Thread by @NKcomics

comic book
The Hollow Needle
Volume 2
[Adaptation of a novel first published in 1909 by Maurice Leblanc, featuring the adventures of gentleman thief Arsène Lupin. Original French title L'Aiguille Creuse.]
#ArseneLupin #MauriceLeblanc #comicbooks #northkorea #dprk

comic book
The Hollow Needle(2)
Orig. author Maurice Leblanc
Adapt. & editing Kim Sang-bok
Illustr. Pak Yun-kol
Cover Chang Yun-sop
Proofreading Yong-suksu
Kumsong Youth Publishing
Pyongyang Central Printing Factory-2
Printed Feb 1, 1991
Released Feb 10, 1990
Prod. code ㄱ-06444

p.0 1/
Before we open vol. 2 of the comic The Hollow Needle, let's briefly review what happened before.
A midnight murder & mysterious theft at the Comte’s coastal chateau is announced by the sound of gunfire.

2/
Police from the capital & provinces struggle for days in the investigation without finding any sign of the criminals.
At this time, the truth of the case begins to be revealed by the clever reasoning & acuity of a boy named Isidore Beautrelet,

3/
a high school student who talks his way into the case. Criminal gang boss Arsene Lupin & his men threaten the boy, even kidnapping his father.
However, Isidore has a strong sense of justice & is clever & wise, and reveals the truth of the crime to the world in a newspaper,

4/
while waging a tenacious struggle to find stolen national treasures & unearth important secrets. Readers will see the brilliant reasoning, sound judgement & decisive actions of the boy Isidore.
However, this book has a limitation:

5/
it is impossible to know from whose perspective to judge the criminal case & social conditions as a whole because it depicts thief Lupin as a human being without any bad side.

6/
This tells us that the author was so preoccupied with making the story interesting that he couldn't clearly see through to the essence of life. Readers should try to distinguish these points correctly.
The Editors

7/
Contents
A moment of peace (1)
Two torn pages (10)
The key to the secret (26)
The last tragedy (44)
Original author Maurice Leblanc Adaptation Kim Sang-bok Illustrations Pak Yun-kol

p1 1/
[Peace at one point
Disguised as an English painter, Isidore visits a village notary.]
There is now an Italian named Baron Anfredi living in the castle. I heard he only rented it for the summer.
[The old man gave him the name & address of the castle owner]

2/
His name is Louis Valmeras. The address is 34 Rue du Mont-Thabor, Paris. I must meet him.

2 1/
[knock knock]
Next day
[Isidore met with Valmeras]
-My father is locked up in that old castle. But what kind of man is Baron Anfredi?
-I don’t know him well. We met briefly in Monte Carlo & I decided to rent the castle to him.
-Is he young?

2/
-Sure. A strapping young man. With a sharp gaze, brown hair & a beard.
-That man is none other than Arsene Lupin.
-Wha- what did you say?

p3
I will help rescue your father & search the castle.
-Thank you. I have my school friends too.
[They waited 4 days for the right chance. Finally on the 4th night]
You stand guard here.
-Ok, be careful.

p4
[leap]
Hey, get down. And don’t move an inch.

p5
Shhh!
Do you think they know we’re here?
Ack!
[leap]

6
Done. Ok, go.
-Huh?!
-Father, it’s me. It’s Isidore. I’ve come with my friends.

7
There's another person locked in here... A young woman is being held prisoner.
-Mlle Raymonde.
-Go right at the end of this hallway.
-We’ll go tell the police everything.
[Soon the police surrounded the castle and stormed it. But it was empty.]

8 1/
Monsieur le Juge d'Instruction, this letter was in the room where Mlle Raymonde was...
[Mademoiselle, I'll visit you tonight. I hope you welcome me warmly.]

2/
Where did Lupin run to? In any case, Isidore’s amazing powers of reasoning & bravery deserve praise.
[The news that the kidnapped father and Mlle Raymonde were saved drew plaudits & the secret of "The Needle" became known to the world.

3/
Meanwhile, Inspector Ganimard & Sherlock Holmes, kidnapped by Lupin's gang, were found on the ground in front of Paris Police Station, tied up tightly.
This led people to believe that Arsene Lupin had completely lost to young Isidore.]

