A Retrospect: “PW: Graphic Novel Sales Up; Manga Down” (Blamed on Twilight)

Okay so the story behind this post is that, I began writing this a long while ago after coming across an article in Publisher’s Weekly while researching my thesis. Never got around to finishing it, but in light of recent Twilight news this seemed like an interesting draft to salvage with the manga having been announced last week in EW.

From a PW article about Graphic Novel and Manga Sales from February:

“Griepp blamed the decline in manga sales on the tough economy as well as inventory reductions at Borders and the ongoing closing of mall stores. He also cited a decline in exposure of anime on cable TV and the overwhelming popularity of the blockbuster Twilight series, which competed with manga for the consumer dollars of teen girls.”

Bwhaaa?  Really? I fail to see how a set of four books published over a span of years competed for consumer dollars no matter how much merchandising was out there.  It certainly would have had an affect on the profits of specific series and genres.  The decline in exposure of anime on basic cable is the far more likely culprit along with the economy and ever increasing competition for shelf space.

We’re well into the field of personal opinion so feel free to ignore me; I have no delusions of being the Lorax of geeks.  While I can’t agree with the PW article, supposing Griepp was right, the Twilight manga is mildly ironic.  With the adaptation heading towards the Manga aisle will we see a significant sales bump across the format as a whole?  Of course.   So in a sense, Twilight will be saving manga from itself.  My hope is that Twilight fans will also pick up Vampire Knight and Rosario Vampire while they are over there.  (Especially Vampire Knight. <3 I have so much love for that series and one day I will get around to blogging about it.  Team Edward, you’re going to love Kiryuu-kun.)

Anyway as far as the rest of the article went.:

Graphic Novel sales were up 5% in 2008 while manga sales declined by 17%.  5% is a fairly small number so perhaps this is not indicative of a larger trend and was just a fluke.  However based solely on my own buying habits of late the statistics held very true.  And then I got to thinking.  Why was this so?

A lot of it has had to do with recent forms of peer pressure that have popped up in my own life.  Even geeks want to fit in with their fellow nerds and degenerates.  My boyfriend is a comics nerd as are many of my co-workers/former classmates and the bloggers whom I follow.  So now the people I talk with are this kind of geek, but there was a time when my posse was very different.  I mean, hell, I was President of our college anime club.

I don’t know where along the road I fell into these circles and fell out of touch with the same manga crowd  who fed my addictions.

This peer pressure thing is something that is very specific to my life based on the friendships I’m attempting to forge; however, the article prompted me make a few other observations about my current buying habits that perhaps have a broader impact.

In by-gone days I didn’t blink an eyelash at spending $100+ every month for the newest volumes in my favortie lines.  Those were before the darktimes, before the Empire, before tuition, groceries, and utilities.  Now, I struggle with the decision to lay down the money for a b&w,  200-300 page book which will only last me a half hour and yet will remain with me, taking up what limited space I have in my apartment, indefinitely.  Whereas a graphic novel may take me longer to make up my mind about it, but I tend to suffer less guilt after having bought a$19.95 trade hardcover printed in 4-color on a heavy pound, high-gloss paper.  The perceived value is higher, and now I’m at an age where hat kind of thing has begun to matter.

HELP ME!  Oh to young again and haphazard about my personal fiances.  Just kidding, but seriously, winning the lotto right now would be nice.

/End of Line

~ L.

New Moon Trailer

Well it’s here Twilight fans: the New Moon Trailer.  For a movie trailer it was oddly straightforward.  I am so glad we got to see a transformation.  That had been my biggest worry for New Moon because werewolf transformations are notoriously bad, IMO.  In Twilight it had been the meadow scene.

 Not sure what I think of it yet, still ruminating about the clip, but at least there is nothing to wonder about.  

Twilight on IO9, & the Entertainment Weekly Article

With something like a week and a half before Twilight, a lot of mixed feelings are being stirred up again.  So I’ve got something for the Darksiders and something for the Fans.

