(Mar. 14) – Corto Maltese is probably the most famous creation of the Italian cartoonist Hugo Pratt: sensation in Europe for decades, it has slipped through the cracks in America. But for the first time in over twenty years, it will be available in English in the United States thanks to the Italian publisher Rizzoli. This first English edition of a Corto Maltese’s book – the graphic novel “The Ballad of the Salt Sea” – is also the first direct from Italian translation in English, and it was curated by Hall Powell, filmmaker and screenwriter for television show like Law and Order. “It’s a kind of a Biblical source,” Powell said. “It was so important to all of my French and Italian friends that it was a serious undertaking.” Powell had lived in Italy when he was younger – he was Roman Polanski’s assistant for a period – and continued to visit throughout his life. One evening, he found himself in the same place as Patrizia Zanotti, Pratt’s longtime assistant and owner of the rights to all his work, when the conversation turned to a release of Corto Maltese for the American market and her quest for a translator. “I told her why don’t I take a look at this and see how I feel about translating it,” Powell said. “I sat with it for a week or so and ended up translating 20 or 25 pages, and about 48 hours later, she and Rizzoli had approved me. I was off and running.” “This is powerful stuff, especially today,” Powell concluded. “Pratt was certainly ahead of his time-and still is.” (Peg)
