Review by School Librarian for Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 (The Twilight Saga)
Rating:
It took one hour to read this magnificent graphic novel, but oh, what a fantastic 60 minutes it was!

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!

Let me just say that the artist, Young Kim, is one talented lady, and she has breathed new life into a classic vampire series. She captures the quiet beauty of Bella Swan, making her look lovely, but in an unadorned way that we have always pictured, but have never seen. She combines her own artistry with live shots, and the results are stunning. You feel as if you are truly stepping into the wet and slippery world of Forks, Washington, immersing yourself in a world where humans, werewolves and vampires co-exist unwittingly. What made this graphic novel such a easy page-turner is not just the knock-out drawings, but the layout as well, which is key to the enjoyment of any graphic novel. Kim has been able to give a face to all our favorite characters, and where she resoundingly succeeds is in her depiction of Edward. No slight to the handsome Robert Pattinson, but this is the way I had imagined Edward Cullen to look like – gorgeous and other-worldly in his male beauty.

For those of us who know the story like the back of our hand, this first volume concludes with Bella and Edward leaving the forest, with the initial secrets of vampires revealed in their pretty swath of forest. We all know how it starts, where it’s going, and how it ends, but my goodness, I cannot wait for the next installment. Let’s hope Stephenie Meyer will give her blessing for the three other books, because as of right now, only Twilight is getting the graphic novel treatment. I highly recommend this book to all fans of Twilight, vampire lovers, and reluctant readers who need a more aesthetically pleasing introduction to the world of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen. For grades 5th and up. Enjoy!

Review by E. A Solinas for Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 (The Twilight Saga)
Rating:
For the record: I don’t like “Twilight.” At all. But I decided to give “Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1” a fair shot at impressing me, especially since it’s rendered into manhwa/manga-style artwork and a pared-down narrative. The artwork is sumptuous, elegant and all-around lovely, but the story is dragged down by the rather stuffy internal monologue.

Everybody knows the drill — a girl from Phoenix named Bella Swan “exiles” herself to the rainy overcast town of Forks, so she can live with her dad. When she isn’t moping, she attends the local school and is struck by the beautiful, aloof Cullen family (and particularly with the standoffish Edward, who seems to be bipolar). He also has superhuman speed and strength, as Bella discovers when he saves her from a runaway van.

In case anybody needs to be told, Eddiekins is a vampire, albeit one who doesn’t adhere to any of the traditional vampirey rules… except sucking blood. And despite the danger to her person, Bella develops a Phoenix-sized crush on him despite him constantly insisting that he’s ohsoverydangerous.

It’s a given that any rabid fans of “Twilight” will gobble down the graphic novel adaptation of the first book’s first half. As for everyone else? Well, there are still spurts of rather pompous, un-teen-girlish narrative (“I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him”) and Bella still whines way too much about mundane stuff (“You could have saved yourself all this regret for not just letting that stupid van squish me!”).

Fortunately, Young Kim did a pretty decent job translating the novel into comic book form, and I ended up enjoying her streamlined, sped-up version of the story. It’s heavy on atmosphere and light on fluff (such as “Bella being randomly clumsy” or “Bella being chased by every boy in school”), with especial emphasis on the dreamlike landscapes, Indian legends and secretive conversations.

And Kim’s artwork is simply gorgeous. Her style is a semi-realistic manga/manhwa style, full of delicate strokes, light shadows and smooth lines. Lots of flowing hair, vivid eyes and even some lightly colored scenes when the story demands it (such as when Bella faints at the smell of blood). Additionally, she does succeed in making the Cullens look very lovely and ethereal, yet also very sinister.

There are, however, some scenes that just don’t work. The infamous “sparkling in the sun” scene ends up looking ridiculous — Edward looks like he’s covered in fish scales, not diamond sparkleskin.

“Twilight: The Graphic Novel Volume 1” is a decent graphic novel in its own right, and Young Kim’s elegant artwork distracts from some of the story’s flaws. Worth reading if you’re enamored with the book, or really like beautifully-drawn manhwa/manga.

Review by Mystery Person for Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 (The Twilight Saga)
Rating:
I purchased the graphic novel in April. I was excited to see Twilight in a whole new aspect. The graphic pictures are AMAZING. Most of the book is in black in white except major scenes which are one or two, but still wonderful otherwise. The story is also told pretty well considering it is a comic strip. The only negative I have about this graphic novel is that it isn’t the full book of Twilight. It’s about half actually. I paid 16 dollars for it at the book store when I see I should have come here for it but I just don’t think it is worth it to buy all of the volumes to the book when it is only half. So when you think about it. Twilight with be split into Two graphic novels, New moon will probably be two as well, Eclipse will be three, and Breaking Dawn will be either 3 or 4. So assuming they are all 9.99 and you want all of the volumes to complete the story, you’re paying over 100 dollars just to look at pictures for a story you have already painted in your head as well as seen on the big screen. I don’t think I will be purchasing anymore volumes. But everyone has their own level of obsession with The Twilight Saga so I know that price and length wouldn’t matter to a Twihard fan. Judge for yourself.