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Animorphs Graphix #3
The Encounter: The Graphic Novel
When Tobias and his friends were given the power to morph, they were also given an important warning: Never stay in a morph for more than two hours. But Tobias broke the time limit, and now he's trapped in the body of a hawk — forever.
When he discovers an important Yeerk secret, Tobias knows he has to do everything in his power to destroy it. But to do so, he'll have to contend with a part of himself that's wrestling for dominion. A part that isn't human.
For Tobias, the fight against the Yeerks is more pressing than ever — not just for humankind, but for his own humanity.
When he discovers an important Yeerk secret, Tobias knows he has to do everything in his power to destroy it. But to do so, he'll have to contend with a part of himself that's wrestling for dominion. A part that isn't human.
For Tobias, the fight against the Yeerks is more pressing than ever — not just for humankind, but for his own humanity.
202 pages, Paperback
First published October 4, 2022
48 people are currently reading
225 people want to read
About the author
K.A. Applegate
251 books486 followersalso published under the name Katherine Applegate
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
August 13, 2023
#1 The Invasion ★★★★★
#2 The Visitor ★★★★★
#3 The Encounter ★★★★★
I'm so sad that I'm already caught up on these adaptations, and I really hope Grine is able to release more volumes soon. Reading these has made me want to go back and re-read the original series so badly! We get to see a lot of the heavy, sad themes in the series come into play in The Encounter, because this is the first book where it really starts to sink in for Tobias that his life is permanently changed, and he struggles with accepting that for a while.
It's also the first instance where I think it fully sinks in for the kids that there's a good chance they're going to die during these missions, and there's even a scene where they say they'd rather die than be taken alive by the Yeerks. It's heavy stuff and totally reminded me of why, despite how young the characters and audience for this series are, K.A. Applegate never went too easy on us or shied away from discussing the reality of how difficult and scary it would be to rebel against such a powerful, sneaky force of enemies.
✨ Representation: Marco is Latino, Cassie is Black
✨ Content warnings for:
———
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October 4, 2022
I liked this graphic novel since Tobias is one of my favorite perspectives. He has to deal with the duality of his hawk and human nature and this book portrayed it nicely. I like how it didn't water down some of the grittier and more dark elements in the original iteration of the book. I liked the animals designs but the human designs were not that great. The faces of the main characters are basic carbon copies of each other. Their noses, eyes, ears, and overall expressions are just copy paste replicas and I would've appreciated just a little more variety. (Maybe Cassie has curly hair, they have different eye colors to stand out, or different noses.) It's also hard (especially for new readers of the graphic novels who haven't read the original series) to be able to tell which character is which when they talk to each other in animal form. I only know because I read the series a couple times over. This is why it would've also been better to give the characters distinguishing features. I know it wouldn't really translate in the series realistically, but in comic format, it would make it more easy to follow which characters are which if the animals(not the birds of prey since they are different, but like the wolves and trout) had a couple matching features to the human. (e.g, if Marco had brown eyes, the wolf would. If Jake had brown hair the trout could have matching brown fins). I just think it might've suited the format of the story better. Overall, I liked everything else in the book. I appreciated how they acknowledged the fact there is no Alpha male wolf too. I think in the original book people still believed the alpha wolf myth.
February 21, 2023
My brain has been kind of obsessing over Animorphs recently, so I figured it was maybe a good time to jump back into the new graphic novels. I wonder how different it would be to reread the actual books. Certainly reading these doesn't make me feel like reading the original books did . . . but I'm also not a tween anymore, so that's for sure part of it.
One small thing I find interesting about the graphic adaptations is how Grine makes the Animorphs' human forms . . . well, kind of scruffy? Which makes some sense for Tobias maybe, but I keep expecting Rachel in particular to look more polished. On the other hand, being less polished adds to the impression of how young they are, which is maybe a good thing to have reinforced as you're reading.
One small thing I find interesting about the graphic adaptations is how Grine makes the Animorphs' human forms . . . well, kind of scruffy? Which makes some sense for Tobias maybe, but I keep expecting Rachel in particular to look more polished. On the other hand, being less polished adds to the impression of how young they are, which is maybe a good thing to have reinforced as you're reading.
May 22, 2023
This review was originally posted on The Moonlight Library
As a somewhat devoted fan of the original Animorphs series who once spent an entire day reading the Animorphs Wikipedia and learning absolutely nothing new, seeing Tobias' story faithfully adapted into a beautiful graphic novel was a treat.
Not only does the graphic novel capture all the tense adventure of the original story, it updates some now outdated 'facts' - like if both Jake and Marco morphed a male wolf, they would fight for alpha dominance. I appreciate these little updates. I've read the source material so many times that I can tell you word for word exactly what has been changed, and I appreciate the hell out of changing incorrect 'scientific' facts.
The artwork is really lovely to look at, with a beautiful colour palette and incredible animal portraits, and true body horror with the morphing. Although I still think the fab five's faces look too similar, I did notice the artistic impressions given to Tobias' hawk mind slowly overtaking his own until he finds his equilibrium. Each page turned is like revisiting long-lost friends, rekindling the love I had for these characters and their epic battles against the parasitic Yeerks.
The graphic novel adaptations are a true to the enduring power of a series written in the 90s, and its ability to captivate readers across generations. Although the original story is intact, the graphic novels both manage to update and keep the timeless aspect of the books, rekindling the joy I feel when I reread the original books. The Encounter graphic novel was one of my few 5-star reads so far this year, in a year that has had many close encounters but very few home runs. It really reminds me of why this series had such a huge impact on me.
Whether you're an Animorphs fan or not, or a graphic novel reader or not, I believe the Animorphs Graphix adaptations will ignite your imagination and pull on your heartstrings. I thoroughly recommend it.
As a somewhat devoted fan of the original Animorphs series who once spent an entire day reading the Animorphs Wikipedia and learning absolutely nothing new, seeing Tobias' story faithfully adapted into a beautiful graphic novel was a treat.
Not only does the graphic novel capture all the tense adventure of the original story, it updates some now outdated 'facts' - like if both Jake and Marco morphed a male wolf, they would fight for alpha dominance. I appreciate these little updates. I've read the source material so many times that I can tell you word for word exactly what has been changed, and I appreciate the hell out of changing incorrect 'scientific' facts.
