The Village of the Poes (Page 26)

//Panel 1//
Servant:
…In the meantime, we may need some assistance from you. In any case, please wait here.
//Panel 2//
SFX:
SHUT
Glen Smith:
I'm a guest at Sundown Castle…
//Panel 5//
Glen Smith's Narration:
…That youth…I think his name was Edgar…
//Panel 6//
SFX:
SNAP!


Panel 4 is very interesting. Glen Smith is indoors and Edgar is outside. If this was a live action film, this composition would be nearly impossible—it requires exposure with really high dynamic range. Hagio really has a very cinematic approach in her composition, so I always imagine how it would look like in a live action film. Recently, I found out that there is a special technique called HDR Imaging that can handle this problem, but in actual film you would probably just pan from indoors to outdoors. Anyhow, I just wonder how Hagio developed such a cinematic sense. She may not be the first artist who's been successful with this, but she really stands out, even now, for pushing the cinematic capabilities of manga to the limit. While reading her work, you, the reader, feel like you can practically step into her three-dimensional world...at least I feel that way. She dissolves boundaries and creates scene after scene of fluid, dynamic energy on a flat page—not bad at all!

P.S. Here are some interesting example of HDR images.