Twilight Graphic Novel: Part 5

[zelda_queen]

ZeldaQueen: In which we are introduced to the drawn version of Dances With Plot.

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

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Part 5

ZeldaQueen: So it's now Saturday, and Bella is off to go to the La Push beach



ZeldaQueen: I'm not entirely sure why Bella had that pause before the "Yes". Actually, I'm not entirely sure why she responded with "Yes" at all. "I'm glad you have friends to hang out with" isn't really a "Yes/No" question. Not a question at all, really. Okay, I'm done



ZeldaQueen: So everyone's at each, and everyone not named Bella is having fun. Really, all that page does is emphasize how dour Bella constantly is and how much nicer it would be to be friends with the plebeian Forks High masses.

So there's a lot of pictures of everyone hanging out and doing stuff, and it's actually pretty nice. There's minimal narration and while Bella never cracks a smile, she does look less pissy than normal. After a page or so of this, cue the Hot La Push Boys!



ZeldaQueen: People, just try and tell me with a straight face that he doesn't look like a girl. Go on.

So yeah, that androgynous fellow up there is Jacob Black. He instantly starts going kissy-kissy to Bella's rear and amazingly, Young Kim does draw it so that Bella looks marginally interested in his car-building. For no reason at all, and I'm dead serious when I say no reason, Lauren gets pissy and spitefully interrupts the conversation. What's that? Why haven't I brought Lauren up before now? Well...she hasn't been mentioned at all before now. In fact, if this pointless scene was taken out, we could have gone for the entire graphic novel without a word about her



ZeldaQueen: You know, Lauren's bitchiness makes even less sense here. This is the first time she's ever showed up! And really, her train of thought is just screwy. I...guess the idea is supposed to be that Lauren is pointlessly jealous that Bella is being familiar with a hot, young guy and randomly decides that the best way to ruin her fun is to imply that she's an ungracious friend for not inviting the Cullens. I mean, I think that's how it's supposed to go. Otherwise, all I can gather is that Lauren is PO'd that Bella is talking to Jacob and randomly brings up that the Cullens couldn't make it.

Actually, I suspect that that right there is the only reason Lauren was kept at all. She gets to bring up the fact that the Cullens aren't allowed on the La Push beach. Classy. Well, that was the set-up so...



ZeldaQueen: AUGH! What is up with their faces?!? They look like they're either soulless dolls or they're high! Or both! Is this supposed to be foreshadowing that they're werewolves? Are all supernatural creatures naturally squinty and creepy? Or is that just Young Kim's default face for "I'm delivering stunning and significant exposition"?

*shivers* Alrighty, so Bella instantly latches on to how that is OH SO IMPORTANT! To give the devil her due, I'd probably figure there was something going on if a guy looked like that while saying it.

Bella and Jacob go off together and have their talk and this actually is very nice. There is no internal narration from Bella at all, so we're spared her constantly descriptions of how she's trying to flirt with him for information and whatnot. Instead, she actually sounds curious and amazingly she freaking smiles. Alright then!



ZeldaQueen: I just love how bored Bella looks until the Wonderful Sparkly Vampires are mentioned. I mean, just look at that first panel! She looks like she's about two seconds from falling asleep! "Uh huh...that's nice...yes...I see...zzzzzz" *thud as her head falls off of her hand*

And it's quite jarring, because like I said, not two panels ago she was laughing and walking around. Is this supposed to be symbolic of how it's Serious Story Time?

We get a few panels which illustrate the story as Jacob tells it, which blessedly spares us from yet another bout of watching people just sit and talk without being shown anything interesting. Like the movie, Jacob's grandfather is drawn as a stereotype, but the vampire is also drawn in a black cloak and with bats around him, so it does give the impression that Bella's just imagining things in a stereotypical manner, or at least it's an attempt to hide who the peaceful vampire is, instead of outright showing us "It's Carlisle". Anywho, the whole thing wraps up with Jacob outright telling Bella that the Cullens are the same vampires who made the treaty. Yeah.

We then jump to Bella's OVERLY SYMBOLIK DREAM, which I'm going to say right now is really nice. It's like the bit with the blood-testing lab - the color change is nicely creepy, the story pacing in it's nice, and all in all the atmosphere's really interesting. It honestly makes me wish that this was just a straight-up horror story instead of frittering around with the shoujo romance.



ZeldaQueen: And yes, here comes Edward. I wonder why this reminds me of A Walk in Wolf Woods, where the devil gives the kid that potion that transforms him into a monster while he screams?



ZeldaQueen: Yes, because I would totally trust someone who looks like that! For heaven's sake, NO! That does NOT make me think that Edward is sexy and exciting, anymore than I think that Loren Blake is!

And am I the only one who thinks it's hilarious that we get the top panel with Edward being all scary and seductive and then jump to the werewolf just springing from the side while Edward has this petulant, puffy expression on his face?



ZeldaQueen: Is it just me, or does it look like Edward's blowing the wolf a raspberry? It would certainly explain that wide-eyed, pissy look the wolf has. I honestly can't take that panel seriously!

