I Luv Halloween

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I Luv Halloween is a horror-comedic English original manga (OEL) written by Keith Giffen and illustrated by Benjamin Roman. In North America, Tokyopop released the series in three volumes from October 2005 to September 2007 and re-released as a single volume in October 2008. Menford Electronic Art also adapted it into a short animated episode that aired on My Space. Set on Halloween, this series focuses on a group of kids who do their tricks-or-treats and misadventures.

Roman pictured the concept of the series and after he moved to Los Angeles, Tokyopop agreed to publish it with Giffen, who has adapted several Tokyopop manga, as a writer. Although received positively by readers, I Luv Halloween received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics. The Young Adult Library Service Association, a division of the American Library Association, placed the first two volumes on the "Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers" list in 2007.

Video I Luv Halloween

Plot

Combining the dark comedy, I Luv Halloween follows a group of children as they trick-or-treat every Halloween: Finch, group leader; Moochie, his killer sister; Devil Lad, who only appeared on Halloween to join the group; Pig Pig, a simple-minded boy; Mr Kitty is a heretic; and his quieter brother, Spike.

I Luv Halloween consists of three stand-alone volumes. In the first volume, children take revenge after receiving apples, cents, and candies that they do not like. Meanwhile, Moochie wanders from Finch and kills city bullies with a stolen bra from Nips, the town cheerleader. Obsessed with teeth, Moochie also extracts his victim's molars. Finch and his group try to take a bra from Moochie; However, after a series of deaths, they eventually bury the premature Nips. In the second volume, they learn that city dwellers have become zombies. Moochie embarked on a quest to expel the "Chonkolit monkey", and met with a group of sisters: Vera, Vivian, and Vincent. Moochie invites Vera with him to hunt down the monkey king. Meanwhile, Finch and Mr. Kitty escaped from a Christian couple by burning some of his wives. Her husband chased after them, only killed by Moochie. He then has Vera expell the monkey king from him. In the third volume, Finch and his group find that the city is undergoing an alien invasion. Mr. Kitty sneaks into one of the alien spaceships when she sees them carrying Nips. Finch and Pig Pigs follow him to the spacecraft, only to find that the alien has stitched his head to the body of Nips. Out of curiosity about abortion, Moochie plans to revive the fetus she believes is her sister. Along the way, he tortured and killed city doctors. His son, who was also tortured by Moochie, sees this as a hate crime and triggers a biochemistry that targets all people of Caucasian descent. He and Satan Lad leave town afterward.

Maps I Luv Halloween

Development and publication

Illustrator Benjamin Roman made his professional debut with the first volume of I Luv Halloween ; he wanted to create "something weird and a little bit bloody, but with some sort of humor and playfulness." After spending many years trying to get into the comic book industry, he moved to Los Angeles, California, in 2003, and worked at Kinko's in Hollywood; there, he met an employee of Tokyopop, who delivered some of his "rejection" to former editor Mark Paniccia. Keith Giffen, an American comic book artist and illustrator who previously adapted the Tokyopop-licensed manga Battle Royale and Battle Vixens for an English-speaking audience, joined the project as a writer. Together, they spend three to four years working on this series. Although Roman did not draw the series with a certain influence in mind, he read Calvin and Hobbes and Marvel's books as a child. Taking inspiration from science fiction and horror films in general, Roman admits that "some of the same kitsch find themselves in I Luv Halloween." For the plot, Roman and Giffen were given "a lot of creative leniency," and Roman commented: "I think we see how irresponsible we can go with that story and still get away with it.We just try to let go with his characters, however hard the mentality it [a] y has changed at some point. "As a way to celebrate the conclusion of this series, Roman gives over a hundred pages of I Luv Halloween artwork and five hundred replicas of Finch mask in San Diego Comic- Con International 2007.

The three volumes of I Luv Halloween were published in North America by Tokyopop from October 11, 2005, until September 11, 2007. Tokyopop then re-released this series in one volume, I Luv Halloween: Ultimate Twisted Edition i> (ISBN: 978-1-4278-1072-4), with colored illustrations and bonus stories on October 1, 2008. The series was also published in Germany by Tokyopop Germany and in France by Akileos. However, in May 2011, Tokyopop closed the North American branch, with the original publishing status, the OEL title is not clear. I Luv Halloween also spawned an animated adaptation produced by Menfond Electronic Arts and released by Tokyopop in July 2007 as featured content on MySpace TV. Ben Chan wrote an original musical score for a short episode of I Luv Halloween .

List of volumes

I Luv Halloween Vol 4 by KFoster on DeviantArt

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Reception

I Luv Halloween was received positively by an English-speaking reader. The first volume debuted at the 49th position in the list of 100 best selling graphic novels and sold about 1,650 copies. The second volume sold 1,403 copies and appeared in 92nd place. The third volume debuted in 73rd place with 1,440 copies sold. Daily Variation is named I Luv Halloween one of Tokyopop's ten greatest titles.

I Luv Halloween received mixed and negative criticism from critics. The art style attracts criticism, and the two critics compare the character design to that of the Sons of Trash. Instead, the KJB of IGN wrote that the Roman art style praised Giffen's writing well. PopCultureShock's senior manga editor, Katherine Dacey, thinks that colored illustrations in re-release enhance the art style. Another critic point is the use of dark comedy. Leroy Douresseaux from Coolstreak Cartoon compares the characters and the tone of the series with the "lame version of the TV show" Jackass "". Dacey writes that the entry of fan service and "really tasteless jokes" prevents I Luv Halloween from being a pleasant read. While writing that the series "is not the best original manga to hit the shelves", KJB commented on "a wicked sense of humor playing here" which sometimes becomes "a bit too broad", and enjoys that the first volume does not end on the cliffhanger. Another reviewer for IGN, A.E. Sparrow puts the series on the list of ten best horror/thriller manga. The Young Adult Library Service Association, a division of the American Library Association, placed the first two volumes on the "Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers" list in 2007.