The Village of the Poes (Page 42)

//Panel 1//
Glen Smith's Narration:
I searched the environs surrounding the castle, but there was definitely no such village to be found.
//Panel 2//
Glen Smith's Narration:
…But it wasn't a dream…because on my neck I still have a faint scar from the blood sucking. Could that boy have given my blood to the young girl afterwards?
//Panel 3//
Glen Smith's Narration:
The youth who claimed to be immortal...from which point exactly has he been alive?
The Poes! The village where a family of vampires lives, where roses bloom!
//Panel 4//
Glen Smith's Narration:
And with that, nobody would ever believe a word of this. Even the scar on my neck quickly faded. There's nothing for it but to record this in my diary.
//Panel 5//
Glen Smith's Narration:
The 13th of July, 1865, Glen Smith

End: "The Village of the Poes" —May 1972—

The Village of the Poes (Page 41)

//Panel 1//
Glen Smith's Narration:
The previous night's storm had left the forest laced with moisture, and water droplets glistened between the trees.
//Panel 2//
Glen Smith's Narration:
The villager who led me out of the woods quickly disappeared…
//Panel 3//
Glen Smith's Narration:
And two hours later I had made my way back to Sundown Castle.
//Panel 4//
Friends:
Glen! Where were you?
Two whole nights!
//Panel 5//
Glen Smith:
Sorry for that. I became lost, and ended up lodging at a nearby village.
Friends:
Village?
Glen Smith:
And because of the storm, I couldn't return quickly…I need some tea.
//Panel 6//
Friends:
There was definitely a storm, but "The Village of the Poes"?…
There's no such village nearby here, with roses blooming.
Are you sure you weren't dreaming?

The Village of the Poes (Page 40)

//Panel 1//
Edgar:
See…just by doing this, I can get the energy we need from you through my fingertips…
//Panel 2//
Glen Smith:
And…kill roses! But…you must be vulnerable to light,
//Panel 3//
Glen Smith:
Cast no reflection in a mirror, and are repelled by garlic and crucifixes.
Edgar:
And live in a coffin?
//Panel 4//
Glen Smith:
So I heard and read in books…Are you really a vampire?
//Panel 5//
Edgar:
Hnn… fine, if that's how you would like to call us. We are… the Poes. Well…good night…take care.
//Panel 6//
Glen Smith's Narration:
The Poes…

The Village of the Poes (Page 39)

//Panel 1//
Glen Smith's Narration:
Peerless beauty, eternal life, bottomless fear, unknowable mystery…in the legend, blue mist, twilight and darkness
Amidst the dripping blood, cold fingers and smiles
//Panel 2//
Glen Smith:
—Then—
//Panel 3//
Glen Smith:
…I will become a vampire, too—
Edgar:
Hnn… a fool like you who mistook my sister for a deer and shot her, joining our immortal clan?
//Panel 4//
Edgar:
You don't merit it. Please go back tomorrow
and live as human for the number of years God allotted to you.
//Panel 5//
Glen Smith:
…I must have a bite mark on my neck!
Edgar:
I don't suck in such a poor fashion. We can…

The Village of the Poes (Page 38)

//Panel 1//
Edgar:
Marybel is weak. You need to give us a little bit of your blood.
//Panel 2//
Glen Smith:
Blood…? …God…! Did you suck my blood?
//Panel 3//
Edgar:
Fresh blood has plenty of energy.
Glen Smith:
You sucked my blood!
//Panel 6//
Glen Smith:
…Vampires…
Glen Smith's Narration:
in a village blooming with roses, roses, roses…

The Village of the Poes (Page 37)

//Panel 1//
SFX:
HOWL
//Panel 2//
SFX:
MOAN
//Panel 4//
Glen Smith:
…Who is it…!
//Panel 7//
Glen Smith:
Edgar! What were you doing?