IO9 went on to post a snark-rich article on the series.  I got a giggle of from it, but truly I’m watching for the comments which will undoubtedly be quite awesome. Twilight -Fans-  stay away from that link.  You aren’t going to be happy with what they have to say so just don’t put yourself through it.  You’ll be much happier with this next link if you haven’t seen it all ready.

What I did find out from the IO9 article was that there was a new Entertainment Weekly interview with Stephenie Meyer from November 5th.

Fanboys and Fangirls Say the Darnedest Things!

The two largest YA fandoms are rising up against certain media giants this week.

The Twilighters are out to crucify comedian Russell Brand for cutting off Robert Pattinson mid-sentence.

“F— U Russell for interrupting Spunk!” a reader named Nightmare and Dream commented, using a nickname Pattinson earned from one of his “Twilight” Tuesday appearances on MTV. “Rob has an amazing hot voice, and we only heard 1.5 words from him!”

It will be okay; I promise you.  Let’s not forget that there is a whole movie on its way.  We will all get our Spunk fix very soon.  Though Twilighters, write away.  You are entitled to express to MTV that you didn’t care for the host and you should.  They need to know that you don’t like Russell Brand so as not to ask him back, but handle it maturely.  You’ll have more of an impact if you avoid profanity and make it about more than just the host screwing up at a life event. Things like that happen.  

Now over at the Harry Potter camp, fans have apparently been sending the Warner Bros. executives -death threats- after the release of the sixth movie (Half-Blood Prince) was pushed back.

Some of these are just hilarious.

Jean Fink, a 51-year-old Los Angeles artist who also works as an administrative assistant, was so distraught after a night of fitful sleep that she dashed off a scathing message to the man who’d betrayed her. “I can’t breath amymore [sic] because you just ripped out my heart,” she wrote in an Aug. 15 email.

Ms. Fink, the artist and administrative assistant, recently stood outside Warner Bros.’s Burbank lot with a large sign. “Dear Mr. Horn,” she scrawled in red marker. “You will forever be known as ‘The man who changed Harry Potter’s release date.’ Are you happy now?”

“Harry Potter is for the fans, he’s for the underdogs, and so am I,” Ms. Fink says. “I won’t stop fighting this.”

To that I have…no words. *Facepalm*

Edward Cullen, what an ass.

Empire Article about the Twilight Movie

Hahaha, that’s essentially what Robert Pattinson is saying…so funny! <3’s for Rob!

“When you read the book, it’s like, ‘Edward Cullen was so beautiful I creamed myself.’ I mean, every line is like that. He’s the most ridiculous person who’s so amazing at everything. I think a lot of actors tried to play that aspect. I just couldn’t do that. And the more I read the script, the more I hated this guy, so that’s how I played him, as a manic-depressive who hates himself. Plus, he’s a 108-year-old virgin so he’s obviously got some issues there.”

Don’t get me wrong. I love Edward, but I do understand the complaints brought up against him. Regardless, this statement is many kinds of wonderful. ‘Edward Cullen was so beautiful I creamed myself.’ Oh hehe.

Anyway, one more bit of news to the growing pile of Twilight drama. I have a theory that the world is simply going to explode on the day the movie releases.  The apocalypse is now, people!

Stephenie Meyer Responds to Breaking Dawn Outcry

I’ve been waiting for Meyer to address the criticisms of her fans while still struggling with my own disappointed hopes.  The debates are still quite heated between those that loved Breaking Dawn and those that didn’t.  I would say I’m a much more mellow dissenter.  I will not be returning my copy of Breaking Dawn like some.  I read the book, and for better or worse I owe the publisher that money.  Now, I  may avoid books done by Little Brown in the near future because I feel there were some unacceptable editorial mistakes made and it has affected my view of the company.  Anyway, that’s a whole other issue for another day.

I was curious about this interview on MTV because there are still so many questions out there.

