I Classici Del Fumetto Nr 01: Corto Maltese

Corto’s smile fades. He looks at the Cossack, who is busy sharpening his knife at the bow, humming a melancholic Ukrainian lullaby. “Of course he does,” Corto sighs.

“The U-boat carries a cargo that was never on any manifest,” Rasputin insists. “The Serpent’s Egg . A celestial chronometer built by Nikola Tesla for the Austro-Hungarian navy. It can manipulate local magnetic fields. With it, a man could steer ships onto reefs, collapse bridges, or… lift a U-boat onto a mountain.”

Rasputin ignores her. He lunges.

A letter arrives, carried by a white pigeon. It is from Lady Venetia. She survived, barely, with a broken arm and a newfound respect for the sea. She writes that the British committee has disbanded. And that Rasputin’s body was never found.

“We won the right to choose our own map, little one. Now go. Your mother is waiting.”