9
Back at school, the boy Isidore studied hard.
Calm and joyful days passed. Love began to bloom between Raymonde & Valmeras.
At last, Raymonde married Valmeras.]

10 1/
[Valmeras’ mother came to the wedding, too.]

2/
Two torn pages
One day, the newspaper published an open letter by M. Massiban of the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres, called "The Mystery of the Hollow Needle".
The article read as follows:

3/
On March 17, 1679, during the time of Louis XIV, a secret document was published in Paris, "The Mystery of the Hollow Needle". It contained the type & number of all treasures held by the French Court & where they were hidden.Only 100 copies were printed.

4/
They were all seized & the author was arrested while distributing them to royal dignitaries & locked in a cave wearing an iron mask. The king kept one copy for himself & threw the rest into the fire.

11 1/
When the king threw those 99 copies into the fire, the captain of the guards pulled out 1 copy; 6 months later he was found dead. A notebook found in the dead captain’s house contained the first part of the secret document.

2/
114 years later, Louis XVI, who was sentenced to death in France after the revolution, had a guard take a paper with 5 lines of code in dots, numbers & figures & give it to the queen, who was held in another prison.

3/
Upon receiving it, the queen lamented that it was too late, & inserted the cipher into the thick leather cover of her prayer book. The next day, the queen went to the guillotine…

4/
King Louis XIV feared the secrets of the court’s treasures would be leaked to the world, so he built a castle by the river Creuse & erected a striking pointed bell-turret, naming it l’Aguille."
The two words "l'Aguille" & "Creuse" combined to give “Hollow Needle” the same name

5/
as the secret place in the secret document. This was to deflect the attention of those looking for secret treasures toward the castle, so that their real purpose could be foiled.
Even young detective Isidore fell into this trap & to this day he doesn’t know the true meaning of

6/
the code. However, one person was not fooled.
That was Arsene Lupin, disguised at Baron Anfredi & renting the old castle. His imprisoning Isidore’s father & Mlle Raymonde in the castle was to deceive Isidore. The plan was a total success.

7/
From the above, we must it judge that the one who knows the mystery of the Hollow Needle is Arsene Lupin. Maybe he’s already got that huge treasure of the French Court.

12 1/
Ah, Lupin won. And I lost. While I was distracted ㅁㅅ l'Aguille Castle, Lupin was getting his hands on the secrets of the French court. All the while laughing at me!

2/
Calm down, friend.
[That night, Isidore slept at a friend's house. He decided he wouldn't go back to his dorm until he started investigating everything from scratch & finished his fight with Lupin.]

13 1/
Where did I go wrong? Right, I was too hasty because I guessed the meaning of “Needle” too quickly.
[Isidore read the open letter of M. Massiban several times & thought hard about the meaning of the cipher.]

2/
I can't wait for the dawn to come. Let's find that cipher that the queen hid inside the cover of her prayer book.
[He went to see his father's friend, a scholar who collected old books & relics, who told him me that the queen's prayer book was held at the Musee Carnavalet.

14
[Musee Carnavale]
Let's see. This is the prayer book that the queen gave to her maid when she died.
-Thank you.
Ack!
[Arsene Lupin]
Damn! I’ve been foiled by that bastard Lupin again.

15 1/
Given this state of affairs, I’ve no choice but to find the secret document the captain of the guards secretly pulled out of the fire.
It may lie forgotten in the study of an old house or in a library.
-Let's find it.

2/
[They scattered all over to find the document. Days later, they uncovered the captain's name in records from the 17th century. Isidore ran advertisements in several papers.]
[Looking for accurate information about the descendants of Captain de Larbeyrie, who served Louis XIV.]

16 1/
A few days later, he got a message from Massiban, writer of the open letter.
[I've looked into some things. There's a Baron de Velines living not far from Rennes. He may be descended from the Captain of the Guards. If you visit me, I can tell you in more detail. Massiban]

2/
I must visit Massiban.
-Monsieur Massiban told me to give you this.

17
[I suddenly had to leave. Come to Velines Station by train tonight. Let's meet at the Baron's mansion.]
How do you do?
-Pleased to meet you. I'm Massiban.

18
Let's go inside.
-Is this the book you're looking for?
-This is the book! I am sure.
-Go on and read it!
-Oh! This is it. There are 5 lines of coded dots & figures.
-Read it carefully.

