The Clan of the Poes (Page 126)

//Panel 2//
Edgar:
Don't run away…I won't do anything.
//Panel 4//
Allan:
…The heavens…
//Panel 5//
Allan:
The heavens declare the glory of God…
and the firmament…sheweth…his handywork…Day
//Panel 7//
Allan:
…Day unto day uttereth speech,
and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
…There is no speech nor language,
where their voice is not heard.

The Clan of the Poes (Page 125)

//Panel 1//
Allan:
Aah…
//Panel 2//
SFX:
SHOVE
//Panel 6//
Edgar:
Allan.
//Panel 7//
Edgar:
Allan.
Don't be shocked. It's nothing.

The Clan of the Poes (Page 124)

//Panel 1//
Edgar's Narration:
So, once again, will you try to set your claws into a loved one
//Panel 2//
Edgar's Narration:
to add to this cursed clan?
//Panel 3//
Allan:
What's going on with your sister?
Edgar:
Marybel? She's at home.
//Panel 4//
Allan:
…You should have brought her with you.
SFX:
KICK
//Panel 5//
Edgar:
Heh heh
Allan:
Wh-what? Why are you laughing like that!
//Panel 6//
Edgar:
My Prince, you should visit our place.
Allan:
Your place?
Edgar:
She doesn't often leave the house.
//Panel 7//
Allan:
She's ill?
Edgar:
…Mmm, that's right…She's ill.

The Clan of the Poes (Page 123)

//Panel 1//
Edgar:
How far down? If the rocks break loose, it's all over for us.
Allan:
Thrilling, isn't it!
This wipes away all the bad things.
//Panel 2//
SFX:
SPLASH
//Panel 3//
Edgar:
Are things at your home that unpleasant?
Allan:
…
//Panel 4//
SFX:
CRASH
//Panel 5//
Allan:
I'm glad I met you.
Up till now…you…
//Panel 6//
Allan:
You're not like those others who throng around me, trying to butter me up.
I feel like I can say anything to you.

The Clan of the Poes (Page 122)

//Panel 2//
Margot:
Mama! Where's Allan? He was here when we got out of the carriage… !
Margot's Mother:
Well! This is rather awkward—he's run off somewhere!
//Panel 3//
Clifford:
Ah—good morning. …Oh, where is Allan?
Margot:
Doctor!
Margot's Mother:
That boy!
Margot's Mother:
Ha, ahem, I haven't the slightest…he's at home today…with a slight cold.
//Panel 4//
Clifford's Narration:
Baron Portsnell and his family…
//Panel 5//
Clifford's Narration:
They're here!
//Panel 6//
Clifford's Narration:
This is foolish. I…
Anyhow, Lady Portsnell is a devout Catholic.
//Panel 7//
SFX:
CRASH BREAK
//Panel 9//
Allan:
Want to climb down to where the waves meet the cliffs?

The Clan of the Poes (Page 121)

//Panel 1//
Baron Portsnell's Voice:
Edgar, where are you?
//Panel 2//
Baron Portsnell's Voice:
Come out…Where are you?
Marybel's Voice:
Ahahahaha
Baron Portsnell's Voice:
I will throw Marybel up in the sky.
//Panel 3//
Baron Portsnell:
I will throw Marybel up in the sky.
Marybel:
Wheeeeeee
Baron Portsnell:
Edgar, where are you?
//Panel 4//
Allan's Voice:
Where are you?
//Panel 5//
Allan:
Oh, here you are. Were you asleep?
Edgar:
…！
//Panel 6//
Edgar:
I must have dozed off for a bit.
…I was dreaming.
Allan:
Dreaming? A good dream?
//Panel 7//
Allan:
Have you ever been to the ruins of the fortress?
Would you like to join me next Sunday?
//Panel 8//
Edgar:
But you have Mass on Sunday.
Allan:
Nonsense. I'll skip it.

The Clan of the Poes (Page 120)

//Panel 1//
SFX:
SLAM
//Panel 2//
SFX:
WOHHH O-O-O-N
//Panel 3//
Clifford's Narration:
Tsk, what was I thinking?
//Panel 4//
Clifford's Narration:
A trick of the light… Humbug!
I don't know what came over me.
In this scientific era, with the 20th Century just two decades away…
//Panel 6//
Sheila:
That girl, Jane…
Baron Portsnell:
Heh, heh, she was jealous of you.
//Panel 7//
Sheila:
I liked her a lot.

The WOHHH O-O-O-N sound effect in Panel 2 is that of a foghorn, so Dr. Clifford's place must be near the harbor. If anyone knows of a good onomatopoia for this in English, please let me know!

The Clan of the Poes (Page 119)

//Panel 1//
Bike:
Jean Clifford!
SFX:
BANG
//Panel 3//
Bike:
Have you ever thought of Miss Jane's feelings!
Miss Jane loves you from the bottom of her heart.
Clifford:
If humans—
//Panel 4//
Clifford:
don't cast reflections in the mirror, then what are they?
Bike:
Who knows? They're vampires!
It's true, you're Dr. Caster's favorite.
And popular with scores of women…
But…!
//Panel 5//
Clifford:
Then they aren't human.
//Panel 6//
SFX:
GIGGLE
Clifford:
That in itself
//Panel 7//
Clifford:
is ridiculous!
SFX:
HEE HEE HEE HEE
Clifford:
Let's not think about it anymore.
Bike:
Clifford! Miss Jane is…
//Panel 8//
Clifford:
Yes, Jane is a truly fine girl.
Not pretty, but she'll be a good wife.
Not romance material, though.
I seek out romance on my own.
Isn't Lady Portsnell charming?

