Hollow Fields

Infobox original English manga
name = Hollow Fields


imagesize =
caption = Cover, "Hollow Fields" volume 1
genre =
multigenre=y
Adventure = y
Steampunk = y
author = Madeleine Rosca
illustrator =
publisher = flagicon|USA Seven Seas Entertainment
publisher_other = flagicon|Hungary Vad Virágok Könyvműhely
demographic =
magazine =
first = June 2007
last = ongoing
volumes = 2
chapter_list =
related =
subcat = Seven Seas Entertainment
sort = Hollow Fields
OEL = Y

"Hollow Fields" is a steampunk-themed Original English-language manga written and illustrated by Madeleine Rosca.

Volume 1 was released by Seven Seas Entertainment in June 2007, with a second volume released on May 29, 2008, and a third expected sometime in January 2009.

Plot

Little Lucy Snow was meant to be enjoying her first day at the nice elementary school in town; however, a macabre twist of fate sees her enrolled instead at Miss Weaver's Academy for the Scientifically Gifted and Ethically Unfettered - also known as Hollow Fields. Located on the outskirts of Nullsville and run by the insidious Engineers, the grim boarding school dedicates itself to raising the next generation of mad scientists and evil geniuses. After enrolling in the school by mistake, she realizes how dangerous it was for her to register. At the end of every week, the student with the lowest grades gets sent to 'detention'. Once they are taken away, nobody ever sees the student again. Lucy must find a way to escape the school and escape detention.

Characters

Students

;Lucy SnowLucy Snow is a 9 and a half year old girl who accidentally gets enrolled at Hollow Fields. When she first arrived at the town she asked a stranger where she could find "Saint Galbat's Academy for young ladies", where she was enrolled to go. After taking the strangers advice she went into the forest surrounding the town and went searching for her school. She comes across "Hollow Fields" by mistaking it as the Academy and enters the building to be confronted by Miss Notch, who tries to kill her. By insisting she was enrolled "at the school in town", Miss Notch thinks she is a new student and gives her a contract to sign. She signs it and becomes Hollow Fields property until next year's graduation. She is in the fifth grade and has a class rival called Summer Polanski. She also has acquired an "talking box" called Doctor Bleak. At the end of Volume 2, she saves Claude from falling, at the risk of being discovered by Miss Weaver and being sent to detention with him.;Claude McGintyClaude McGinty is a 10 year old student also enrolled at Hollow Fields. He is a stern, standoffish guy who is a genius in all things mechanic, especially robots. He is trying to escape Hollow Fields with two of his other friends for unknown reasons. When Lucy snow first encounters him he has cold to her and calls her names, and shouts at her when she tried to talk to him. Lucy encounters him in the library late one night and asks to work with him to get out of Hollow Fields where he claims that " [Their] committee policy is no girls allowed", and later says that he makes the rules revealing that he has issues with girls. He later grows a little fonder of Lucy after she saves him from falling in a pit in the Remnant Room. It is also revealed heavily by Miss Weaver that he once had a sister, who was sent to detention.

;Summer PolanskiSummer Polanski is the smartest student at Hollow Fields. She is adored by the staff, and is very pretty. The author states that she is "The Most Popular Girl in School". She is crude to Lucy and no one wants to get on her "bad side". Her best friends are Francine and Carmen. She added a secret wing to the school that only she and her fellow classmates (aside from Lucy and Claude) are aware of. She calls it the "Remnant Room", where students study to one day take over Hollow Fields. She despises Claude because he is smarter than her in robotics. Mr. Croach opted for her and Carmen to be taken to the windmill instead of Claude and Lucy.

;Simon BelljoyLucy's first friend. He is the first person Lucy sees to be taken to detention. He manages to escape two months later to tell Lucy something but is cuaght soon after. No one is able to see his face after that, but he wears a huge cloak and floats around.

Engineers

;Miss WeaverThe head of the school, which she built mostly herself. She teaches Clockwork Robotics as a subject. She is extremely cold and cruel towards students, and is rarely ever threatened by anyone. It is revealed that all engineers were once human 200 years ago. However, she had an illness that was incurable, and as she was dying, she decided to give her and the rest of the staff robotics bodies to extend their lifespan. She has also had a late husband. She announced the fact that her "experiment" worked, and she now needs more test subjects. She tells the students they did horribly on their mid-term tests, and changes to rule to "two" students being send to the windmill each week.

;Miss NotchThe school maid. She was the one who allowed Lucy to enter Hollow Fields, and let her sign a contract, becoming Hollow Field's property until graduation. She is cheerful and busy, but is rather dark and cruel when it comes to disciplining children. It was revealed that her true name is Emily Notch.

;Miss RickettsThe youngest and kindest teacher, favored by students. She teaches Cross-Species Body-Part Transplantation and Bio-Steam Graphing, and is the school nurse. Her office is the hospital wing. In volume two, it reveals that she is the one who created clockwork bodies for the Engineers. They visit her weekly for check-ups, as they are falling apart.

;Mister CroachThe teacher of Grave Robbing, live Taxidermy and Embalming. In other words, he creates any living creatures concerning dead flesh. He is strict and short-tempered, often rushing and frightening children. His full name is Archibald Croach Jr., and before joining Miss Weaver, he worked with his father at Croach and Croach Jr "Steam-Driven Solutions". He strongly dislikes children, and does not like to be in contact with other people.

;StinchHe is the school warden, created by Miss Weaver to be the perfect watchdog. However, as Miss Weaver is weak with creating anything from things other than clockwork, he has limited knowledge. He does whatever he can to catch students doing something wrong, and drags them to detention. His real gender, age, and race are unknown to everyone; it is said the closest possible gender for Stinch would be male.

Others

;Doctor Atticus Normandy BleakHe is called "Doctor Bleak" for short. He is a box with clockwork inside, which Lucy smuggles around the school. His past is currently unknown, but during his encounter with Lucy in the library, he reveals he at least used to have arms. He is held hostage after being discovered by Miss Weaver, and Lucy and Claude are sent to detention. He also is seen trying to find the coordinates for a "key", one which is hinted to be the only way out of Hollow Fields.

equel

Madeleine Rosca has hinted on Deviantart that there may be a sequel to Hollow Fields, stating "I can't believe Hollow Fields is over! This arc, anyway."

Awards

Rosca was one of four winners presented with Japan’s first ever "International Manga Award" for her work on Hollow Fields.cite web | title= SEVEN SEAS ARTIST WINS INTERNATIONAL MANGA AWARD | url= http://www.gomanga.com/news/press_034.php | accessmonthday= Sept 10 | accessyear= 2007 ]

References

External links

* [http://www.gomanga.com/manga/hollow.php Hollow Fields at Seven Seas Entertainment]