Twilight Graphic Novel: Part 2

[zelda_queen]

ZeldaQueen: Well, there's the first part of this thing for you. Now on to the next.

Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...


Part 2

ZeldaQueen: When we last left Bella, she had just been dazzled by Edward's sparkly appearance.

Well, lunch is over and we move on to Biology. Bella informs us, via narration, that Angel has a partner for lab and the only person still *ahem* single is Edward. We are then treated to way too many panels of Edward looking pissy and Bella looking terrified of him. I'm serious, I can understand her being confused or a bit unnerved, but she looks freaked out of her mind. It reminds me of in movies, when the heroine accidentally witnesses a guy murdering someone and then has to sit next to that guy at a meeting and pretend she doesn't know what he did.



ZeldaQueen: Yes, I know this is supposed to be Edward acting like she smells so tempting/terrible, but I really don't get that sense. As a result, it honestly looks like Bella has some nervous tic where she sniffs her own hair.

So we get a few pages, before this.



ZeldaQueen: Keep in mind that this is after roughly two pages. So...

First of all, we get the implication that class is all of two minutes short, just like in the book.

Second of all, we get roughly two pages of those two doing nothing but look at each other, Edward glaring around pissily, and Bella being a shaky wreck. This doesn't convince me that there's tension, it convinces me that a bunch of trees gave their lives for a worthless purpose.

Also - look at that top panel and just tell me it doesn't remind y'all of the first page, where James is heading over to kill Bella. Just try.

As in the books, Bella wangsts about how that wasn't Edward's normal behavior (except, as we'll see, it totally is) and why in the world he would be so mean to her. She heads by the school office, where Edward is screaming about how he needs to change classes. Again, as in canon, Bella continues to wangst about how this random guy must hate her sooo much, and how it pains her, blah, blah, blah. Same shit, different song.



ZeldaQueen: I suppose this is supposed to be a visual representation of Bella's nummy stink and how the world goes all blurry for Edward as he sniffs it. All I can think is that they're having some Pocahontas-esque spiritual experience.

As Edward leaves, we get a close-up of Edward's Angry Eyes and another panel with a close-up of Bella's scared face. For some reason, we also get a speech bubble asking "How did your first day go, dear?" while Bella replies "fine". I guess it's the secretary asking that (even though we don't see her at all in any of the pictures), but the way the speech bubble is placed implies that Edward is the one asking that. Given the later daddy-daughter vibes, that really isn't a pleasant thought.

We then get a montage of Bella's next day at school, which of course gets accompanied by her endless narration of text, directly lifted from the book.



ZeldaQueen: Oh look, it's Harry Potter!

So yeah, when the school day is out, we jump ahead to her having dinner with her father. They have their canon conversation where he kisses Cullen ass, and then we jump to the next day of school.



ZeldaQueen: Is it just me, or does this look like one of those "And Now You Know!" announcements you find at the end of anvilicious stories?

Anyway, that up thar is Mike proposing a trip to La Push in two weeks. Everyone agrees to go, and because we are spared any narration at that point, Bella actually comes across as being halfway pleasant. They head off to lunch, and we get this -



ZeldaQueen: You know, I'd like to pretend that that's where this particular scene just ends. Because that's actually kind of nice. Everyone's in a good mood, and Bella actually looks halfway interested in something going on.



ZeldaQueen: ...And then canon set in. Curses. I love how Bella feels the need to go on about how horrible snow is, while everyone else is clearly pleased about it. I mean, I'm not saying to go with the crowd on what they enjoy, but this just comes across as Bella being a downer yet again. Makes you wonder why people want her around.

Anyway, nice to know that Jessica still has a sense of fun. Why am I not supposed to like her, again?

So yeah, Bella heads off to the cafeteria and Jessica goes with her. As they enter, Bella notices that oh look, there's Edward and gets accordingly pissy.



ZeldaQueen: Jesus, what's up with Jessica's face in that panel?!?

And then we jump on to Biology! Hey, I bet if they didn't cram this thing full of pointless scenes of people staring at each other, there would be room to make better-done transitions.

