Warriors Graphic Novel: The New Prophecy #1

Warriors Graphic Novel: The New Prophecy #1

by Erin Hunter, Gibson Twist, Sammy Savos (Illustrator)

The next graphic novel adaptation of the blockbuster, New York Times bestselling Warriors series covers the first two novels of the second arc, The New Prophecy (Midnight and Moonrise). 

The wild cats of the forest have lived in peace for many moons—but when Brambleclaw, a warrior of ThunderClan, receives an ominous prophecy from StarClan that speaks of a mysterious danger, he must rally the fiercest warriors from all the Clans to seek answers in the mountains.

But the journey is long and hard, and tensions rise back in the forest as Firestar and Leafpaw watch ThunderClan’s world crumbling around them. As the questing cats struggle to uncover the meaning of the prophecy, turmoil threatens to overtake the Clans.

Ever since the first Warriors book hit shelves, readers have devoured these epic adventures. This stunning adaptation, adapted by Gibson Twist and illustrated by Sammy Savos, retells the first two books in the second arc of the Warriors series as a full-color graphic novel.


Hardcover edition includes a gorgeously illustrated case coverThis graphic novel of the New Prophecy arc covers novels 1 and 2 (Midnight and Moonrise)More than 80 million copies of Warriors books have been sold worldwide

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Cats, Middle Grade, Animals, Fiction, Childrens

272 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 2026

About the author

Erin Hunter is the pseudonym of five people: Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, Tui T. Sutherland, Gillian Philip, and Inbali Iserles, as well as editor Victoria Holmes. Together, they write the Warriors series as well as the Seekers and Survivors series. Erin Hunter is working on a new series now called Bravelands.

Erin Hunter is inspired by a love of cats and a fascination with the ferocity of the natural world. As well as having a great respect for nature in all its forms, Erin enjoys creating rich mythical explanations for animal behavior, shaped by her interest in astronomy and standing stones.

Reviews

[Arden Young]

Thank you Warriors for making me relive my first heartbreak in 4K

Before it came out:

I'm sat. Midnight and Moonrise were the first warriors books I read so I know this is going to absolutely destroy me (in the best and worst way)

[Olivia Maudlin]

I wish they could somehow make these faster because the next one doesn’t come out until next year

[Cara]

I loved the art from the first series, but I have to say that this one is even better! There was so much facial expressions and everything that I loved it! Its been awesome getting to relive my childhood favourite series reimagined.

[hope h.]

it's 2026 and feathertail's death scene STILL makes me want to throw up GGGGHGHGH MY GIRL

[Lucy]

Amazing book! I cannot wait for the next graphic novel to come out!

[Sam]

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC.

The artwork in this graphic novel is absolutely stunning. The cats are expressive, the landscapes are gorgeous, and the illustrations do a wonderful job bringing the world of Warriors to life. If you’re already invested in this series, I think you’ll enjoy seeing these characters and their adventures illustrated in such a beautiful way.

Unfortunately, I found the story difficult to follow. Even having read the first book in the original Warriors series, I spent much of the graphic novel wondering, “Who is this, and where am I?” Without chapter breaks or clear transitions, it was hard to keep track of which Clan I was following or remember who each cat was. A simple character guide with names, Clans, and roles—or even a brief recap of previous events—would have made a huge difference in helping readers stay oriented.

This feels like a graphic novel created primarily for existing Warriors fans rather than newcomers. While the adaptation is visually impressive, I don’t think I’d recommend it as someone’s introduction to the series. If you already know and love these characters, I suspect you’ll have a much smoother experience than I did. For me, the gorgeous artwork elevated the reading experience, but the confusing pacing and lack of context kept me from fully enjoying the story. 3.5⭐

Who Should Read This?
Established Warriors fans, middle-grade readers who are already following the series, libraries with existing Warriors collections, and young readers who enjoy fantasy adventures featuring animal characters.

