Hugo Pratt
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Ugo Eugenio Prat, better known as Hugo Pratt (15 June 1927 – 20 August 1995), was an Italian
comic book creator developed specialized terminology. Some several attempts have been made to formalize and define the terminology of comics by authors such as Will Eisner, Scott McCloud, R. C. Harvey and Dylan Horrocks. Much of the terminology in English is un ...
who was known for combining strong storytelling with extensive historical research on works such as ''
Corto Maltese ''Corto Maltese'' is a series of adventure and fantasy comics named after the character Corto Maltese, an adventurous sailor. It was created by the Italian comic book creator Hugo Pratt in 1967. The comics are highly praised as some of the most ...
''. He was inducted into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 2005. In 1946 Hugo Pratt became part of the so-called Group of Venice with
Fernando Carcupino Fernando Carcupino (23 July 1922 – 22 March 2003) was an Italian painter, illustrator and comics artist. He was most widely known for his female nudes, but he also painted landscapes, still lifes, historical subjects, and portraits of mothers ...
,
Dino Battaglia Dino Battaglia (1 August 1923 – 4 October 1983) was an Italian comic artist, noted for a distinctive and expressive style, best known for his visual adaptations of classic novels. In 1946 Dino Battaglia became part of the so-called Group of Ven ...
and
Damiano Damiani Damiano Damiani (23 July 1922 – 7 March 2013) was an Italian screenwriter, film director, actor and writer. Poet and director Pier Paolo Pasolini referred to him as "a bitter moralist hungry for old purity", while film critic Paolo Mere ...
.


Biography


Early years

Born in
Rimini, Italy Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...
to Rolando Prat and Evelina (Genero) Prat, Ugo Eugenio Prat spent much of his childhood in
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
in a very cosmopolitan family environment. His paternal grandfather Joseph was
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
of
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
and Provencal origins, his maternal grandfather was of hidden
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
descent and his grandmother was of Turkish origin. In 1937, Pratt moved with his mother to Abyssinia (
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
), joining his father who had moved there following the conquest of that country by
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
's
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. Pratt's father, a MVSN NCO, was captured in 1941 by
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
troops and, in late 1942, died from disease as a prisoner of war. The same year, Hugo Pratt and his mother were interned in a prison camp at Dirédaoua, where he would buy comics from guards, and later was sent back to Italy by the Red Cross. After the war, Pratt moved to Venice where he organized entertainment for the Allied troops. Later Pratt joined the 'Venice Group' with other Italian cartoonists, including
Alberto Ongaro Alberto Ongaro (22 August 1925 – 23 March 2018), also known by his pseudonym Alfredo Nogara, was an Italian journalist, writer and comics writer. Biography Born in Venice, Italy, he lived for a long time in South America and England, before ret ...
, Gian Carlo Guarda and
Mario Faustinelli Mario Faustinelli (8 November 1924 – 31 July 2006) was an Italian comic book artist and editor. Faustinelli was born in Venice in 1924. After the end of World War II, Faustinelli, along with artists Hugo Pratt, Ivo Pavone, and Dino Battaglia, ...
. Their magazine ''Asso di Picche'', launched in 1945 as ''Albo Uragano'', concentrated on adventure comics. The magazine scored some success and published works by young talents, including
Dino Battaglia Dino Battaglia (1 August 1923 – 4 October 1983) was an Italian comic artist, noted for a distinctive and expressive style, best known for his visual adaptations of classic novels. In 1946 Dino Battaglia became part of the so-called Group of Ven ...
. His eponymous character ''
Asso di Picche Asso di Picche was an Italian comic series featuring an eponymous masked crime fighter who combats an international crime syndicate known as the Band of Panthers - the action occurs all over the world, but chiefly in a dark, melancholic version of ...
'' (''Ace of Spades'') was a success, mainly in
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, where Pratt was invited in 1949.


