Twilight Comics
Twilight Comics are multi-panel image comics made from screen captures of the 2008 film *Twilight*, overlaid with humorous captions that mock the movie's characters and melodramatic tone. The format first appeared on gaming forums in mid-2009 and spread across humor blogs and social platforms through 2010, riding the wave of both Twilight fandom and Twilight backlash during the franchise's peak years.
Overview
Twilight Comics follow a simple formula: take screen captures from the *Twilight* films, arrange them in a vertical multi-panel layout, and add captions that rewrite what the characters are saying or thinking. The humor usually plays off the film's intense romantic tone by injecting absurd, sarcastic, or self-aware dialogue into scenes between Bella Swan and Edward Cullen. The science classroom scene from the first film was a particularly popular source for panels, given its awkward tension between the two leads4.
The format tapped into a cultural moment where *Twilight* was simultaneously one of the biggest film franchises in the world and one of the internet's favorite punching bags. The comics gave anti-Twilight internet users a way to engage with the source material on their own terms.
The romantic fantasy film *Twilight*, based on Stephenie Meyer's 2005 novel, premiered at the Mann Village Theater in Westwood, California on November 17, 20082. Kristen Stewart starred as Bella Swan opposite Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen. The film pulled in over $7 million from midnight screenings alone on opening night and went on to gross $412 million worldwide2, despite mixed critical reception with a 49% score on Rotten Tomatoes1 and a 56 on Metacritic3.
The earliest known Twilight Comic appeared on the Global Fortress gaming forums on June 20, 20094. It was a four-panel comic using screen captures from the biology classroom scene in the first film, where Bella and Edward share their famously tense first encounter. The anonymous poster reworked the dialogue for comedic effect, setting the template that dozens of imitators would follow.
Origin & Background
How It Spread
How to Use This Meme
Creating a Twilight Comic typically involves:
Grab screen captures from any *Twilight* film, usually scenes with dialogue between two characters
Arrange 3-6 panels vertically in sequence
Add custom captions that replace the original dialogue with something absurd, sarcastic, or self-deprecating
The humor often works by having characters acknowledge how strange their situation is, or by inserting mundane real-world concerns into the supernatural romance
Fun Facts
The first known Twilight Comic came from a first-person shooter gaming forum, not a movie fan community.
*Twilight* was the most purchased DVD of 2009 after its March release on home video, which likely made it easier for meme creators to capture high-quality screenshots.
The original MTV Films screenplay for *Twilight* featured Bella as a long-distance runner who uses shotguns against vampires and rides a jet ski while chased by the FBI. Author Stephenie Meyer said the script "had nothing to do with the book".
Despite the film's mixed critical reception, it launched a five-film franchise that ran through 2012.
Frequently Asked Questions
References (6)
- 1Twilight | Rotten Tomatoesarticle
- 2
- 3Twilight Comics - Know Your Memeencyclopedia
- 4List of Marvel Comics characters: Tencyclopedia
- 5Twilight (2008 film)encyclopedia
- 6Twilight (2008 film) - Wikipediaencyclopedia