The Clan of the Poes (Page 118)

//Panel 1//
Baron Portsnell:
Well…it was a wonderful evening. Good night…
//Panel 2//
Clifford's Narration:
His hand—is a bit cold…
From standing outdoors?
//Panel 3//
Dr. Caster:
What's the matter with you?
That eloquent tongue of yours, that springs to life in the presence of beauties—gone!
Clifford:
Huh…
Dr. Caster:
Hmm? Lady Portsnell bewitched you into silence? Haha!
//Panel 4//
Dr. Caster's Voice:
Bring me tea, Jane.
Jane:
Y-yes, father.
//Panel 5//
Bike:
Miss Jane…
//Panel 6//
Bike:
…Er, it's nothing to worry about.
Jean is just caught up in admiring a beautiful flower.
Jean is always thinking of you, his fiancee…
//Panel 7//
Jane:
Yes, thinking of me as the daughter of his mentor, to whom he is indebted.
//Panel 8//
Jane:
Lady Portsnell…she was really beautiful…
Any man would…
//Panel 9//
Jane:
…Sorry…Something is wrong with me…
I'll serve tea…
Please leave.

The Clan of the Poes (Page 117)

//Panel 1//
SFX:
STARTLE
//Panel 2//
Dr. Caster:
Clifford, what are you doing standing there?
Lady Sheila! How lovely you are…
Clifford:
…Eh?
//Panel 3//
Clifford's Narration:
I didn't see them in the mirror…
//Panel 4//
Clifford's Narration:
The door in the mirror closed by itself…no one was there…!
It can't be!
Dr. Caster:
Ultimately, guiding France toward republicanism
//Panel 5//
Dr. Caster:
required the sacrifice of the citizens of Paris.
Ladies don't seem to enjoy discussing politics.
Sheila:
Well,
I suppose not. It's not very romantic, is it?
//Panel 6//
Sheila:
Rather, when will your wedding take place?
I didn't know you had such a charming fiancee.
Dr. Clifford?
//Panel 7//
Clifford's Narration:
It can't be…
//Panel 8//
Bike:
Hey, Jean.
Clifford:
Huh!?

The Clan of the Poes (Page 116)

//Panel 1//
Clifford:
Dr. Caster, is everything in order…!
SFX:
CLICK
//Panel 2//
Dr. Caster:
My…!
You're wearing a showy necktie, Clifford!
Trying to impress Lady Portsnell?
Clifford:
What's that?
You can't see me in the door from there…
How come…
Dr. Caster:
It's a mirror.
I adjusted its position.
//Panel 3//
Clifford:
A mirror?
Ah…! Jane.
Jane's Voice:
Father…
The guests are here.
SFX:
SQUEEK CLICK
//Panel 4//
Clifford:
It's too much! This is like peeping!
Dr. Caster:
Well, obviously!
Hahaha…ahem!
Ah, please let them in.
//Panel 5//
Clifford:
?
//Panel 6//
Dr. Caster:
Ah, welcome!
Baron Portsnell:
Pardon us for being a bit late…

The Clan of the Poes (Page 115)

//Panel 2//
Jane:
Er…do you like those flowers here, Jean?
Clifford:
Fine. Where's Dr. Caster?
//Panel 3//
Jane:
Father is in his study…
Clifford:
Not those books again! With guests about to arrive… By God!
Jane:
…Jean…ah…
//Panel 4//
Jane's Narration:
This is a new dress …I wish you would say a word…Jean…
//Panel 5//
SFX:
KNOCK KNOCK
//Panel 6//
Sheila:
Good evening. Thank you very much for inviting us…
SFX:
CLICK
Jane:
Please come inside.
//Panel 7//
Jane's Narration:
Oh…
Lady Sheila Portsnell is so beautiful…!

I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but I was forced to determine that Dr. Clifford's given name is "Jean." Personally, I feel that "Jean" sounds strange as a British first name (obviously, it is very common as the French variant of "John"), but the name "John" is customarily transposed in Japanese as ジョン, pronounced the same as "Joan" with the long "o" vowel. I suspect that Hagio was trying to be precise, knowing how the name "John" is pronounced by native speakers, but due to this technicality (and my lack of access to the author for verification), I just went ahead with calling him Jean. If I ever meet Moto Hagio someday, I will ask her what his name really is. In the meantime, let's assume that the romantic, debonair Dr. Clifford had a French mother who insisted on giving her son that name.

The Clan of the Poes (Page 114)

//Panel 1//
Baron Portsnell:
I can't let him talk like that!
//Panel 2//
Sheila:
Are you going to compete with your son?
How silly.
//Panel 3//
Baron Portsnell:
That idiot has no intention of listening to me!
If so…
Sheila:
…keep still, now.
//Panel 4//
Marybel:
Mother…you're so beautiful.
Edgar:
With that, Dr. Clifford will be done in with one glance.
//Panel 5//
Baron Portsnell:
We must make our move first!
//Panel 6//
Edgar:
Will it be tonight?
Baron Portsnell:
We're merely invited for dinner.
A reconnaissance mission.
//Panel 7//
Edgar:
That's too slow.
//Panel 8//
Baron Portsnell:
Most things fail when you rush.
Especially—
in order for us to keep on living,
everything must be done quietly—
I hope you, too, understand that!
Edgar:
Have a good evening…

The Clan of the Poes (Page 113)

//Panel 1//
Edgar:
Allan Twilight?
What about him?
//Panel 2//
Baron Portsnell:
You're too friendly with him! What's going on?
Edgar:
What do you mean?
//Panel 3//
Sheila:
Your father is telling you to stay out of our business.
//Panel 5//
Edgar:
I see…then what exactly are you doing? Nothing!!
//Panel 6//
Edgar:
At the end of the day, whoever moves first wins. That could even be me…
Baron Portsnell:
We are your parents! You're not the only one who's worried over Marybel!
//Panel 7//
Edgar:
You're not our parents.

