Avril Lavigne's Make 5 Wishes
Encyclopedia
Avril Lavigne's Make 5 Wishes is a manga
style comic book
written by Joshua Dysart
with artwork by Camilla D’Errico. The first volume was released by Del Rey Manga
on April 10, 2007, with volume 2 released on July 3, 2007. The comic was also released in Brazil
with the name "faça cinco pedidos".
, who acts as Hana's conscience as well as an imaginary friend
. Becoming increasingly isolated in life, Hana one day stumbles across a website, www.make5wishes.com, which offers to grant five wishes for a small fee of $19.95. Eager and desperate to turn her life around, she places an order on the site. A few days later, a small box arrives. As Hana opens it in her bedroom, a small demon-like creature comes out. The demon befriends her and explains how the wishes work. As Hana makes her first few wishes, things do not turn out the way she would have liked, and the wishes the demon grants often have unforeseen and unwanted consequences; for example causing dementia
in an old man who Hana wished she would not have to talk to again. In addition, the demon secretly e-mails the people (including Jessica) whom she talks to online as one of her aliases, while she sleeps, messing with them and their feelings.
seldom shows herself any more, and Hana locks the demon in its box, not wanting it to cause any more trouble. However, she has one final wish, and without thinking she grabs Romeo and makes her final wish, to meet the real Avril Lavigne, before sealing him back in his box. At school the other students are much nicer to Hana, and one invites her to a cosplay gathering, held on a small bridge in the town. Hana goes to the student's house. She has a large collection of outfits and Hana decides to go to the party as Avril Lavigne. After getting dressed, she looks in the mirror, and sees Avril Lavigne looking back at her. She realises that her final wish has been granted, and Romeo has tricked her once again. Distraught, she runs home and grabs Romeo's box with him in it, and goes to the party. There, she looks out over the bridge at the river below. Another party-goer comes up to her and comments on how nice she looks, immediately recognizing she has dressed as Avril Lavigne. They talk, but the shroud of fire around Hana becomes more intense. With Romeo trapped in the box, Hana jumps off the bridge. The shroud of fire disappears and Hana is at peace, knowing that the demon will never be able to hurt anyone again, until she notices that the box is empty and Romeo has escaped. Back on the bridge, the crowd is in shock. The girl Hana was talking to removes her fancy dress wig to reveal her long blonde hair - it was the real Avril Lavigne who Hana had been speaking to.
appears in the story as one of the main characters. Hana dreams of meeting Avril and being close friends. Avril responds to this: "I know that many of my fans read comics, and I’m really excited to be involved in creating stories that I know they will enjoy."
total of 15 episodes.
A further 10 episodes of Volume 2 have be written and are available in all the above languages on Avril Lavigne's myspace videos page (clicking on Avril Lavigne's name in the information box of one of the above links should lead you to a selection of all her available videos)
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
style comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
written by Joshua Dysart
Joshua Dysart
Joshua Dysart is an Eisner Award-nominated, New York Times Best Selling American comic book writer known for dark themes, humanist horror and a fascination with the roots of violence...
with artwork by Camilla D’Errico. The first volume was released by Del Rey Manga
Del Rey Manga
was the manga-publishing imprint of Del Rey Books, a branch of Ballantine Books, which in turn is part of Random House, the publishing division of Bertelsmann. It was formed as part of a cross-publishing relationship with Japanese publisher Kodansha. Some of the Del Rey titles, such as Tsubasa...
on April 10, 2007, with volume 2 released on July 3, 2007. The comic was also released in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
with the name "faça cinco pedidos".
Volume 1
The story is about a teenage girl named Hana. She is lonely and unpopular at school, so she spends most of her time on the internet creating “various cool, smart, sexy, and popular alter egos.” Her "best friend" is an imaginary version of Avril LavigneAvril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more...
, who acts as Hana's conscience as well as an imaginary friend
Imaginary friend
Imaginary friends and imaginary companions are a psychological and social phenomenon where a friendship or other interpersonal relationship takes place in the imagination rather than external physical reality. Imaginary friends are fictional characters created for improvisational role-playing. They...
