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5.Images:
1. Héctor Germán Oesterheld's name in nowhere to be seen in this Italian Ernie Pike edition (1976);
2., 3. Hugo Pratt was one of the best artists in comics with the ability to convey body language (he was great with the characters' facial expressions), but it was Oesterheld who, in Ernie Pike, was more interested in the dog face, on both sides of WWII, than in the big stupid "heroic" picture; because of his complex characters (Oesterheld refused children's comics usual manichaeism) he was accused of sympathy for the German side; two masterpieces by this unforgettable duo: Hora Cero Extra!'s covers for # 1 (April 1958), and # 5 (December 1958);
4. Oesterheld's credo (my translation in last post below); on the lower left hand corner we can see Frontera's famous logo, created by João Mottini;
5. years later, Hugo Pratt became an international star; to achieve success he relied on a juvenile Oesterheldian narrative surface (he couldn't replicate the master's touch; Pratt's female characters are his own, though) and a rampantly mannerist drawing style (in the end, long gone is Realism): Saint Exupéry, Le dernier vol (1995).
What some covers!!! Pratt was a genius!! and Oesterheld was really greate too.
ReplyDeleteI invite you to see my blog. In there are some covers of Pratt.
Bye!
Hola Sr. Cairo: Melina Gatto curated an Oesterheld exhibition in Amadora (Portugal) with Mariano Chinelli. She said something very interesting, here: how can I exhibit a writer's work? She's right, of course. Looking at these great covers by Hugo Pratt it's easy to say that he was a genius. It's a lot more difficult to see the writer behind those images. But I couldn't agree more: both Pratt and Oesterheld were absolutely great. Thanks for mentioning your blog. I'll pay you a visit...
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