The Clan of the Poes (Page 112)

//Panel 1//
Edgar:
Was that portrait so precious?
Allan:
Precious!?
That was the last and only portrait of Rosa!
//Panel 2//
Edgar:
Marybel is not your Rosa.
No matter what you may think.
//Panel 3//
Edgar:
Besides, are you going to live the rest of your life attached to that portrait…?
//Panel 4//
Edgar:
Well!?
If they look alike, then there may be some connection after all!
Allan:
You… really…?
Edgar:
Our ancestors, if we trace the bloodlines back some 200 years or so,
may have come from the same family by chance.
//Panel 5//
Edgar:
You never know, we may be some kind of cousins, too!
Allan:
Come on, no way!
Edgar:
Really! After all, it all begins with Adam and Eve.

The Clan of the Poes (Page 111)

//Panel 1//
Clifford's Voice:
I wonder…
[SIGN OVER DOORWAY]:
DR. CLIFFORD
//Panel 2//
Clifford's Voice:
Are you two friends or not?
Allan's Voice:
Ouch!
//Panel 3//
Clifford's Voice:
Well, that's it! You can go. For the third visit I'll have on hand some medicine with more of a sting to it.
//Panel 4//
Bike:
Even kids from Saint Windsor fight, eh?
Clifford:
Hallo, Bike, they're my regulars.
And one of their mothers is a stunning beauty.
//Panel 5//
Bike:
Huh? Who!
//Panel 6//
Bike:
…Are you in love?
Clifford:
Romance and marriage are two separate things.
//Panel 7//
Bike:
Clifford!
//Panel 8//
Clifford:
Bike…
Don't worry, I will marry the daughter of our old mentor as promised.
//Panel 9//
Bike:
You should at least apologize…!
Clifford:
…！

The Clan of the Poes (Page 110)

//Panel 1//
Allan:
—had been growing up elsewhere and abruptly showed up yesterday as your sister.
//Panel 3//
Edgar:
When did she pass away?
Allan:
Six years ago. There was an accident of sorts at the port.
//Panel 4//
Allan's Voice:
I lost my father and fiancee together…Rosa was seven.
//Panel 5//
Edgar:
Your marriage was arranged from when you were that little?
Did you love her?
//Panel 6//
SFX:
SHATTER!
//Panel 8//
Allan:
You did it on purpose!
Edgar:
Punishment for surprising me half to death.
//Panel 9//
Allan:
…!!
//Panel 10//
SFX:
Waa
Students:
They're fighting!

The Clan of the Poes (Page 109)

//Panel 3//
Edgar:
Where did you get hold of this?
//Panel 4//
Allan:
…Hey! You startled me.
This is Rosetti Enright.
She was my fiancee…!
//Panel 6//
Edgar's Narration:
—Ah, Allan couldn't have known
when Marybel was much smaller,
when we were still humans, such things
…from 100 years ago…it can't be.
//Panel 7//
Edgar:
That caught me off guard. I thought
it was Marybel's portrait on the porcelain…
Allan:
You see? I was also thrown for a loop when I saw your sister yesterday.
I thought Rosa—who is no longer with us—

The Clan of the Poes (Page 108)

//Panel 1//
Student 1:
Good morning, Edgar Portsnell.
Student 2:
Good morning, it's been a while.
Edgar:
Good morning.
Student 3:
Good morning!
//Panel 2//
Allan:
…Good morning. You came.
Edgar:
Good morning.
//Panel 3//
Allan:
You two went home right away yesterday.
How is Marybel?
Edgar:
She's well. Mother is tending to her.
？
?
//Panel 4//
Edgar:
They don't greet you.
Allan:
To hell with greetings,
I told you, those are my rules…
By the way—
//Panel 6//
Edgar:
What is it that you want to show me?
Allan:
You'll be surprised, for sure. Here it is.
//Panel 7//
SFX:
STARTLE!

The Clan of the Poes (Page 107)

//Panel 1//
Edgar:
Oh, thank you, this way.
SFX:
TICKTOCK
//Panel 3//
Allan's Narration:
Rosetti, Rosa…
//Panel 5//
Edgar:
I told you, this is Allan.
Marybel:
Excuse me, thank you for the water.
Allan:
…　…
… …
…well …eh …it's really…
just water…

The Clan of the Poes (Page 106)

//Panel 1//
Marybel:
It's you alone, who always stays by my side
and thinks of me.
Ever since I was little, yes,
ever since I was little.
//Panel 2//
Marybel:
I know
why we left the village and came to the town.
What you mean by your so-called "friends."
//Panel 3//
Edgar:
Are you…all right with that…?
//Panel 5//
Edgar's Narration:
You just sit there quietly.
Saying not a word—but you understand everything—
//Panel 6//
Allan:
Edgar, here's water!

The Clan of the Poes (Page 105)

//Panel 1//
Edgar:
Allan, get water!
Allan:
W-what…
Edgar:
Anemia, as usual. Quick!
//Panel 2//
Allan:
…Water—why me?
//Panel 3//
Edgar:
…Marybel…
Marybel…
…Marybel
//Panel 5//
Marybel:
…Sorry…
You gave me your blood.
…I'm…always a burden to you…
//Panel 7//
Edgar:
You should never forgive me…
//Panel 8//
Edgar:
You have the right to hate me…
To strike me dead.
Marybel:
Edgar!
Edgar:
Everything—it's all my fault—everything.
Marybel:
Edgar, Edgar, stop it!

The Clan of the Poes (Page 104)

//Panel 1//
Edgar:
…first it was a necktie, now a handkerchief.
You require so much care.
//Panel 3//
Edgar:
Wipe your face, including that tip of your nose!
I took the trouble of bringing my sister, to introduce you to her.
Don't you want to present yourself properly?
//Panel 5//
SFX:
RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE
//Panel 6//
Edgar's Voice:
Marybel!
//Panel 7//
Marybel:
Oh, Ed…
//Panel 8//
SFX:
!
!

