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Animorphs Graphix #2
The Visitor: The Graphic Novel
Rachel is still reeling from the news that Earth is secretly under attack by parasitic aliens, the Yeerks. Now she and her friends are the planet's only defense — kids who, purely by chance, stumbled onto a downed spacecraft and were given the power to morph into any animals they touch.
The team’s best lead is their assistant principal, Mr. Chapman, who is the human host to a high-ranking Yeerk official. It’s not much, but Rachel’s always been a daredevil, and she volunteers to infiltrate Chapman’s home.
Rachel is tough. She’s fearless. But what she finds inside may be more than even she can handle.
The team’s best lead is their assistant principal, Mr. Chapman, who is the human host to a high-ranking Yeerk official. It’s not much, but Rachel’s always been a daredevil, and she volunteers to infiltrate Chapman’s home.
Rachel is tough. She’s fearless. But what she finds inside may be more than even she can handle.
202 pages, Paperback
First published October 5, 2021
54 people are currently reading
270 people want to read
About the author
K.A. Applegate
251 books487 followersalso published under the name Katherine Applegate
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 120 reviews
August 7, 2022
I think I have too many feelings attached to the original book. The source of this graphic novel was the first Animorphs book that I read, so I feel a strong loyalty to it.
This graphic novel is good (the artwork has improved somewhat - I would still love for it to continue as I believe the characters still look very similar, boys and girls both) and I enjoyed the visuals. I still think Chris Grine's best work here are the animals! I loved the scenes with the birds, tigers, cats, fleas (ugh), and even the gross out nightmare of maggots!
I think being an old fan I have images in my head of what I picture all characters to look like, but I am also acknowledging that Chris Grine definitely sees them differently and that's okay. Kids reading these graphic novels won't care as much as a thirty-something-year-old dork like me.
This graphic novel is good (the artwork has improved somewhat - I would still love for it to continue as I believe the characters still look very similar, boys and girls both) and I enjoyed the visuals. I still think Chris Grine's best work here are the animals! I loved the scenes with the birds, tigers, cats, fleas (ugh), and even the gross out nightmare of maggots!
I think being an old fan I have images in my head of what I picture all characters to look like, but I am also acknowledging that Chris Grine definitely sees them differently and that's okay. Kids reading these graphic novels won't care as much as a thirty-something-year-old dork like me.
August 11, 2023
#1 The Invasion ★★★★★
#2 The Visitor ★★★★★
#3 The Encounter ★★★★★
I love this series so much and this was another excellent adaptation. While The Invasion sets the stage and introduces us to the world well, The Visitor dives straight into the endless heartache and tension that this series is so well-known for. Reading this reminded me of why I love Rachel's character so much and why she has stuck with me as a beloved character for so many years.
✨ Representation: Marco is Latino, Cassie is Black
✨ Content warnings for:
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May 2, 2023
There is a character that looks like they have a 😾 on their face in place of a nose 🧐
March 15, 2022
This review was originally posted on The Moonlight Library
I could pretty much sum this review up in two words: READ NOW.
Also, apart from my general yelling about how incredible this adaptation is, I really can't offer anything more than what I already did in my review for Book #1, The Invasion.
Because this adaptation really was perfect.
The use of onomatopoeia was particularly skilful. I'm not a huge comic reader, but I definitely heard everything in my head as intended.
The adaptation was again almost word-for-word - and I can tell without checking, because I've read the source material that many times - however there were small elements introduced here and there that added to the comedy, especially for Marco, who is still in a pretty bad place right now with the whole 'My dad only has me, I can't die fighting an alien invasion'. I found it particularly clever that the guy who harasses Rachel in the street is the same guy who shot at her when she was an eagle. It was a nice touch and I really liked it.
One of the things that really stood out for me this time was the body horror. Grine is getting better at drawing mid-morph, and although the Animorphs always described it as kind of gross in the course material, it hits differently in narrative verses in your face pictures of birds with teeth and onomatopoeia of CRACK CRACK CRACK as bones break and change direction. It's more confronting.
I don't really like the way Grine draws faces. All of the Animorphs have the same basic face shape. Rachel is supposed to be supermodel beautiful. I guess higher cheekbones, blue eyes, a pert nose instead of a bulbous one and a more feminine jaw were all too much to ask for.
Also I just need to add that Alloran, Visser Three's host Andalite body, is totally buff. Andalites are supposed to be delicate prey animals, more deer than horse - although in the source material we do meet an Andalite who is more like a Clydesdale. I like Alloran/Visser Three's representation though, because:
~ It makes Visser Three more imposing and thus scarier as a villain.
~ The Andalites, though a peaceful, artistic species, do have quite a strong military wing.
~ Although every military Andalite is morph-capable, it is usually reserved for spies and certainly not battle - there is more honour in facing an opponent with your own tail blade than in another body. It's the Animorphs who utilise the morphing for battle.
~ Alloran was already a battle-hardened older warrior by the time he was enslaved. Ax, by comparison, is literally a child.
Overall I think this adaptation absolutely rocked and it's made me even more excited to read Tobias' book.
I could pretty much sum this review up in two words: READ NOW.
Also, apart from my general yelling about how incredible this adaptation is, I really can't offer anything more than what I already did in my review for Book #1, The Invasion.
Because this adaptation really was perfect.
The use of onomatopoeia was particularly skilful. I'm not a huge comic reader, but I definitely heard everything in my head as intended.
The adaptation was again almost word-for-word - and I can tell without checking, because I've read the source material that many times - however there were small elements introduced here and there that added to the comedy, especially for Marco, who is still in a pretty bad place right now with the whole 'My dad only has me, I can't die fighting an alien invasion'. I found it particularly clever that the guy who harasses Rachel in the street is the same guy who shot at her when she was an eagle. It was a nice touch and I really liked it.
One of the things that really stood out for me this time was the body horror. Grine is getting better at drawing mid-morph, and although the Animorphs always described it as kind of gross in the course material, it hits differently in narrative verses in your face pictures of birds with teeth and onomatopoeia of CRACK CRACK CRACK as bones break and change direction. It's more confronting.
I don't really like the way Grine draws faces. All of the Animorphs have the same basic face shape. Rachel is supposed to be supermodel beautiful. I guess higher cheekbones, blue eyes, a pert nose instead of a bulbous one and a more feminine jaw were all too much to ask for.
Also I just need to add that Alloran, Visser Three's host Andalite body, is totally buff. Andalites are supposed to be delicate prey animals, more deer than horse - although in the source material we do meet an Andalite who is more like a Clydesdale. I like Alloran/Visser Three's representation though, because:
~ It makes Visser Three more imposing and thus scarier as a villain.
~ The Andalites, though a peaceful, artistic species, do have quite a strong military wing.
~ Although every military Andalite is morph-capable, it is usually reserved for spies and certainly not battle - there is more honour in facing an opponent with your own tail blade than in another body. It's the Animorphs who utilise the morphing for battle.