The artwork is really lovely to look at, with a beautiful colour palette and incredible animal portraits, and true body horror with the morphing. Although I still think the fab five's faces look too similar, I did notice the artistic impressions given to Tobias' hawk mind slowly overtaking his own until he finds his equilibrium. Each page turned is like revisiting long-lost friends, rekindling the love I had for these characters and their epic battles against the parasitic Yeerks.
The graphic novel adaptations are a true to the enduring power of a series written in the 90s, and its ability to captivate readers across generations. Although the original story is intact, the graphic novels both manage to update and keep the timeless aspect of the books, rekindling the joy I feel when I reread the original books. The Encounter graphic novel was one of my few 5-star reads so far this year, in a year that has had many close encounters but very few home runs. It really reminds me of why this series had such a huge impact on me.
Whether you're an Animorphs fan or not, or a graphic novel reader or not, I believe the Animorphs Graphix adaptations will ignite your imagination and pull on your heartstrings. I thoroughly recommend it.
May 7, 2022
Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for a DRC to review!
*insert squealing here*
I am a 32-year-old who is absolutely still in love with Animorphs. This absolutely skews how I view these graphic novel adaptations.
First, I continue to love how Grine makes the series stay fresh for current audiences. The small edit to the wolf-morphing scene and alpha males was genius. The additions that are put in there that are not from the original are so in character. They fit seamlessly. I LOVED how Grine showed Tobias’s fight with his hawk brain. The paneling was so different, and the theme of shattered glass being shown visually was stunning.
Small complaint - I felt like the time from Tobias leaving the mall to him talking to Rachel didn’t quite hit on how long it was. BUT this book was probably a challenge to adapt. There is a lot that is happening in Tobias’s mind, so all things considered it was done as well as could be expected.
I will, of course, be adding this to my original Animorphs books in October.
*insert squealing here*
I am a 32-year-old who is absolutely still in love with Animorphs. This absolutely skews how I view these graphic novel adaptations.
First, I continue to love how Grine makes the series stay fresh for current audiences. The small edit to the wolf-morphing scene and alpha males was genius. The additions that are put in there that are not from the original are so in character. They fit seamlessly. I LOVED how Grine showed Tobias’s fight with his hawk brain. The paneling was so different, and the theme of shattered glass being shown visually was stunning.
Small complaint - I felt like the time from Tobias leaving the mall to him talking to Rachel didn’t quite hit on how long it was. BUT this book was probably a challenge to adapt. There is a lot that is happening in Tobias’s mind, so all things considered it was done as well as could be expected.
I will, of course, be adding this to my original Animorphs books in October.
March 10, 2023
Alright, book three and I'm in. Not only is one of our main characters perma-stuck as an eagle, but he's also being torn between brain of his former human self and his new Eagle Spirit. The Alien threat is mounting but we're also learning some weaknesses. It seems pretty neat so far.
Im excited to see the outcome of all of this, but if I'm being honest I'm not really liking our protagonists chances.
Im excited to see the outcome of all of this, but if I'm being honest I'm not really liking our protagonists chances.
July 6, 2023
I love these adaptations!
September 21, 2023
I haven’t written a review from the Notes app on my phone in quite some time but I think this is one I can manage. So, I finally read Chris Grine’s graphic novel version of the third ANIMORPHS book, ‘The Encounter’. This is the first Tobias-centered book in the series and has the distinction of being both especially emotional due to Tobias’ struggle to hold both his hawk and human identities despite knowing that he’ll never (😉) be human again, and profoundly ridiculous because of an opening scene involving a used car dealership and a “fish tube” sequence late in the book.
Grine’s take on the book does start promisingly enough, with a title page that covers two full pages, Tobias flying over the word “Animorphs” in all caps with a mountain range at sunset in the background. This is a gorgeous image. To be fair, there are definitely a handful of images like this throughout the book—a couple of which I’ll discuss momentarily—but for the most part this entry bears many of the same hallmarks of Grine’s work which have frustrated me before. First, the way the characters are all drawn off the same template. I’ve made the complaint about Rachel and Tobias before, but here I realized that if you put your finger over Cassie and Marco’s hair, you’d be hard-pressed to tell them apart except that Marco’s skin is a half-shade lighter.
Second, although this started out as a minor annoyance it’s grown into a sincere complaint over the course of three books: the lack of < angle brackets > around the characters’ thought-speak. Grine instead relies on different colored bubbles to distinguish the characters (Rachel is pink, naturally; Cassie is green, because she’s a tree-hugger; Jake is orange, like a tiger; etc.). These bubbles are a fine way to convey their thought-speak but there’s no reason they could not have the angle brackets, too. They’re such an iconic part of the original series that their loss is frustrating. I’m trying to think of a comparison point. It would be like if… if Yoda spoke with a traditional sentence structure. Would it be a defensible choice? Maybe. But it would eradicate something that is so closely affiliated with the character, his weird backward talk. It feels like a misstep on the author’s part to excise these and I don’t think it’s too late to backtrack on that decision, though as yet he has not.
Thirdly—and this is the bulk of my complaint about the book and about Grine’s work on this series as a whole—is that so much of the book is incredibly static. I’ll acknowledge there are some great moments. Alright, let me just get to it: the scene where Tobias finally embraces his bird-ness and eats a mouse is… honestly, I can’t imagine it being done any better. It’s a two-page spread of close-up, partial images of him and his beak tearing into the mouse, thought-speak bubbles both encouraging and resisting the pull, and it’s all overlaid with shattered glass which foreshadows his attempt to kill himself by smashing into a window at the mall later. It is stunning. But images like this are the exception, not the rule; more often than not, Grine draws things in a flat, non-kinetic way which I’ve previously likened to ‘Garfield’ comics. That comparison still seems entirely on point. Even when the characters are outside, so often the action is drawn as a series of stills of one character looking in one direction on a blank background and then the next panel is another character looking the other way, responding to the first, also on a blank background. Sometimes even when there is more action to the scene, Grine seems clueless on how to stage it and seemingly chops up the panels at random. The most egregious example, to my mind, is a full-page of the Animorphs as wolves running toward the foreground with Tobias overhead. This image is inexplicably cut up into three separate panels even though it’s clearly meant to be viewed as one. The middle panel is just the midsections of trees with some thought bubbles over it to connect the three panels. But why cut it up this way in the first place? It seems like he’s going through the motions without any intention behind it.
