In Siberia

In this latest escapade featuring Corto Maltese ( The Early Years ), we find the sailor and gentleman of fortune in Asia. It is 1919, Russia is in the throes of revolution, the czarist army in retreat. Imperial China is in ruins, shattered into a horde of private kingdoms ruled by warlords. From Manchuria, Japanese, English and American forces manipulate what's left of the republic to satisfy their own conflicting interests. Acclaimed European cartoonist Pratt sends his celebrated creation Corto Maltese into this political caldron in search of adventure, love and an armored train loaded with czarist gold. Corto and his demented, mercurial ally, Rasputin, find themselves confronting one of the most lunatic generals of the White Army. The black-and-white drawings in this tremendously entertaining strip are historically based and beautifully delineated, expressive yet precise. One of the world's great adventure strips. (Feb.)