~ Alloran was already a battle-hardened older warrior by the time he was enslaved. Ax, by comparison, is literally a child.
Overall I think this adaptation absolutely rocked and it's made me even more excited to read Tobias' book.
February 2, 2022
I’m so salty I never read these books as a kid! They are so freaking good. The graphic novel highlights how absolute horrifying this series is too.
December 8, 2021
I never read these as a kid, but my husband had a massive collection that my son adores. I got this for him, and then he wanted me to read it: so I’m not reading it with nostalgia, just for what it is. And these have been really enjoyable! There are a few jokes in there, and I loved the morphing pictures. This process was not romanticised at all, and there’s some pretty grotesque imagery as a result. The thoughts are all colour coded and easy to follow, and while some of the characters look a little similar, it’s not too hard to differentiate who is who. The actions scenes are a bit of a shambles and kind of textbook comic explosion (lots of boom, bam, etc type stuff with colour everywhere) but they get the point across. I think some of the lore might be lost, but I also didn’t think kids will notice. They’re a little dark and violent (I remember thinking that after the first one too) but despite being a graphic novel, it’s not graphic. I’ll keep on grabbing these as long as they keep making them.
February 14, 2022
Another wonderful Animorphs adaptation! Excellent all around, and everyone’s facial expressions are particularly well done. Rachel’s nightmare two-page spread is impressive.
Content warning: body horror, wow!! It’s one thing to imagine their morphs but another to see them drawn out. Also insects.
Content warning: body horror, wow!! It’s one thing to imagine their morphs but another to see them drawn out. Also insects.
October 21, 2021
I love how faithful the feel of these adaptations is to the original books. It's a great way to revisit classic stories in a new way. I only wish that I loved the artwork more. I think too many years of seeing the depictions of the characters on the old book covers has made it hard for me to connect to the way they are drawn now.
December 4, 2021
What's that you say? Another perfect Animorphs graphic novel is too good to be true?
Well put aside your doubts because we are living in a glorious age and this second graphic novel adaptation is: perfect.
This is the most faithful adaptation of ANYTHING I've ever read. The scenes and dialog are almost identical to the original story. Which makes sense because the Animorphs dialog was so good! It has aged like a fine wine and Marco still makes me laugh out loud nearly every page.
The art style is definitely not my taste and I think the lack of first-person narration ends up detracting somewhat from the darkness and heaviness of the story. But seeing these characters brought to life in this new way is worth any tradeoff.
I'm in love, I need more, I feel so blessed.
Well put aside your doubts because we are living in a glorious age and this second graphic novel adaptation is: perfect.
This is the most faithful adaptation of ANYTHING I've ever read. The scenes and dialog are almost identical to the original story. Which makes sense because the Animorphs dialog was so good! It has aged like a fine wine and Marco still makes me laugh out loud nearly every page.
The art style is definitely not my taste and I think the lack of first-person narration ends up detracting somewhat from the darkness and heaviness of the story. But seeing these characters brought to life in this new way is worth any tradeoff.
I'm in love, I need more, I feel so blessed.
January 14, 2022
So I loved the novel Animorphs series when I was a kid but I don't remember a whole lot about it (except still having the fear that a bug is going to crawl into my ear and take over my body). I'm excited that these graphic novels are bringing the stories to a new generation. That being said, they are missing the two coolest parts of the books, the fancy cover morph and the morph on the page numbers that you could see if you flipped the pages really fast. Sigh oh well.
I didn't love how mean/teasing the characters (especially Marco and Rachel) are to each other but I don't remember if that's from the original story or not.
It is pretty cool to see the morphs in the graphics.
I kind of want to reread all the originals! But I will definitely keep up with the graphic novel series.
I didn't love how mean/teasing the characters (especially Marco and Rachel) are to each other but I don't remember if that's from the original story or not.
It is pretty cool to see the morphs in the graphics.
I kind of want to reread all the originals! But I will definitely keep up with the graphic novel series.
June 12, 2022
Every time I read a new Animorphs book the more I regret not reading them in the 90s and early 2000s. These books are amazing, so dark and such a unique take on the "chosen one kids" storyline. I loved getting to know more about Rachel and am curious which kid we're going to focus on next book. This was such a smart way to adapt the series to new readers!
September 4, 2024
No, I have no excuse to have waited so long to read this second Graphix installment, when I made sure my husband read it within months of it coming out (still trying to convert him fully to Animorphs – if only he made time to read in general, I’m sure he’d dive in!). But oh, sweet adaptation, how true you are! For plot/story review, I stand by my previous reviews, here.
For Chris Grines’ adaptation, once again, he rings true to the entire book, and I feel as though nothing was left out. He continues to lift lines – spoken or unspoken – and include them directly in the text. Chapman with his beard did remind me quite a bit of a monkey…but the moments with him and his wife towards the end, just as powerful as in the novel. About the only gripe I have with Grine’s style is that the main young characters tend to look very similar in their facial shape. For example, Rachel and Melissa would be completely interchangeable except Melissa’s hair is a lighter blonde and she has freckles across her nose and cheeks. But other than that? Slap on Rachel’s hair/lack of freckles, and Melissa’s expressions could just as easily be Rachel’s. Where Grine shines more is in the side characters – the ones in only a few scenes, or the aliens – and in the mid-morph images. Those are most often quirky, unique, and easily distinguishable from anyone else. And also in nods to the series as a whole or the fandom, such as , and even the funny text/image connections, like the one troublemaker saying his good shirt is ruined, and the shirt has “Good” written across the front. So, without further ado, I plunge into his adaptation of The Encounter - no more time to waste, it’s high time I catch up!
For Chris Grines’ adaptation, once again, he rings true to the entire book, and I feel as though nothing was left out. He continues to lift lines – spoken or unspoken – and include them directly in the text. Chapman with his beard did remind me quite a bit of a monkey…but the moments with him and his wife towards the end, just as powerful as in the novel. About the only gripe I have with Grine’s style is that the main young characters tend to look very similar in their facial shape. For example, Rachel and Melissa would be completely interchangeable except Melissa’s hair is a lighter blonde and she has freckles across her nose and cheeks. But other than that? Slap on Rachel’s hair/lack of freckles, and Melissa’s expressions could just as easily be Rachel’s. Where Grine shines more is in the side characters – the ones in only a few scenes, or the aliens – and in the mid-morph images. Those are most often quirky, unique, and easily distinguishable from anyone else. And also in nods to the series as a whole or the fandom, such as , and even the funny text/image connections, like the one troublemaker saying his good shirt is ruined, and the shirt has “Good” written across the front. So, without further ado, I plunge into his adaptation of The Encounter - no more time to waste, it’s high time I catch up!
January 1, 2025
A quick read and quick review, to slide into my yearly reading challenge just under the wire. These graphic novels remain fantastic adaptations: so much of the hard-hitting writing & dialogue is verbatim from the original books, so they’re just as good as they ever were, while Chris Grine’s art remains a great representation of the story.