Anyway, I'd like to call this section Edward Cullen Is Creepy.



ZeldaQueen: Erm, yeah. Exhibit A.

So yeah, Edward introduces himself and it honestly sounds like a scripted love interest in a dating sim. I keep expecting to see options like "Introduce yourself", "Smile", or "Kick him in the knees" superimposed on the panels.

And yeah, this is just as dull as in the book. The only thing worth noting is, like I said, how creepy Edward is.



ZeldaQueen: Yeah, is it just me, or does it look like he's going to hit her for displeasing him? Now I feel all icky!



ZeldaQueen: Okay, that's just terrifying. Edward doesn't look seventeen, he looks like a creepy adult man who's about to kidnap a teenage girl and do unspeakable things to her in his basement.

Oh, and this is a trend for the entire scene, ladies and gentlemen. Edward never looks genuinely happy or kind or friendly or loving. He either looks smug as Hell or reeeeeeally scary.



ZeldaQueen: Seriously, is he unable to smile without his eyes being all narrowed like that? Are vampire eyelids fixed like that permanently?



ZeldaQueen: For fun, let's pretend that Bella just said she'd run away from him if he didn't stop harassing her. Wasn't James supposed to be the creepy stalker?

And no, I don't think Bella's so sweet and strong and loving to look past how creepy Edward seems and fall for him. I think she's too stupid to live because she either doesn't notice it or doesn't care.

---

Onward to: Part 3

Back to: Part 1

Return to: Table of Contents

Comments

[carmyn]

-.- I hate being a sucker for pretty pictures.

But, it just goes to show, taking Meyer's writing and putting it into a visual medium just shows how exceedingly creepy and 'do not touch' all the characters and the story are.

[yemi-hikari.livejournal.com]

And yet the rabid fangirls still drolled over this mess.

[carmyn]

Don't remind me, just that very thought makes me cry.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

What's even creepier is that Meyer either didn't notice that her work came out looking so creepy, or she *told* Young Kim to draw it that way.

[carmyn]

Now, it's one thing to not see that in your own work, people sometimes have trouble critiquing themselves, but Jesus Young Kim! Were your balls chopped off so badly you couldn't censor ANY of the creepiness?!

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

I don't think so. Meyer went on about how she had total veto power over everything. The back of my copy of this thing says that Meyer "meticulously reviewed" it. I recall someone finding a review that said that Young Kim wanted to remove the scene where Edward dragged Bella to her car. Meyer made her keep it in, because it was necessary to the plot. O_o

[carmyn]

LOLWUT?

How was the dragging scene important to the plot? Character development maybe if you stretch it a shit load a bit but I don't see how that would effect the plot.

I think taking a story and changing the medium should be a collaborative effort. Meyer clearly doesn't understand what goes into a graphic novel and how you can drop a lot of the narrative because it can be actually seen! If this was done with an author who doesn't have an inflated ego, it would have been interesting to see the change. Personally, HP would have been AWESOME changed into a graphic novel!

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

I think Meyer lumped the Claire de Lune thing with the dragging to the car thing. So in her mind, when Young Kim said "I'm cutting that scene", she thought the whole thing would go and so she went "No! No! It all must stay in!" Or she is so messed up, she thinks it shows Bella and Edward's "developing" relationship because he's *so* concerned for her health that he'd drag her across the parking lot to drive her home. -_-

Oh, I'd love for a HP manga! :D I can only imagine how Tom Riddle would look. XD Wouldn't help the Draco in Leather Pantsing!

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

/Or she is so messed up, she thinks it shows Bella and Edward's "developing" relationship because he's *so* concerned for her health that he'd drag her across the parking lot to drive her home. -_-/

Even though that scene was one of the biggest red flags about Edward in that book. Good grief, even the movie had the sense to cut that scene out. Does Meyer really not realize how that scene would look in a visual medium? It's bad enough to read about a guy dragging a girl around against her will, but it's another thing to actually *see* it.