I was more forgiving of the second entry in this graphic novel take on the books because I felt like the visuals added something to the book that reading words on the page couldn’t quite capture. Even in the first of Grine’s books I admitted there were times an image sold the emotion of the scene in a way which was peculiar to the medium. And there are some moments like that here, too. In particular, there’s a moment where Rachel is trying to assure Tobias that he is still human. She scratches under his chin, he tilts his head and closes his eyes. This is a really nice moment, heightened by being able to see it physically. But this book is especially heavy on inner struggle, and though Grine does include a lot of Tobias’ thought-speak to himself here, I nevertheless felt that the high emotions of the original book failed to connect. That moment when Tobias flies at the window at the mall shows him from head-on with the thought “Time to wake up” written over him. I could tell that it was meant to be a cool and significant moment, but I did not feel the weight of Tobias’ inner torment the way I needed to in order for this moment to be impactful (no pun intended). Everything also seemed to move too fast. Immediately after the mall sequence, Rachel asks Tobias where he’s been. He describes having given up on his human side and committed fully to being a hawk for some time (days? weeks?). We as readers get no sense of the time that has passed, and though there are certainly pictures of him being a hawk and doing hawk-y things which accompany his monologue, I did not feel his sense of resignation. I’d largely say that the original book does a better job conveying these things.
A few additional points before I close this out. I felt that the second in this series did a better job of showing the gruesomeness of the morphing power, but for the most part I didn’t think this entry matched that. In fact, more than a few just have a title card saying “Soon” or “Later” and just elide the morphing altogether. Lame. That said, the trout morph near the end of the book is highly creepy and therefore very cool, so he gets that one right at least. A couple of other images I liked were when Tobias was checking a Controller’s watch to see how much time his friends had left in their morphs. There’s a close-up of the Controller’s watch, then a picture of Tobias with his jaw agape because the time limit is almost up. That was funny. Finally, the image of Price-Cut Polly (not named in this book, but that’s her name) with her wing singed off by a Dracon beam is gruesome in all the right ways. So there are some highlights here, no question. But for me, those highlights are far overshadowed by my frustrations. Though he manages one or two momentous frames in each book, Grine’s work largely just has not been satisfying to me. That’s not going to stop me from reading the next one, and however many more he is able to produce before demand dries up, but it does mean, unfortunately, that I’m going to be writing variations on this same review each time.
I’m happy these graphic novels exist. I just wish I liked them more.
Grine’s take on the book does start promisingly enough, with a title page that covers two full pages, Tobias flying over the word “Animorphs” in all caps with a mountain range at sunset in the background. This is a gorgeous image. To be fair, there are definitely a handful of images like this throughout the book—a couple of which I’ll discuss momentarily—but for the most part this entry bears many of the same hallmarks of Grine’s work which have frustrated me before. First, the way the characters are all drawn off the same template. I’ve made the complaint about Rachel and Tobias before, but here I realized that if you put your finger over Cassie and Marco’s hair, you’d be hard-pressed to tell them apart except that Marco’s skin is a half-shade lighter.
Second, although this started out as a minor annoyance it’s grown into a sincere complaint over the course of three books: the lack of < angle brackets > around the characters’ thought-speak. Grine instead relies on different colored bubbles to distinguish the characters (Rachel is pink, naturally; Cassie is green, because she’s a tree-hugger; Jake is orange, like a tiger; etc.). These bubbles are a fine way to convey their thought-speak but there’s no reason they could not have the angle brackets, too. They’re such an iconic part of the original series that their loss is frustrating. I’m trying to think of a comparison point. It would be like if… if Yoda spoke with a traditional sentence structure. Would it be a defensible choice? Maybe. But it would eradicate something that is so closely affiliated with the character, his weird backward talk. It feels like a misstep on the author’s part to excise these and I don’t think it’s too late to backtrack on that decision, though as yet he has not.
Thirdly—and this is the bulk of my complaint about the book and about Grine’s work on this series as a whole—is that so much of the book is incredibly static. I’ll acknowledge there are some great moments. Alright, let me just get to it: the scene where Tobias finally embraces his bird-ness and eats a mouse is… honestly, I can’t imagine it being done any better. It’s a two-page spread of close-up, partial images of him and his beak tearing into the mouse, thought-speak bubbles both encouraging and resisting the pull, and it’s all overlaid with shattered glass which foreshadows his attempt to kill himself by smashing into a window at the mall later. It is stunning. But images like this are the exception, not the rule; more often than not, Grine draws things in a flat, non-kinetic way which I’ve previously likened to ‘Garfield’ comics. That comparison still seems entirely on point. Even when the characters are outside, so often the action is drawn as a series of stills of one character looking in one direction on a blank background and then the next panel is another character looking the other way, responding to the first, also on a blank background. Sometimes even when there is more action to the scene, Grine seems clueless on how to stage it and seemingly chops up the panels at random. The most egregious example, to my mind, is a full-page of the Animorphs as wolves running toward the foreground with Tobias overhead. This image is inexplicably cut up into three separate panels even though it’s clearly meant to be viewed as one. The middle panel is just the midsections of trees with some thought bubbles over it to connect the three panels. But why cut it up this way in the first place? It seems like he’s going through the motions without any intention behind it.