Highlights to call out this time:
- Marco talking about how he wishes he could use his morphing abilities to be in showbiz and have beautiful supermodels all over him (the FORESHADOWING)
- “Applegrant Bookshop” easter egg!
- The Chapman hosts rebelling for the sake of their daughter. Oof, my heart.
- “There will be a next time, Marco. There will always be a next time… until the Andalites return.” My sad bleak laugh knowing what actually happens when the Andalites do actually get to Earth—
God, I love this series. Highly tempted to finally restart my reread which stalled in 2020.
Highlights to call out this time:
- Marco talking about how he wishes he could use his morphing abilities to be in showbiz and have beautiful supermodels all over him (the FORESHADOWING)
- “Applegrant Bookshop” easter egg!
- The Chapman hosts rebelling for the sake of their daughter. Oof, my heart.
- “There will be a next time, Marco. There will always be a next time… until the Andalites return.” My sad bleak laugh knowing what actually happens when the Andalites do actually get to Earth—
God, I love this series. Highly tempted to finally restart my reread which stalled in 2020.
January 13, 2025
this is an extremely early book so it’s not the best, but upon rereading, i can appreciate a lot more than my original read. i think this book is a good intro to rachel and really helps understand her character. towards the end of the series, most of what’s written about rachel’s character is how violent she is and how that becomes her role in the animorphs. and it feels like readers tend to fixate on that part about rachel more than anything else. however, in this book you can really see how protective rachel is for the people she cares about. she has a strong sense of justice and i like when these books show that her justice doesn’t just create violence, but also protection. rachel cares about her old friend when the rest of the animorphs urge her to just do the mission and be done. rachel is deeply empathetic and cares about making sure every detail of the mission won’t harm her friend in any way. later in the series, the animorphs tend to get mad at rachel for not being empathetic enough. they don’t understand her like i do
March 15, 2022
Rachel is a very strong female lead. I enjoyed her being the main character of this graphic novel. I enjoyed her perspective. I have never read the Anamorph series. I consider myself more of an enjoyer of graphic novels. Not sure if I can wait that long for the next graphic novel installment without reading the originals. I’m really enjoying them and I think I would really enjoy the original world. I definitely recommend this and the graphic novel version of this wonderful Animorph series.
August 31, 2023
Perhaps the nostalgia novelty is already wearing off because liked this but didn't love it the way I did the first one. I may pick the series back up at some point, but I'm done for now.
Generally appropriate for the age group, but there are some intense emotional scenes around the slavery aspect of having an alien in your head controlling you, especially as it relates to fear for family members, as well as passing references to animal death, and some scenes of animal danger and slight injury.
Generally appropriate for the age group, but there are some intense emotional scenes around the slavery aspect of having an alien in your head controlling you, especially as it relates to fear for family members, as well as passing references to animal death, and some scenes of animal danger and slight injury.
July 15, 2025
The fight between the kids and the alien yeerks continues, and so does the illogical things. I had fun reading this volume, but not as I had with the first one. I gave the first one 6/10, and this one would take 5/10.
October 19, 2021
4.5 stars
October 24, 2021
Good adaptation of KA Applegate’s The Visitor. Grine draws a lot of blonde women and girls that I sometimes have trouble telling apart, but that’s my only complaint. He did a great job with Cassie morphing back everything except wings, and I loved Fluffer McKitty.
November 8, 2021
En spennende fortsettelse!
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November 8, 2021I forgot how creepy and scary these were.
June 20, 2022
I was pretty disappointed with the first of these graphic novel adaptations of the ANIMORPHS series by Chris Grine. I was bothered by the cookie-cutter character design—Rachel and Tobias were practically identical except that Rachel had longer hair. I disliked the depiction of Andalites, which looked like fat cows with tail blades that were unnoticeable. I was also irritated by the fact that the Andalite eye-stalks don’t really scan as eyes and the fact that they were drawn with long, floppy ears… although, to be fair, when they were depicted on the covers of the original series these problems existed (perhaps not as glaringly, however). I thought Chris Grine relied too much on static shots, matching frames of one character looking to the right and another looking to the left as they talked with ‘Garfield’-style solid color backgrounds. Formally, though there were some instances where the visual enhanced the narrative, I felt that in many ways the missing internal monologue from the original books flattened the emotions of the story. I gave it 2 stars.
Because of my list of complaints about the first one, I hadn’t intended to read anymore of the graphic novel series. Because I follow a lot of Animorphs-centric Twitter accounts, though, Chris Grine’s tweets often show up in my feed and he shares stills of pages he’s working on. Some of those actually looked kind of impressive, so I thought perhaps I had been too hasty in writing his adaptations off. I decided to give THE VISITOR a chance.
Let me say up-front that a lot of the problems I had with the first are still in effect here. He hasn’t redesigned the characters, so their sameness is still striking. Tobias is a hawk now, so there no problem with him looking too similar to Rachel, but her friend Melissa who plays a pivotal role in this story *does* look identical to her, save that Melissa has freckles and slightly lighter hair. There are still instances of static images on blank backgrounds—I get the sense Grine just doesn’t know how to make dialogue scenes kinetic—although I noticed this less than in the first book, and often the presentation is unimaginative. I liken it to a high school yearbook in its layout, generic rectangles that images have been forced into rather than the context of the moment informing the design. One moment that sticks in my mind is when Rachel arrives at her gymnastics class: there’s an aerial shot of the classroom, inexplicably divided into two panels at the characters’ knees.
Maybe I’m being too forgiving, but though I noticed these things still I was less critical than before and part of the reason for that is that I felt the graphic novel did a better job of making a case for its existence. The first was *fine*, but there’s a lot of emotional depth to this entry in Rachel’s sympathy toward Melissa, whose parents are both Controllers and have therefore distanced themselves from her. Seeing Rachel’s concern visually, I think, works really well. The moment when she stays close to her two-hour morph limit to remain as Melissa’s cat to comfort her is very sweet. It was sweet in the original book, too, but I think more so here where you can see the girl crying and clutching her cat/friend close. The scenes in the basement when Chapman contacts Visser 3 are also far more chilling here than comes across in the book. The danger of the situation comes across well in this visual medium. Incidentally, Visser 3 is shown mostly from the torso up so the “fat cow” image is largely avoided, though the non-eye eye stalks problem remains.
Speaking of Chapman, when he appears at the start he’s almost comically villainous but it actually works to contrast with the reveal at the end that he volunteered as a Controller to save his daughter. Again, this is something that *does* work in the original book but there’s a certain gravitas added by the image of this father making a terrible choice for love, facing down an unspeakable horror in Visser 3, which just imagining it in your head doesn’t quite match. Additionally, and I think this is different from the first graphic novel, this one really relishes the body horror of the morphs. When the kids morph back from birds at the start, it takes three or four pages, just savoring the cracking bones and disturbing flesh monsters that they become on their way back to human. That imagery is fantastic.
