. Although maintaining a neutral position, Corto instinctively supports the disadvantaged and oppressed.

The character embodies the author's skepticism of national, ideological and religious assertions. Corto befriends people from all walks of life, including the murderous Russian Rasputin (no relation with [[Grigori Rasputin|the historical figure]], apart from physical resemblance and some character traits), British heir Tristan Bantam, [[Candomblé Jejé|voodoo]] priestess Gold Mouth and [[Czechs|Czech]] academic Jeremiah Steiner. He also knows and meets various real-life historical figures, including [[Jack London]], [[Ernest Hemingway]], [[Hermann Hesse]], [[Butch Cassidy]], [[James Joyce]], [[Gabriele D'Annunzio]], [[Frederick Rolfe]], [[Joseph Conrad]], [[Damdin Sükhbaatar|Sükhbaatar]], [[John Reed (journalist)|John Reed]], [[white movement|White Russian]] general [[Roman von Ungern-Sternberg]], [[Enver Pasha]] of Turkey and Sergei Semenov, modelled after [[Grigory Mikhaylovich Semyonov|Grigory Semyonov]]. His acquaintances treat him with great respect, as when a telephone call to [[Joseph Stalin]] frees him from arrest when he is threatened with execution on the border of Turkey and [[Armenia]].

Corto's favourite book is ''[[Utopia (More book)|Utopia]]'' by [[Thomas More]], but he never finishes it. He also read books by [[Jack London|London]], [[Leopoldo Lugones|Lugones]], [[Robert Louis Stevenson|Stevenson]], [[Herman Melville|Melville]] and [[Joseph Conrad|Conrad]], and quotes [[Rimbaud]].

''Corto Maltese'' stories range from straight historical adventure to [[occult]] dream sequences. He is present when the [[Manfred von Richthofen|Red Baron]] is shot down, helps the [[Jivaroan peoples|Jívaro]] in South America, and flees Fascists in Venice, but also unwittingly helps [[Merlin (wizard)|Merlin]] and [[Oberon (Fairy King)|Oberon]] to defend Britain and helps Tristan Bantam to visit the [[lost continent]] of [[Mu (lost continent)|Mu]].

Chronologically, the first adventure, ''Corto Maltese: The Early Years'', happens during the [[Russo-Japanese War]]. In other albums he experiences the [[World War I|Great War]] in several locations, participates in the [[Russian Civil War]] after the [[October Revolution]], and appears during the early stages of [[Fascist]] Italy. In a separate series by Pratt, ''The Desert Scorpions'', Corto is said to be missing in action in Spain during the [[Spanish Civil War]].

==Chronology==
[[Image:Pratt-corto1.jpg|thumb|230 px|The first ''Corto Maltese'' adventure, ''Una ballata del mare salato'', Italian publication cover]]
This is a list of the twelve original ''Corto Maltese'' novels in chronological order. French editions were published by [[Casterman]], Italian by [[Edizioni Lizard]], English editions by [[IDW Publishing|IDW]]'s [[The Library of American Comics#Imprints|EuroComics]] imprint.

*1905 ''Corto Maltese: The Early Years'' (black and white 1981)
*1913–1915 ''[[The Ballad of the Salty Sea]]'' (black and white 1967–1969)
*1916–1917 ''Under the Sign of Capricorn'' (black and white 1971) 
*1917 ''Beyond the Windy Isles'' (black and white 1970–1971) 
*1917–1918 ''[[Celtic Tales (Corto Maltese)|Celtic Tales]]'' (black and white 1971–1972).  
*1918 ''The Ethiopian'' (black and white 1972–1973).  
*1918–1920 ''Corto Maltese in Siberia'' (black and white 1974–1975).
*1921 ''Fable of Venice'' (black and white 1977). 
*1921–1922 ''[[The Golden House of Samarkand]]'' (black and white 1980). 
*1923 ''Tango'' (black and white 1985). 
*1924 ''The Secret Rose'' (black and white 1987). 
*1925 ''Mu, the Lost Continent'' (black and white 1988–1989).

In 2015 the series was continued by [[Ruben Pellejero]] and [[Juan Díaz Canales]], with the following albums published thus far:
*1911 ''Equatoria'' (2017, black and white/color). 
*1912–1913 ''Tarowean’s Day'' (2019, black and white/color). 
*1915 ''Under the Midnight Sun'' (2015, black and white/color).
*1924 ''Berlin Nocturne'' (2022, black and white/color).
*1929 ''Lifeline'' (2024, black and white/color).