[Kelli]

After marathoning my way last year to catch up with the Warriors collection, I’m loving that I get to re-experience all of the adventure, drama, and heartbreak again in FULL COLOR through these graphic novels. It’s giving me something to look forward to.

This is SO GOOD.

If you’re a fan of the series, I highly recommend picking up these graphic novels. I LOVE the illustration style so much. It’s so dynamic and expressive. I think this adaptation is really capturing what makes this world and these cats so endearing and compelling~

[Rachel Kristine Tuller]

I want to love the graphic novels so badly, but they feel so incomplete. There's no build up. There's no emotion. It's all just sudden. Feathertail and Crowpaw's relationship for example. It came out of absolutely nowhere in the graphic novel. Very unlike the book, where there's little jokes and conversations that build into a romance that the reader cares about. Without having read the novel, I don't think I would care about these characters the same. It's hard to figure out who some of the characters are in this one too. It's drawn by a different artist than the first three as well, and I don't think it's done as well. The cats just aren't as adorable. All in all, I'm disappointed. I love Warriors, but this just made me want to go back to the novels. I don't really have a desire to read this one again. Just the original books. Those I will forever want to reread.

[blue]

Really really good. I've followed Sammy Savos for a long time and I'm thrilled to see her doing a warriors thing, her art style is perfect for it :') i love how lively and ADORABLE everyone is in this seriously just so cute.

[D.T. Henderson]

Enjoyed the sense of terror and action here, but some of the cats and the names start to blend together after a while.

[bookcookery]

Chances are, if you know a middle-grade reader, you're already familiar with Erin Hunter's expansive Warriors universe. And that reader is likely either apathetic toward the series or, especially if they're a cat lover, has devoured a large portion of it, is anxiously awaiting this book, and will tear through it as soon as they receive it. It's great to see the graphic novel line continue to expand and serve an even wider range of those rabid fans.

Some of those fans may find the change in illustrator for this new arc jarring, but they'll all be excited to revisit familiar favorite characters and watch their stories continue to unfold. Despite being the first book in this arc, this is definitely not a good entry point to the broader Warriors universe, as there's a lot of inside baseball. (I'm sure someone has already created a recommended reading order for these books, much like the countless videos explaining the "best" Cosmere reading order.)

For newcomers, a warning: this story is sadder, more violent, and more psychologically intense (and even a bit cult-like) than you might expect from the relatively cute illustrations and straightforward premise of a society of feral cats.

Thanks to HarperAlley and NetGalley for the advance reading copy of this highly anticipated book.

[PeetaBread]

This is a really great book for people who just can't really get into the second arch of Warriors!
The art (In my opinion) is amazing. I don't exactly like that the Graphic novels make relationships that weren't even there exist. 😮‍💨
Anyway, all and all. This was a really good adaption with a little bit of inaccurate parts.

[Jack]

Extremely excellent art with some much-needed modernizations from the OG text. There were some confusing pacing issues, but overall? Really good!

[Joia]

I loved this! The art was amazing and it was much different than the other 3 graphic novels. But some parts didn’t make sense, because in the book Cinderpelt saw the prophecy before Brambleclaw and SquirrelPaw left. But in the graphic novel, Cinderpelt saw the prophecy after Brambleclaw and Squirelpaw left.

edit:
reading again

[Anious]

Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy from the publisher for the purposes of this review.

The Clans have to face danger yet again. The spirit ancestors send a warning to four warriors, one from each Clan, prophesying a great danger unless they can travel to a distant place and meet Midnight. The four chosen ones, joined by two friends, go on a quest through various new locations and meet various challenges while learning how to work together.

The New Prophecy: Graphic Novel is the fourth illustrated adaptation of the series, covering roughly the same material as the novels Midnight and Moonrise. I really enjoyed this book. I think it really succeeds at what the previous three graphic novels did well and that is combining compelling storytelling with amazing visuals.