Oh! Another thing I like about the graphic novel: it dispenses with the “We can’t tell you who we are, but here’s a summary of he premise” narration from the original books. Instead it just jumps right into the action and expects you to catch up. Thank you! On the other hand, I am still a little peeved that Grine didn’t retain the < brackets > for thought-speak from the books; that’s such an iconic part of Animorphs and it feels, frankly, kind of sacrilegious to excise them.
So let’s call this 3.5 stars, rounded up. There’s great things about it, but there’s things about it that grate, too. I can say that I liked it more than the first one and I will read the third. In the end, it *is* ANIMORPHS.
Because of my list of complaints about the first one, I hadn’t intended to read anymore of the graphic novel series. Because I follow a lot of Animorphs-centric Twitter accounts, though, Chris Grine’s tweets often show up in my feed and he shares stills of pages he’s working on. Some of those actually looked kind of impressive, so I thought perhaps I had been too hasty in writing his adaptations off. I decided to give THE VISITOR a chance.
Let me say up-front that a lot of the problems I had with the first are still in effect here. He hasn’t redesigned the characters, so their sameness is still striking. Tobias is a hawk now, so there no problem with him looking too similar to Rachel, but her friend Melissa who plays a pivotal role in this story *does* look identical to her, save that Melissa has freckles and slightly lighter hair. There are still instances of static images on blank backgrounds—I get the sense Grine just doesn’t know how to make dialogue scenes kinetic—although I noticed this less than in the first book, and often the presentation is unimaginative. I liken it to a high school yearbook in its layout, generic rectangles that images have been forced into rather than the context of the moment informing the design. One moment that sticks in my mind is when Rachel arrives at her gymnastics class: there’s an aerial shot of the classroom, inexplicably divided into two panels at the characters’ knees.
Maybe I’m being too forgiving, but though I noticed these things still I was less critical than before and part of the reason for that is that I felt the graphic novel did a better job of making a case for its existence. The first was *fine*, but there’s a lot of emotional depth to this entry in Rachel’s sympathy toward Melissa, whose parents are both Controllers and have therefore distanced themselves from her. Seeing Rachel’s concern visually, I think, works really well. The moment when she stays close to her two-hour morph limit to remain as Melissa’s cat to comfort her is very sweet. It was sweet in the original book, too, but I think more so here where you can see the girl crying and clutching her cat/friend close. The scenes in the basement when Chapman contacts Visser 3 are also far more chilling here than comes across in the book. The danger of the situation comes across well in this visual medium. Incidentally, Visser 3 is shown mostly from the torso up so the “fat cow” image is largely avoided, though the non-eye eye stalks problem remains.
Speaking of Chapman, when he appears at the start he’s almost comically villainous but it actually works to contrast with the reveal at the end that he volunteered as a Controller to save his daughter. Again, this is something that *does* work in the original book but there’s a certain gravitas added by the image of this father making a terrible choice for love, facing down an unspeakable horror in Visser 3, which just imagining it in your head doesn’t quite match. Additionally, and I think this is different from the first graphic novel, this one really relishes the body horror of the morphs. When the kids morph back from birds at the start, it takes three or four pages, just savoring the cracking bones and disturbing flesh monsters that they become on their way back to human. That imagery is fantastic.
Oh! Another thing I like about the graphic novel: it dispenses with the “We can’t tell you who we are, but here’s a summary of he premise” narration from the original books. Instead it just jumps right into the action and expects you to catch up. Thank you! On the other hand, I am still a little peeved that Grine didn’t retain the < brackets > for thought-speak from the books; that’s such an iconic part of Animorphs and it feels, frankly, kind of sacrilegious to excise them.
So let’s call this 3.5 stars, rounded up. There’s great things about it, but there’s things about it that grate, too. I can say that I liked it more than the first one and I will read the third. In the end, it *is* ANIMORPHS.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 12, 2023
(originally reviewed at
thelibraryladies.com
)
I’m baaaaaaack! Yes, yes, it’s been forever. So long in fact that not only is the second Animorphs graphic novel out, but the third was released last fall as well! What’s my excuse?
Anyways, I was very excited to jump back into the world of the Animorphs and check out what these graphic novels have in mind for the long run. I remember really liking the first one, but having some concerns about the longevity of the series. I was also curious to see how this particular story was handled. “The Invasion” has tons of material to work with, not only in the chock-full plot but also with a lot of important character work introducing all of the teens. But “The Visitor” is a much slower, simpler story. In fact, I’d say it’s probably the weakest story in the introductory first five books. I mean, I still love it, because I love Rachel and Applegate is at the helm in these early books and that’s clear in the general quality of a more “filler” story as compared to the same sorts of stories that we see later in the series that don’t land as well. All of that to say, I was curious to see what the graphic novel had in store for us.
Best Change: I really liked the way the Chapmans were portrayed in this version of the story. There’s a really cool couple of pages that are drawn when Rachel first enters the house. We see Mrs. Chapman in the kitchen, staring straight ahead and chopping up vegetables. We then shift to the living room and see Mr. Chapman sitting on the couch staring at a television set that’s turned off. Creepy enough on its own. But then when Rachel comes back in the second go around, we see the exact same thing: Mrs. Chapman in the kitchen, chopping; Mr. Chapman in the living room, staring. It really hits home how absolutely off and cold this house is and what a horrible hell Melissa is living through. Beyond that, I liked how the way Chapman’s face is drawn changes from scene to scene as his power dynamic shifts. When he’s driving Rachel home, he’s shadowy and threatening. But when he’s talking with Visser Three, he’s depicted as small and cowering. And then, lastly, we see the human side of him when the real Chapman gets control briefly to plead his case to Visser Three. It was all very effective, and I think it does a good job of setting up just how witnessing this horrible home situation would influence and motivate Rachel.
Worst Change: I’m not sure I really have a worst change for this book. Other than a few things here and there which I’ll get to later, this is a pretty faithful adaptation of the original book. I’ll go on (and on and onnnn) about my feelings about the art throughout the book, but I think that’s probably not going to be a specific-to-this-book thing so not really a “change” at all. Speaking of art…
Pretty, Pretty Pictures: I have to say, I’m not coming around on the art style of these books. It’s not a complete loss, but I think there’s a stark difference in quality between the two styles. On one hand, I think the graphics are excellent when done in the more realistic style used for the animals. I also think the larger spreads across two pages and the horror aspects are well done. The descriptions of morphing in the books were always horrific, but when you see it depicted on the page…man, it really captures how truly disgusting this stuff looks. I mean, look at this!