19 1/
As will be seen, even after we have changed the figures into vowels, we cannot crack the code. Look at the 4th line first. It contains the way to find the location of the hidden treasure.

2/
But the true meaning of the 4th line can't be known without knowing the Secret of the Hollow Needle in the first 3 lines. The 1st line was written by the author to revenge himself on the King; by it–
-What’s wrong?
-There are 2 pages missing.
-Huh? How could that happen?

20
I read this book last night. There was no tear in it at the time. Wait, my son Georges was playing with the book this morning.

21 1/
I can't learn anything from the boy. He’s scared & only cries when I ask him.
-Ma’am, you said you read this book last night. Do you remember its contents?
-Yes, I do.
-That's enough then. What on earth does “the Hollow Needle” mean?
-Oh, that? It’s very simple. It's...

2/
-Ma'am, a boy asked me to give this letter to you.
-Oh my...
-What's the matter?

22
[Not a word. If you say anything, your son's life will be in danger.]
-Ma'am, something’s happened. Master Jorge...
-What is it?
-He suddenly fell asleep. Then his hands & feet went cold.
-What can we do? This is terrible!
-You wily rascal!

23
[bang]
[leap]
Help me, ladies & gentlemen. This bastard is Lupin!

24
You made a mistake by shouting my name; folks were too scared to come help. Ma’am, I'm sorry. Your son was only injected with a sleeping draught. He’ll be fine. But if you tell the contents of the book’s missing pages I can’t guarantee his safety! See you again, Isidore.

25
Hahaha, it got very serious, didn't it? I tore out those 2 pages. You'll see the real M. Massiban now. Come on, get in, I'll take you to Paris.
-Ack!
[chuckle]

26 1/
Lay him comfortably on the sunny lawn until he wakes up from the anaesthetic. I feel so good after a job succeeds. What about you, Isidore? Don’t you?
I want to sleep.

2/
[The key to the secret]
[Isidore is not deflated. He throws himself into research day & night.
There's no reason I can't do what Lupin has done. He must have taken great pains like me until he found a clue. I can’t let him win.

27 1/
[10 days quickly pass. Investigating historical events, people, & places related to the Hollow Needle, Isidore sees that it all points to Normandy.]
Isn't this the clue to finding the key to the mystery? Haven't all the places where Lupin was active so far been in Normandy?

2/
The Comte’s chateau is in the town of Ambrumesy in Normandy, & the Havre port is also nearby. Dieppe & Rouen are right next door. Given that, I can conclude that the Normandy region is Lupin’s base. I must not lose.

28 1/
[Isidore finally sets out for Normandy.]
That's right! The Rubens masterpiece was transported along the Seine River. The ancient carvings of the chapel were also brought to the banks of the Seine near here.

2/
Right! I’m sure now. The Normandy region is the gateway of France to the world and a port in the Seine River Region, dominating the Atlantic Ocean.
[A hotel restaurant by the Seine River estuary]

29
A strange man!
-Hello, Master Beautrelet.
-Who the devil are you? How do you know me?
-I’ve seen your face in the papers many times…I'm Sherlock Holmes.
-What, Inspector Holmes!
-Shh! Quiet.
-Do you know Lupin has a foster-mother named Victoire? She raised him from an orphan.

30 1/
[Sherlock Holmes (famous British detective)]
I've come all the way here in search of the foster mother Lupin cherishes as if she were his biological one. She lives near National Road 25. If I wait there, Lupin will come to me of his own accord.
-That could take a long time.

2/
It doesn’t matter. I'm going to catch this Lupin. He made me into a laughing stock. Now, we must part.
-See you again. Farewell. I’ll try cracking the code now.
[This was a copy he’d made. The only difference from the original was that the numbers were all changed for vowels.]

31 1/
The 4th line, numbers & strange symbols...What on earth do D & F mean?
[Isidore scoured the streets & villages, looking everywhere. When the sun went down, he knocked at a farmhouse & asked to stay the night. He listened carefully to the local legends, stories, & rumors.]

2/
He was not deterred. He didn't even get tired. In the morning, he set out for his destination with new hope.]
This is the village of Saint-Jouin.