I was more forgiving of the second entry in this graphic novel take on the books because I felt like the visuals added something to the book that reading words on the page couldn’t quite capture. Even in the first of Grine’s books I admitted there were times an image sold the emotion of the scene in a way which was peculiar to the medium. And there are some moments like that here, too. In particular, there’s a moment where Rachel is trying to assure Tobias that he is still human. She scratches under his chin, he tilts his head and closes his eyes. This is a really nice moment, heightened by being able to see it physically. But this book is especially heavy on inner struggle, and though Grine does include a lot of Tobias’ thought-speak to himself here, I nevertheless felt that the high emotions of the original book failed to connect. That moment when Tobias flies at the window at the mall shows him from head-on with the thought “Time to wake up” written over him. I could tell that it was meant to be a cool and significant moment, but I did not feel the weight of Tobias’ inner torment the way I needed to in order for this moment to be impactful (no pun intended). Everything also seemed to move too fast. Immediately after the mall sequence, Rachel asks Tobias where he’s been. He describes having given up on his human side and committed fully to being a hawk for some time (days? weeks?). We as readers get no sense of the time that has passed, and though there are certainly pictures of him being a hawk and doing hawk-y things which accompany his monologue, I did not feel his sense of resignation. I’d largely say that the original book does a better job conveying these things.
A few additional points before I close this out. I felt that the second in this series did a better job of showing the gruesomeness of the morphing power, but for the most part I didn’t think this entry matched that. In fact, more than a few just have a title card saying “Soon” or “Later” and just elide the morphing altogether. Lame. That said, the trout morph near the end of the book is highly creepy and therefore very cool, so he gets that one right at least. A couple of other images I liked were when Tobias was checking a Controller’s watch to see how much time his friends had left in their morphs. There’s a close-up of the Controller’s watch, then a picture of Tobias with his jaw agape because the time limit is almost up. That was funny. Finally, the image of Price-Cut Polly (not named in this book, but that’s her name) with her wing singed off by a Dracon beam is gruesome in all the right ways. So there are some highlights here, no question. But for me, those highlights are far overshadowed by my frustrations. Though he manages one or two momentous frames in each book, Grine’s work largely just has not been satisfying to me. That’s not going to stop me from reading the next one, and however many more he is able to produce before demand dries up, but it does mean, unfortunately, that I’m going to be writing variations on this same review each time.
I’m happy these graphic novels exist. I just wish I liked them more.
December 9, 2022
Holy moley! This was great. Just as good as the novel, but with amazing art! Very fitting that Tobias' first pov graphic novel would include new lines from him cementing him as the trans icon he is. The ending was very beautiful. If you aren't in the know about these books, this one specifically is about Tobias' identity crisis. See when you morph into an animal if you stay in morph for more than 2 hours you become that animal permanently. Tobias is a hawk. But he's also a human, and he's trying to resist the hawk's urges to do things the human wouldn't, such as hunt mice and eat them live. The art in these sections is fractured into a lot of pieces to mirror how fractured his psyche is, the effect of it is *chef's kiss*.
January 28, 2023
Spread the good word! Animorphs has been rocking it like no other series since 1996. So glad that it's finding new life in these excellent testaments to the excellent source material. Tobias is my spirit animal and I was so excited to get to this one. I was not disappointed!
April 27, 2023
C'est complètement par hasard que je suis tombée sur la suite du roman graphique d'Animorphs que je n'avais pas vu passer dans les nouveautés. C'est sans surprise que je me suis immédiatement jeté dessus pour le dévorer. Voici donc ma critique!
Animorphs a toujours été un pilier de mon enfance pour son histoire, mais surtout pour ses thèmes matures bien vulgarisés pour les plus jeunes. Dans ce tome-ci, on a un aperçu de la noirceur à venir avec Toby et ses monologues intérieurs. Par le sous-texte, on sait que Toby a vécu une vie humaine difficile (des parents toxiques, de l'intimidation à l'école). Être pris au piège dans le corps d'un faucon, libéré de ses soucis d'être un humain lui fait réaliser qu'il perd peu à peu son humanité au profit du faucon. On aborde donc ici ce qui fait un être humain vs un animal d'une belle façon. Toby a toujours été un de mes personnages préférés de la gang des Animorphs pour ses conflits intérieurs et Chris Grine a su lui rendre justice sans que l'histoire sombre trop dans la noirceur. On sent que l'amitié entre tout le monde est profonde et qu'ils se soutiennent mutuellement malgré quelques bisbilles ça et là. Les couleurs sont toujours autant justes et les panneaux varient en terme de formes et de grosseurs. Les transformations de la gang en animaux est parfois dégoutante, mais aussi fascinante à voir. C'est beau à regarder, mais surtout à lire.
Quelques petits bémols: il est parfois difficile de savoir qui parle lorsqu'ils sont des animaux si on ne se souvient pas des couleurs qui leur ont été assigné pour leur bulle de dialogue. J'aurais voulu un rappel en début d'histoire. La structure du roman original ici est un peu moins bien ajustée car on s'attarde davantage au début. La fin arrive donc d'une manière un peu précipitée même si le panneau final m'a donné le sourire. Malgré tout, cela reste une très belle adaptation de la série Animorphs que je recommande à tous!
Animorphs a toujours été un pilier de mon enfance pour son histoire, mais surtout pour ses thèmes matures bien vulgarisés pour les plus jeunes. Dans ce tome-ci, on a un aperçu de la noirceur à venir avec Toby et ses monologues intérieurs. Par le sous-texte, on sait que Toby a vécu une vie humaine difficile (des parents toxiques, de l'intimidation à l'école). Être pris au piège dans le corps d'un faucon, libéré de ses soucis d'être un humain lui fait réaliser qu'il perd peu à peu son humanité au profit du faucon. On aborde donc ici ce qui fait un être humain vs un animal d'une belle façon. Toby a toujours été un de mes personnages préférés de la gang des Animorphs pour ses conflits intérieurs et Chris Grine a su lui rendre justice sans que l'histoire sombre trop dans la noirceur. On sent que l'amitié entre tout le monde est profonde et qu'ils se soutiennent mutuellement malgré quelques bisbilles ça et là. Les couleurs sont toujours autant justes et les panneaux varient en terme de formes et de grosseurs. Les transformations de la gang en animaux est parfois dégoutante, mais aussi fascinante à voir. C'est beau à regarder, mais surtout à lire.
Quelques petits bémols: il est parfois difficile de savoir qui parle lorsqu'ils sont des animaux si on ne se souvient pas des couleurs qui leur ont été assigné pour leur bulle de dialogue. J'aurais voulu un rappel en début d'histoire. La structure du roman original ici est un peu moins bien ajustée car on s'attarde davantage au début. La fin arrive donc d'une manière un peu précipitée même si le panneau final m'a donné le sourire. Malgré tout, cela reste une très belle adaptation de la série Animorphs que je recommande à tous!