But, I have to say, I’m really not loving the cartoon images of the kids themselves. I wanted to give it more of chance than just the first book, where I didn’t love the fact that Tobias and Rachel looked so similar or the strange choice with the red noses. But this book just confirmed some of my worst fears. If you look at these characters, they all just look exactly the same in the most generic of senses. You wouldn’t even be able to tell who is a boy or who is a girl based on images of just their faces in some of the panels (a picture of Cassie really highlights this at one point where I honestly had to do a double take to remind myself that there wasn’t a random Black boy in this story). This fact is really highlighted early in the story when we first meet Melissa. Here’s the first panel we see her in:
Without the speech bubble, which of these characters is which?? Ultimately, Melissa is given the silly freckles purely to identify and differentiate her later in the book. And that just seems to me to be a failure of the art itself. I mean, I’m still glad these graphic novels are being made so I have a hard time being this critical, but it honestly feels as if the artist either can’t be bothered to draw interesting and unique characters or simply isn’t capable of it while using this cartoonish style. Given the quality of the realistic stuff, I know he’s talented. So it feels like it must be a choice. But it’s the kind of choice that feels as if it’s talking down to its readers: hey, these are just kids and kids are the target audience, why bother making them look like anything other than bobble head cartoons? I don’t know. I’m not a fan.
Our Fearless Leader: Jake is one of the few characters that I think is drawn with a distinct face. His chin is a bit more pointed than the rest, and that difference stood out more and more as I became increasingly frustrated by the other characters. As for the story, there was a nice section in the middle devoted to a conversation between Rachel and Jake about their experiences (nightmares) after morphing frantic-minded prey animals. I like that this much page time was devoted to what can be seen as a pretty small character moment. There’s also an interesting line where Rachel gets a bit defensive saying that Jake is talking down to her because she’s his younger cousin. I can’t remember whether or not we knew that she was the younger of the two from the books? If so, I had forgotten and found it to be an interesting little tidbit here that she’s only a few weeks younger than Jake.
Xena, Warrior Princess: This book is pretty faithful to the original, so there isn’t a lot of new stuff to discuss with regards to Rachel’s experiences in the story. I will say, I really liked seeing Rachel’s mom and sister portrayed on the page. These were nice little moments to get to see one version of what these characters could look like. We get a lot of descriptions of what the main characters looked like in the original text, but we really have basically nothing to go on for any/all side characters. It was also nice to see these moments between Rachel and her mom and Rachel and Jordon to highlight the difference between her own warm, caring family and the cold, prison-like existence that Melissa is suffering through. I really like these sorts of subtle contrasts that the graphic novel can deploy. The book doesn’t come right out and say it, but it’s there all the same.
One thing I didn’t really like was the way the scene was drawn when Rachel is running away from the thugs to morph an elephant in the alley. Granted, again, it’s now been a few years from when I read this book for the original re-read series, but I guess I had it in my mind that Rachel was more annoyed from the very start and never frightened. Whereas here she’s drawn as being legitimately afraid at first, which I think is totally out of character. Rachel wants to take the fight to Visser Three himself, no way is she going to be wincing away from two jerks on the street.
A Hawk’s Life: Not a lot from Tobias. I did like all of the bird action in the very first scene and the way that was all drawn out. Rachel’s outrage about the guys shooting at a bald eagle “a national symbol!!!” is excellent. There were also some lovely images later on of Tobias flying, especially one when he flies away with shrew!Rachel to help give her time to get control of her morph. The way the sky and the silhouettes were drawn was striking.
Peace, Love, and Animals: Given how horrifying the images of the morphing is, I was glad we got to see a panel of Cassie with her raptor wings and Marco’s comment that they all look like freak show contestants while Cassie gets to look like an angel. It was a really nice juxtaposition and a moment that really worked well with the graphic elements. Other than that, Cassie has a pretty subdued go of it. We get some good animal facts from her about the prey mindset and the abilities of cats (there’s a good joke from Marco when Cassie comments that a cat’s eyesight is 8 times better than a humans), but that’s about it.
The Comic Relief: Marco is pretty much the same here as he is in the book. We get more groundwork laid about his home life and why he’s reluctant to fight. His dialogue is by far the funniest and best, per the book’s standard as well. There was one throwaway bit that I thought was odd, however. At one point, a character, I think it was Cassie, compliments Marco on his haircut. From the books, we know this does happen and is commented on but it doesn’t happen until Marco’s second go around as a narrator, all the way through to book number 10. But then the really strange thing is that Marco was depicted with short hair in the first graphic novel, too. Which, honestly, given my comments already about the cartoon style proving challenging to differentiate between male or female characters, I can see the choice to not have him with long hair from the very start. But looking back at the art from the first book, it’s clear that the styling for his hair is slightly different, but if anything, it’s drawn as longer and more shaggy here in the second book, not cut shorter at all. It’s very strange. I don’t think this small of a change really warranted any dialogue at all, but then to write it in as a notable haircut rather than a style change, which is the most that can be said, is strangely incongruent.
E.T./Ax Phone Home: No Ax yet, but boy am I excited to get to him!
Best (?) Body Horror Moment: Beyond what I said above about the disgustingly graphic images of morphing, there was a full page spread devoted to Rachel’s nightmare about being a shrew. Again, this is where the artist’s talents are really on display. I’ve only included half of the spread, but the other side is also covered in maggots swarming in and over an animal skull. I mean, the depiction of the nightmare is going to cause nightmares itself.
Couples Watch!: Sadly, I feel like we got even less from Tobias and Rachel here than we do in the books. We do get the line from Tobias that he doesn’t want anything to happen to her, so there are hints here and there, but for whatever reason, this relationship in particular just felt off. This probably is just due to the nature of the graphic novel format. Since the story relies only on dialogue and images, it’s pretty hard to depict true feelings between a girl and a hawk!boy when you can’t draw them interacting. On the other hand, to highlight this point, we do get this sweet panel coming fairly early in the book for Cassie and Jake:
If Only Visser Three had Mustache to Twirl: Again, since the horror aspects of the art are what work so well, the depictions of Visser Three and the terror he inspires are truly great. Even his Andalite form, which shouldn’t be terrifying in and of itself, is depicted in such a way as to be clearly intimidating. And then the panels showing him morphing the Vanarx and sucking out the Yeerk from a Controller are incredibly creepy and effective. I mean, Visser Three is essentially a cannibal at this point, and that is made pretty clear. And of course, the final battle with Visser Three morphing yet another big bad and chasing after the Animorphs is very well done. More on that below.
Adult Ugly Crying at a Middle Grade Book: Man, the Melissa stuff isn’t any easier when drawn out on the page rather than just described in a book. Plus, now I’m reading these books as a parent myself and boy, rough stuff. Especially the part where she follows Chapman out when he’s carrying cat!Rachel away in the crate. “Oh, I didn’t see you there.” “But daddy…I was crying.” Oooof! Not to sound like a broken record or anything, but again, AGAIN, I think the cartoon style let some of these heart-breaking moments down a bit. The reason this scene hits hard, and the same with the one where Melissa is crying in her bed, is because the writing and dialogue are so strong. The way the characters are drawn, there’s just so little that can be done to express these deep emotions, so it all falls to the writing. I’m having a hard time picturing some of the truly devastating moments that are coming up landing the way they should as shown on the faces of characters with red bubble noses.
