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Corto Maltese: Under The Sign of Capricorn – spoiler light (3 preview pages incl

Started by Bat King, 23 December, 2014, 09:26:24 AM

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Timothy

I'm in the can't be pleased camp here. A little way up the thread I complained that we didn't get the full colour reproduction of the watercolour opening page of The Fable of Venice. Well we get the colour here and it's beautifully reproduced, but it feels like padding on a very short story. It's a good story - Rasputin in particular is wonderful - but it doesn't seem good value for money on a premium book such as this.

Apestrife

Quote from: Timothy on 24 August, 2019, 08:30:28 PM
I'm in the can't be pleased camp here. A little way up the thread I complained that we didn't get the full colour reproduction of the watercolour opening page of The Fable of Venice. Well we get the colour here and it's beautifully reproduced, but it feels like padding on a very short story. It's a good story - Rasputin in particular is wonderful - but it doesn't seem good value for money on a premium book such as this.

Said watercolour page is in House of Samarkand, but I feel you. At the time I felt both Venice and Tango should'v had a lower price than the rest of them, and I think the same holds true for Early years... But I've gotten used to it, especially now with only two books to go.

Any ideas why the watercolour page was used instead of a b&w one?

I also wonder if the six larger hardbacks are still on the cards.

Colin YNWA

Well Early Years is possibly my favourite so far. Okay its short but he back matter, the colour bonus pages make it feel special. Though gosh that forward needs to be an Afterward. I shopped reading it when I realised it was going to tell me the whole bloody plot.

Then you get to the story and you realise it is special. Just brilliant. Superb. As Timothy says Rasputin is plain brilliant. But for me the parallels between Jack London and older Corto are just fantastic and he's the star of the show. Its an mini masterpiece.

The only downer is we don't get the longer story this set up. The few pages we get hint at how great this could have been. Still we must be grateful for what we have. Just a lovely package.

Hawkmumbler

We only have two volumes left right? Ballad of the Salt Sea and Mu?! Damn, i'm absolutely getting caught up by Christmas! Fable of Venice appears to be a bit tough to find but will be worth hunting down...

Apestrife

Quote from: Hawkmumbler on 11 September, 2019, 10:53:35 AM
We only have two volumes left right? Ballad of the Salt Sea and Mu?! Damn, i'm absolutely getting caught up by Christmas! Fable of Venice appears to be a bit tough to find but will be worth hunting down...

I cannot wait to read Ballad of the Salt Sea. Heard so much good about it. "Only" 5 months away now  :D


Colin YNWA

Wow they really did. They really bloody did it! Well done them and lucky us.

Timothy

Ballad of the Salty Sea is out there now. I have only read the first few pages so far, but it's looking like the set-up to another beauty.

Apestrife

#113
Quote from: Timothy on 05 March, 2020, 10:50:22 AM
Ballad of the Salty Sea is out there now. I have only read the first few pages so far, but it's looking like the set-up to another beauty.

I finished *reading Ballad of the salty sea this weekend. Loved it. One thing that stood out for me was the art. The way it went between fine lined and richly detailed and free and flowing almost sketchy. More so than the other Corto books from what I remember. Also the inks looked like they a touch of water colour to them at times. Often giving the blacks on the page more than just one shade of black. Really liked the story as well. Probably my favorite thus far.

Anyone else who finished reading it?

*Finished and finished, I'm picking it up all the time to rest my eyes on the art (Corto on the veranda, watching the ocean at sundown being a favorite) and doing rereads of scenes  :)

Btw. Surely Corto could'v told told Pandora [spoiler]something less confusing in good-bye (after she asked if he'd met a girl who resembled her) than "It's because you don't resemble any other girl that I've have wanted to meet your anytime... Anywhere..."[/spoiler]?

Colin YNWA

I've not got the new edition but I've read the editon that came out a few years ago. Its a brilliant story and its longer length really lets things both breathe and move in all sorts of directions. In my head its still the best but I'm really looking forward to reading it in the context of having now read the rest.

I, Cosh

Well, I've just got round to reading the new edition of Ballad of the Salty Sea and it's fantastic. I was a bit worried about this. The previous Universe edition was my introduction to the character and while there are problems with that, I've always felt the language seemed to flow better in that than in some of the IDW volumes. Maybe my main problem is simply that Salt Sea works so much better as a title than Salty.

My fears were unfounded. Maybe it helps coming back to this now after knowing what follows but this was a really meaty book and I really enjoyed coming back to our first meeting with Corto and Rasputin. There's a lot going on and a lot of character revealed with a few words or a look. One of the things that occasionally bugs me about the series is the unwieldy expository speeches, usually about history or writers that Pratt likes. There's almost none of that here. Even the historical background is handled a bit more subtly than in later books.

If you have access to both versions (Colin?) it really is worth comparing them side by side. I vaguely remember reading something about it at the time but seeing how they chopped up the art for the older one is quite something. The comparison isn't all one way though: it's really interesting to see the different approaches to translating the text even if I have no way of saying which is objectively "best."

Really excited for the last volume now, which will hopefully still make it out this year, and I have plenty of time at home to reread the others in anticipation.
We never really die.

Colin YNWA

Quote from: I, Cosh on 29 March, 2020, 06:27:18 PM

If you have access to both versions (Colin?) it really is worth comparing them side by side. I vaguely remember reading something about it at the time but seeing how they chopped up the art for the older one is quite something. The comparison isn't all one way though: it's really interesting to see the different approaches to translating the text even if I have no way of saying which is objectively "best."


Yep I have them both now and while Corto Maltese always gets a pass on my too read list want to find some time to do just what. Put both editions side by side and compare and contrast. The outrage about the Universe Edition got me intrigued and I'm glad its failed to sale at the recent comic mart I was selling at so I can do a comparison.

Colin YNWA

Quote from: I, Cosh on 29 March, 2020, 06:27:18 PM
If you have access to both versions (Colin?) it really is worth comparing them side by side. I vaguely remember reading something about it at the time but seeing how they chopped up the art for the older one is quite something. The comparison isn't all one way though: it's really interesting to see the different approaches to translating the text even if I have no way of saying which is objectively "best."

Finally read 'Ballard of the Salty Sea' - the new IDW edition  and while I'll not pretend to have a view on the wording yet there is absolutely not comparison with the art reproduction. The new edition is just miles ahead. The pages in black and white and so crisp and the blacks so deep, but also faded greys as needed, you get every line of the depth and intent in the art. The Universe edition I'll appreciate for my introduction to this great work but I doubt I'll be reading it again - though I'll be looking at some text as an insight. The colours are a decent job, and do add a light and a heat to the tale, but when combined, with its chopped and repositioned panels and the poor reproduction it just muddies so, so much and its in this to lose so much compared to IDW's modern masterpiece. The precision in the art so deserves the larger page that affords so much more space and the faultess printing.

The story itself remains a classic but I have to say having read all the current editions its taken me a while to get my head into a story of this length I've become so accustomed to the adventrous pace of the shorter tales I was almost disorientationed by the meanders and twists this one took.

One day - in the none too distant future I'll do a re-read and see how these wonderful stories read together and how Ballard sets a scene for what's to come, but as the books have been produced has been.

I'm really excited to see where Mu leaves us off and once again if folks haven't been reading this series of books I can't recommened them highly enough.

Colin YNWA

Ohhh just seen IDW have put out a new release date for 'Mu' now coming out 26th August.

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/new-schedules-for-marvel-idw-and-source-point-press/

We're almost there... almost there...