So yeah, Bella spends two pages looking up vampires online, which is done in some picto-montage way, giving the impression that she was online for two seconds. She then has her canon walk through the woods, where she decides that she's just peachy with Edward being a vampire or....whatever. Well, idiocy aside, the drawings are very nice. I am especially fond of the use of lighting through the trees.

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Onward to: Part 6

Back to: Part 4

Return to: Table of Contents

Comments

[white-wolf03.livejournal.com]

Does the werewolf actually look like that? I don't know, something about it just doesn't work for me, especially when it lunges at Edward. I think that it just looks too different, like two books were photoshoppedd onto the same page.

And on an unrelated note, does Bella have any reactions beside sweat rolling down her face?

[madamchaos.livejournal.com]

I was actually going to comment that the wolf looked really nice on the first page until I realize that I've seen that exact same image before. On Google.

"Well, maybe they were just referencing it for the pose?" So I would assume... until I got to the ink-only third picture and mother of god that thing is ugly.

And it's detailed completely different.

So yes. The first two wolf images, with the blood-red motif? Nicked straight from GIS. Classy.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

O_o Are you serious? Do you remember where that wolf picture was from?


Now I have the urge to go and and see if Edward's car's from Google as well.

[madamchaos.livejournal.com]

I don't recall specifically, but I definitely remember seeing that image before and almost certainly just from a Google image search. I don't know about the second panel, but I'd bet its also a manip/tracing, because the first two are competent images of wolves, but the last of the three is just... bad.

The eye is too low and drawn different, with no regard to the skull shape and shading that the first two have; the muzzle is somewhat stunted; the lower jaw has too much fur on the edge in comparison to the first two images (and far more than a wolf would normally have anyway; and I'd say that the third drawing shares more in common with a bear than a wolf. And again, the first and second images have different, more realistic detailing than the third one. Altogether, it's pretty obviously a nicked image (public domain, most likely, but still) that went through some photoshop filters. This would also explain why the red is used; it's less artistic expression and more to hide the original coloration and shading, which is still somewhat visible through the filter.

tl;dr somebody can't draw wolves so GOOGLE!

I'd put money on the car being a GIS grab, too, or at best a tracing from one. It's not unlikely; Part 4, I think, just had a gaussian-blurred photo (actual photo!) from a school cafeteria as a background, so...

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

Now that you mention it, there are a lot more items and panels that look out of place with how the characters are drawn. Yes, very classy -_-

[mancalledtrue.livejournal.com]

Looks more like he's preparing to kiss the wolf in midair.

Those fangs just made me laugh. They fit his mouth so very, very badly.

And the drawing of the wolf in that last panel makes how the first two are filtered photos all the more obvious.

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

/Looks more like he's preparing to kiss the wolf in midair./

I was agreeing with (and was amused by) Zelda_Queen's description, but now that I think about it, Edward does kind of look like he's going to kiss the wolf. XD

/Those fangs just made me laugh. They fit his mouth so very, very badly./

I actually prefer the Japanese edition's version of this scene:

http://media.photobucket.com/image/twilight%20manga/kawa-ii/Twilight%20Manga/1_9.jpg?o=47

Come to think of it, I think that Edward looks better in the illustrations in the Japanese versions of the novels. Bella also looks more like a nice, normal girl there, instead of this bored and haughty prima donna that we have here.

[gehayi.livejournal.com]

I interpreted Bella's "Yes" response to Charlie as sarcastic: "...Yeah. Right. God, do you really believe that I care about ANY of these plebs?"

The wolf in the last panel looks like he's wearing ill-fitting dentures.

WHY DOES EVERYONE IN THIS GRAPHIC NOVEL HAVE THE SAME BLANK AND CREEPY FACE?

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

XD I see what you mean. I sort of saw it as "...Yes, I guess. Huh, what's this 'concern' thing you're showing? I don't understand it at all".

Because Young Kim seems to think that those faces are alluring and mysterious.

[carmyn]

The wolf in the last panel looks SO WEIRD. I don't know what it is, I think it's because there is no definition in the neck...I think...

Oh, and between this, Betrayed, and City of Bones THE STUPID PEOPLE ARE DROWNING ME.

...I'm sorry. After doing the recap of City of Bones last night, I really, really need to discuss it with someone o.o.

[foxypope.livejournal.com]

...I'm sorry. After doing the recap of City of Bones last night, I really, really need to discuss it with someone o.o.

Me too. I'm trying to read as many chapters as I can before 22, but honestly, I read 1-10 and am NOT looking forward to reading 12 more chapters of that tripe. It's amazing how Clare can manage to have plot but STILL write a totally fucking boring story.

Even trying to get through the chapter I've heard is good (the one with Magnus Bane) is horrendously boring. She just drags shit out with really LAME boring expository conversations and just mundane details that make her prose sluggish and dull.

[carmyn]

I have Ch. 14 and 15 and dear god, they are suppose to be looking for someone and Clary is the stupidest bitch ever and I want to murder Jace so badly, it's not even funny. I hate him so much.

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

Oh, trust me, I hate Jace too. I don't know why Cassandra Clare expects us to like him or think that he's the sexiest guy ever, because he's so snide and obnoxious that it's unbearable. Plus, he *never shuts up.* He always has to have the last word, no matter how ridiculous and petty it makes him sound.