What a Terrible Plan, Guys!: I’d say the terrible plan is still the obvious one: where Rachel decides to morph a shrew to lure a tomcat out of a tree. Like Cassie points out, while cats often play with their food, sometimes they just go straight for the kill, too, and there’s really no way of predicting it one way or another. But also, specific to this version of the story, I’ll say that the use of the machinery in the construction site didn’t quite translate here. I can’t remember exactly how it was described in the books, but I felt like there I had a better sense of just how these machines were disrupting Visser Three’s plans. Here, we only see a few small shots of a solitary bulldozer, and it kind of fails to land as to why this would pose any sort of threat or disruption to what the Yeerks are doing.
Favorite Page/Panel:
I really liked all of the pages that made up the final conflict between the Animorphs and Visser Three in his alien morph. But this one stood out for the sheer joy of the absurdity of it all. I mean, take that picture out of context. Just look at it. The crazy rock monster. The speech bubbles of the cat growling and alien roaring. The cat’s crazy Superman jump featured prominently in the top right corner. It’s all so whacky and fun, and I think it’s a perfect visual representation of the sheer joy that these books are to read, especially to younger audiences. In no other series of books are you going to get anything remotely like what Animophs has to offer.
Final Thoughts: Overall, I’m still continuing to enjoy reading these graphic novels. I won’t repeat myself about the art, but like I said, too, for all my complaining about that, I’d rather have the graphic novels as they are now than nothing at all. I do hope they continue to make them, but I think there’s room to combine some things going forward. These first six or so books are important enough to have their own adaptations independently, but I think this book specifically also highlights how some future stories could be combined or skipped. Mostly, I just want some adaptation, ANY ADAPTATION, to get to the David trilogy.
I’m baaaaaaack! Yes, yes, it’s been forever. So long in fact that not only is the second Animorphs graphic novel out, but the third was released last fall as well! What’s my excuse?
Anyways, I was very excited to jump back into the world of the Animorphs and check out what these graphic novels have in mind for the long run. I remember really liking the first one, but having some concerns about the longevity of the series. I was also curious to see how this particular story was handled. “The Invasion” has tons of material to work with, not only in the chock-full plot but also with a lot of important character work introducing all of the teens. But “The Visitor” is a much slower, simpler story. In fact, I’d say it’s probably the weakest story in the introductory first five books. I mean, I still love it, because I love Rachel and Applegate is at the helm in these early books and that’s clear in the general quality of a more “filler” story as compared to the same sorts of stories that we see later in the series that don’t land as well. All of that to say, I was curious to see what the graphic novel had in store for us.
Best Change: I really liked the way the Chapmans were portrayed in this version of the story. There’s a really cool couple of pages that are drawn when Rachel first enters the house. We see Mrs. Chapman in the kitchen, staring straight ahead and chopping up vegetables. We then shift to the living room and see Mr. Chapman sitting on the couch staring at a television set that’s turned off. Creepy enough on its own. But then when Rachel comes back in the second go around, we see the exact same thing: Mrs. Chapman in the kitchen, chopping; Mr. Chapman in the living room, staring. It really hits home how absolutely off and cold this house is and what a horrible hell Melissa is living through. Beyond that, I liked how the way Chapman’s face is drawn changes from scene to scene as his power dynamic shifts. When he’s driving Rachel home, he’s shadowy and threatening. But when he’s talking with Visser Three, he’s depicted as small and cowering. And then, lastly, we see the human side of him when the real Chapman gets control briefly to plead his case to Visser Three. It was all very effective, and I think it does a good job of setting up just how witnessing this horrible home situation would influence and motivate Rachel.
Worst Change: I’m not sure I really have a worst change for this book. Other than a few things here and there which I’ll get to later, this is a pretty faithful adaptation of the original book. I’ll go on (and on and onnnn) about my feelings about the art throughout the book, but I think that’s probably not going to be a specific-to-this-book thing so not really a “change” at all. Speaking of art…
Pretty, Pretty Pictures: I have to say, I’m not coming around on the art style of these books. It’s not a complete loss, but I think there’s a stark difference in quality between the two styles. On one hand, I think the graphics are excellent when done in the more realistic style used for the animals. I also think the larger spreads across two pages and the horror aspects are well done. The descriptions of morphing in the books were always horrific, but when you see it depicted on the page…man, it really captures how truly disgusting this stuff looks. I mean, look at this!
But, I have to say, I’m really not loving the cartoon images of the kids themselves. I wanted to give it more of chance than just the first book, where I didn’t love the fact that Tobias and Rachel looked so similar or the strange choice with the red noses. But this book just confirmed some of my worst fears. If you look at these characters, they all just look exactly the same in the most generic of senses. You wouldn’t even be able to tell who is a boy or who is a girl based on images of just their faces in some of the panels (a picture of Cassie really highlights this at one point where I honestly had to do a double take to remind myself that there wasn’t a random Black boy in this story). This fact is really highlighted early in the story when we first meet Melissa. Here’s the first panel we see her in:
Without the speech bubble, which of these characters is which?? Ultimately, Melissa is given the silly freckles purely to identify and differentiate her later in the book. And that just seems to me to be a failure of the art itself. I mean, I’m still glad these graphic novels are being made so I have a hard time being this critical, but it honestly feels as if the artist either can’t be bothered to draw interesting and unique characters or simply isn’t capable of it while using this cartoonish style. Given the quality of the realistic stuff, I know he’s talented. So it feels like it must be a choice. But it’s the kind of choice that feels as if it’s talking down to its readers: hey, these are just kids and kids are the target audience, why bother making them look like anything other than bobble head cartoons? I don’t know. I’m not a fan.
Our Fearless Leader: Jake is one of the few characters that I think is drawn with a distinct face. His chin is a bit more pointed than the rest, and that difference stood out more and more as I became increasingly frustrated by the other characters. As for the story, there was a nice section in the middle devoted to a conversation between Rachel and Jake about their experiences (nightmares) after morphing frantic-minded prey animals. I like that this much page time was devoted to what can be seen as a pretty small character moment. There’s also an interesting line where Rachel gets a bit defensive saying that Jake is talking down to her because she’s his younger cousin. I can’t remember whether or not we knew that she was the younger of the two from the books? If so, I had forgotten and found it to be an interesting little tidbit here that she’s only a few weeks younger than Jake.