The Village of the Poes (Page 36)

//Panel 1//
SFX:
ROAR
//Panel 2//
Glen Smith:
…This is really bad… I am glad I didn't leave. The roses will all be ruined.
//Panel 3//
Edgar:
They'll bloom again. It is just a summer storm. It will die down overnight, and be clear tomorrow.
Glen Smith:
So I wish…though it is a good village,
//Panel 4//
Glen Smith:
I can't get used to your traditional meals…just the rose soup.
//Panel 5//
SFX:
SWISH
//Panel 6//
Glen Smith's Narration:
When I get back, I will have tea with plenty of cream.
SFX:
WAIL
SFX:
WAIL
Glen Smith's Narration:
Then thickly cut cheese over a steak, Brussels sprouts, white bread, wine and a pot of jam…
//Panel 7//
SFX:
ROAR HOWL

The Village of the Poes (Page 35)

//Panel 1//
Lady Portsnell:
Oh dear, you see she is lacking blood…she must stay in bed.
//Panel 2//
Glen Smith:
I will…
Lady Portsnell:
Don't trouble yourself…She is often anemic.
//Panel 3//
SFX:
SWISH
//Panel 4//
SFX:
FLICK
//Panel 5//
Lady Portsnell:
Oh, she is really all right. Rather, you should be thinking about going back.
//Panel 7//
Baron Portsnell:
I will have someone see you off to the exit of the village.
Edgar:
Not today, I am afraid.
//Panel 8//
Edgar:
A storm is coming.

The Village of the Poes (Page 34)

//Panel 1//
Glen Smith:
Anyhow, I can go home alive.
Baron Portsnell:
Ha ha…you took my son's word seriously? You are very credulous.
//Panel 2//
Glen Smith:
Is this jasmine?
Lady Portsnell:
Rose, sir.
Baron Portsnell:
…We live
//Panel 3//
Baron Portsnell:
in a peculiar…old-fashioned way.
Glen Smith's Narration:
It surely was old-fashioned. But Edgar's alleged adoptive parents whom I met that morning, Baron Portsnell and his wife…
//Panel 4//
Glen Smith's Narration
…were composed and spoke in pleasant tones…
SFX:
STARTLE
//Panel 5//
Glen Smith's Narration:
The color of the youth's eyes had not changed but his attitude was much softer.
//Panel 7//
Lady Portsnell:
Marybel!

The Village of the Poes (Page 33)

///Panel 1//
Glen Smith:
…Good morning; are you…Marybel?
Marybel:
Yes, milord from outside.
//Panel 2//
Glen Smith:
The same Marybel that I shot yesterday in the forest? Are you already…?
Marybel:
Yes, though I am not completely well yet.
//Panel 4//
Marybel:
Excuse me?
Glen Smith:
Pardon, eh…just…
//Panel 5//
Glen Smith's Narration:
Out of disbelief I touched her…on her neck was the gun wound, almost healed…
//Panel 6//
Glen Smith's Narration:
It is true she is recovering. Some unusual physical constitution, I guess, as the servant said. The next day everything was better.

The Village of the Poes (Page 32)

//Panel 3//
Glen Smith:
Ahhhh
SFX:
SWING
//Panel 6//
Glen Smith:
…Marybel!?

The Village of the Poes (Page 31)

//Panel 1//
Old woman:
The sun sets now. Please return to the mansion. You won't find your way out of this village by yourself.
//Panel 2//
Glen Smith's Narration:
The Village of…the Poes…
//Panel 3//
Servant:
…Here, your meal is served. Yes, Miss Marybel is no longer critical.
//Panel 4//
Glen Smith:
Not critical!
//Panel 5//
Glen Smith:
Oh, with that injury, I was rather sure she wouldn't make it.
How is she…conscious?
//Panel 6//
Servant:
Baron and Lady are attending to her very closely now, but it looks like everything should be better tomorrow.
//Panel 7//
Glen Smith's Narration:
My dinner was just soup; no bread or wine. But I was relieved nonetheless…

The Village of the Poes (Page 30)

