Twilight: The Graphic Novel Volume 2 by Stephenie Meyer and Young Kim is the second (my review of Volume 1) in the series providing Meyer’s fans with even more Edward and Bella, but in visual form.  Kim’s images are sharp and well shaded, but there are only a few splashes of color, mostly red.  The story line is basically the same, with Bella and Edward running from James and Victoria.

There is a bit more back story of Carlisle and James here, and some of the scenes are modified to adapt it for the graphic novel and speed up the action.  Kim is a deft talent with her shading and life-like images.  She takes the story to a new visual level, making her characters almost 3-D with their depth.  Twilight fans who cannot get enough of this saga will love to add these books to their collections, and others might simply enjoy the art in these volumes, especially how the clothes move with the vampires and humans so realistic that readers would wish to feel the fabric.

There are odd moments in the novel where “conversation bubbles” are empty except for an ellipses, which may be unnecessary, given the depth of Kim’s talent to create believable facial expressions.  Meyer is surely capitalizing on her saga’s fame, and she’s looking to her character notes and sketches to offer her readers more than just the same story.  Is there enough in these graphic novels to satisfy the less-than-die-hard fan?  Maybe.  What is the real gem in Twilight: The Graphic Novel Volume 2 is Kim’s talent as an artist.

Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 is adapted from Stephenie Meyer’s best seller and the art is done by Young Kim.  Purchased as a gift, I grew curious about the art work inside since I’ve already read the series of books.  Meyer is a storyteller, but this graphic novel rendition of her story breathes new life into the supernatural love story with its crisp imagery and the stark contrasts generated by its black and white shading and sparse use of color.

Given that I normally don’t review graphic novels, I was more impressed here with the illustrations.  Kim is a stunning talent and demonstrates a clear ability to render lifelike faces to humans, vampires, and werewolves alike.  Don’t expect the images of Kristen Stewart or Robert Pattinson here.  Kim has imagined Bella and Edward in her own way and has pared down Meyer’s text significantly, allowing the pictures to carry the story.

I found the graphic novel adaptation mildly enjoyable for its images, but the text was minimal at best and much is left to the reader’s imagination.  Moreover, I noticed that some liberties were taken with Meyer’s story, much like what you would expect a movie screen writer to do, so it is clearly an adaptation not a reiteration.  Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 by Stephenie Meyer and Young Kim is an interesting collaboration to round out any Twilight lover’s collection.