The Clan of the Poes (Page 103)

//Panel 1//
Allan:
Shut up, shut up, shut up!
SFX:
BANG BANG
Allan:
Enough already, enough!
SFX:
BANG
Allan:
You all get lost somewhere!
Margot's Mother:
Allan!
SFX:
BANG
//Panel 2//
Margot's Mother:
Now, Allan!
What a brat!
Margot:
Hmph, you spoil him too much!
//Panel 3//
Allan's Narration:
They'll see, I'm going to kick them all out of the house!
//Panel 4//
Allan's Narration:
Doing as they please… What an aunt and cousin they are!
//Panel 6//
Allan:
…
…

The Clan of the Poes (Page 102)

//Panel 1//
Edgar's Narration:
So the Prince sent forth his envoys for sixpence.
Ridiculous! What a rich, spoiled brat!
//Panel 2//
Marybel's Voice:
Edgar
//Panel 3//
Edgar's Voice:
Marybel…!
//Panel 4//
Marybel:
Edgar, you walk so fast…
Edgar:
I told you to stay home! You're not even wearing your bonnet…
Marybel:
But…
//Panel 5//
Edgar:
Look, Marybel, that house—I have some business to do there.
Can you see? That pale blue roof?
I'll be right back. So stay here and wait for me.
Marybel:
Yes.
//Panel 6//
Edgar:
You have to stay in the shade. Don't move around.
SFX:
NOD
//Panel 7//
SFX:
!
//Panel 8//
Margot's Mother:
Cut it out, Allan! You have no idea at all…!
Allan:
Shut up!

The Clan of the Poes (Page 101)

//Panel 1//
Student 3:
Hey, hey, no need to get angry.
Student 2:
We're just worried because you don't show up at school.
Student 1:
And were wondering what happened with your injury.
Edgar:
Worried?
//Panel 2//
Student 2:
Allan Twilight is…
//Panel 4//
Edgar:
How much did you get this time?
//Panel 5//
Student 1:
…Sixpence.
Edgar:
Hmpf, you're honest.
//Panel 6//
Edgar:…
Get lost…
If you come near this house again, you'll end up regretting you didn't ask for more…!
//Panel 8//
Marybel:
Why did you chase them away?
Where are you going, Edgar?
Edgar:
Nowhere. You just stay at home.

The Clan of the Poes (Page 100)

//Panel 3//
Students:
Shhhh. Hey—don't push!
//Panel 5//
Marybel:
Oh…hello.
Students:
Oh, uh, er, um, uh…
//Panel 6//
Marybel:
Are you friends of my brother?
Student 1:
How adorable!
B-brother? So that's his little sister!
Student 3:
I-is Edgar around?
//Panel 7//
Marybel's Voice:
He's here. I'll go and call him.
Student 2:
W-wait!
No—no, no, don't call him!
Edgar:
No need to call me, after all.
//Panel 8//
Edgar:
Why are you here?
Students:
！
Edgar:
What are you Saint Windsor students doing, sneaking around in someone else's garden?

I numbered the students according to their positions from right to left in Panel 6.

The わった ("watta") in Panel 7 is a slangy combination of "Wa—" (same as English: "Wuh" or something like that, kind of a surprised exclamation) and "matta" ("Wait" or "Hey, wait"). So I translated it as "W-wait!"

I've been meaning to say this before, but doesn't Edgar in Panel 8, especially enhanced by the perspective Hagio has chosen, look like a young Lord Byron, or some other English poet of the Romantic Age? And Marybel looks like a lovely young artist's model in her "japonisme"-style kimono. It's like they're way too cool for these little brats in their childish uniforms.

The Clan of the Poes (Page 99)

The Clan of the Poes (Page 98)

//Panel 1//
Allan's Narration:
What's going on…
It's been more than 10 days—
Edgar Portsnell hasn't returned to school yet.
//Panel 2//
Allan's Narration:
Should I visit his house—?
And then…?
What if they shut the door right in my face?
//Panel 3//
Marybel:
Aren't you going to school? Edgar.
//Panel 4//
Edgar:
I'm waiting…there's one under the chair.
Marybel:
Waiting? For whom?
//Panel 5//
Edgar:
Allan Twilight, of course.
Marybel:
Will he come?
//Panel 6//
Edgar:
He will…you'll see.

More on Hagio and Drawing

I got an interesting comment earlier today, which I will quote from, if I may:

"I suppose I always focused more on [Hagio's] page composition and the techniques she uses for expressing mood and atmosphere...Poe probably marks the peak of her most ostentatiously beautiful (literally Gothic) work, but I think she's better today than ever, in terms of technique and sheer skill in conveying precisely what she wants to convey...I would have asked her in my own interview if she had some kind of photographic memory...she may be one of those people (Winsor MacCay, the creator of Little Nemo in Slumberland, was one) who can draw anything she's ever seen for more than a few seconds. I really don't know."

(You can reference the entire quote at the bottom of the post previous to this one.)

Incidentally, Winsor McCay was one of the most popular comic strip illustrators at the beginning of the 20th century, producing extremely detailed, surrealistic, elaborate, many-panelled cartoons for newspaper publication. In addition he produced some of the very first animation, which preceded the use of cels in animation, meaning that each and every drawing, with every last detail including background, had to be drawn fresh for each frame (at that time I am not sure if he employed 24 frames per second, which is the current standard, but regardless, you can see how many hundreds of frames he would need to draw for even a brief animation.) It would also be safe to bet that having a photographic memory would probably be a useful tool in an artist's arsenal for that sort of purpose.

And for Hagio, it is interesting to surmise how that could have affected her work...for example, I would guess that it allowed her to either take on more challenging visual subjects, or else become more prolific (by wasting less time on research and reviewing that research), or else just allow her to spend more time on whatever aspects of drafting or storytelling might have been more of a weak point for her.

Moto Hagio probably would have been an excellent crime witness as well! But joking aside, I wonder if she felt particularly blessed by this "gift" and I wonder especially how she must have had to draw on other resources as it gradually diminished with age.