September 5, 2024
Internal struggle is not always easy to represent in images with a few words on a page. Yet, Grine pulled it off exceptionally well – we really see and feel the struggle Tobias is having with his hawk instincts and human nature, and the same powerful scenes from the novel are just as powerful, if not more so, here (the fracturing glass across his face, the jarring blocks of color/shading partially covering him, then the looks on Rachel’s and Marco’s faces in the mall…).
This may be a Tobias book, but you can’t underestimate the power of what Rachel tells him, either: “Because what counts is what is in your head and in your heart. A person isn’t his body. A person isn’t what’s on the outside.” (page 90)
Be happy for me, and for all who fly free.
Original reviews/links here.
Adaptation notes:
Page 137: bottom panel, Marco’s left arm during his shrug is awkwardly crossing under the panel line and disappears shortly below it, so I think that is a trimming mistake/not intentional.
Pg 146 – The 4-panel page is Marco cracking a joke to Jake about the lizard tail he lost in school, which seemed off to me – sure enough, that is Grine Original addition to the book (I checked against the original novel to be 1000% certain).
Visser Three’s thoughtspeak bubbles switched between red on red (page 175, 184-5) to red on dark orange 178-9, 183).
This may be a Tobias book, but you can’t underestimate the power of what Rachel tells him, either: “Because what counts is what is in your head and in your heart. A person isn’t his body. A person isn’t what’s on the outside.” (page 90)
Be happy for me, and for all who fly free.
Original reviews/links here.
Adaptation notes:
Page 137: bottom panel, Marco’s left arm during his shrug is awkwardly crossing under the panel line and disappears shortly below it, so I think that is a trimming mistake/not intentional.
Pg 146 – The 4-panel page is Marco cracking a joke to Jake about the lizard tail he lost in school, which seemed off to me – sure enough, that is Grine Original addition to the book (I checked against the original novel to be 1000% certain).
Visser Three’s thoughtspeak bubbles switched between red on red (page 175, 184-5) to red on dark orange 178-9, 183).
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:
- The Encounter in particular is really devastating, for all of Tobias’ identity issues and struggling to acclimate to his new life. I love how Grine depicted this, with Tobias’ inverted self-loathing voice constantly berating himself, and the shattered glass effect showing his being caught between being a hawk and a human, his psyche falling to pieces.
- Marco’s self-preservation wanting to stay out of the war, saying “Look, these aren’t people we know. They aren’t my friends, or my family.” OH THE FORESHADOWING.
- The fact that the kids’ mission goes so absolutely pear-shaped and they tell Tobias, “Listen, Tobias, we can’t be taken alive. Do you understand?”. The fact that they’re straight-up advocating for him to kill all of them to prevent enemy capture. My god. How was this a children’s series. I love it so much.
- “Rachel… I never told you…” “You didn’t have to, Tobias. I knew. Goodbye.” screams in Rachel/Tobias feelings
God, I love this series. Highly tempted to finally restart my reread which stalled in 2020.
Highlights to call out this time:
- The Encounter in particular is really devastating, for all of Tobias’ identity issues and struggling to acclimate to his new life. I love how Grine depicted this, with Tobias’ inverted self-loathing voice constantly berating himself, and the shattered glass effect showing his being caught between being a hawk and a human, his psyche falling to pieces.
- Marco’s self-preservation wanting to stay out of the war, saying “Look, these aren’t people we know. They aren’t my friends, or my family.” OH THE FORESHADOWING.
- The fact that the kids’ mission goes so absolutely pear-shaped and they tell Tobias, “Listen, Tobias, we can’t be taken alive. Do you understand?”. The fact that they’re straight-up advocating for him to kill all of them to prevent enemy capture. My god. How was this a children’s series. I love it so much.
- “Rachel… I never told you…” “You didn’t have to, Tobias. I knew. Goodbye.” screams in Rachel/Tobias feelings
God, I love this series. Highly tempted to finally restart my reread which stalled in 2020.
December 16, 2022
The characters still look uncanny valley and the transformations can be gruesome, but the angst is IMMACULATE.
Tobias (who cannot morph back to human) is tortured by the same depressive voice some humans deal with; a constantly nagging voice that discredits his humanity. Get this, he has a bird brain *badum tsk* I've seen few books really tackle or mention this at all for young readers. But Tobias' identity struggle is done effectively as well as it's conclusion.
I know everyone bags on Marco, but I get why he has to be the voice of reason. Also, Rachel and Tobias' friendship is the highlight here. Very charming. I never had interest in this series before, but I think the graphic novel adaptions are dong a great job introducing this to a new audience.
Tobias (who cannot morph back to human) is tortured by the same depressive voice some humans deal with; a constantly nagging voice that discredits his humanity. Get this, he has a bird brain *badum tsk* I've seen few books really tackle or mention this at all for young readers. But Tobias' identity struggle is done effectively as well as it's conclusion.
I know everyone bags on Marco, but I get why he has to be the voice of reason. Also, Rachel and Tobias' friendship is the highlight here. Very charming. I never had interest in this series before, but I think the graphic novel adaptions are dong a great job introducing this to a new audience.
August 26, 2023
Gives a new perspective to the series while being faithful to the original. So cool to see my favourite characters in colour- this is the first book I've read of these graphic novels, so I look forward to reading the rest!
April 19, 2025
I still really liked this one, especially Tobias warring with himself over his eagle form and the stakes are as a high as ever. One star docked off because the ending happened super fast after a lot of build up.
January 8, 2023
Another excellent adaptation of Animorphs! The art continues to be fantastic. My favorite parts were the shattered panels with Tobias.
Content warning: body horror
Content warning: body horror
January 13, 2025
tobias is the animorph who has never had a bad book. he’s literally pumped out bangers from his first pov. he makes me feel so sad he’s so sad and complex and he’s half bird half boy i feel sick… i will never get tired of you tobias animorphs
November 2, 2022
Perfectly fine adaptation of The Encounter. I’m not a big graphic novel person, but I’ll read them for Animorphs’ sake.