“There’s no way to make everybody happy. When I do one thing that a lot of people want, there’s always the opposite reaction.  But how can you possibly meet up with the expectations that this book had?” she asked. “It just got so built up. There is no book in the world that could stand up to that. So I knew it was going to happen, but at the same time it hurts.” ~ Stephenie Meyer

Again, I’m disappointed and before you say it, yes I know I’ll probably never be satisfied.  Regardless, I can still be upset with the way Breaking Dawn continues to be handled.  To say that there is no hope that -any- book will ever survive the hype Meyer enjoyed is a rather bleak statement.  Why write then?  I feel as if this statement is almost passing judgement on all past and future bestselling authors.  Because it didn’t work out for Meyer, that means it won’t ever work out for others?  

With the conclusion of any series there will always be some people who are not entirely satisfied, I understand that, but the outcry against Breaking Dawn should send up a red flag.  This was much larger than anyone expected.  Maybe there is more to this than fans not getting the ending they wanted.   I think the book may have been rushed through production and that Meyer tried too hard to please everyone.  Instead though, it seems like the fandom is being blamed for the negative reactions because we were so attached and that there is an expectation out there that we’ll simply come around later, since some feel that teens are fickle consumers.  I really feel we should give teens more credit. There are some really bright individuals out there whom are entirely capable of telling quality from poor writing and making a good argument to support those opinions.  I doubt we’ll suddenly be seeing them change their minds.

I’m barely going to address her response to complaints that Bella got her happy ending without much sacrifice.  Without loss and struggle how do you appreciate a happy ending?  It is life’s greatest conflict.  

But hey, at least she realizes that Renesmee is just….weird to the rest of us.

Thoughts On Breaking Dawn

Let me start with the good.  The first couple of chapters were wonderful.  I was so moved by the wedding and I couldn’t stop the tears as Bella said goodbye to Charlie.  It was beautiful. To be honest, I didn’t even need the honeymoon to be happy.  I could have read fan-fiction if I wanted the sex.  She had made her decision and that’s all I wanted.  I should have stopped on page 74.

I could go into the obvious sentiments that my fellow Twilight fans are all talking about, but I’ll try to bring something different to this post. Just know that I am not happy about the apparent lack of any real sacrifice on Bella’s becoming a vampire, how every character was behaving completely out of character, Bella’s transformation into Mrs. Susie Home-maker, or her continued co-dependency issues.  Check out the 1 star reviews on Amazon if you are curious.  They pretty much cover all that.

I’ll try to make this as specific as possible.  My first issue is that I feel Meyer sacrificed the style that made the first three books so successful for this big epic plot.  Her books were never plot-driven, it was all character.   The concept is as old as any: fallible star-crossed lovers are drawn to and from one another.  Cliché as it was, I never cared!  It was her characters that drew me to the story.  Their heartache and laughter was what endeared me to them.   I felt like she abandoned them, or abandoned her usual focus on relationships rather for action.  I’m not talking about romantic relationships, but the ties between Bella and all those who were apart of her life.

Those last 200 pages were so hard to get through. There was way too much parroting and repetition going on. It felt like -everything- was explained at least twice if not more.

 I also feel that Bella’s transformation invalidates the conflict of the whole series.  Transformed Bella refers to her human memories as -dull- compared to the sensory experience of her new immortal life.  As readers we’ve been with Bella through so much, so much pain.  It hurt; I cried during these books!  And now everything we all went through together is simply dull and so soon to be forgotten!?  Is there anything to miss? Edward does not miss anything of Bella’s humanity?  Huh?  After all that talk and angst?  What about Bella’s heartbeat?  I can’t believe that neither of them miss that.  The romance means nothing anymore to me. 