Argentine years

In the late 1940s, he moved to
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
where he worked for Argentine publisher Editorial Abril and met Argentine comics artists like
Alberto Breccia Alberto Breccia (April 15, 1919 – November 10, 1993) was an Uruguayan-born Argentine artist and cartoonist. A gifted penciller and inker, Breccia is one of the most celebrated and famous comics/ Historieta creators in the world, and specially p ...
and
Solano López Solano may refer to: Places * California State Prison, Solano * San Francisco Solano, a town in Almirante Brown Partido, Argentina * Solano Avenue, a street in Berkeley and Albany, California, in the United States * Solano castle, a colonial cast ...
. The passage to
Editorial Frontera Editorial Frontera was an Argentine publisher of comic books, which lasted from 1956 to 1961. It was established by the author Héctor Germán Oesterheld. History Héctor Germán Oesterheld created two popular characters for the '' Misterix'' maga ...
saw the publication of some of his most important early series. These included '' Sgt. Kirk'' and '' Ernie Pike'', written by
Héctor Germán Oesterheld Héctor Germán Oesterheld, also known as his common abbreviation HGO (born July 23, 1919; disappeared and presumed dead 1977), was an Argentine journalist and writer of graphic novels and comics. He has come to be celebrated as a master in his ...
. Pratt taught drawing in the Escuela Panamericana de Arte directed by Enrique Lipszyc. He often travelled to
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
n destinations like the
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
and
Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – lit. "Thick Bush") is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest by area, located in the Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible for 1.9% of the Brazilian GDP. Neighboring ...
. During that period he produced his first comic book as a complete author, both writing and illustrating '' Anna della jungla'' (''Ann of the Jungle''), which was followed by the similar '' Capitan Cormorant'' and '' Wheeling''. The latter was completed after his return to Italy.


Return to Italy and the creation of Corto Maltese

From the summer of 1959 to the summer of 1960, Pratt lived in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
where he drew a series of war comics for Fleetway Publications, with British scriptwriters. He then returned to Argentina, despite the harsh economic times there. From there, he moved again to Italy in 1962 where he started a collaboration with the children's comic book magazine ''
Il Corriere dei Piccoli The ''Corriere dei Piccoli'' (Italian for "Courier of the Little Ones"), later nicknamed ''Corrierino'' ("Little Courier"), was a weekly magazine for children published in Italy from 1908 to 1995. It was the first Italian periodical to make a re ...
'', for which he adapted several classics of adventure literature, including ''
Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...
'' and ''
Kidnapped Kidnapped may refer to: * subject to the crime of kidnapping Literature * ''Kidnapped'' (novel), an 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson * ''Kidnapped'' (comics), a 2007 graphic novel adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's novel by Alan Grant and Ca ...
'' by
Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
. In 1967, Pratt met Florenzo Ivaldi; the two created a comics magazine named after his character, '' Il Sergente Kirk'', the hero first written by Héctor Oesterheld. In the first issue, Pratt's most famous story was published: ''Una ballata del mare salato'' (''A Ballad of the Salt Sea''), which introduced his best known character,
Corto Maltese ''Corto Maltese'' is a series of adventure and fantasy comics named after the character Corto Maltese, an adventurous sailor. It was created by the Italian comic book creator Hugo Pratt in 1967. The comics are highly praised as some of the most ...
. Corto's series continued three years later in the French magazine ''
Pif gadget ''Pif Gadget'' was a French comic magazine for children that ran from 1969 to 1993 and 2004 to 2009. Its readership peaked in the early 1970s. Predecessors ''Pif'' has its origins in ''Le Jeune Patriote'', a youth magazine published by French Co ...
''. Due to his rather mixed family ancestry, Pratt had learned snippets of things like kabbalism and much history. Many of his stories are placed in real historical eras and deal with real events: the 1755 war between French and British colonists in Ticonderoga, colonial wars in
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and both
World War A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...
s, for example. Pratt did exhaustive research for factual and visual details, and some characters are real historical figures or loosely based on them, like Corto's main friend/enemy, Rasputin. Many of the minor characters cross over into other stories in a way that places all of Pratt’s stories into the same continuum. Pratt's main series in the second part of his career include ''Gli scorpioni del deserto'' (five stories) and ''
Jesuit Joe Jesuit Joe is a mysterious character who appears in the eponymous story of Italian comics creator Hugo Pratt. This graphic novel was initially serialised in ''Pilote'' magazine before it was released as hardcover albums in 1980, in France entitle ...
''. He also wrote stories for his friend and pupil
Milo Manara Maurilio Manara (; born 12 September 1945), known professionally as Milo Manara, is an Italian comic book writer and artist. Career After architecture and painting studies, he made his comics debut in 1969 drawing for ''Genius'', a Fumetti neri ...
for ''Tutto ricominciò con un'estate indiana'' and ''El Gaucho''.