In 2021 a reboot series was launched by [[Martin Quenehen]] and [[Bastien Vivès]] reimagining the character for the 21st century.
*2001 ''The Black Ocean'' (2021, black and white/color).
*2002 ''The Queen of Babylon'' (2023, black and white/color).
*2022 ''The Island of Yesterday'' (2025, black and white/color)

==Merchandising==
*A Corto Maltese [[tarot]] deck was published by tarot publisher lo Scarabeo in 2008.<ref name="cortotarot">{{cite web | url =http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/corto-maltese/ | title =Aeclectic Tarot's entry for the Corto Maltese Tarot}}</ref>

==Adaptations==
*In 1975–1977, Secondo Bignardi produced semi-animated ''Corto Maltese'' stories for the [[RAI]] television programme ''Supergulp, fumetti in TV!''.<ref name="FF-corto-cp">{{cite web | url =http://www.lfb.it/fff/fumetto/pers/c/cortomaltese.htm | title =Corto Maltese | last = Fondazione Franco Fossati | language = Italian }}</ref>
*A French-language [[animation|animated film]], ''Corto Maltese, la cour secrète des arcanes'' adapting ''Corto Maltese in Siberia'', was released in 2002. Also in 2002, [[Canal+ (French TV channel)|Canal +]] produced a series of ''Corto Maltese'' adventures for television, adapting the stories ''The Ballad of the Salty Sea'', ''Under the Sign of Capricorn'', ''Celtic Tales'' and ''The Golden House of Samarkand''. Canadian animator and cartoonist [[Guy Delisle]] documented his observations of colleagues working on one of these French-language adaptations at [[SEK Studio]] in [[North Korea]] in ''[[Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea|Pyongyang]]''.
*On 20 September 2018, a new opera, ''Corto Maltese: The Ballad of the Salty Sea'', based on the stories of Hugo Pratt, premiered at the [[Teatru Manoel]] in Valletta (Malta) by the Teatru Manoel Youth Opera, as part of Valletta 2018 European Capital of Culture. The production, which was commissioned and co-produced by the Valletta 2018 Foundation and Teatru Manoel, was an adaptation of ''The Ballad of the Salty Sea''. The opera was composed by Monique Krüs with a libretto by director Corina Van Eijk, based on an original script by Tama Matheson. Stage and set designs were by Jolanda Lanslots.
*[[Christophe Gans]] was developing a new live-action film, for release in 2020. It was an adaptation of ''Corto Maltese in Siberia''. It starred [[Tom Hughes (actor)|Tom Hughes]] as Corto and [[Milla Jovovich]], and was to be produced by [[Samuel Hadida]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2018/film/news/tom-hughes-milla-jovovich-corto-maltese-1203016762/|title=Tom Hughes, Milla Jovovich Starring in Swashbuckler 'Corto Maltese'|first1=Dave|last1=McNary|date=November 1, 2018}}</ref> However, it was cancelled due to legal problems.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allocine.fr/article/fichearticle_gen_carticle=18682353.html|title=Corto Maltese : pourquoi l'adaptation de Christophe Gans est-elle annulée ?|website=AlloCiné|date=25 June 2019 }}</ref>
*In November 2022, it was announced that [[Frank Miller]] is going to adapt the graphic novel into a six episodes hourlong TV series with [[StudioCanal]] for [[Canal+ (French TV channel)|Canal+]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2022/11/frank-miller-corto-maltese-series-hugo-pratt-seafaring-graphic-novels-1235182438/|title=Studiocanal, Frank Miller Steer Series Voyage Of Hugo Pratt Seafaring Graphic Novels 'Corto Maltese'|first1=Mike Jr.|last1=Fleming|date=November 28, 2022|access-date=November 29, 2022}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Cornwall}}
*[[Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century|''Le Monde''{{'s}} 100 Books of the Century]] for ''Ballad of the Salt Sea''

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{Refbegin}}
* [http://www.lfb.it/fff/fumetto/pers/c/corto_01.htm ''Corto Maltese'' publication chronology] FFF {{in lang|it}}
* [http://bdoubliees.com/vaillantpif/series1/cortomaltese.htm ''Corto Maltese'' publications in ''Pif gadget''] BDoubliées {{in lang|fr}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
*[https://cortomaltese.com Corto Maltese official site]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050412000328/http://www.iua.upf.es/formats/formats2/pin_a.htm A different approach to the character]

{{Hugo Pratt}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maltese, Corto}}
[[Category:Corto Maltese| ]]
[[Category:Fictional characters from the 19th century]]
[[Category:Italian comic strips|Corto Maltese]]
[[Category:1967 comics debuts]]
[[Category:1989 comics endings]]
[[Category:Italian children's animated television series|Corto Maltese]]
[[Category:Comics set during World War I|Corto Maltese]]
[[Category:Adventure comics|Corto Maltese]]
[[Category:Nautical comics|Corto Maltese]]
[[Category:Drama comics|Corto Maltese]]
[[Category:Comics set in the 1900s]]
[[Category:Comics set in the 1910s]]
[[Category:Comics set in the 1920s]]
[[Category:Fictional sailors]]
[[Category:Fictional sea captains]]
[[Category:Fictional explorers]]
[[Category:Fictional Maltese people]]
[[Category:Fictional treasure hunters]]
[[Category:Fictional World War I veterans]]
[[Category:Italian comics characters]]
[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 1967]]
[[Category:Comics by Hugo Pratt|Corto Maltese]]
[[Category:Comics adapted into animated series|Corto Maltese]]
[[Category:Comics adapted into television series|Corto Maltese]]
[[Category:Comics adapted into animated films|Corto Maltese]]
[[Category:Italian comics adapted into films|Corto Maltese]]
[[Category:Romani comics characters]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Ernest Hemingway]]