32
How refreshing!
Huh?!
Could this be a castle built by the Romans?

33
FORT DE FREFOSSE... Latin letters.
There's a cave.
Huh?! This is a dream. It’s not possible!

34
Hey, a D and an F! This is a miracle. There's a D & F in the code!
Sir, what do you call that cave over there?
-Haha...It's been called Chambre des Demoiselles ever since I remember.

35
[Suddenly, he recalled solving the word "demoiselles" in the 2nd line of the code.]
Thank you, Sir.
The cave is the Chambre des Demoiselles. I had no idea...
This is no time for foolishness. Lupin must know about the cave, too.

36
He may be moving around in this area.
Oh, my!
Oh! That's... That pillar of rock looks like a needle! Maybe that’s the Aguille!

37 1/
I found it at last! I’ve found the needle!
Ah! thread of smoke...There’s a Creuse (hollow) in the Aguille!
A wonderful discovery. This Aguille Creuse: a hiding place for conquerors of old & generations of French kings, & a place to store their treasures.

2/
Lupin knows this secret. Whatever it takes, tomorrow I’ll break into the needle & expose his secret myself!

38
[Hotel in Etretat]
Isidore locked the door, focusing all on cracking the code.
How much time passed... Finally, he extracted the following:
Downstream of Etretat (west)
La Chambre des Demoiselles
Under Frefosse Fort
Cave’s big needle rock
But he couldn't crack the 4th line.]

39
Doesn’t this show the entrance & the route into the needle-shaped rock?
D stands for Demoiselles & F for Frefosse. Also, there are horizontal lines above the D & F. This means from D to F. DF means an entrance.
[Next morning]

40 1/
Isn't there a rectangle somewhere?
Oh...a rectangular hole! It's the same rectangle as the one in the code.
To look out I must bend over a little!
And to bend over I must spread my legs and stand on the D & F!

2/
I see! That explains the line above the D & F in the code - you stand on it & look through the hole!

41 1/
This stone that looks like the shape of a gun is the hooked line drawn in the code.
You can see the brick wall of the fort. But what is the number 19 after the rectangle in the code?

2/
Probably a number that indicates a length. The old fathom measurement is about 1.9 metres per unit, so that comes to about 36. What's at 36 metres?

42
This is it. In the code, there is a cross after the number 19 that follows the rectangle.
It’s not budging. I’ll try pushing the cross.

43
Huh?!
[slam]
Wow, it opened!
[Overcome with joy & fear, Isidore felt like his heart was about to burst. He fell down, losing consciousness.]

44 1/
[The last tragedy]
Isidore had done all he could. Now all that remained was to raid the big needle rock with the police’s help. He wrote a long letter to the head of the chief of the detective service.]

2/
It’ll take 2 days to get a reply from Paris. I’ll stay in the Chambre des Demoiselles till then.
Will Lupin appear in the interim? My nerves are on edge, I'm so scared...

45
The night of the 2nd day
[Thud]
Hey! The door opened from the inside. It's Lupin’s gang. As I expected, Lupin knew the secret entrance & was inside.
What is that. Is he stealing the treasures within?
Oh, they keep carrying stuff out. The police had better come quickly...

46
Oh! Inspector Ganimard.
-Huh?! You’ve done a great job! Well done!
-Luck helped me.

47 1/
No, with Lupin there’s no such thing as luck.
-I've come with orders that you must keep silent about this case.
The hollow needle rock & the treasure hidden within… You must never speak of this to anyone else. This is a very strict order.

2/
An order from who?
-It's an order from the national government discussed & decided by the Cabinet.
In other words, it's a military secret.
-But doesn't Lupin already know the secret?

48
Although Lupin is a thief, I don't think he’d sell his country for money. Anyway, everything is ready to arrest him.
-Got it.
[Next day, 9:45 a.m., 15 minutes before the raid.]
You keep watch here.
“Go.”

49
This underground passage leads to the needle rock rising from the sea.
Huh?!
We’re in trouble. The door is closed tight.

50 1/
Let's look at the code again.
-What is that, the number 44 & a triangle with a dot in it?

2/
Isidore worked out that the number 44 must mean to stand on the 44th step & the dotted triangle must mean to push on a nail in the triangular iron plate on the lower left side of the iron door.
[Voom]

51
A boat has appeared on the horizon to arrest Lupin.
From here it's a staircase going up to the Needle.
-I must count the number of steps.
-The code has the number 357 & there'll be another iron door in front of the step 357.
-We’d better keep our heads on straight.