Later years

From 1970 to 1984, Pratt lived mainly in France where Corto Maltese, a psychologically very complex character resulting from the travel experiences and the endless inventive capacity of his author, became the main character of a comics series. Initially published from 1970 to 1973 by the magazine ''Pif gadget'', it brought him much popular and critical success. Later published in album format, this series was eventually translated into fifteen languages. From 1984-95, he lived in
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
where the international success that Corto Maltese sparked continued to grow. In France, most of his pre-Corto Maltese works were published in several album editions by publishers such as Casterman, Dargaud, and Humanoides Associés. A wanderer by nature, Hugo Pratt continued to travel from Canada to Patagonia, from Africa to the Pacific area. He died of
bowel cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel m ...
on 20 August 1995. Pratt cited authors like
Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
,
James Oliver Curwood James Oliver Curwood (June 12, 1878 – August 13, 1927) was an American action-adventure writer and conservationist. His books were often based on adventures set in the Hudson Bay area, the Yukon or Alaska and ranked among the top-ten best selle ...
,
Zane Grey Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American frontie ...
, Kenneth Roberts,
Henry De Vere Stacpoole Henry de Vere Stacpoole (9 April 1863 – 12 April 1951) was an Irish author. His best-known work is the 1908 romance novel '' The Blue Lagoon'', which has been adapted into multiple films. He published using his own name and sometimes the pseud ...
,
Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in t ...
,
Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonist and Indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought ...
,
Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American people, American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his bes ...
and
Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...
as influences, along with cartoonists
Lyman Young Lyman W. Young (October 20, 1893 – February 12, 1984) was an American cartoonist who created the strip ''Tim Tyler's Luck''. His younger brother, Chic Young, was the creator of '' Blondie''. Like his brother, Lyman Young was encouraged to do ar ...
,
Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series ''The Spirit'' (1940–1952) was no ...
, and especially
Milton Caniff Milton Arthur Paul Caniff (; February 28, 1907 – April 3, 1988) was an People of the United States, American cartoonist famous for the ''Terry and the Pirates (comic strip), Terry and the Pirates'' and ''Steve Canyon'' comic strips. Biography ...
. On Friday, 15 July 2005, at
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
's 17th Annual
Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...
, he was one of four professionals that year inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame. One of the series created by Pratt, entitled "The Scorpions of the Desert" in English, has been continued after Pratt's death. In 2005 a sixth volume in this series was released, drawn by Pierre Wazeem and entitled "Le chemin de fièvre". A seventh album was scheduled by the French publishers Casterman for release in March 2008. Casterman have also on several occasions hinted at the possible future release of a further episode in the Corto Maltese saga. In 2015, IDW Publishing's EuroComics imprint launched the definitive English-language edition of Corto Maltese, with new translations made from Pratt's original Italian scripts.


Awards

* 1969: per il disegnatore italiano (award for an Italian artist) at the Festival of Lucca, Italy, for ''Una ballata del mare salato'' * 1974:
Prix Saint-Michel The Prix Saint-Michel is a series of comic awards presented by the city of Brussels, with a focus on Franco-Belgian comics. They were first awarded in 1971, and although often said to be the oldest European comics awards, they are actually the sec ...
, for the best realistic story * 1976:
Angoulême Festival Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a commune, the prefecture of the Charente department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Angoumoisins' ...
, Best foreign realistic comic book, for ''La ballade de la mer salée'' * 1981: Angoulême Festival, Elle award * 1987: Angoulême Festival, Best foreign comic book, for ''Indian Summer'' * 1988: Angoulême Festival, 15th anniversary special
Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême The Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême is a lifetime achievement award given annually during the Angoulême International Comics Festival to a comics author. Although not a monetary award, it is considered the most prestigious award in Franco-Be ...
* 1996:
Max & Moritz Prizes The Max & Moritz Prize is a prize for comic books, comic strips, and other similar materials which has been awarded at each of the biennial International Comics Shows of Erlangen since 1984. It is open to all material published in Germany. 1984 ...
, Germany, Best German language comic import, for ''Saint-Exupéry - le dernier vol'' * 2005: Inducted into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame


Main works

*''Asso di Picche'' (''L'As de pique'', ''Ace of Spades'', 1945–1949) *'' El Sargento Kirk'' (''Sgt. Kirk'', 1953–1959), written by Héctor Oesterheld *''Ticonderoga'' (1957–1958), written by Héctor Oesterheld *'' Ernie Pike'' (1957–1959), written by Héctor Oesterheld *''Ann y Dan'' (''Anna nella giungla'', ''Ann of the Jungle'', ''Ann de la jungle'', 1959) *''Capitan Cormorant'' (1962) *'' Wheeling'' (1962) *''
Corto Maltese ''Corto Maltese'' is a series of adventure and fantasy comics named after the character Corto Maltese, an adventurous sailor. It was created by the Italian comic book creator Hugo Pratt in 1967. The comics are highly praised as some of the most ...
'' (1967–1992) **''Una ballata del mare salato'' (1967) - translated into English as ''Ballad of The Salt Sea'' (Harvill Press 1996) **''Il segreto di Tristan Bantam'' (1970) **''Corto toujours un peu plus loin'' - partly translated into English as ''The Banana Conga'' (1970-1971) **''Le Celtiche'' (1972) - translated into English as ''The Celts'', (Harvill Press 1996) and ''A Mid-Winter Morning's Dream'' (1971–1972) **''Le Etiopiche'' (1972–1973) **''Corte Sconta detta Arcana'' (1974) **''Favola di Venezia'' (1976) **''La casa dorata di Samarcanda'' (1980) **''La giovinezza'' (1981) **''Tango'' (1985) **''Le elvetiche "Rosa Alchemica"'' (1987) **''Mu'' (1988) *''Gli scorpioni del deserto'' - ''Les Scorpions du Desert'', ''The Scorpions of the Desert'' (1969–92) **''Les Scorpions du désert'' (Episode 1, 1969–73) **''Piccolo chalet...'' (1975) **''Vanghe Dancale'' (1980) **''Dry Martini Parlor'' (1982) **''Brise de mer'' (1992) *''L'uomo dei Caraibi'' (1977) *''L'uomo del Sertao'' (1977) *''L'uomo della Somalia'' (1979) *''L'uomo del gran nord'' - ''
Jesuit Joe Jesuit Joe is a mysterious character who appears in the eponymous story of Italian comics creator Hugo Pratt. This graphic novel was initially serialised in ''Pilote'' magazine before it was released as hardcover albums in 1980, in France entitle ...
'' (1980) *''Tutto ricominciò con un'estate indiana'' (''Indian Summer'', 1983, with
Milo Manara Maurilio Manara (; born 12 September 1945), known professionally as Milo Manara, is an Italian comic book writer and artist. Career After architecture and painting studies, he made his comics debut in 1969 drawing for ''Genius'', a Fumetti neri ...
) *''Cato Zulu'' (1984–88) *''El Gaucho'' (1991), with
Milo Manara Maurilio Manara (; born 12 September 1945), known professionally as Milo Manara, is an Italian comic book writer and artist. Career After architecture and painting studies, he made his comics debut in 1969 drawing for ''Genius'', a Fumetti neri ...
*''Saint-Exupéry - le dernier vol'' (1994) *''Morgan'' (1995)


See also

*
Italian comics Italian comics, also known as ''fumetto'' , plural form ''fumetti'' , are comics that originate in Italy. The most popular Italian comics have been translated into many languages. The term ''fumetto'' (literally ''little puff of smoke'') refers ...
* '' Letteratura disegnata''


Notes


Sources


Hugo Pratt dossier
FFF



an

BDoubliées


External links

*
Hugo Pratt official websiteHugo Pratt Archives
on Lambiek

Retrieved 14-05-2009
Hugo in Africa - a film by Stefano Knuchel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, Hugo 1927 births 1995 deaths Italian graphic novelists People from Rimini Artists from Venice Italian comics artists Italian comics writers Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees 20th-century Italian novelists Italian people of Jewish descent Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême winners