February 28, 2023
The animation is flawless, the story is moving, and the characters are real and grounded. I like how they don’t succeed in everything they try: they face real opposition and barely survive. Everything feels weighty and realistic. Very impressive. I only wish all the graphic novel versions would release faster!
December 23, 2022
We all have a cross to bear. Mine is to wander the world, knowing that the majority of people do not love Animorphs. To know that only a handful appreciate it's brilliance.
BUT I WILL NOT BE SILENCED!
This graphic novel adaptation of Animorphs continues to be... well... the best adaptation we've ever had. (Low bar). But truthfully, it's a lovely medium for retelling these stories.
The biggest challenge in translating this to a visual medium is probably the thought speech? There are several of these books that take place 90% in morph, so it's just going to be an issue. But I think the colors work well and after a few pages I was fully locked in to Cassie == Green, Jake == Orange, etc. (But why does Marco == Gray? Rude, honestly).
I think I mentioned this in my reviews of the previous two installations, but we DO lose something with the lack of first person narration. I think it was perhaps more noticeable in this story than in previous ones because Tobias's human-or-hawk identity crisis just works better in prose. It just DOES my dudes.
Nevertheless, who cares! It's an adaptation of Animorphs! It is lovingly faithful to the original!
Is The Encounter the best, greatest, most ingenious plot? No. The execution is rushed, plus the plan itself is a mad scheme that never stood a chance in hell. But I honestly kind of love that in the early books they were fumbling around without a clue. It fits. It works. They are children and they have no idea what they are doing. Also their first wolf morph! My heart!!!
On the whole, the graphic novel adaptation probably reaches fewer emotional depths compared to the written version. But who cares!!! I'm still giddy with happiness that this adaptation exists and I will be buying and treasuring them all as long as we are lucky enough to have them.
(GOD can you imagine if we could just make it into the 20s??? The sheer majesty and perfection that is books 19-22????? PLEASE)
BUT I WILL NOT BE SILENCED!
This graphic novel adaptation of Animorphs continues to be... well... the best adaptation we've ever had. (Low bar). But truthfully, it's a lovely medium for retelling these stories.
The biggest challenge in translating this to a visual medium is probably the thought speech? There are several of these books that take place 90% in morph, so it's just going to be an issue. But I think the colors work well and after a few pages I was fully locked in to Cassie == Green, Jake == Orange, etc. (But why does Marco == Gray? Rude, honestly).
I think I mentioned this in my reviews of the previous two installations, but we DO lose something with the lack of first person narration. I think it was perhaps more noticeable in this story than in previous ones because Tobias's human-or-hawk identity crisis just works better in prose. It just DOES my dudes.
Nevertheless, who cares! It's an adaptation of Animorphs! It is lovingly faithful to the original!
Is The Encounter the best, greatest, most ingenious plot? No. The execution is rushed, plus the plan itself is a mad scheme that never stood a chance in hell. But I honestly kind of love that in the early books they were fumbling around without a clue. It fits. It works. They are children and they have no idea what they are doing. Also their first wolf morph! My heart!!!
On the whole, the graphic novel adaptation probably reaches fewer emotional depths compared to the written version. But who cares!!! I'm still giddy with happiness that this adaptation exists and I will be buying and treasuring them all as long as we are lucky enough to have them.
(GOD can you imagine if we could just make it into the 20s??? The sheer majesty and perfection that is books 19-22????? PLEASE)
January 11, 2023
It's kind of a mixed bag. Grine's art has the same strengths and weaknesses as in the other volumes, though his seeming inability to draw angry faces really bothered me here, since this one has a lot of Marco and Rachel bickering. His animals, ironically, are quite expressive without sacrificing realism; Grine can use a small change in the eyes to show a lot of emotion. (On the other hand, Tobias' jaw-drop on page 78 is unintentionally hilarious to me. Can this be the new "Surprised Pikachu?") I do wish he'd done something to differentiate the animals more, though. Like, I know Marco, Rachel and Cassie morphed the same wolf, but couldn't Jake's have had a different coat color or something?
The story still moves too fast, especially during the few days when Tobias is lost in his hawk mind (which is framed in flashback as he recounts it to Rachel). It occurs to me that there might be an editorial mandate to keep things under a certain number of pages; I sympathize if that's the case, though I'd probably find other ways to do it. For example, why not cut the stupid car dealer opening? Grine actually expands on it and makes it even dumber.
I realize this was also a hard story to adapt, since so much is just Tobias' mental struggle. I quite like the "shattered glass" imagery during his mental breakdown. Grine's other trick is to have these black-and-yellow thought bubbles for when Tobias' "hawk mind" (or maybe just his dark thoughts) is arguing with him. I think it could be effective if it happened once—I actually opened the book in the middle before reading and thought it was appropriately dramatic. But it happens throughout the book and winds up becoming a bit melodramatic, especially since Tobias' respond is to repeatedly scream < I'm Tobias! I'm human! > Less is more, is what I'm saying.
I don't want to be too negative; Grine's art is still quite good with the animals and sci-fi aspects, and his original jokes are really funny—he writes Marco and Jake as a great wise guy/straight man duo. Also, he has Cassie note that "alpha wolves" aren't actually a thing! Please pay attention, every werewolf book written in the last twenty years. And I really like the cover. Great symbolism there.
The story still moves too fast, especially during the few days when Tobias is lost in his hawk mind (which is framed in flashback as he recounts it to Rachel). It occurs to me that there might be an editorial mandate to keep things under a certain number of pages; I sympathize if that's the case, though I'd probably find other ways to do it. For example, why not cut the stupid car dealer opening? Grine actually expands on it and makes it even dumber.
I realize this was also a hard story to adapt, since so much is just Tobias' mental struggle. I quite like the "shattered glass" imagery during his mental breakdown. Grine's other trick is to have these black-and-yellow thought bubbles for when Tobias' "hawk mind" (or maybe just his dark thoughts) is arguing with him. I think it could be effective if it happened once—I actually opened the book in the middle before reading and thought it was appropriately dramatic. But it happens throughout the book and winds up becoming a bit melodramatic, especially since Tobias' respond is to repeatedly scream < I'm Tobias! I'm human! > Less is more, is what I'm saying.
