Monday, April 30, 2018

The Crimson Sea by Hugo Pratt 1960 (War Picture Library #50)

I'm going to just assume that the general comic book fan reading this has at least a passing knowledge of Hugo Pratt by way of his most famous Creation, Corto Maltese. Corto Maltese has been translated and published in many languages and countries since 1970 which pushed Pratt into the upper echelon of comic book storytellers. Before Maltese though, Pratt had a long career working in comics that dates back to 1945. Initially working in Italy, Pratt moved to Argentina in 1949 where he created some of his most popular early strips, Sgt. Kirk and Ernie Pike being two of the most well known today. In the Summer of 1959, he lived in England until the Summer of 1960 where he drew a few war comics for Fleetway Publications. One of those comics, The Crimson Sea, I have posted below in full. This book-length digest-sized issue was part of a series called War Picture Library, which is where most of Pratt's work appeared during his year in England. While this may not be his best work it's still wonderfully drawn and displays the strong Caniff school of drawing style that he is known for. Enjoy.