GoodRead - Beautiful Creatures: The Manga

You must be wondering if I'm alright or not. I mean, within a few weeks, I have read the movie companion, seen the movie and, now, read the manga for a book that I liked, but didn't love (I still much prefer Beautiful Darkness more than Beautiful Creatures and I still have every intention to read both Beautiful Chaos and Beautiful Redemption by the end of this year). But I won this via Twitter when Penguin Books did their #TwitterChat with both authors, Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. I asked the question if they were times they disagreed over any events that happened in the series and how they overcame them. I'm not sure if the question was answered, but I won a copy. So, thank you Twitter!

In this manga, it tells the basic story of Beautiful Creatures. In the town Gatlin, Ethan Wate is desperate to escape. But when Lena Duchannes enters his life, Ethan discovers that the sleepy town of Gatlin isn't as sleepy as he first thought. Soon, Ethan and Lena's love for each other is tested...

Out of this and the movie, the manga is the most loyal. And this surprised me. I honestly thought the manga was going to be a cheap and fast way for the publisher to plug in the hype going around the series due to the movie. Also, there's a feeling that, if a book/series is popular in YA at the moment, then there HAS to be a graphic novel/manga to go with it (milk the cash cow dry, publishers!) .And it didn't feel like that. It felt like the artist who adapted the novel into this - Cassandra Jean - is a fan of the books (I could be wrong) and took from the novel what was important and put them in the manga. I mean, there was so many things that I read in the manga that I honestly forgot was in the book (Link getting a tattoo of Ridley, for example). This helped refresh my memory of this book and, being honest with you, I liked this. I honestly enjoyed reading this. I think I might have enjoyed this more than the novel (please don't hurt me!)

The art. I have to talk about the art. It's a manga, I have to talk about the art. And I really liked the art. It just fitted with the world of Gatlin. I know some of you guys won't and that because of the the style. It's very sketchy. It's not neat or polished. It's as if Ethan drew this in a sketch book. So, because of this style, some characters' faces seem flat and you have moments where there's writing to show the mood or an action (ie AWKWARD, BAM, SLAM and GASP). But this, in my opinion, seem to fit and work.

I would really like the rest of the series to be done as manga, but I sense this will depend on how the movie does (and from what I've heard, the box office is doing ok, but not enough to warrant a sequel...), but if you're a fan of the series or of manga, you might want to give this a peek.

GoodRead - Clockwork Angel: Manga

I heard rumours that there will be graphic novels of Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments coming out (perfect tie in for the upcoming movie that's coming out next year). But it was only recently that I realised that Cassandra's Infernal Devices series were being turned into manga (I believe it was Mundie Moms who filled me in so thank you). So, imagine my surprise when I got a parcel from Atom & Orbit and the manga Clockwork Angel was in it with other goodies. I grabbed this and read quickly.

It is the same plot as Clockwork Angel (my review of this is here). But, for those who aren't familiar with this series, this is what you should know. In Victorian London, American Tessa Gray comes to visit her brother, Nate. But instead of meeting him, she meets the Dark Sisters. Who then take her hostage. So, when she is rescued by Will, she finds herself in a world of Shadowhunters and Downworlders and then, soon afterwards, she finds herself between two best friends. With her heart torn in two directions, Tessa finds out she's more connected to this new world than she first thought...

I don't really want to talk about the story (as I have reviewed the novel before), but I am very pleased how the novel was adapted to become a manga. And for good reason as it was adapted by the author herself. This helped explained how the book kept loyal to the story and kept the essence. This is very important in adaptations, in any form. If you lose the essence of what made a story great in its adaptation, it feels... wrong. Does that make sense?

The art. Now that I do want to talk about. I liked the art, done by (according to the press release) "the phenomenal manga artist HyeKyung Baek". But... yes, I have buts. First of all, Henry. Why was he done like that? WHY?! That's a small thing, as is the "Do all men in manga look similar?"

The main "But" I have with this is the chemistry. This is meant to be a love story, and while the manga did the supernatural side brilliantly, the chemistry was lacking. If this was stretched over several issues, then this would be done and we would, probably, be sick of it. But, as this was only one volume, it felt a little rushed. Maybe I'm putting too much focus on that as Cassandra tackled this brilliantly in the novel, but... I didn't carry over very well.

I think I may be a little harsh. I really enjoyed it (and it was a fast read. Took a few days to read!) and I am itching to see what the manga version of Clockwork Prince is like! And, this is the perfect "Tie Me Over" till the Infernal Devices finale, Clockwork Princess, comes out. I can NOT wait!



PS - just realised that on the cover, Will is doing the Fearless Rune. Now, am such that Clary created that in City in Ashes. She created and Alec almost told his parents that he was gay. Or am I misremembering? Let me know guys!

GoodRead - "Twilight: The Graphic Novel" Volume 1

Most fans know the plot to Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (and some non-fans too). So, there's no real point explaining the plot to Twilight: The Graphic Novel – Volume One.

So, I might as well tell you about how it was adapted and what the art (both done both by Young Kim). The art in this volume is shockingly beautiful. Some people will see it as a bit Anima or Manga-ish, but I do like it! I like how the characters look (sorry, no Kristen Stewart/Robert Pattinson/Taylor Launter here!) because some, if not most, of the characters look like how they looked when I first read Twilight - WAY before the film rights were bought by Summit. The main characters that Young Kim drew that fitted what I had inside my head was Bella, Alice (that hair!) and Jacob.

Now, let's get into the adaptation. Before I go any further, I must stress that Stephenie Meyer didn't adapted the story – that was Young Kim's department. But Stephenie was HUGELY involved with both the art and the storyline. But there are a few times within the book's pages that I felt that the adaptation was cut in the wrong place or the change of some wording felt a little out of place. But it doesn't stop the flow of the story, but if you are a fan of the Twilight Saga, you might find it a bit jarring. But as this is a graphic novel, this helps speeds things along a bit.

Also, this a Twilight: Volume One of the Graphic Novel. The story is split into two volumes (US and UK Publishers haven't revealed if/when Volume 2 will be published) but this can be forgiven due to the amount of drawings within its covers.

And, if you expecting pages and pages of colour, think again. Colours are used sparingly and, because of this, it makes the pages when colour is used more important. For example, the first few pages (Showing Bella in Phoenix and then showing Bella in Forks) show the difference of worlds for Bella – warm oranges of Phoenix and the earthy greens of Forks. And when we see Edward in colour... Now that would be telling.

If you're a fan of the Twilight Saga, then you'll buy this. If you're curious to see what a graphic novel could look like (as over the course of the year, they will get more popular, me thinks), then there's no harm giving this a quick look. But if you are a die-hard Manga reader, then maybe this will annoy you with some of its style.

But I like it. And maybe I would like to see how Young Kim finishes Twilight in Volume Two... And we can guess that there will be a Volume Two (“Why,” I hear you ask? Look at the cover and notice where her arm goes, it's on something that looks like a man's hand... Will Volume Two be a continuation of this scene? I think so...)