Twi-hards and Potterholics vital to series

Have you ever thought about how important devoted fans are to geeky phenomena?

Consider the “fanpires” of the “Twilight” saga. I mean, I enjoyed the story, but I’ll be the first to admit that the actual writing style is destitute and the first movie was so-so.

And yet, “Twilight” is a huge hit; the opening weekend of “New Moon,” the second installment of the saga, was the third-largest opening in Hollywood history, grossing an estimated $140.7 million. (“The Dark Knight” ranks first with $158.4 million. “Spiderman 3” is in second place with $151.1 million.) It also displaced “The Dark Knight” as biggest opening day with $72.7 million.

The book series has spawned plenty of nicknames for its fans; Twi-hards and fanpires can be found in spades at movie theaters across the country.

They can recite the cheesy quotes at the drop of a hat (“The lion fell in love with the lamb?” Really?) and willingly partake in hour-long discussions on discrepancies in the movie.

And then there’s the junk they buy. Last year, character-related merchandise grossed more than $2.6 billion, according to the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association.

Nordstrom and Hot Topic both have licensed "Twilight" merchandise, featuring everything from “Team Edward” and “Team Jacob” shirts to vampire-inspired jewelry.

And it doesn’t end there. Nordstrom now offers the Luna Twilight makeup line, which includes $24 First Light face glow and $16 Lip Venom, and a $33 life-sized cut out of either Edward or Jacob.

Hot Topic, meanwhile, has $7 “New Moon” bandages, action figures and the piece de resistance, wolf pack packing tape that can be yours for only $10.

That’s right, “New Moon” themed packing tape. I’m all for T-shirts and bracelets, but tape?
I mean, that’s up there with a moving Mad Eye Moody eyeball from Harry Potter that costs $10 on Amazon.com. True, the fanpires have nothing on Harry Potter fans, just as the “Twilight” saga is small beans compared to J.K. Rowling’s series.

The famous boy wizard has brought in nearly $25 billion with two movies still to be made. There are Web sites dedicated to the wizarding world, a theme park in the works and more than 400 million copies of the books have been sold.

The Harry Potter series even spawned an entire genre of music, known as wizard rock or wrock. Bands like Harry and the Potters, The Whomping Willows and the Ministry of Magic tour the country with songs titled “Accio Love” and “In Which Draco and Harry Secretly Want to Make Out.”

So what is it about series like Harry Potter and Twilight that make fangirls squeal and people line up for blocks just to see the next movie and read the latest book?

Honestly, I think a lot of it is the fan base. Without all the Potterholics dressed up as their favorite witch or wizard, what fun would it be to go to the midnight release of “Half-Blood Prince?”

How could fanpires revel in their ongoing quarrel of Team Edward vs. Team Jacob if they had no one with a contrasting opinion to battle with?

I full-heartedly acknowledge that I am a total geek when it comes to this stuff. (Although, thankfully, I think I have avoided the obnoxious fangirl title. No Bella barrettes or Edward cut-outs for me, thank you very much.) I went to the midnight releases of the last few Potter books; I giggle at the “Twilight” bumper stickers on Facebook; I dressed up for “Half-Blood Prince.”

And that’s what makes these series so much fun. It’s the feeling of community and having millions of people throughout the world who are just as geeked out as you are. It’s finding replicas of Mad Eye Moody and Hagrid in the movie theater and taking pictures with them because their outfits are just that cool.

It’s about visiting all the Web sites dedicated to these books and movies and interacting with people who also cried when (spoiler alert!!) Dobby died in “Deathly Hallows.”

Yes, “Twilight” is an interesting story. Of course, the Harry Potter series is one of the best. But without the fans, these epic tales would never be what they are now.

So, despite the cheesy, overdone merchandise and my loss of hearing from all the screeching at Friday’s “New Moon,” (That point when Jacob first took off his shirt – defeaning.) I respect the Twihards and the Potterholics. And to them, I say: Wrock on.