The writer and the artist are different compared to the previous graphic novels, but they performed their parts more or less as well as their predecessors. The art style is different, but characters maintain visual consistency with the previous works, which makes them easily recognizable.

Sammy Savos, the new artist, is great at creating strong visual moments and utilizing artwork to serve the narrative purposes. There are many great establishing panels, which help to set up the world, build up the mood or add to the grandeur of the story. I also appreciate that the designs for cats feel more defined, though their variety leaves a lot to be desired. Lack of distinction in faces seems to be the biggest problem for the artist.

The story feels different from the previous graphic novels, and I welcome the attempts to keep it fresh. The plot isn't as dense, so the adaptation doesn't feel as hectic and there's more space to breathe and enjoy the beats, instead of rushing from one to another. The focus is instead on the sizable group of travelling cats and their relationships and growth.

I enjoyed our new protagonists a lot more than I enjoyed Fireheart from the previous graphic novels. Although his adventures were entertaining, he was relatively generic. With our main group having so many cats this time, establishing distinct personalities for them was crucial to success. And it works, for the most part. The characters feel different and interesting and they really bounce off each other well. My favourites are boisterous Squirrelpaw and grumpy Crowpaw, especially when these two get to interact with each other. Not only did all the cats get close to each other, but I felt I got close to them, too.

As an adaptation, I have nothing but praise for it. The originals suffered from some structural problems, which made lengthy parts of the book feel repetitive. Some elegant cuts, dialogue changes and visual storytelling improve the flow significantly in this regard, without losing anything of value. Purists may be unhappy because of the changes, but they serve to improve the story.

It does, unfortunately, suffer from a few other structural problems. The panelling had some flaws. A couple of scenes feel abrupt, unnecessary or just badly planned, and that's not something I remember happening with the previous graphic novels. Let's look at one of the scenes in detail to demonstrate the problem.

At the end of the journey to find Midnight, Brambleclaw walks up to the edge of the cliff, which then crumbles under him. This causes him to fall down a long distance, and he ends up yelling for help while in the sea. The very next panel shows him already on dry land. How did the other cats get down from the cliff? How did they rescue him from the sea? In order for it to not feel so disjointed, we'd need at least two more panels showing that. Alternatively, the scene could be cut, because with him being rescued immediately, it doesn't create a sense of danger, so it serves no purpose. Thankfully, problems like this aren't common, but this is not the only example.

The character designs could use more variety, the storytelling could be a bit tighter, and there are a few other minor issues, but despite all that, the book is still captivating. Both the writer and the artist did tremendous work and each page is a pleasure to read. The characters' chemistry is great and the journey is breathtaking at its best. A strong recommendation from me.

[Kaylee]

Pretty solid four stars. This was a super fun addition to the graphic novel canon!

To start: the ART. There’s a new artist for the New Prophecy arc, and wow is her art gorgeous. I loved the style of the first three graphic novels a lot, but I think I enjoyed this even more. All the character designs were gorgeous and matched their previous graphic novel iterations well, and the lighting decisions for each scene was absolutely breathtaking. In particular, the frames of all six questing cats together were always standouts, and I also loved all the sequences on the cliffs at the sun-drown-place; the red sun and twilight lighting was gorgeous. I also like that the change in style between the first three and this new addition isn’t a drastic one; it’s mostly slight differences in how the cats are drawn and a couple different choices in how framing and pacing of panels is used. It makes the series feel very cohesive, and makes the change in artists feel like a stylistic decision to mark the change of the arc rather than an abrupt, confusing shift like other series can sometimes have.

As for the writing, I generally think this was stronger than the first arc. The New Prophecy is a pretty bad case of filler in the Warriors series (mostly because it’s just cats walking the whole time), especially in later books in the arc, so smushing two of them into one book actually doesn’t do much of a disservice to the story. As usual, one book (Moonrise) felt a little rushed compared to the other, but it was definitely noticeably less obvious than in the last three books. Moonrise also starts almost exactly halfway through the book, which definitely helps the pacing too. For some reason though, while the book had a prologue and a part 1 marker, I didn’t find any part 2 or 3 like in the previous installments. I’m assuming that was a mistake in editing, so hopefully the next one fixes that. Honestly, though, that’s pretty minor compared to my writing issues with previous Warriors graphic novels. I think this one’s generally stronger than the first arc so far.