Also I haven't seen the newer work of Hagio, so I can't offer my own subjective opinion of her evolved visual style, but based on the above comment, it seems like Hagio has streamlined her style tremendously. And whether this is a direct reaction to losing that "photographic memory," or more likely a higher sense of confidence in her abilities and a less-is-more approach, I find it a good study in adaptation--making the most of an unusual gift, and then letting go of one's reliance on it.

Moto Hagio's Photographic Memory?

In one interview of Moto Hagio I translated earlier, she said:

Back then even my brain was plastic and flexible, so I could just remember a manga of this length (one-shot short) for about a year, with all compositions and lines. I absorbed them like photographic papers.

I think this was very telling. When I read her bio, I didn't really notice much sign of formal drawing training. Yet she executes her drawing with such precision and flexibility. She uses dynamic perspectives to enhance drama, and those are really difficult to draw correctly.

I read an interesting episode about her childhood somewhere. When she was 7, she tagged along with her older sister to drawing lessons. One assignment she got was to draw a carp streamer, which are customarily flown in Japan to celebrate Children's Day in May. She drew the streamers over the roof, with some portion hidden behind the roof and other parts of the streamers. The teacher dismissed her work as something done under adult supervision and complained to her parents not to meddle with their daughter's assignment. She didn't believe it when she was told it was Hagio's own work, saying such young child couldn't have understood perspective. In this interview Hagio says:

When I was in elementary school, I was just following examples and copying the pictures. I tried to copy the faces from various angles. Facing right, facing left, facing front, and back, and so forth. As for the way you draw eyes, Masako Watanabe would do this, or Miyako Maki would do that—I was like such an Otaku, wasn't I?

She went to a fashion design school after graduating from high school. She must have gotten some drawing lessons there as well, but she would soon leave for Tokyo to start a professional life. She must have been doing pretty well even before she got those lessons.

I think Hagio was gifted with some kind of photographic memory, and that really helped her with developing her drawing skills despite a lack of formal training.

I have received some comments to this blog to the effect that people who do discover the work of "classic" manga really appreciate the more complex draftmanship and beautiful detail of these works. One person even said that he or she finds it hard to continue reading current manga after spending a lot of time looking at vintage manga; the newer stuff seems insipid and "plastic."

Very Very Current, Trendy Vampire News!

I don't have much info right now, but have just learned that HBO (one of the big US cable networks that is known for its creative programming) will be offering a new, upcoming series entitled "True Blood." It will be produced by Alan Ball, who is responsible for the wonderful "Six Feet Under", and is based on a novel series by the novelist Charlaine Harris, about some vampires who arrive in a small town in Louisiana and mix up with the locals there. Academy award winner Anna Paquin has already signed on to play a key (non-vampire) role.

I haven't read any of Harris's books, but glancing at her website, I get the sense that they are written in the vein of black humor.

I hope the series does well! When I hear more specifics about it, I will let you know.

(Ha! According to this link on the author's website-which also contains some illustrations of the HBO set being constructed-"'True Blood' takes place in a world where vampires can buy Japanese-made synthetic blood." I don't know why, but that little detail is amusing.)

A Kitschy but Visually Stylish Take on Vampires

(Please bear with me as I take a very short break from translation and mull other interesting thoughts about vampires. :-) )

Here's another cult Vampire movie I've been wanting to see, which would be quite different from Moto Hagio's interpretation of vampires, but interesting in its own way. It is The Hunger, a 1983 movie starring the glam David Bowie, Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon. Just imagining the production values, the classical/ gloomy, gothic Bauhaus/Iggy Pop soundtrack and the eye candy factor makes it sound watchable, though I suspect the vampire theme is handled in a rather campy and over-the-top way. But that would precisely make it fun, wouldn't it?

Anyhow, here is a partial plot summary from Wikipedia:

Catherine Deneuve's character, Miriam Blaylock, is a beautiful and modern vampire who chooses human lovers and promises them eternal life. As the film begins, her current companion is John (Bowie), a man she married in 18th century France. They live together in an elegant New York townhouse.

Yet as John learns, humans can never become true vampires. Miriam herself is truly ageless, with flashbacks indicating that she has been alive since at least the time of Ancient Egypt. Her human lovers, however, only experienced prolonged youth for a century or two. Then they begin to age rapidly, eventually deteriorating into withered, corpse-like figures. The true horror of this situation is that these vampire/human hybrids age but cannot die. Miriam and John both hope that Dr. Sarah Richards (Sarandon) will be able to help restore his health.

When John visits Sarah's clinic, she dismisses his claims of rapid aging as delusional. She leaves him to sit in the waiting room, where he ages decades in just a few hours. Sarah is appalled when she sees what has happened to John, but it is too late to help him. The now-ancient man returns home and begs Miriam to kill him. She tells him that she cannot, and tenderly places him in a coffin in the attic alongside her other former lovers.

Sarah, guilty over her failure to treat John, comes looking for him at home. Miriam decides to take Sarah as her new companion. She seduces the doctor and, while they are having sex, cuts herself and has Sarah drink her blood.

Sarah returns home to her boyfriend Tom (Cliff DeYoung), not realizing what Miriam has done to her. She begins to feel increasingly distracted, and experiences a hunger that cannot be sated even with raw steak. Sarah returns to Miriam's house and demands an explanation.

Miriam attempts to initiate Sarah in the necessities of life as a vampire, but Sarah is repulsed by the thought of subsisting on human blood. Still reeling from the effects of her vampiric transformation, Sarah allows Miriam to put her to bed in a guestroom. When Tom comes looking for Sarah, Miriam sends him up to find her. Sarah, crazed with hunger, attacks Tom and drinks his blood.