Xena, Warrior Princess: This book is pretty faithful to the original, so there isn’t a lot of new stuff to discuss with regards to Rachel’s experiences in the story. I will say, I really liked seeing Rachel’s mom and sister portrayed on the page. These were nice little moments to get to see one version of what these characters could look like. We get a lot of descriptions of what the main characters looked like in the original text, but we really have basically nothing to go on for any/all side characters. It was also nice to see these moments between Rachel and her mom and Rachel and Jordon to highlight the difference between her own warm, caring family and the cold, prison-like existence that Melissa is suffering through. I really like these sorts of subtle contrasts that the graphic novel can deploy. The book doesn’t come right out and say it, but it’s there all the same.
One thing I didn’t really like was the way the scene was drawn when Rachel is running away from the thugs to morph an elephant in the alley. Granted, again, it’s now been a few years from when I read this book for the original re-read series, but I guess I had it in my mind that Rachel was more annoyed from the very start and never frightened. Whereas here she’s drawn as being legitimately afraid at first, which I think is totally out of character. Rachel wants to take the fight to Visser Three himself, no way is she going to be wincing away from two jerks on the street.
A Hawk’s Life: Not a lot from Tobias. I did like all of the bird action in the very first scene and the way that was all drawn out. Rachel’s outrage about the guys shooting at a bald eagle “a national symbol!!!” is excellent. There were also some lovely images later on of Tobias flying, especially one when he flies away with shrew!Rachel to help give her time to get control of her morph. The way the sky and the silhouettes were drawn was striking.
Peace, Love, and Animals: Given how horrifying the images of the morphing is, I was glad we got to see a panel of Cassie with her raptor wings and Marco’s comment that they all look like freak show contestants while Cassie gets to look like an angel. It was a really nice juxtaposition and a moment that really worked well with the graphic elements. Other than that, Cassie has a pretty subdued go of it. We get some good animal facts from her about the prey mindset and the abilities of cats (there’s a good joke from Marco when Cassie comments that a cat’s eyesight is 8 times better than a humans), but that’s about it.
The Comic Relief: Marco is pretty much the same here as he is in the book. We get more groundwork laid about his home life and why he’s reluctant to fight. His dialogue is by far the funniest and best, per the book’s standard as well. There was one throwaway bit that I thought was odd, however. At one point, a character, I think it was Cassie, compliments Marco on his haircut. From the books, we know this does happen and is commented on but it doesn’t happen until Marco’s second go around as a narrator, all the way through to book number 10. But then the really strange thing is that Marco was depicted with short hair in the first graphic novel, too. Which, honestly, given my comments already about the cartoon style proving challenging to differentiate between male or female characters, I can see the choice to not have him with long hair from the very start. But looking back at the art from the first book, it’s clear that the styling for his hair is slightly different, but if anything, it’s drawn as longer and more shaggy here in the second book, not cut shorter at all. It’s very strange. I don’t think this small of a change really warranted any dialogue at all, but then to write it in as a notable haircut rather than a style change, which is the most that can be said, is strangely incongruent.
E.T./Ax Phone Home: No Ax yet, but boy am I excited to get to him!
Best (?) Body Horror Moment: Beyond what I said above about the disgustingly graphic images of morphing, there was a full page spread devoted to Rachel’s nightmare about being a shrew. Again, this is where the artist’s talents are really on display. I’ve only included half of the spread, but the other side is also covered in maggots swarming in and over an animal skull. I mean, the depiction of the nightmare is going to cause nightmares itself.
Couples Watch!: Sadly, I feel like we got even less from Tobias and Rachel here than we do in the books. We do get the line from Tobias that he doesn’t want anything to happen to her, so there are hints here and there, but for whatever reason, this relationship in particular just felt off. This probably is just due to the nature of the graphic novel format. Since the story relies only on dialogue and images, it’s pretty hard to depict true feelings between a girl and a hawk!boy when you can’t draw them interacting. On the other hand, to highlight this point, we do get this sweet panel coming fairly early in the book for Cassie and Jake:
If Only Visser Three had Mustache to Twirl: Again, since the horror aspects of the art are what work so well, the depictions of Visser Three and the terror he inspires are truly great. Even his Andalite form, which shouldn’t be terrifying in and of itself, is depicted in such a way as to be clearly intimidating. And then the panels showing him morphing the Vanarx and sucking out the Yeerk from a Controller are incredibly creepy and effective. I mean, Visser Three is essentially a cannibal at this point, and that is made pretty clear. And of course, the final battle with Visser Three morphing yet another big bad and chasing after the Animorphs is very well done. More on that below.
Adult Ugly Crying at a Middle Grade Book: Man, the Melissa stuff isn’t any easier when drawn out on the page rather than just described in a book. Plus, now I’m reading these books as a parent myself and boy, rough stuff. Especially the part where she follows Chapman out when he’s carrying cat!Rachel away in the crate. “Oh, I didn’t see you there.” “But daddy…I was crying.” Oooof! Not to sound like a broken record or anything, but again, AGAIN, I think the cartoon style let some of these heart-breaking moments down a bit. The reason this scene hits hard, and the same with the one where Melissa is crying in her bed, is because the writing and dialogue are so strong. The way the characters are drawn, there’s just so little that can be done to express these deep emotions, so it all falls to the writing. I’m having a hard time picturing some of the truly devastating moments that are coming up landing the way they should as shown on the faces of characters with red bubble noses.
What a Terrible Plan, Guys!: I’d say the terrible plan is still the obvious one: where Rachel decides to morph a shrew to lure a tomcat out of a tree. Like Cassie points out, while cats often play with their food, sometimes they just go straight for the kill, too, and there’s really no way of predicting it one way or another. But also, specific to this version of the story, I’ll say that the use of the machinery in the construction site didn’t quite translate here. I can’t remember exactly how it was described in the books, but I felt like there I had a better sense of just how these machines were disrupting Visser Three’s plans. Here, we only see a few small shots of a solitary bulldozer, and it kind of fails to land as to why this would pose any sort of threat or disruption to what the Yeerks are doing.
Favorite Page/Panel:
I really liked all of the pages that made up the final conflict between the Animorphs and Visser Three in his alien morph. But this one stood out for the sheer joy of the absurdity of it all. I mean, take that picture out of context. Just look at it. The crazy rock monster. The speech bubbles of the cat growling and alien roaring. The cat’s crazy Superman jump featured prominently in the top right corner. It’s all so whacky and fun, and I think it’s a perfect visual representation of the sheer joy that these books are to read, especially to younger audiences. In no other series of books are you going to get anything remotely like what Animophs has to offer.
Final Thoughts: Overall, I’m still continuing to enjoy reading these graphic novels. I won’t repeat myself about the art, but like I said, too, for all my complaining about that, I’d rather have the graphic novels as they are now than nothing at all. I do hope they continue to make them, but I think there’s room to combine some things going forward. These first six or so books are important enough to have their own adaptations independently, but I think this book specifically also highlights how some future stories could be combined or skipped. Mostly, I just want some adaptation, ANY ADAPTATION, to get to the David trilogy.
April 7, 2025
UGH this was so good. I love Rachel, she might be my favorite character. I really felt the tension and fear near the end, the stakes are super high! I'm curious to see the fallout from this chapter.
