{"product_id":"the-complete-corto-maltese-volume-1-the-ballad-of-the-salt-sea","title":"Complete Corto Maltese: Volume 1: The Ballad of the Salt Sea [PRE-ORDER 10\/13]","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNOT YET AVAILABLE. Pre-order now. This title is scheduled to arrive October 13, 2026.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNote: release dates and prices are tentative and subject to change at the publisher's whim.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhen pre-ordering with multiple items, remember your order will not ship until the last pre-ordered item is in stock. If you want items to ship separately, place separate orders.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInternational award-winning graphic novelist Hugo Pratt's Corto Maltese returns to American readers in full color with the first volume of The Complete Corto Maltese, featuring the rip-roaring adventure that introduces him to the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn Fall 2026, Fantagraphics launches The Complete Corto Maltese with Volume 1: The Ballad of the Salt Sea, Corto's premiere adventure and the story that introduces him to the world. Pratt plunges us right into the action with Corto bound to a makeshift raft adrift in the Pacific Ocean in 1913. In short order, he is rescued by the Russian privateer Rasputin (yes, that Rasputin), and things only get more complicated and more treacherous from there. In addition, this volume also presents Pratt's tale of Corto's youth, when, in 1904 at the age of 16 in Manchuria, he is asked by his friend, Jack London (yes, that Jack London) to help rescue a young Russian deserter named Rasputin in the midst of the Russo-Japanese War.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA modern Ulysses whose wanderings in the early decades of the 20th century take him to the most fascinating places on Earth, Hugo Pratt's Corto Maltese is a hard-luck, hard-driving iconoclastic anti-hero who values freedom and independence more than wealth and status. Treasure hunter, storm-tossed sailor, and itinerant adventurer, the irascible and indefatigable Corto Maltese has earned his status as one of the most popular characters in European comics.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"When I want to relax, I read an essay by Engels. When I want something more serious, I read Corto Maltese.\" — Umberto Eco\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"expressive … bold … full of magic and romantic adventure\" — Frank Miller\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Pratt's tales are like coming home to an entire oeuvre of fables you've never known existed but have always been waiting to read.\" — Reactormag.com\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor\/Artist:\u003c\/strong\u003e Hugo Pratt\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTranslators:\u003c\/strong\u003e Dean Mullaney \/ Simone Castaldi\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e Fantagraphics Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePage Count:\u003c\/strong\u003e 264pp\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9 x 12\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNotes:\u003c\/strong\u003e hardcover, color\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRelease Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e October 13, 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 979-8875002762\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Fantagraphics","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49030715670784,"sku":"9798875002762","price":49.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0053\/3902\/files\/compcortmalt1ballsald.jpg?v=1784481292","url":"https:\/\/atomicbooks.com\/products\/the-complete-corto-maltese-volume-1-the-ballad-of-the-salt-sea","provider":"Atomic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}