PRATT (Hugo). Corto Maltese. The Ethiopics. - Lot 248

PRATT (Hugo). Corto Maltese. The Ethiopics. First edition album of Corto Maltese "Les Ethiopiques" (1980) (Good condition, sunstains) Published in 1979 by Casterman in the Eldorado collection, Les Ethiopiques is a major album in Hugo Pratt's work, and one of the most emblematic titles in the Corto Maltese cycle. This is the first original edition, printed in Italy by Bompiani in Milan, with color design by Ann Frogner. This album brings together several stories set in East Africa, in a dense historical context marked by colonial conflicts, power struggles and individual destinies, themes dear to Hugo Pratt. The character of Corto Maltese evolves in an atmosphere that is at once political, poetic and melancholy, carried by the author's refined, instantly recognizable drawings. The copy presented is complete and conforms to the original 1979 edition. It has an even patina of use, with the boards and corners showing slight signs of age, but no major alterations. The spine is well preserved and the interior is clean, with no tears or chips. The overall condition is good to very good, which is quite appreciable for a first edition from this period. Highly sought-after by comics collectors and Hugo Pratt fans alike, the first edition of Les Éthiopiques is an important addition to a Corto Maltese collection, or to a set devoted to the great classics of European comics.