Ugo Eugenio Prat, better known as Hugo Pratt (June 15, 1927 – August 20, 1995), was an Italian comic book creator who was known for combining strong storytelling with extensive historical research on works such as Corto Maltese. He was inducted into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 2005.
In 1946 Hugo Pratt became part of the so-called Group of Venice with Fernando Carcupino, Dino Battaglia and Damiano Damiani.
Source: Hugo Pratt on Wikipedia.
