The ballad of the salt sea (Corto Maltese) by Hugo Pratt
- Sam
- Jul 20, 2020
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 23, 2021
The ballad of the salt sea was my first Corto Maltese and Hugo Pratt. This graphic novels, set around the beginning of the twentieth century, follow the adventures and misfortunes of Corto Maltese, a sailor, pirate and romantic hero. The ballad of the salt sea, specifically, revolved around the pacific front of WWI, with the confrontation between allied and German forces driving the overarching conflict.
The characters were incredibly good, with an amount of depth that was surprising for its relatively short length. Not only were they morally complex, but behaved differently towards each of the other characters and the relationships between them weren’t shallow or cliché. This was best exemplified in the character of Corto, who behaves differently towards Cranio than towards Cain and whose relationships with each of the other characters (especially Ras and Slütter) was very well developed.
What surprised me the most was the absence of graphic sex and violence, which is common in adult euro comics but didn’t play a part in this particular story. While there was killing and explosions, they were never portrayed in a gorish way. As for sex scenes, there was no nudity whatsoever, which was a pleasant surprise (I’m just tired of adult comics always having explicit sex scenes).
For this story it’s important to remember the era when it happens. The racial issues regarding the colonization of the Pacific islands (like New Zealand) and the state of servitude of the people from them resembles that of its era. That said, Corto’s attitude towards these people is not racist at all, with him befriending and treating them as equals. Similarly, women (well, Pandora, because she’s the only one) is treated without chauvinism or sexism of any kind by most characters. Morover, the vast majority of the characters are very modern in the way they view sex and race and never take advantage of their positions of power (as they are mostly white men).
Another aspect I really appreciated was the romantic undertone of the story, resembling the great sea-fearing adventure classics of the nineteenth century (like “Twenty thousand leagues under the sea” or “Moby Dick”). Probably because I hadn’t read an adventure story in a very long time, it felt really fresh and totally unlike my most recent fantasy and science fiction reads.
Hugo Pratt’s art takes some getting used to, as it’s very sketchy and somewhat inconsistent. That said, it lends perfectly to that romantic adventure tone I was referring to earlier and portrays violence and action in a different way to the more straightforward mainstream American comics. I particularly liked how he drew the people, especially Corto, Pandora and Slütter. I read it in color and was a bit skeptical about it, but the colors weren’t intrusive and helped ground the action and scenery.
Overall, I would definitely recommend Corto Maltese: The Ballad of the salt sea as a must-read and a great entry point into both Corto Maltese and Hugo Pratt (being the first Corto adventure chronologically).
Spoiler Commentary:
One of my favorite aspects of this story was the complex relationship between Corto and Ras and the depth and development that both characters had. This was especially significant with regards to Ras, who, in most stories, would have been shallow, treacherous, backstabbing and stupid but here he had a lot of character behind him as well as more gray relationship with both Corto and the world itself. Similarly, Slütter wasn’t the average evil lackey but a person with groth, depth and who questioned the morality of his actions, giving way to some interesting dialogue between him and Corto.
Another thing I really liked was how Pandora wasn’t portrayed as a damsel in distress or as the sex prize to some of the male characters but instead showed agency well beyond what I was expecting for a story this old. I particularly enjoyed the fact that she didn’t fall for Corto in any way but instead developed feelings for Slütter, which better fitted the narrative.
I personally found Cain a bit annoying, constantly trying to escape and putting people in danger but it was realistic for his character given the situation. He represented the cocky teenage boy attitude quite well but also went through some major character growth that made him almost likeable by the end.
Tarao and Cranio were both great characters, giving insight into their culture and the perspective of the colonized indigenous that knew a lot more than the European and American characters expected of them. This was great way of showing the racist mentality of the world while still avoiding sounding preachy and having great character moments all in one. I would have liked for Cranio to not be killed but I understand why the author did it (to give a sense of realism and fear).
As for the story itself, it was interesting but definitely not what I was reading for. The Monk twist at the end was nice, mainly because I hope it causes Pandora to appear in future comics, but it was clearly not the focus of the story (which is fine by me as I prefer character-driven narratives).
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