"Corto Maltese: Celtic Tales" is more lyrical and poetic than adventurous as narrative

As an issue that explores the mythical, the legendary and the fantastical, Corto Maltese: Celtic Tales (IDW Publishing 2016, 138 pgs) feels a little different than previous adventures of Hugo Pratt's famous sea captain.   Corto will here encounter Venetian monks who know of mysteries of Eldorado; he will face German, Italian and Austrian soldiers during World War I; he will meet with members of Ireland's IRA, and will even cross paths with the famous Captain Baron Manfred Von Richthofen (otherwise known as The Red Baron).  This juxtaposition of adventures, consisting of both fictional and non-fictional historical characters, feels like a series of dreams during which Corto Maltese may or may not have been awake; it's up to the reader to interpret which.

Corto: What will you do with your share?
Onatis: I'll buy a fleet of fishing boats and with the profits, a fleet of oil tankers. And what will you do with your share, Corto Maltese?
Corto: I have many friends.  I'm going to spend it with them.

It is in Chapter 3 - Concerto in O'Mino for Harp and Nitroglycerine - that Corto comes closest to testing his melancholy loneliness - as he often does in company of new females who intrigue him physically and emotionally - while traveling through Dublin.   The woman in question is Banshee, a dark haired, freckle-faced widow of an IRA leader, Pat Finnucan, who was executed recently by the British mercenaries, led by someone named O'Sullivan.   It is apparent that Corto is attracted to the heartbroken woman, but as in most of his encounters with the opposite sex, it's not meant to be, as displayed in the scene of their parting.

Banshee: Are you leaving, Corto Maltese?
Corto: Yes... Do you want to come with me?
Banshee: My name is Banshee, remember? I bring bad luck... I brought it to the two men I loved... I can't risk it with you...

The consequent chapters involve the abstract more so than the factual.  As Corto lays asleep in the English countryside of Salisbury, the legendary Stonehenge towering nearby, a handful of mythical characters - consisting of Morgana, the Wizard Merlin, the little fairy Puck, and the mysterious and stylish enchantress Oberon - gather to discuss matters of both social and political importance, as well as the current war that's devouring England.  There is also a talking crow, and this bird is able to communicate with our hero after he wakes from his slumber, still unsure what is real and what is abstruse.  This chapter was more head-scratching than thrilling and entertaining on a literal level; perhaps Pratt would've done himself a world of good if he had cut the mythological and the fantastical portions of Celtic Tales to a minimum.  As it is, they feel oddly out of place, and a bit too sententious .

Unlike the previous episodes of this series, Celtic Tales feels more episodic than grandiose or epic in any way.  Each chapter comes across like a story on its own, with its own beginning and end, and none depend on the preceding or following chapters for clarity.  In other words, it's an endless series of mini-episodes, as if on a loop, that one could read in any order, and still be just as confused - or clear - about what they've just read.  That's the allure of Corto Maltese: he charms you even when he's clearly not even trying to.
B-