Once she has finished feeding, Sarah goes downstairs to find Miriam. Miriam is pleased that Sarah seems to have finally come around. Yet Sarah, overcome with grief at murdering Tom, has decided that she will not continue on be a vampire. She cuts her own throat. She cannot die, but the loss of blood apparently renders her comatose.

(I won't give away the ending. :-) ) And though I would get to enjoy seeing a very gorgeous David Bowie for at least part of the movie, I suppose at a certain point he would start looking gruesome, though Sarandon and Deneuve, at least, would stay hot and stunning till the end.

It sounds kind of silly, but again, there are some basic commonalities with other vampire stories: the time-traveling, the immortality and (nearly) eternal youth, the need for blood, the self-disgust in becoming a vampire and losing one's humanity.

Maybe sometime soon I will rent out some DVDs and have a vampire film festival to see how differently the vampire mythos is played out at different times in the recent modern culture.

The publication of The Clan of the Poes

The previous page is what I believe is the end of the first 31-page installment of the 4-part story "The Clan of the Poes," as it was originally serialized from September to December 1972 issues of Bessatsu Shojo Komikku.

Unlike earlier stories which mainly focus on interactions with vampires from a human perspective, we finally get to see the inner life of the vampires. The background is all laid out now, and to me, this is where the story really starts to get compelling.

In "The Village of the Poes" we saw that vampires kept to themselves and avoided interaction with humans. Apparently Marybel's poor health requires new blood and forces the Portsnells to leave the safety of the secluded village.

Edgar, an unwilling vampire, experiences deep existential anxiety and remorse, and despite the rules against bringing non-adults into the clan, he sets his mind on Allan.

Allan also suffers from mind-boggling pressures and deep distrust of others as the sole heir to a great fortune. He is actually a caring, sensitive and complex kid compared to how Paris Hilton turned out.

Two deeply solitary souls repel and attract each other like magnets, setting the stage for the next installment. I am amazed at the mastery of storytelling Hagio displayed at a mere 21.

The Clan of the Poes (Page 97)

//Panel 1//
Margot's Mother:
Take this away, dear.
Stop fastening onto Dr. Clifford, Margot.
Margot:
But really, the Doctor is crazy about this blossoming 16-year-old girl!
Margot's Mother:
Stop kiddingーyou're 15.
//Panel 2//
Margot's Mother:
You're supposed to marry Allan someday!
Margot:
That little brat!
//Panel 3//
Margot's Mother:
Listen to me! Why do you think your father took over the trading company after his younger brother's death?
Margot:
Yes, yes, yes, maaama!
Servant:
Oh.
//Panel 4//
Allan's Narration:
Hmph.
//Panel 5//
Allan's Narration:
This is the reality of the Twilights, the biggest name in this whole city
and the "rich and lucky" kid they all envy and try to butter up—
//Panel 7//
Allan's Narration:
I've never met anyone like him…

The Clan of the Poes (Page 96)

//Panel 1//
Clifford:
The Baron was furious with him.
Here you are, madam.
…How about visiting his house?
Allan:
Visit his house!?
//Panel 2//
Allan:
I can't do that—why should I go out of my way…
Clifford:
But you care, don't you?
//Panel 3//
SFX:
SLAM!
//Panel 4//
Allan's Narration:
It's true I caused his injury, but—
I took him to the doctor—
And with all the bleeding, his cuts were rather small.
//Panel 5//
Allan's Narration:
On top of that, why must I worry about him…?
Margot:
Heh heh…
//Panel 6//
Margot:
…You know, your mama has a nice complexion on Wednesdays when Dr. Clifford comes…!
//Panel 7//
Margot:
Does her hair, puts on makeup!
That old lady of 40!
Allan:
Margot!
//Panel 8//
Margot:
Doctor! Have you finished with your examination? Wait, umm, I need to speak with you!
Allan:
…Now, who likes the doctor…?

The Clan of the Poes (Page 95)

//Panel 2//
Rachael Twilight:
Oh, welcome, doctor.
Clifford:
Hello, Mrs. Twilight. Are you sleeping well at night?
Allan:
Dr. Clifford.
//Panel 3//
Clifford:
Hmm? Allan?
Allan:
Have you been to visit Edgar since that incident?
//Panel 4//
Allan:
How is his injury?
Clifford:
I think he's almost fully recovered.
Rachael Twilight:
Allan, dear.
//Panel 5//
Rachael Twilight:
Your friend was injured?
Are YOU alright?
Allan:
I don't act roughly like that.
Rachael Twilight:
I don't believe it. You are a boy, after all.
//Panel 6//
Rachael Twilight:
You take after your father more and more…

The Clan of the Poes (Page 94)

//Panel 1//
Marybel:
Edgar, look! A wreath of ivy!
//Panel 2//
Edgar:
Don't, Marybel, don't!
Edgar's Narration:
Marybel
//Panel 3//
Edgar:
If you run around like that, you'll get ill—
Edgar's Narration:
Marybel
Marybel
Marybel:
I'm fine! I've been feeling quite well.
//Panel 4//
Edgar's Narration:
My life, my love.
//Panel 6//
Edgar's Narration:
—I want to add on to the clan—
No matter what…it's him.
—Allan

The Clan of the Poes (Page 93)

//Panel 1//
Baron Portsnell:
Edgar, don't pry into our business!
//Panel 3//
Edgar:
I know—it's an adult that we must choose to bring into the clan.
You can't stay in one place more than two years because of us.
"How odd…that Baron's children don't grow one bit."
//Panel 4//
Edgar:
I know it very, very well!
Baron Portsnell:
No need to shout. That's fine, as long as you understand!
//Panel 5//
Edgar's Narration:
But you people would never understand the depth of my solitude.
//Panel 6//
Edgar's Narration:
Time passes me by
In ten years…I'll wake up to the same morning—

The Clan of the Poes (Page 92)

//Panel 1//
Baron Portsnell:
I told you so many times never to make such a blunder!
What is this pathetic sight!
//Panel 2//
Sheila:
It's all right. Fortunately, this incident brought us closer to that nice doctor.
Baron Portsnell:
That's a separate issue!
Listen, Edgar, don't heal those wounds for at least a week.
//Panel 3//
Edgar:
They will be gone by tomorrow.
Baron Portsnell:
No, for humans it takes a week.
That's what the doctor told me.
Keep your wounds open!
//Panel 4//
Marybel:
Are you going to stay home? You're not going to school?
Edgar:
Uh-huh, not for a while.
//Panel 5//
Marybel:
Hmph. I was looking forward to you bringing home a friend.
Edgar:
Hush!
//Panel 7//
Baron Portsnell:
A friend? What do you mean by a friend?
Edgar:
Nothing!

