IDW Publishing/EuroComics; $29.99

This second volume in EuroComics’ definitive English language presentation of Hugo Pratt's Corto Maltese is no less a treasure than the first. The production is glorious, the format is wonderful, the cover and paper stocks are superb, and the design is worthy of the material. And that’s all before the reader gets to the stories themselves!

Pratt’s storytelling, a mix of Hemingway and Caniff with all sorts of other flavors for seasoning, is captivating, and the new translation by Dean Mullaney and Simone Castaldi helps make the work even more accessible.

As with Under The Sign of Capricorn, the stories in this edition might start out slowly, in the languid pace of the tropics, but then they sneak up and have you hooked before you realize it. A great treat, just in time for summer.

– J.C. Vaughn