My heart aches for Leah too.  I’ve always hated what Meyer had done to that character.  I never knew what the point of Leah was.  Why did she have to be made into a werewolf and shoved into Sam’s mind like that?  It was a hundred times crueler than what Jacob went through, but I trusted that she was going to be okay.  There had to be a reason for sticking her in that situation that so perfectly mirrored Jacob’s.  I really thought Leah was intended to be Jacob’s companion.  They would be able to understand one another better than any, and maybe eventually heal the other.  Only….no.  No.  We all know how that turned out.  That’s just great for Jacob. He imprints on Bella’s daughter, and that’s it.  Creepy, but hey his pain is all gone.  Only….what about Leah.  While she’s found a way out of Sam’s head does that make things any easier for her?  Were things any easier for Jacob because he couldn’t hear Bella and Edward’s thoughts?  It’s clear that Leah’s character is beginning to give up on humanity and become more feral now that Jacob showed her how.  Ugh.   How does that befit a happy ending? Did someone named Leah piss Stephenie Meyer off in high school?

Renesmee?  I am just not going to call her that (I’ll call her Carlie).  It sounds horrible.  It looks horrible.  What was wrong with Carlie for a first name?  But naming the baby after Renee?  Your mother whom you’ve cut off all communications with?  Who you’ve never e-mailed in this fourth book?  Who will never be told that you have a daughter, Bella?  Oh I realize that there are a number of reasons for why Bella chose to do so.  Maybe she just wanted to give her mother some small part to play in Renee’s life since there would be too many complications otherwise.  But why wasn’t it explained?  That’s the kind of emotional conflict that would have drawn me back to these characters.  This Volturi crap was drawn out, uninteresting, and emotionally flat.

Finally, what was the point of introducing over a dozen characters in the last 200 pages of the novel who did NOTHING?  They meant nothing to the story.  It’s not like they even fought.  And yes I realize that the hope was that the Cullen clan could avoid a fight with the Volturi, but from a writer’s perspective this was a mistake.  Meyer should not have introduced all those useless characters at the end.  Nothing was accomplished by it aside from confusing the reader.  The Volturi retreated from the field for one day; they will come back.  Meyer spent so much time building up to nothing.  Nothing was gained or lost.  Sure we know about other half-vampires like Nahuel and Reneesmee, but that could have been done if the Cullens were just allowed to go to South America to do their research.  It might have been a much more interesting story if they had met up with  he rest of Nahuel’s family instead.  Cullen Clan vs the Incubi.  Only then Bellla might have never discovered how just how impressive her powers are –rolls eyes-  because you know….that’s necessary.  It all came down to Bella, eh?  Gee doesn’t it always. 

Meyer Reveals Breaking Dawn Spoiler

It’s a bit of old news, but I haven’t gotten to do my team Edward dance.

/dance

As an added treat to all of you Team Edward fans I pulled a few of my favorite button sayings from my Twilight themed flair board on Facebook.

“Give Blood. Date a Cullen.”
“Edward Cullen is teaching Chuck Norris how to dazzle!”
“Jacob Black?  I’d hit that…with a Volvo.”
“Sexy: adj  Edward Cullen See Aslo: Cold, Dead and Sparkling”
“Edward/Bella because dogs were meant to be pets”
“Why won’t Jacob get rabies already?”
“308 = the number of pages without Edward Cullen”

But my favorite is a much more general button….

“If I had a Tardis I would have Breaking Dawn already!”

Breaking Dawn…Literally

Aug 1. Solar Eclipse!  Ironic no?

Okay I hope you forgive me for a joke that was almost as bad as the worst of puns, but I cracked up hearing that the release of Breaking Dawn coinsided with a solar eclipse over good old Canada & Alaska.  It’ll be a good day for Bella to become a vampire.  Hehe.  I wish we could see it over here.  That would have made August 1 the most perfect release day ever.  What are your plans for release day?

I finished New Moon, and I am a quarter of the way through Eclipse.  Sadly I won’t be able to finish the series this weekend.  For my own health I’m forcing myself to go socialize with “human” company.  Eventually I will get around to posting my thoughts on the series.  I’m still waiting to see if Bella grows on me.  Don’t get me wrong…I -love- the series, but the main character grates on my last nerve.