Okay, final thoughts because there isn’t much else to do besides gush: Ravenpaw and Barley were adorable, the tiny paws in this artstyle are also super cute, Squirrelpaw’s coloring is so satisfying to look at for some reason, the one frame of Sharptooth silhouetted by lightning was horrifying in the best way, and I clocked that Spirit and Rain reference with the horses! (As a longtime fan of that movie, I approve:)

I’m excited to see the next one in a year or so!


SERIES RATINGS:
The New Prophecy #1: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The New Prophecy #2: TBD

[Adri Holt]

Four cats from the Wind, Thunder, Shadow, and River Clans must come together to listen to Midnight at the New Moon. The journey to the land where the sun touches the water is arduous. This group must overcome multiple obstacles and opponents, they meet new friends and allies, and find new strategies to work together. Meanwhile, the clans back home are in peril, lacking water, food resources, and must find ways to survive against the TwoLegged Threat.

My nephew has been very big into this series and I wanted to try it out. It definitely had some good lessons in it about working together despite your differences. I will warn readers, young and old, there is blood and death in this graphic novel. Overall, I find why young readers are so drawn to this series!

#ThxNetGalley #ErinHunter #GibsonTwist #WarriorsGraphicNovelTheNewProphecyPartOneofThree

[Klee]

This was my first dip into the Warriors world and I definitely got the feeling I’ve arrived VERY late to some serious cat drama! There are a lot of characters, history and different plots to keep up with, so I suspect it would make a little more sense if you’ve read some of the earlier books.

That said, it was full of adventure, danger and an impressive amount of cat politics. It also hurt my heart a couple of times because apparently I am ultimately just a 40-something-year-old sook when it comes to cats. Get ready for some lwk emotional damage if you are a cat lover. Really fun illustrations to admire too!

[MacKenzie]

Honestly a great adaptation for books that can be... kind of slow. I love how expressive the cats are and how absolutely menacing Sharpclaw was. The colours and backgrounds were beautiful and there were many silly and serious moments

Also Squirrelpaw's design is so great! I just wish it was a little darker because she's described as dark ginger but, the tail? The ear tufts? Her patterns? Perfection.

[amelie]

love sammys style for this one, although i will definitely miss the last artist! excited to see how she will adapt the rest of the books

[kaitziez]

This wasn't great. The pacing was too quick, and I felt no conflict when the cats fought. The scenes should have been slowed down, and events explained because wtf was happening?!

[Rebecca Chisam]

FIRE!!!

[Evelyn Snider]

I love all the facial expressions of the characters

[Azalia Champine]

This book was a little confusing and left off on a major cliff hanger. This book was also pretty sad which I DID NOT LIKE 😭😤

[Yuki ♡s Books]

Loved Thiiiiiiiisssssss! OMG SOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOD! BTW squirrelflight is my fav character and seeing her in graphic novels was just... ❤️

[ellie_neal]

the art-
OUTSTANDING

the story-
one of the best ones 🥹
i haven't reread the new prophecy in so long- but i remember it being one of my absolute favorites. it's just so amazing 🥲

again- that ART 🙇🏼‍♀️

[Aislinn Haselden]

Not me tearing up a few times! Brought me back to when I was a kid 💙

[Vitalia Strait]

I like the art style in this book better than in the graphic novels for the first arc! This was also a decent adaptation of the first three books in this arc.

[Tanya]

last arc’s art was very cute but I’m very much in love with this new style ✨ also had much better pacing!

[Elizabeth]

Olive said it’s 5/5 stars. Very fun read. Second graphic novel I’ve read and I enjoy them. We read this in a week.