‘Twilight’ graphic novel sets first printing of 350,000
Twilight: The Graphic Novel
will hit stores March 16 with a first printing of 350,000 copies. Yeah, sure, it sounds impressive for comics, and it is, but put it in perspective– over 15 million Twilight books were sold in 2008, with 1.3 million copies of Breaking Dawn selling on the first day of release alone. More interestingly, Deb Aoki notes that the book is already in Amazon’s Top 10 two months before shipping.
Entertainment Weekly‘s Shelf Life blog has a look at the cover and interior art, plus an excerpt from an interview with Twilight
author Stephenie Meyer. (A 10 -page preview plus the full Q&A will
run in the new edition of the magazine, which hits stands on Friday.)
Twilight: The Graphic Novel
is adapted and illustrated by Korean artist Young Kim, with input from
Meyer, whose series of young-adult novels has sold 53 million copies
worldwide. The book is coming out from Yen Press, a division of Hachette, which also produces the Twilight prose books.
Here’s the press release:
YEN PRESS ANNOUNCES
TWILIGHT: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL, VOL. 1
WILL GO ON-SALE ON MARCH 16, 2010
NEW YORK, NY (January 20, 2010) — Yen Press, the graphic novel
imprint of Hachette Book Group, announced that it will publish the
highly-anticipated first volume in the graphic novel adaptation of
Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight on March 16, 2010. Twilight: The Graphic
Novel, Volume 1 will be released in hardcover for $19.99 ($22.99 CAN)
with a first printing of 350,000 copies. As is typical in graphic novel
publishing, due to the length of the prose novel, the book will be
divided into two volumes and the release date for the second volume is
forthcoming.
Twilight: The Graphic Novel contains selected text from Meyer’s
original novel with illustrations by Korean artist Young Kim. A rare
fusion of Asian and Western comic techniques is reflected in this
black-and-white graphic novel with color interspersed throughout. Meyer
consulted throughout the artistic process and had input on every panel.
“I’ve enjoyed working on this new interpretation of Twilight,” said
Meyer. “Young has done an incredible job transforming the words that I
have written into beautiful images. The characters and settings are
very close to what I was imagining while writing the series.”
Kurt Hassler, Yen Press Publishing Director, said, “Few American
publishing properties are better suited to introduce a vast readership
to the medium of graphic novel than the phenomenon that is Stephenie
Meyer’s Twilight. Yen Press will certainly continue to expand this
audience with the help of Bella and Edward.”
In four years, Stephenie Meyer has become a worldwide publishing
phenomenon. The Twilight Saga’s translation rights have been sold in
nearly 50 countries and 85 million copies have been sold worldwide.
Oh, come on they didn't get Peter David to do the comic script? Look at how well he proved he (with a little help from his friends), could write a "Twilight" story…
Peter David does rule everything he touches (huzzah, Dreadstar!), but I'd guess the audience this is designed for wouldn't know the difference between a highly talented writer and someone off the street. Plus, if you read the description closely it says it's comprised of "selected text" from the novels with illustrations by Young Kim. That sounds to me more like an illustrated storybook than an actual graphic novel.