Corto Maltese #1

In "La casa dorata di Samarcanda [parte seconda]", Corto Maltese continues his perilous journey across the fractured landscapes of early 20th-century Central Asia, driven by a mythic quest for a treasure said to be hidden by Alexander the Great. As he traverses the shifting borders of the Turkish Republic, the Soviet Union, and Reza Pahlavi’s Iran, he encounters diverse peoples and cultures, each shaping his path toward a mystery that may hold the key to freeing Rasputin.

Set in the 1600s near the frontier settlement of New Canaan in New England, *Tutto ricominciò con un'estate indiana* unfolds during a summer of unexpected warmth that ignites long-suppressed tensions. Amid a fragile peace between English colonists and local Indigenous people, a single day of golden weather becomes the spark for a sudden and violent upheaval. The story explores the simmering undercurrents of hatred, love, and forbidden desire in a rigid Puritan community, echoing the emotional depth of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s *The Scarlet Letter*.

In 1916, Corto Maltese arrives in Paramaribo, where he meets the troubled Jeremiah Steiner at Madame Java’s establishment. The young Tristan Bantam seeks his help in uncovering hidden locations tied to a mysterious past, but their conversation is cut short by a violent attack meant to silence Tristan.

In 1908, Solange runs a café in Cumaná, Venezuela, when the sudden disappearance and death of the ailing Doña Maria Vallejo thrusts her into a dangerous web of secrets. After witnessing two men set fire to the Vallejo family’s business, she becomes a target when their boss attacks her—revealing a darker conspiracy beneath the flames.