half-baked and obviously very much lacking, this is a less-than-stellar introduction to corto maltese than what i had hoped to have. nonetheless, despite its many weaknesses—but perhaps mainly the incoherence of the plot, which has no overarching theme or message, save that it inconceivably happened to a certain set of people in a certain span of time—the introduction of the titular character seemed like a well-deserved enough pay-off that a reader might be left intrigued for more.

fortunately, for me, i do have the interest to continue this series, because reading the wikipedia page alone for this comic book series does promise an enriching reading experience—far more enriching, i hope, than this fare.