227. Twilight: The Graphic Novel Vol. 1

Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 by Stephanie Meyer. Adaptation and Art by Young Kim (Canada) - (USA)

Pages: 224
Ages: 13+
Finished: Oct. 26, 2010
First Published: Mar. 16, 2010
Publisher: Yen Press
Genre: graphic novel, paranormal romance, YA
Rating: 1/5

First sentence:

I'd never given much thought to how I would die - though I'd had reason enough in the last few months ...

Acquired: Borrowed a copy from the Calgary library while on vacation.

Reason for Reading: This is a Cybils '10 nominee and required reading for me as a graphic novels panelist.

When reading a book as a panelist, we are only required to read the first 50 pages and my time would have been better served had a stopped then but no, I did actually read the whole thing. First off, I am not a fan of the books (having read Twilight, New Moon and quickly bailing on Eclipse) and have not seen the movies, nor do I have any desire to. However, when I heard about the graphic novel I thought that perhaps this might be the more successful media for the story and was actually interested in reading it.

Basically this is a collection of quotes from the book, illustrated to re-tell the story leaving out any good bits, by this I mean the Cullen family. They are the only thing that kept me reading the first books. Bella is just as completely whiny and annoying as ever. A lot of the story is missing and the graphic novel makes no sense. Bella is suddenly convinced Edward is not human because ... ??? why ?? he had a fit sitting next to her in biology? Bella's relationship with her father is left out of the GN completely, at the end of the book when discussing the Cullens, Esme is mentioned by name for the first time giving no indication who she is. Things like this make the story confusing and I don't think anyone who has not either read the book or seen the movie would understand what was going on plot wise, other than the obviously obsessive love affair.

On the other hand, Young Kim's art is absolutely beautiful. The illustrations are stunning and capture the mood wonderfully. I would like to see her work in other graphic novels. I was somewhat taken aback though by the use of altered photographs throughout as background setting scenes though. It looked very strange and out of place. Were the perhaps stills from the movie? If you are a Twilight fan, I'm sure you'll love the graphic novel. If you hated the book, the graphic novel will not change your mind and I suggest staying clear.