The Clan of the Poes (Page 91)

//Panel 1//
Edgar's Narration:
In ten years… I'll be just as I am now.
//Panel 2//
Edgar's Narration:
Time will pass me by, overlooking me—
Clifford:
Well, it seems like your family has arrived.
Edgar's Narration:
In ten years…I'll wake up to the same morning—
//Panel 3//
Baron Portsnell:
Excuse us…
Clifford:
—Well, well, Baron…!
I just finished treating…
//Panel 4//
SFX:
SLAP!
//Panel 7//
Sheila:
—Darling.

There were more tricky sections to translate here. In the first panel, Edgar says literally something along the lines of, "Even if ten years pass, I'll be like this/as I am." Panel 2: "Time, pretending not to notice me, will go on past my side—" And then: "Even if ten years pass, facing the same morning—" So this is another example of the poetry that is delicate and difficult to translate from one language to another.

Anyway, the above passage reminds me of Groundhog Day. I know, Edgar doesn't literally repeat the same day over and over, but he is weary of the fact that in the bigger picture, nothing will essentially change for him. And this is despite all the different travels (both geographical, and through time) that he may experience. Anyway, that movie was a poignant comedy, while Edgar's plight is merely sad, and I detect some bitterness in him, too.

The Clan of the Poes (Page 90)

//Panel 2//
Female Patient:
Mmmm…
//Panel 4//
Female Patient:
Aaack!
Allan:
Doctor!
We have an injured person!
//Panel 6//
Allan:
Who was it…that woman…Is she your…
Clifford:
Don't misconstrue the situation. She was just thanking me for treating her cracked nail.
Lift your chin a bit.
//Panel 7//
Edgar:
I see: the doctors in this town are kind to women.
Clifford:
Children shouldn't speak so precociously.
//Panel 8//
Edgar:
…Children.
Clifford:
That's sarcasm. You can say such things in ten years or so, after you become an adult.

The Clan of the Poes (Page 89)

//Panel 1//
Student:
Ohhh!
SFX:
THUD
Edgar:
You'd better get the teacher to a doctor.
//Panel 4//
Allan:
Halt!
//Panel 5//
Edgar:
Let me go, what…
Carriage Driver:
You're joking, right?…why, look how he's bleeding!
Allan:
Stop! I'm Allan Twilight.
//Panel 6//
Carriage Driver:
At your service.
Allan:
Get inside!
//Panel 7//
Allan:
Take us to Dr. Clifford's in Rigby Street.
Carriage Driver:
Yes.

In Panel 4, in the original Japanese Allan literally says, "Carriage!" rather than, "Halt!" Based on some advice, I did try researching some Sherlock Holmes stories and so forth to find out the etiquette (ie, word choice) you would have used at the time to hail a carriage, but I came up empty. "Halt!" will have to do.

The Clan of the Poes (Page 88)

//Panel 1//
Students:
Damn you, newcomer! Let's get him!!
//Panel 2//
Teacher:
Hey! Stop this at once. What's going on here?
//Panel 3//
SFX:
WHAM
//Panel 5//
SFX:
SMASH
//Panel 6//
Students:
GASP!
//Panel 9//
SFX:
SPLINTER
//Panel 10//
Edgar:
Sorry for breaking the glass.
Teacher:
What…wha…you…blood…blood…doctor…doctor…call the…

Very creative, edgy, dynamic use of panels and space to convey a sense of agitated motion and violence.

The Clan of the Poes (Page 87)

//Panel 2//
SFX:
STOMP STOMP
//Panel 3//
Edgar:
Hey, what are you doing with those feet?
//Panel 4//
Student:
Feet? What feet?
//Panel 7//
Edgar:
These!
SFX:
STRIKE SHRIEK THUD

The Clan of the Poes (Page 86)

//Panel 2//
Edgar:
Allan Twilight's rules…?
What do you do with such an overbearing approach?
Ridiculous…
//Panel 4//
Allan:
…The fortune I will inherit at 18 is under my uncle's supervision
and this whole city, this whole port, is under the influence of the company.
If I say one word…
Edgar:
Well, I see—in other words you can't do anything on your own.
//Panel 5//
Allan:
How dare you talk to me like…
Edgar:
If I dare, then what? I'll handle it with my own two hands if someone rubs me the wrong way.
//Panel 6//
Edgar:
Hmph, I thought you would be better than this.
Bye! I'm probably better off looking after my sister at home.
//Panel 9//
Allan:
That new kid. What's his name?
//Panel 10//
Allan:
The new kid!
Student:
Er, uh…do you mean Edgar Portsnell?

So Edgar gives Allan a tongue-lashing. And it appears to have worked! Allan is clearly impressed with this new kid who is the only one with enough guts to stand up to him. It's almost like the challenge of a seduction between the two of them, the way Hagio plays it out.

By the way, there is an error in the original Japanese—when Edgar says "上段にかまえて" it should really have been "大上段にかまえて" as the set phrase, meaning "to take an overbearing approach."

