Twilight Manga Graphic Novel Officially Released Today

[Rich Johnston]

It has a 350,000 first print run. It adapts into comic form one of the most popular novels of recent yars. And it has an audience of young women who will do whatever it takes to get their hands on the next new sparkly Twilight thing.

Adapted by Korean manhwa creator Young Kim, with constant supervision and involvement from Stephanie Meyer, this is likely to be the best selling English comic book this year - at least until Michael Jackson's written graphic novel Fated is published.

Probably most people won't like it - of at least profess not to. The Twi-hards will not see the characters in the way they picture them. The movie fans won't see likenesses from the big screen. And comic readers will mock at every level at this intruder into the form that is outselling everything they love. It won't matter, it will sell, and that first print is rather a conservative number.

And while bookstores will take the brunt, it's likely comic shops will see a pick up in trade as a number of people will assume that the strange looking shop off the high street that they went in to once to buy a Hello Kitty Emo doll will be the place to sell Twilight: The Graphic Novel Vol 1.

Maybe a few comic publishers should do an After Twilight industry ad? Listing things like American Vampire, Dark Tower, Tomb Of Dracula, Preacher, Vamps, Bite Club, 30 Days Of Night, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, Walking Dead, Crossed, Black Gas and the like... how hard could it really be?

Anyone fancy mocking up a poster or two?

[The Xenos]

Well to be honest, there's much more shojo manga more in line with the Twilight books than most any of American comics or those listed. Buffy might be the closest, but that book is really for fans of Buffy. Sadly, Buffy is maybe a generation too old for most Twitards. Plus it's got actual strong female leads and feminist overtones, ya know, instead of the misogynistic overtones and good Mormon housewife piece of cardboard Bella is. Never mind Whedon pretty much makes fun of Twilight by name in his season 8 books.

Though maybe some more indie romance stuff, as opposed to those more horror books you listed would work. Twilight isn't really horror like those books are. It's a childish romance with mere hints of horror. It's a sheep in wolf's clothing. Sure that was that placenta ripping scene at the end, but really noting as bad as the true horror you see in Walking Dead or 30 Days of Night or, oh lordy, Crossed. These are sparkle vampires, not actual ones like in books you mentioned.

Stuff like Blue Monday and other teen romance comics fit the Twilight mold more than those horror and vampire titles. Maybe some shops can finally get those DC Minx books to move. Of course, sadly, the best bet isn't American books, but Japanese ones. Twilight has more in common with Fruits Basket than Walking Dead or even Buffy. Hell, I can see the fan girls making up some Team Yuki and Team Kyo shirts. Damn. The similarities are creeping me out now. I'm sure there are plenty of other manga that fit the interest of Twilight fans.

Heck, one article I read on Comics Journal even commented how most of the stuff in Twilight has already been done in shojo manga.
http://www.tcj.com/latest-stories/twilight-is-manga