Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1

Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 by Stephenie Meyer
Art and adaptation by Young Kim
Original ISBN 978-0-7595-2943-4
Yen Press; 2010
Unpaged

Plot Summary: We all know the story…Bella Swan moves to a small town in Washington and is instantly captivated by the mysterious Edward Cullen. She falls for him only to discover that he and his “family” are vampires.

Critical Evaluation:  This graphic novel – Volume 1 – depicts the first half of Meyer’s first book in the blockbuster series. Like its predecessor, Twilight: The Graphic Novel has been wildly successful with readers. The illustrations are beautiful, but readers can’t help but compare them to the movie. Kim has arranged the panels similar to that of manga, but the flow is much easier to follow (maybe because it is not backwards). Most of the illustrations are in sepia, but there are some that have been water colored for dramatic effect.

Volume 2 was released in 2011. Volume 1 of New Moon: The Graphic Novel will go on sale April 2013.

Reader’s Annotation: You know about the Twilight saga, but you have never seen it like this.

Author Information: Stephenie Meyer, born 1973, had not written so much as a short story before writing the Twilight series. She tops many of the “Most Influential” lists and is second in book sales to J. K. Rowling. Her books have been adapted into wildly successful movies.

Her website can be found at http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/

Young Kim is a Korean illustrator who works with Meyer to adapt the Twilight novels into a graphic format. Kim has combined Asian and Western animation techniques to produce a truly beautiful depiction of Meyer’s novels.

Genre: Graphic novel; Comic

Curriculum Ties: Visual Arts.

Booktalking Ideas: Since the Twilight saga is so well known, I would show some of the panels from the graphic novel.

Reading Level / Interest Age: Grade 8 and up

Lexile: Not applicable

Challenge Issues: The Twilight series was listed as the fifth most challenged in 2009. According to ALA the reasons for challenging were due to its religious viewpoint, sexually explicit nature, and unsuited to age group. As for the graphic novel, people may be opposed to the presence of vampires (which some Christian groups are afraid will drive young adults to the occult).

Reason for Item’s Inclusion: I wanted to include another graphic novel. This particular novel was adapted from a well-known book. I wanted to see how the two paralleled.

References:

American Library Association. (n. d.). Top ten most frequently challenged books of 2009. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/21stcenturychallenged/2009

The Beat. (2011, May 23). Scoop! First look at Twilight the Graphic Novel Volume 2 cover. Retrieved from
http://comicsbeat.com/scoop-first-look-at-twilight-the-graphic-novel-volume-2-cover/

Twilight: The Graphic Novel. (2012, December 16). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight:_The_Graphic_Novel