[parrinoyed.livejournal.com]

I think Jace is really supposed to be 12. Or maybe 9. That age is pretty obnoxious in general. And Clary...an extremely naive 17? or maybe also 12.

All I know is that they're terrible.

I'm sorry. After doing the recap of City of Bones last night, I really, really need to discuss it with someone o.o.

That is so how I feel, trying to read through the rest w/out recapping...There's just so much to say when there's so much badness right?

Huh. This is like a support group. Good thing no one's trying it on their own.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

According to the Mortal Instruments Wiki (yes, it exists), Clary is 16 and Jace is 17. I know, right?

[parrinoyed.livejournal.com]

I vaguely remember Clary's age being dropped right in the first chapter, though for some reason I was thinking she was 17 above.

But their characterizations are so fundamentally OFF...actually, the Jace as far as I've read (thru ch 7?) could behaviorally be something like 12, more realistically. Not that the character isn't intrinsically wrong still, especially what he does, but if he were 12, one could make it a character flaw AND have an interesting story.

Now I almost want to write it.

[parrinoyed.livejournal.com]

Okay, reading chapter 8, it is reiterated that Clary is 15, which I know was mentioned in ch 1&2. And later, too, I think. This book must be really bad.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

"I want to murder Jace so badly, it's not even funny. I hate him so much."

I wish to murder Jace as well. I know Clare was going for the "troubled but cute" thing, but it just doesn't work. All he comes across as is a narcissistic jackass who enjoys killing things, which is the exact opposite of what most people look for. Honestly, the "Daddy didn't love me" excuse can only carry a character so far.

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

What's weird is that Jace doesn't even really act like someone who was abused. He's confident, sociable, vain, and careless. For me, it seemed more believable that he was spoiled rotten rather than abused. His constant, sudden switches from spiteful bully to emo kid aren't just annoying, they're downright ridiculous to the point of making him seem bipolar. I agree with Daniel Hemmens, who said in his review of the book that "'Makes constant wisecracks' is not a psychologically realistic portrayal of an emotionally scarred teenager."

And you know what's even worse? In the third book, there appears a character (who shall remain anonymous for now, for the sake of spoilers) who also has daddy issues and who does come from genuinely messed-up circumstances. Yet in the end, we're meant to view the character as pure evil while Jace is supposed to be this misunderstood angel. *snorts*

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

"For me, it seemed more believable that he was spoiled rotten rather than abused."

Which is deliciously hilarious when you consider that Jace is blatantly ripped-off from Clare's version of Malfoy, who countless people have tried to write as being an abused teddy bear and who is clearly shown in canon to just be a spoiled brat.

I think it's more accurate to say that Jace is what Clare thinks an abused kid acts like. Probably her idea was that Jace spent years being hurt and belittled by his father, so he was thrilled to find that being a great Demon hunter with a snarky wisecracker personality got him a lot of positive attention.

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

The thing with Draco, though, is that he genuinely struggled with his father's legacy; he actually realized that joining Voldemort was a mistake and that he was way in over his head. Unlike Jace, he is *not* a killer. He parrots his father's rhetoric, but by the end of the day, he can't bring himself to kill someone, not even when his parents' lives are at stake.

Which is why I cannot understand for the life of me why people think that DT!Draco and Jace (although you're right, they're basically the same character, as is proven by CoB's lifted scene from "Draco Sinister") are just nicer versions of Canon!Draco. They're *not.* In my opinion, they're *worse.* Canon!Draco was annoying and nasty, yes. But he didn't take the same kind of sadistic, casual, flippant, manipulative, and downright *vicious* glee in deliberately hurting people that DT!Draco and Jace do. Canon!Draco insults Harry and Co. because he's a bothersome pest and his role is to be the schoolyard antagonist. DT!Draco and Jace insult people because they actually gain *pleasure* from hurting their victims' feelings. They *depend* on seeing their victims properly humbled and hurt, and they play the victim whenever people see fit to give them a taste of their own medicine.

So, no, Cassandra Cla(i)re has not created a nicer version of Draco. She's created a sociopathic version of him.

/Probably her idea was that Jace spent years being hurt and belittled by his father, so he was thrilled to find that being a great Demon hunter with a snarky wisecracker personality got him a lot of positive attention./

That might have been an interesting idea, but again, it's an issue of "show, don't tell."

[winki-pop.livejournal.com]

*Bella still looks like Sarah Michelle Gellar except I'm pretty sure Buffy had more than one facial expression :P

*Why does Bella always look frightened, especially when she hears about the Cold Ones? What, she's NEVER heard of vampires before? Idiot

*That panel with the other Quileute boys looks like the album cover to a D-grade boy band's album or something, looking all moody and airbrushed :D

*The wolf picture looks so fake, it must be a scan from a Googled photo. Come to think of it, thee sky in the panel looks pretty Googled too...

*Kiss the wolf, Edward, kiss the wolf! :P Maybe Bella's symbolik dream could be the revelation that Edward likes a bit of the fur instead… :D