I’ve been having severe pains and weakness in my right hand/arm for the past several months. After undergoing a series of tests, the good news is that I don’t have Carpal Tunnel syndrome; the bad news is that my problems stem from spending 10-14 hours a day on the computer for so many years. The physical therapist has identified the inter-connected muscles that have caused the problem. I feel confident about the diagnosis. The big problem is that it’s going to take an extended period of physical therapy to get back to normal. No more marathon sessions for me and I’ll have to limit my time in front of the computer for an indefinite period. I’ll still get work done, but at a much slower pace.
But enough about me, here is a review of Corto Maltese: Mu, the Lost Continent from Frank Plowright at Slings and Arrows. Read the full review here.
Ambiguity is prevalent as Pratt again blurs the lines, providing a trivial adventure plot of Corto’s attempts to rescue an abducted friend, but it’s just a concession, because the real purpose of Mu is to contemplate connections and what we leave behind. What connects myth and reality, the past with the present, symbolism with meaning? Despite being on one mission that becomes another Corto’s never short of time to have a philosophical discussion with the eccentrics who cross his path, and this provides a greater reality than the staged interactions with the supporting cast from earlier books.
Just as mysticism and spirituality clash in the story, there’s a duality about the art. Pratt transmits a gloriously unfettered sense of rapidity, his panels impeccably designed, but including no more than necessary when it comes to defining people and places, some of the former almost dashed off abstractions, and others almost clumsy. However he applies the precision of an architect in supplying the various fixtures and fittings of a yacht, rendered in immense detail, even when the boat is seen from distance.
Click here for more information about Corto Maltese: Mu, The Lost Continent.
Wishing your hand a speedy recovery, Dean! That’s a beautifully-written, thoughtful and concise review of Mu! And the excerpted art above is so appealing. Pratt is where it’s at! He developed such a terrific cartooning style, loaded with detail and yet always imbued with such spontaneously rendered forms. The Corto Maltese art of the later years is like improvisation within a standard by a jazz master: vivid, assured, bright, in the moment, and you want to sail with him forever.