52
The code has a number 357 & a triangle with a dot on the left.
This time, as before, if you stand on step 357 & press the nail in the iron plate on the lower right side, the door will open.

53
Huh?? Now what? There are 3 ways.
-What do do? If we go up the middle, Lupin will run down the right or left...
-I'll go scout ahead.
-It's dangerous, but go ahead. Be careful. If you feel any danger, come right back.
-Ok. Here goes...

54
The rooms get smaller the higher I go.

55
Should I go back down? I’ll just go up one floor more!
I'll just open this & go back
Huh?
What?!
That's amazing!

56
Arsene Lupin
Mme Arsene Lupin
Ack!
Now what?!
Isidore Beautrelet
I’ve walked into a trap!

57
Dear friend, welcome. You're a little late.
-Huh?
-Why stand there? You look so surprised.
-So it’s you? M. Valmeras, you were with Lupin all along?
-Hahaha. Don’t be surprised. Why can’t a person who can disguise himself as scholar M. Massiban also dress up as young Valmeras?

58
Isidore Beautrelet, the real Lupin is here, take a good look. Eyes wide open. Hahahaha...
-What about Mme Raymonde?
-Hello.
-Huh?! M…Mme Raymonde...
-Thanks to you, she & I were able to officially get married. Thank you.

59
Come, eat up.
-Does Lupin know that Inspector Ganimard is coming for him? He must know.
-Take a look at that. It's a list of owners of this place.
[Julius Caesar
Charlemagne
Rollo
William the Conqueror
Richard the Lionheart
Louis XI
Francis I
Henry IV
Louis XIV
Arsene Lupin]

60
Lupin is the last name on the list. From now on, tourists will come to see it.
-Don't you hear something downstairs...
-That’ll be the ocean waves.
-[Ganimard must be breaking down the door.]
-Let’s go upstairs. I'll show you something.

61
A room of paintings from around the world. Including those from the Comte’s chateau.
[A clock room, a book room, a tapestry room, an antiquities room…They toured one room of surprising treasures after another.]
This is the last.
-Precious things from all lands & ages.

62 1/
I must ask you to tell the world that among all these priceless royal treasures, I did not lay a finger on property of the French state.

2/
[Arsene Lupin transfers all the property of l’Aguille Creuse to the French state. On condition that the Louvre creates Arsene Lupin Rooms & exhibits these objects there.]
So, now my conscience is clear. France and I are quits.

63
[crash]
[bang bang]
Isidore! Shoot Lupin!
[whoosh]

64
Now what? Ganimard, I, Lupin, have this trump card.
-It’s all ready, boss.

65
Move!
It’s a police boat! Prepare to submerge beneath the water.
Full speed ahead!
That’s enough. Take us up!

66
This is Port Lupin.
-Mother's house is just a short distance away.
-Isidore, will Raymonde understand me? She hates my past.
-She’ll understand.
-Trust me. I want to become a normal, steady husband.
[Why am I so anxious? I gave up everything, but what for?]

67
Oh! It’s your mother!
-Lupin! Don’t move an inch. If you move, I’ll shoot!
-Holmes, let my mother go!
-No!
-I’ll say it again. Let my mother go!
[bang bang bang]

68
Ack!
Huh?!
Mother! Stay with me!
Ungh

69
Argh!
Huh?!
[Bang]

70
THE END.

BACK COVER
comic book
The Hollow Needle
Orig. author Maurice Leblanc
Adaptation Kim Sang-bok
Pics Pak Yun-kol
Cover Chang Yun-sop
Proofreading Yong-suksu
Publ. Kumsong Youth Publishing
Printer Pyongyang Central Printing Factory-2
Printed Feb 1, 1991
Released Feb 10, 1990
ㄱ-06444

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unroll comic book The Hollow Needle Volume 2 Kumsong Youth Publishing #NorthKorean #comicbook #DPRK #NorthKorea #comics #Arsene #Lupin #MauriceLeblanc

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unroll comic book The Hollow Needle Volume 2 Kumsong Youth Publishing #NorthKorean #comicbook #DPRK #NorthKorea #comics #Arsene #Lupin #MauriceLeblanc