. Becoming increasingly isolated in life, Hana one day stumbles across a website, www.make5wishes.com, which offers to grant five wishes for a small fee of $19.95. Eager and desperate to turn her life around, she places an order on the site. A few days later, a small box arrives. As Hana opens it in her bedroom, a small demon-like creature comes out. The demon befriends her and explains how the wishes work. As Hana makes her first few wishes, things do not turn out the way she would have liked, and the wishes the demon grants often have unforeseen and unwanted consequences; for example causing dementia
Dementia
Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...
in an old man who Hana wished she would not have to talk to again. In addition, the demon secretly e-mails the people (including Jessica) whom she talks to online as one of her aliases, while she sleeps, messing with them and their feelings.
Volume 2
The story follows on from volume 1, and details how Hana's wishes are continuing to affect those around her in unwanted ways. Hana, after initially liking the demon and naming him Romeo, becomes increasingly angry and distrustful of him. After surviving an explosion at her school which kills a teacher (Mr. Terry) and several students (i.e. Jessica and Brian) another of Hana's wishes is granted: for everyone to love her. Indeed they do, and hold a celebration in her honor for surviving the explosion. However, Hana is now enveloped in a shroud of fire which no one else can see, and which increasingly clouds her from reality. Her imaginary version of Avril LavigneAvril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more...
seldom shows herself any more, and Hana locks the demon in its box, not wanting it to cause any more trouble. However, she has one final wish, and without thinking she grabs Romeo and makes her final wish, to meet the real Avril Lavigne, before sealing him back in his box. At school the other students are much nicer to Hana, and one invites her to a cosplay gathering, held on a small bridge in the town. Hana goes to the student's house. She has a large collection of outfits and Hana decides to go to the party as Avril Lavigne. After getting dressed, she looks in the mirror, and sees Avril Lavigne looking back at her. She realises that her final wish has been granted, and Romeo has tricked her once again. Distraught, she runs home and grabs Romeo's box with him in it, and goes to the party. There, she looks out over the bridge at the river below. Another party-goer comes up to her and comments on how nice she looks, immediately recognizing she has dressed as Avril Lavigne. They talk, but the shroud of fire around Hana becomes more intense. With Romeo trapped in the box, Hana jumps off the bridge. The shroud of fire disappears and Hana is at peace, knowing that the demon will never be able to hurt anyone again, until she notices that the box is empty and Romeo has escaped. Back on the bridge, the crowd is in shock. The girl Hana was talking to removes her fancy dress wig to reveal her long blonde hair - it was the real Avril Lavigne who Hana had been speaking to.
Themes
The comic address the stress of modern teenage life and the pressures of family turmoil, shows through escapism and desperation of the main character, Hana.Avril Lavigne
An imaginary alter ego of Avril LavigneAvril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more...
appears in the story as one of the main characters. Hana dreams of meeting Avril and being close friends. Avril responds to this: "I know that many of my fans read comics, and I’m really excited to be involved in creating stories that I know they will enjoy."
Volume 1
- Trailer (featuring "Keep Holding On")
- Episode 1 (featuring "Girlfriend" instrumental) (English)
- Episode 2 (featuring "Everything Back But You" instrumental) (English)
- Episode 3 (featuring "I Can Do Better" instrumental) (English)
- Episode 4 (featuring "When You're Gone" instrumental) (English)
- Episode 5 (featuring "Runaway" instrumental) (English)
- Episode 6 (featuring "Hot" instrumental) (English)
- Episode 7 (featuring "One of Those Girls" instrumental) (English)
- Episode 8 (featuring "Innocence" instrumental) (English)
- Episode 9 (featuring "I Don't Have to Try" instrumental) (English)
- Episode 10 (featuring "The Best Damn Thing" instrumental) (English)
Volume 2
- Episode 1 (featuring "Girlfriend" instrumental) (English)
- Episode 2 (featuring "Everything Back But You" instrumental) (English)
- Episode 3 (featuring "I Can Do Better" instrumental) (English)
- Episode 4 (featuring "When You're Gone" instrumental) (English)
- Episode 5 (featuring "Contagious" instrumental) (English)
total of 15 episodes.
A further 10 episodes of Volume 2 have be written and are available in all the above languages on Avril Lavigne's myspace videos page (clicking on Avril Lavigne's name in the information box of one of the above links should lead you to a selection of all her available videos)