I don't want to be too negative; Grine's art is still quite good with the animals and sci-fi aspects, and his original jokes are really funny—he writes Marco and Jake as a great wise guy/straight man duo. Also, he has Cassie note that "alpha wolves" aren't actually a thing! Please pay attention, every werewolf book written in the last twenty years. And I really like the cover. Great symbolism there.
October 16, 2022
WOW these get heavy fast--clearly I'm Very Overdue for my reread.
September 12, 2024
Not a perfect book, but rounding up to five stars as it's a definite improvement over the original version!
- Tobias is blond! (or, he is in his photo—yay for consistency!)
- The graphic novel doesn't need to inaccurately describe their transformations.
- "Actually they've debunked the alpha wolf in the wolf pack theory." YES
- (still not sure whether telepathy is targeted rather than something just any other telepath can "overhear" but context suggests it is)
Downside is no little transformation flipbook, but I'll live, haha. Also, I suppose, the fact that it doesn't make lots of sense on its own without at least reading the original books and/or prior two graphic novels. The one thing I'll give "word" books over graphic novels is they're a lot freer to spend enough time on exposition to bring newcomers up to speed—doing the same in a graphic novel, unless the backstory is EXTREMELY simple, like in Dogman or The Baby-Sitters Club, takes a lot of pages when the core story usually has to be carefully planned out (besides that drawing a page is a lot harder to do than writing a page).
Still a great adaptation, worth the read! Absolutely recommended for fans!
- Tobias is blond! (or, he is in his photo—yay for consistency!)
- The graphic novel doesn't need to inaccurately describe their transformations.
- "Actually they've debunked the alpha wolf in the wolf pack theory." YES
- (still not sure whether telepathy is targeted rather than something just any other telepath can "overhear" but context suggests it is)
Downside is no little transformation flipbook, but I'll live, haha. Also, I suppose, the fact that it doesn't make lots of sense on its own without at least reading the original books and/or prior two graphic novels. The one thing I'll give "word" books over graphic novels is they're a lot freer to spend enough time on exposition to bring newcomers up to speed—doing the same in a graphic novel, unless the backstory is EXTREMELY simple, like in Dogman or The Baby-Sitters Club, takes a lot of pages when the core story usually has to be carefully planned out (besides that drawing a page is a lot harder to do than writing a page).
Still a great adaptation, worth the read! Absolutely recommended for fans!
October 26, 2025
10/10
Why am I over here legitimately in tears over a story I first read nearly 30 years ago? is it purely nostalgia? Is it the fact that even all this time I relate to the characters? Is it because as a kid I just saw the surface level of Animorphs and can appreciate the more mature themes now that I'm grown up and have better perspective?
Maybe a bit of everything. And this is by far my favourite of the three I've read. All have been excellent but Tobias is definitely the one I closest relate to for a wide range of reasons and this story really did deal with a lot of themes that I only subtly picked up on when I was young. Just like how the second one dealt with parental neglect and depression, this one dealt a lot with humanity and...ya know, more depression, and how those things can affect one another. IT dealt with a sense of belonging, found family and all that. And honestly, the little, subtle bits in the art that helped add emotion to the story made some of the story beats hit harder.
IT's a small thing but when Tobias goes to Rachel and it turns out she has a picture of his human form by her mirror in her bedroom....HEart...Breaking. I actually forgot about that part and knowing now how the story ends way later makes me wanna curl up and sob.
I might even go back and reread the original books I have, if I can do so without wrecking them. I have the full set and reading the graphic novels has made me want to revisit them all...since I doubt we'll be seeing more of the graphic novels past the 6 already made. A shame, too, because I'd say the first 30 or so (with a few more after that) Were all damn near perfect and at least the first two Megamorphs would make for an excellent graphic novel.
Alas, unless there's some egregious misdeeds in books 4-6, expect more perfect scores from me. I still can't imagine a much better adaptation of the book series that did the most to shape my young life and continues to guide me as an adult.
Also, they corrected the wolf alpha theory that was present in the original book since it's fair to assume Cassie would have known that it was untrue even back in the 90s where this takes place.
10/10
Why am I over here legitimately in tears over a story I first read nearly 30 years ago? is it purely nostalgia? Is it the fact that even all this time I relate to the characters? Is it because as a kid I just saw the surface level of Animorphs and can appreciate the more mature themes now that I'm grown up and have better perspective?
Maybe a bit of everything. And this is by far my favourite of the three I've read. All have been excellent but Tobias is definitely the one I closest relate to for a wide range of reasons and this story really did deal with a lot of themes that I only subtly picked up on when I was young. Just like how the second one dealt with parental neglect and depression, this one dealt a lot with humanity and...ya know, more depression, and how those things can affect one another. IT dealt with a sense of belonging, found family and all that. And honestly, the little, subtle bits in the art that helped add emotion to the story made some of the story beats hit harder.
IT's a small thing but when Tobias goes to Rachel and it turns out she has a picture of his human form by her mirror in her bedroom....HEart...Breaking. I actually forgot about that part and knowing now how the story ends way later makes me wanna curl up and sob.
I might even go back and reread the original books I have, if I can do so without wrecking them. I have the full set and reading the graphic novels has made me want to revisit them all...since I doubt we'll be seeing more of the graphic novels past the 6 already made. A shame, too, because I'd say the first 30 or so (with a few more after that) Were all damn near perfect and at least the first two Megamorphs would make for an excellent graphic novel.
Alas, unless there's some egregious misdeeds in books 4-6, expect more perfect scores from me. I still can't imagine a much better adaptation of the book series that did the most to shape my young life and continues to guide me as an adult.
Also, they corrected the wolf alpha theory that was present in the original book since it's fair to assume Cassie would have known that it was untrue even back in the 90s where this takes place.
10/10
March 29, 2025
Tobias has been struggling ever since he and his friends learned about the Yeerk invasion and were given the power to morph. And of course, ever since he stayed morphed too long and was trapped in the body of a hawk. He’s trying hard to maintain his sense of personhood but the hawk sensibilities are getting harder to ignore. Then there’s the new discovery by the mountain lake, which has been attracting a lot of Yeerk activity. It may be Tobias and his friends’ major chance to reveal the invasion, but getting on board may be the most dangerous step of all.