August 15, 2022
Such a joy! I will now take about 62 more servings, please.
June 13, 2022
Much like the first graphic novel adaptation, this remains hard to rate. I think the work they've done to adapt this story is first-rate. What they've kept is fantastic, and the little gags they've added (like Marco getting spooked every time Rachel morphs the cat) are very much in line with the original. They supplement it, rather than take away or replace anything. I continue to be impressed that the violence has been kept on the page and that the morphing is weird and gross and disturbing. I'm also pleased because I do think the illustrator took some of the critiques to heart and tried to make changes - Marco's hair being one example.
But I still struggle with the faces. The characters all look exactly alike, just with different skin tones, hair colors, and hair lengths. At one point I got Rachel and Melissa completely confused because there was absolutely nothing to distinguish them. I experimented and covered Cassie and Marco's hair and yeah, the faces are the same, just with different skin tones. All the noses are the same. It bothers me. I'm not great with faces to begin with, and I really rely on people looking different enough to distinguish them. Jake and Rachel having some similarities makes sense, since they're cousins, but the rest don't and it really, really bothers me.
I'm not going to stop reading these, I do think they're doing such a good job, but I wish the author would experiment with some different face shapes, nose shapes, and eyebrows to help make clear who everyone is.
But I still struggle with the faces. The characters all look exactly alike, just with different skin tones, hair colors, and hair lengths. At one point I got Rachel and Melissa completely confused because there was absolutely nothing to distinguish them. I experimented and covered Cassie and Marco's hair and yeah, the faces are the same, just with different skin tones. All the noses are the same. It bothers me. I'm not great with faces to begin with, and I really rely on people looking different enough to distinguish them. Jake and Rachel having some similarities makes sense, since they're cousins, but the rest don't and it really, really bothers me.
I'm not going to stop reading these, I do think they're doing such a good job, but I wish the author would experiment with some different face shapes, nose shapes, and eyebrows to help make clear who everyone is.
September 24, 2022
The second graphic novel for Animorphs was released this month! The Visitor was just as gorgeous as the first. Chris has some issues with too-similar designs (Melissa looked like Rachel lightened up by 5% with some freckles thrown in), and I got a little ??? at some of the changes made (the rednecks shooting at birds were drinking soda instead of beer, for example), but honestly the art is beautiful and fun. The backgrounds! The details! The 90s! The warmth and affection and teasing between the kids! I love all the outfits the kids wear. Visser Three and Chapman exude menace! I love the little goofs and Easter eggs he throws in. It is perhaps a BIT toned down from the OG books, as far as blood and gore goes, but the morphing sequences are delightfully gruesome and body horror-y, as they should be. I wish I had the money to financially support this project (I was SO EXCITED to hear he's been commissioned to go as far as book 6!), but the most I can do at the moment is tell my library to buy the books. I really appreciate the care and affection this relative newbie is putting into an old, much-beloved series that was so integral to my childhood. He's definitely the right artist for the job.
August 19, 2024
2021 review
I was so excited for this next instalment in the Animorphs Graphix series I was stalking the mailbox for weeks awaiting my preorder! And then I dropped everything and devoured it in like half an hour. I love being back in this world. But Chris Grine, are we really only getting one a year?!
I sped-read this way too quickly, I don't even have any legitimate criticisms or gripes! I probably should have slowed down to take it all in but I couldn't help myself.
The Animorphs are finding their way through their new secret world, trying to identify targets, get used to their morphs and we watch Tobias coming to terms with his new life as a hawk (can't wait for book three for more bird boy!). Rachel is trying to find some way to help her friend Melissa, whose dad Vice Principal Chapman is a known Controller. It's messy, it's emotional, we got loads of action and morphing and sleuthing. The art is great, even if the kids are not exactly what I imagined, but hey it was never going to be perfect, Chris Grine is not inside my brain so he gets a pass for that.
Will be putting in my preorder for The Encounter ASAP.
I was so excited for this next instalment in the Animorphs Graphix series I was stalking the mailbox for weeks awaiting my preorder! And then I dropped everything and devoured it in like half an hour. I love being back in this world. But Chris Grine, are we really only getting one a year?!
I sped-read this way too quickly, I don't even have any legitimate criticisms or gripes! I probably should have slowed down to take it all in but I couldn't help myself.
The Animorphs are finding their way through their new secret world, trying to identify targets, get used to their morphs and we watch Tobias coming to terms with his new life as a hawk (can't wait for book three for more bird boy!). Rachel is trying to find some way to help her friend Melissa, whose dad Vice Principal Chapman is a known Controller. It's messy, it's emotional, we got loads of action and morphing and sleuthing. The art is great, even if the kids are not exactly what I imagined, but hey it was never going to be perfect, Chris Grine is not inside my brain so he gets a pass for that.
Will be putting in my preorder for The Encounter ASAP.
November 22, 2021
The Animorphs gang is trying to figure out what they can do to stop the Yeerks. They decide to spy on their assistant principal, Mr. Chapman, who they know has been taken over by one of the leader Yeerks. Rachel is also worried about Mr. Chapman's daughter, Melissa. But sneaking into their house is very dangerous. Can they pull it off without getting caught?
I wish they drew Melissa a bit differently. She's so similar-looking to Rachel it was hard to tell them apart at times. I felt like this one suffered a little from middle-book-syndrome. It is working to build the characters and the plot, setting things up for excitement in the next book, but that means this one just has minimal excitement itself. It's still ok, and fans of the first book will need to read this one. Just go in expecting a quieter, slow-build thriller.
Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content. An alien monster is eaten by other monsters off page, some people are badly scratched by cats, and the aliens threaten harm a lot.
I wish they drew Melissa a bit differently. She's so similar-looking to Rachel it was hard to tell them apart at times. I felt like this one suffered a little from middle-book-syndrome. It is working to build the characters and the plot, setting things up for excitement in the next book, but that means this one just has minimal excitement itself. It's still ok, and fans of the first book will need to read this one. Just go in expecting a quieter, slow-build thriller.
Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content. An alien monster is eaten by other monsters off page, some people are badly scratched by cats, and the aliens threaten harm a lot.
November 16, 2021
This was a good adaptation of the book. The story continues with the Animorphs still trying to stop the Yeerks. It is told from Rachel's point of view. Rachel morphs into Vice Principal Chapman's cat, Fluffer. By disguising herself as the cat, she is able to sneak into the basement and witness conversations between Chapman and Visser Three. She learns valuable information.
This book has all of the suspense, as the novel. The pictures really capture the essence of the story and paints a clear picture of what is happening. I was a big fan of the series, so I really enjoy seeing it come to life in graphic format.
This book has all of the suspense, as the novel. The pictures really capture the essence of the story and paints a clear picture of what is happening. I was a big fan of the series, so I really enjoy seeing it come to life in graphic format.
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