/Oh, I'd love for a HP manga! :D I can only imagine how Tom Riddle would look. XD/

Oh, believe me, all you need to do to see what an HP manga would look like is to look up a doujinshi online. Doujinshi are basically fan comics of an anime or manga (though they can be for other media, too). However, I must warn you, the majority of HP doujinshi that I've seen are yaoi-themed. So, don't be surprised if you try to look up HP doujinshi on the Internet and wind up with dozens of results for Harry/Draco and Sirius/Remus (as well as other yaoi ships).

[yemi-hikari.livejournal.com]

It is bad when the most exciting thing so far is the snow fight. All of the graphic novels I enjoy, they have more depth within the first part. Fruit Basket, Rurouni Kenshin, Bleach, Bamboo Blade, Inuyasha, Ayatsuri Sakon, Case Closed, Black Cat and many, many others.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

Oh, Fruits Basket was excellent *and* it was a manga centered around relationships and feelings! There's no excuse for why that was so interesting and this isn't! Gah!

[yemi-hikari.livejournal.com]

*and* Toru is an example of a female who chooses to be a housewife because she wants to and enjoys what she does. I need to get my compare and contrast between Bella and Toru finished.

[parrinoyed.livejournal.com]

Oooh, that would be fascinating! I've only seen the anime, but I loved it :D

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

I read the manga, and it was fantastic! Tohru is pretty much the anti-Bella. XD

And then there's her mother, Kyoko. Kyoko was in a gang and was miserable, so she ended up getting married and settling into a blissful life as a housewife. And then, when her daughter's friend is threatened, she saves the day be beating the shit out of several delinquents. One does not mess with Kyoko.

[yemi-hikari.livejournal.com]

The irony is, some people try slapping Tohru with the Mary Sue lable... which always tells me, they don't know what a Mary Sue is.

[yemi-hikari.livejournal.com]

Finished!

[yemi-hikari.livejournal.com]

Oops. Meant to include a link.

http://yemi-hikari.livejournal.com/43587.html

[parrinoyed.livejournal.com]

Ha! It finally occurred to me what it was about Bella's representation that was freaking me out...

Her hair is style very nearly the same way as the hair of one of the characters in one of my childhood coloring books. Barbie.

So creepy.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

For me, it's something about her face. It's almost like those commercials with the talking babies, only it would be like if teenagers had adult features slapped onto them.

Which again would actually be fantastically clever if it were only the vampires.

[winki-pop.livejournal.com]

Any scene with Bella and Edward together thus far has been creepy. Manwha my arse! :P

Oh, and that fist-clenching scene was so horrifying. It goes to show when you misconstrue something from the text and show it for what it really is visually.

Hey, Eric DOES look like Harry Potter! :P Where's his thunderbolt? :D

What's with Bella's 'freesia stink' in that panel? It made me dizzy, so I had to stop looking at it. What is it supposed to be, like in the Pepe Le Pew cartoons? :D

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

"Oh, and that fist-clenching scene was so horrifying. It goes to show when you misconstrue something from the text and show it for what it really is visually."

And he does it constantly. It's not so scary the first time though, because with the teeth-clenching, it looks more like he's really constipated. I think it's coupled with that creepy slasher grin that makes it so creepy.

The trouble with a conflict that deals with smell is that it is hard to do with a visual medium. Still, Young Kim clearly is quite fond of the glitter and auras XD

[white-wolf03.livejournal.com]

Hey, Eric DOES look like Harry Potter!

And if you try hard, you can pretend the people with him are Ron, Ginny and Hermione with her hair randomly up. :D

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I noticed that! XD

[gehayi.livejournal.com]

Bella looks like a grouchy entitled BITCH. I mean, I hate snow too. I don't mind her hating snow. I mind that she always has either a blank expression or a sullen grumpyface. She not only hates everything, she looks like she hates everything.

And yellowish-brown fumes don't say "freesia scent." They're basically cartoon shorthand for "you STINK." Since Bella is not Pepe Le Pew, the logical conclusion is that she has hideously bad body odor and that no one has the nerve to tell her.