//Panel 1//
Glen Smith:
…Sundown Castle…where the Earl of Rutland lives…which direction is it?
//Panel 2//
Old woman:
…Never heard of it.
Glen Smith:
But it must not be far from here! I can't have gotten lost in the mists for that long!
//Panel 3//
Glen Smith:
What kind of village is this, exactly? Not one stalk of wheat or bean! No cattle whatsoever, and not a single human voice! Who governs here, and how does anyone earn their keep? Perhaps you make jam or perfume from all these roses?
//Panel 4//
Old woman:
We call this place the Village of the Poes.
//Panel 5//
Old woman:
We raise roses for our keep.
Glen Smith:
Roses? Just these splendid red roses?
//Panel 6//
Old woman:
You are an outsider, sir. Within this village, we have our own ways of doing things. Going back hundreds and hundreds of years. That's how we have come to be…we've survived by raising roses.

The Village of the Poes (Page 29)

//Panel 1//
Edgar:
Where are you going? You won't be able to leave the village. All the villagers know what happened.
//Panel 2//
Edgar:
No one would let you go.
//Panel 5//
Glen Smith:
Old woman…
Old woman:
Yes, milord from outside.
//Panel 6//
Glen Smith:
…What are you doing?
Old woman:
These will go into the soup.

The Village of the Poes (Page 28)

//Panel 1//
Edgar:
Nonsense...?
Do you have…any idea at all!
//Panel 2//
Edgar:
You tried to kill Marybel! She's my blood relation…my sister…my love, the only one within all the Heavens and the Earth!
//Panel 3//
Edgar:
I live only because of Marybel…for her only! Ever since she was little, ever since…I have stayed by her side, protecting her.
//Panel 5//
Edgar:
You said you would take full responsibility, didn't you? That's a given!

The Village of the Poes (Page 27)

//Panel 1//
Glen Smith:
…How is Marybel…?
Edgar:
We don't know yet.
//Panel 2//
Glen Smith:
…I take full responsibility.
Please call your servant. I want to dispatch a message.
//Panel 3//
Glen Smith:
I'm a guest of the Earl of Rutland at Sundown Castle. I think they may be worried about me disappearing in the middle of the hunt—I just want to let them know I am here in this village…
//Panel 4//
Edgar:
There's no need for that. If Marybel dies, I'm going to kill you.
//Panel 5//
Edgar:
If Marybel turns out fine, I'll send you off without a scratch.
//Panel 6//
Glen Smith:
NONSENSE!

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.

The Village of the Poes (Page 25)

//Panel 1//
Glen Smith's Narration:
…Roses…!?
//Panel 2//
Glen Smith's Narration:
…Roses…!
//Panel 3//
Servant:
This way, milord from outside.
//Panel 4//
Glen Smith:
Oh! Wait, please. Will the girl be saved? Do you have a good doctor here?
Servant:
There is no cause for worry…She is being taken care of upstairs now…
//Panel 5//
Glen Smith:
No cause for worry? I came here because I was concerned—and I cannot go back! It is I who injured her…
Servant:
There is no need for you to worry about Miss Marybel. You are an outsider.

The Village of the Poes (Page 24)

//Panel 1//
Glen Smith's Narration:
Had the villager not appeared at that moment, I would have surely been killed by this boy.
//Panel 2//
Villager:
To the mansion…quick… And you, too, sir…
//Panel 4//
Glen Smith:
Is the girl…
Edgar:
Walk!
//Panel 6//
Glen Smith's Narration:
…What kind of eyes has he, blue as arctic stars…

The Village of the Poes (Page 23)

//Panel 1//
Glen Smith:
I am Baron Glen Smith Longbart.
I was mistaken…I…
didn't expect to see children in such a place…
//Panel 3//
SFX:
WHACK
//Panel 4//
SFX:
THUD
//Panel 5//
SFX:
CLICK!
//Panel 6//
Edgar:
…Hand me the bullets!
Glen Smith:
…!
//Panel 7//
Villager:
Master Edgar!?