Animorphs keeps chugging right along, and this book was interesting because we get our first glimpse into Tobias’ life since he accidentally became trapped as a hawk. No information about his family, but we see how he lives and spends his time when he’s not hanging out with his friends. They help keep him grounded for sure, but he goes on a big journey of self-discovery and really struggles to keep ahold of himself in the early sections of the book. Then there is the actual Yeerk-related mission, as expected in all of these books, and it is both dangerous and reckless for them to attempt. It works out okay but it’s wild to think that only three books in, they’ve already faced so much danger that they may not have made it out of this one together. A really good continuation of the story and I’m looking forward to more.
Animorphs keeps chugging right along, and this book was interesting because we get our first glimpse into Tobias’ life since he accidentally became trapped as a hawk. No information about his family, but we see how he lives and spends his time when he’s not hanging out with his friends. They help keep him grounded for sure, but he goes on a big journey of self-discovery and really struggles to keep ahold of himself in the early sections of the book. Then there is the actual Yeerk-related mission, as expected in all of these books, and it is both dangerous and reckless for them to attempt. It works out okay but it’s wild to think that only three books in, they’ve already faced so much danger that they may not have made it out of this one together. A really good continuation of the story and I’m looking forward to more.
January 23, 2023
When the Animorphs kids discover that there's a cloaked Yeerk ship flying to the mountains regularly they decide they need to figure out what is going on. But the mountains are far away, and they can only morph safely for so long. Can they figure out what the bad guys are up to and not get captured?
This realistically has the friends debating what they should or shouldn't get involved in and how much risk to take in this battle with evil aliens. This would be a great discussion starter to have with readers. If you know people are up to evil are you obligated to do something? When are you not obligated to? Tobias is also struggling with his hawk side taking over, and whether or not he should even try to hang on to his human side. The end has a bit of a cliffhanger, so I hope they keep the graphic novels coming because our old copies of the original novels are disintegrating and the graphic novels are so much more appealing to modern readers.
Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content. There is some animal predation and some shooting that results in some animal deaths. The kids are in a perilous situation that isn't resolved in this book.
This realistically has the friends debating what they should or shouldn't get involved in and how much risk to take in this battle with evil aliens. This would be a great discussion starter to have with readers. If you know people are up to evil are you obligated to do something? When are you not obligated to? Tobias is also struggling with his hawk side taking over, and whether or not he should even try to hang on to his human side. The end has a bit of a cliffhanger, so I hope they keep the graphic novels coming because our old copies of the original novels are disintegrating and the graphic novels are so much more appealing to modern readers.
Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content. There is some animal predation and some shooting that results in some animal deaths. The kids are in a perilous situation that isn't resolved in this book.
November 15, 2022
This graphic novel series is a lovely tribute to the iconic 90's books, and you can tell the creators adore the source material.
The art is lovely; morphing is suitably gnarly, and the action is really well depicted. The animorphs in their human forms are a weaker though, characters only differentiated via skin colour and hair styles.
There are some odd choices. Tobias's three day binge as a hawk is told in flashback. This cheats of us the horror of the situation, and the incident that snaps him back is robbed of its drama.
Also, the source novel is told in first person from tobias's pov. The graphic novel can be more flexible if it wants, but it refuses to. It would have been nice to see the other animorphs stuck in the ship in trout morph. But no, its all told via speech bubbles as we look at lots of pictures of a hawk dodging aliens.
Still a superb adaptation though. Roll on book four.
The art is lovely; morphing is suitably gnarly, and the action is really well depicted. The animorphs in their human forms are a weaker though, characters only differentiated via skin colour and hair styles.
There are some odd choices. Tobias's three day binge as a hawk is told in flashback. This cheats of us the horror of the situation, and the incident that snaps him back is robbed of its drama.
Also, the source novel is told in first person from tobias's pov. The graphic novel can be more flexible if it wants, but it refuses to. It would have been nice to see the other animorphs stuck in the ship in trout morph. But no, its all told via speech bubbles as we look at lots of pictures of a hawk dodging aliens.
Still a superb adaptation though. Roll on book four.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 12, 2022
I always felt a kinship with Tobias, and while he wasn't my favorite character, he's definitely one of the more complex and fun characters to follow, due to the struggle to retain his humanity. I will resist the urge to rant about book #54 here, and the injustices levied against every Animorph in that conclusion, but my impression is that they could have been more done with him as time went on.
As far as this book goes, the characterization is spot on, and the connection with Rachel is more obvious than I remember it being at this point, but otherwise I was just as drawn in as I would be with the original. The only odd thing I noticed was during the sequence where Tobias has to move everyone from the cave individually, you really have to pay attention to notice he did evacuate them all.
Here's hoping these keep going!
As far as this book goes, the characterization is spot on, and the connection with Rachel is more obvious than I remember it being at this point, but otherwise I was just as drawn in as I would be with the original. The only odd thing I noticed was during the sequence where Tobias has to move everyone from the cave individually, you really have to pay attention to notice he did evacuate them all.
Here's hoping these keep going!
December 18, 2022
I always forget how violent and dark these books get. Tobias is slowly losing himself to the hawk, and it’s brutal. I kinda wish I’d read this whole series as a kid so I know whether he turns back into a human ever or not. (From the length of the series, I assume yes, but I don’t know).
Each of the characters have different coloured thought bubbles too, which was very handy. Though I got my kid to tell me which colour was which character, because that was a bit much to grasp immediately, and he is all over that.
I love the way the morphs are drawn. I am low key obsessed with how they morph in here, because it is not pretty. The morph is captured in all the most awkward phases, and have the derpiest of expressions throughout. It’s always a kick to see how hideous they’ll be and they are my new favourite thing ever.
Each of the characters have different coloured thought bubbles too, which was very handy. Though I got my kid to tell me which colour was which character, because that was a bit much to grasp immediately, and he is all over that.
I love the way the morphs are drawn. I am low key obsessed with how they morph in here, because it is not pretty. The morph is captured in all the most awkward phases, and have the derpiest of expressions throughout. It’s always a kick to see how hideous they’ll be and they are my new favourite thing ever.
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