Also, Edward seems even creepier and more dangerous here. I didn't even think that was POSSIBLE.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

That's why I don't get why everyone keeps flocking around her. I could understand it if she were interesting or fun or something, but she's always gloomy, grumpy, and just bitchy!

And I find it amazing how every time a new version of this series comes out, Meyer somehow gets it to be even freakier and squickier.

[cecamire.livejournal.com]

Okay, what is that thing in the background of the freesia stink panel? Is it a cupboard or something? Because if so, the doors are *very* weird. It's like that optical illusion with the elephant legs. Also, Bella comes up to Edward's jutty out things. I forget what they're called. The ones that look like wings should grow on them.
In the first picture, first panel, Bella's face is a tad too wide.
And what's the round thing that the shiny long black thing is jutting out of in Exhibit A for Edward Cullen is Creepy? It's a bit big for a hand.
Oh, and I finally figured out what was bugging me about the clenchy hand excerpt. In the first panel with Edward, his forehead is ginormous.

Other than that, the art is nice. Especially that clenching hand.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

"And what's the round thing that the shiny long black thing is jutting out of in Exhibit A for Edward Cullen is Creepy? It's a bit big for a hand."

I believe that's the microscope. In the panel before it, Bella bumps his hand when they both reach for it and that's her reacting to how cold he is.

[turtlecrackers.livejournal.com]

Gah, I can't help but wince when I see Edward's arm in the panel where he gets up from the desk as Biology ends. It looks horribly broken.

Wait, how can Bella angst about how it's not Edward's normal behavior to be mean to her, when she just met him? o_o;

XD; You know, the pictures of Edward in the Edward Cullen Is Creepy section reminded me of one of my characters that I've neglected for a long time. Incidentally, he's a demon who pretends to be a vampire to pick up victims chicks. ...I should do something with him sometime. Like give him a name.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

"Wait, how can Bella angst about how it's not Edward's normal behavior to be mean to her, when she just met him? o_o;"

Oh, I didn't put it in, but there's a panel where Mike says to Bella something like "What did you do to get Edward so upset? Stab him with your pencil?" That's how she figures he isn't normally like that. ^^;

"XD; You know, the pictures of Edward in the Edward Cullen Is Creepy section reminded me of one of my characters that I've neglected for a long time. Incidentally, he's a demon who pretends to be a vampire to pick up victims chicks. ...I should do something with him sometime. Like give him a name."

Name him Edward! XD
Name him Edeaward! XD

[turtlecrackers.livejournal.com]

Ohh, now it makes sense. ^^;

"Name him Edward! XD
Name him Edeaward! XD"

You know, I might just do that. XD

[overlordmikey.livejournal.com]

Is it me or does the artist actually seem to be trying to make Edward creepy and Bella freaked out. It's like Meyer's wrote the script and the lady was desperately trying to make fun of the scene.

And is it me or does Jessica look stoned in that scene?

"Bella, why does your head look like it's a cheeseburger?"
Someone's been dropping some acid to deal with her new "buddy".

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

I very much hope that's the case, because the alternative is that Meyer TOLD her to draw Edward so creepy and thought it was so vital and good for her sweeping, epic romance.

XD Oh lord, you're right! She probably is stoned!

[overlordmikey.livejournal.com]

The alternative wouldn't be all that surprising actually; if it weren't for all the other little issues about the characters I would believe it.

Also I don't blame Jessica - wouldn't you wanna be stone if Bella was your "friend".

[xxburningsoulxx.livejournal.com]

ZeldaQueen: Okay, that's just terrifying. Edward doesn't look seventeen, he looks like a creepy adult man who's about to kidnap a teenage girl and do unspeakable things to her in his basement.

*hiding under bed* Dear God, I'm creepied out. GO AWAY, EDWARD! AWAY!

[raxistaicho.livejournal.com]

He's so uncanny valley it's painful o_e

[often-partisan.livejournal.com]

"ZeldaQueen: Is it just me, or does this look like one of those "And Now You Know!" announcements you find at the end of anvilicious stories?"

Yep, specifically it reminds me of a Chick Tract, except Chick would have shoehorned a random reference to John 3:16 in there.

Edward is defintely creepy.