The Clan of the Poes (Page 85)

//Panel 1//
Edgar:
You see, we met at the riding grounds last week.
Allan:
Stop bothering me. I'm reading!
//Panel 2//
Edgar:
Are you an upperclassman? If we're in the same class, we could study together.
Allan:
You're interrupting me.
//Panel 3//
Edgar:
Who's that? Goethe?
//Panel 4//
Edgar:
Have you read Eckermann? Do you know what he said of Goethe?
SFX:
SLAM
Allan:
Where did you say you came from?
//Panel 5//
Edgar:
London.
Allan:
I see. This is your first day and you don't know anything.
//Panel 6//
Edgar:
Sort of. If you could teach me about school—
//Panel 7//
Allan:
Then I'll tell you. Go away when I say you're bothering me!
//Panel 8//
Allan:
If I tell you to turn right, then turn right!
Keep quiet unless I speak to you!
Don't talk to me, don't hang around me!
These are my rules at this school. Obey them!

The Clan of the Poes (Page 84)

//Panel 2//
Edgar:
Hello!
//Panel 5//
SFX:
WHOOSH
//Panel 8//
Edgar:
Hi Allan, I was hoping you would remember me…

Interesting way of visually drawing out the tension of Allan's and Edgar's first meeting at the school.

I forgot to mention that in the previous page (Page 83), Hagio's drawing exceeds the border in Panel 6. Another example of cinematic effect indicating a zoom.

The Clan of the Poes (Page 83)

//Panel 1//
School Official:
Yes, we have the Baron's word. This Saint Windsor is
//Panel 2//
School Official:
primarily a boarding school, but we have a few commuting students, all from good families…
//Panel 3//
Students:
Who?
A new kid…
from the house on the cape.
School Official:
Mass begins at 7:00… But you can attend services at home if you have a chapel.
//Panel 4//
School Official:
Classes start at 8:30.
We will provide textbooks—Latin, Greek, and Geometry…
//Panel 5//
Edgar's Narration:
Keeping their distance…well, that's how it goes, the first day.
—By the way
—where on earth is he?

Having had romantic, idealized images of preppy boarding school life myself when I was growing up, I am amused and intrigued to see how these imaginings would play out within the mind of someone from a completely outside culture, such as a Japanese person like Hagio Moto. It is clear that she is fascinated by this enclosed, hierarchical world with its rich traditions on the surface, and underneath that, its rigid social structures with boys assuming different roles within the pecking order. A boarding school may not be literally as enclosed and tight as a spaceship (as she mentioned in interviews, Hagio likes placing her characters in claustrophobic situations), but it's certainly not a place where it is easy to go about one's business unobserved, or to do whatever one wants without consequences.

My Japanese husband informs me that 転校生 (tenkousei, a transfer student) really is a cause for excitement among other schoolkids, probably because Japan is a much less mobile society than, for example, the United States. People don't move around as much, so the appearance on the scene of a fresh face is something that would cause at least mild curiosity among the other kids.

The Clan of the Poes (Page 82)

//Panel 1//
Baron Portsnell:
Edgar, you're not casting a reflection in the glass!!
SFX:
BAM!
//Panel 2//
SFX:
STARTLE!
//Panel 3//
Baron Portsnell:
Right. That's better.
If you don't want a stake driven through your chest, never fail to act like a human!
//Panel 4//
Edgar:
Pretend to breathe…to have a pulse…
Cast reflections in mirrors, show signs of pain when your finger gets caught in a door…
I can do that much. Let me prove it.
//Panel 5//
Baron Portsnell:
Well then, go ahead and show me.
//Panel 6//
Marybel:
How boring. If you go to school, then I'll be all alone.
//Panel 7//
Edgar:
…I'll bring home a friend.
Marybel:
Really? Who?
//Panel 8//
Edgar:
Allan Twilight.

Here are some lessons in how to pass as a human. It must be inconvenient to have to force yourself to have a pulse. So much to remember before leaving the house each morning! No wonder the Portsnells tend to keep to themselves…Though that in itself can attract attention, too.

Poor Marybel doesn't really have much to keep her occupied, does she? It really is a lonely situation.

The Clan of the Poes (Page 81)

//Panel 1//
SFX:
ZAZAA
Edgar's Voice:
If Marybel needs new blood,
//Panel 2//
ZAZAAN
Edgar's Voice:
Why not his?
//Panel 3//
Baron Portsnell:
I couldn't hear you because of the waves.
What did you say, Edgar?
//Panel 4//
Edgar:
I'd like to go to school…
//Panel 5//
Marybel:
School!
Well, so would I!
Edgar:
If we acted like real children, wouldn't that help your undertaking as well?
//Panel 6//
Edgar:
…the one with those fine doctors.

"ZAZAAN" and "ZAZAA" are the sounds in Japanese of waves crashing and breaking against the rocks.

It is astonishing to think that in all this time (who knows how many years and years), Edgar and Marybel have not been to school.

The Clan of the Poes (Page 80)

//Panel 1//
Allan:
I'm Allan. Allan Twilight.
//Panel 3//
Edgar:
I'm Edgar.
//Panel 4//
Allan:
You don't look familiar. Not from the same school, I suppose.
Edgar:
School?
//Panel 5//
Allan:
Saint Windsor, of course.
Edgar:
My family just moved into the house on the cape.
//Panel 6//
Allan:
That red house? When?
Edgar:
Yes, the ivy-covered one…just yesterday.
//Panel 7//
Allan:
…huh, an outsider…!
//Panel 8//
Edgar:
Which way is the cape? I think I'm lost.
Allan:
To the right!
//Panel 9//
Edgar:…
Thanks, Allan Twilight…

Where did Hagio Moto get the name "Saint Windsor" from? It sounds like she was attempting to find a traditional-sounding name in the line of Eton or some other preppy school. Or maybe there was a saint named Windsor out there somewhere, perhaps. In any case, it is obviously the only school in town for a boy from a "good" family, which the quick-witted Edgar immediately picks up on.