Dans la collection de Matthias 
Hugo Pratt, Hector Oesterheld, Sgt. Kirk: Il castello di Titlan Pg.9 - Planche originale
638 

Sgt. Kirk: Il castello di Titlan Pg.9

Planche originale
1958
Encre de Chine
Pencil, pastil and ink on thin cardboard
49.50 x 36 cm (19.49 x 14.17 in.)
Partager
Page including colors.
Detail 1
Detail 2
Detail 3
Detail
Detail 4

Description

At 22, Hugo Pratt moved to Argentina. Spotted in Italy by Cesare Civita, a comic book publisher based in Buenos Aires, he got a contract to work as a cartoonist in the Argentine capital. After three years, his editor introduced him to the screenwriter Héctor Oesterheld. It was the start of a long collaboration that would give birth to two landmark heroes in Pratt's career: „Sergeant Kirk“ and „Ernie Pike“.

The first of the two, „El Sargento Kirk“, made his debut on January 9, 1953 in issue 225 of the weekly Misterix, published by Abril.
The series continued in the magazine until issue 475 of December 20, 1957.
When Oesterheld founded his publishing house, Editorial Frontera, the adventures of Sergeant Kirk continued, until 1959, in the weekly magazine Hora Cero Suplemento Semanal from n ° 37 of May 14, 1958 to n ° 90 of May 20, 1959 and in Frontera Extra, launched in summer 1958.
This very long saga features a sergeant of the Seventh Calavry who at the end of te Civil War goes to serve the army in the Wild West. He is forced to participate in a massacre of Native Americans by the United States army.
Kirk choses to defend the Indians and to desert the army. He choses to partner with the Indians.
In this choice, which for the early 1950s must have been shocking for most of the young readers, lies the enormous and longlasting success of this character.
Pratt together with Hector Oesterheld (Pratt thought of him as "the greatest scriptwriter who he has known") gives life to this innovative comic.
This page is from the last adventure ("Il castello di Titlan") of Sergeant Kirk drawn by Pratt and published in Argentina in December 1958.

Commentaire

The page of this last issue of Hugo Pratt shows Pratt's sovereign usage of shadows and abstraction, a style that was perfected in the comics to come like Corto Maltese, La macumba du gringo (compare this page with the one of Kyeezee https://www.2dgalleries.com/art/la-macumba-du-gringo-planche-24-163229 or this one from BillBaroud https://www.2dgalleries.com/art/la-macumba-du-gringo-planche-25-32900) or Jesuit Joe to name some.
The construction of the whole page is masterful. The first panel with its built-in curve, the connection in the shadow between panel 1 and 2, the extreme play with shadows and movement and abstraction in the panels 4 and 5 and in the whole lower section - everything on this page shows a maturing master of its art.

Publications

  • Il Sergente Kirk
  • Arnoldo Mondadori Editore
  • 05/1974
  • Page intérieure
  • Cinquième époque
  • Futuropolis
  • 11/2013
  • Page intérieure

Voir aussi :   Sergent Kirk

7 commentaires
Pour laisser un commentaire sur cette œuvre, veuillez vous connecter

A propos de Hugo Pratt

Hugo Eugenio Pratt est un auteur de bande dessinée italien. Son œuvre la plus connue est Corto Maltese qui a largement dépassé le champ de la bande dessinée.