And now it’s time to pay a visit to… the doujinshi-ka’s inbox

Erin: I’ve gotten a couple of email like this…

Email: … you just had Alucard puke, from seasickness, when he wasn’t even on a boat! It was funny!

Erin: One, which I can’t find, asked, “Shouldn’t that be airsick, not seasick?” … somebody get a copy of Dracula in here!

Erin: Okay, here’s the del. There’s a lesser-known bit of vampire lore that shows up in both Dracula and Hellsing, which I’m referring to. Here’s the Hellsing version.

Hellsing: It is said that vampires cannot cross running rivers and oceans

Erin: The Dracula version is, “It is said, too, that he can only pass running water at the slack or flood of the tide.” And on sea voyages, even when he starts at high or low tide, Dracula spends most of them in his coffin. In the Hellsing manga, that’s how Seras gets over the ocean: they lock her in a coffin. The general pattern seems to be: the stronger the vampire, the easier the ocean-crossing. It’s not such a tricky barrier for one as powerful as Alucard. But crossing it without his coffin will still make him a little queasy. I think that’s logical, don’t you? … and, since the sea is making him sick, he’s seasick. That’s pretty logical too.

Erin: The point is, if you haven’t done all the background reading, you may miss some things in this comic. Even if you can’t buy the English manga, or download scanlations, stop by the library and pick up Dracula! Think of it as a background story like The Dawn… only without the pictures.