I’ve already written at length here before how much I enjoy Natalie Riess and Sara Goetter’s work, so it’s no surprise that I was thrilled to see this at the bookstore. I was even more thrilled to realize this is the first of three planned books, so I have two more to look forward to when they publish! Any time artists I’ve been following for a while get a multi book deal, especially to work on a famous media property, I am hopeful this means a bit of stability for them given how low paying and exploitative graphic novels can be. I did read a couple of the Warriors books when I was way younger and I remember enjoying them. I never got intensely into them, so my memories of the plot were vague going into this book. Warriors Graphic Novel: The Prophecies Begin #1 (this is the incredibly convoluted title on the copyright page, which was funny to me) is a graphic novel adaptation of the first two books in the series. It’s a good length for a graphic novel, 265 pages, and the paper is high quality and glossy. The colors are really nice as per usual with their team, and of course I love the art. They have a great talent for emotionally expressive, detailed art, and keeping all of these cat characters unique and readable is a real feat. You really get the sense of each of them as people and of the world as a whole.
The Prophecies Begin follows Rusty, a pet cat who longs to hunt and be more wild. He meets Greypaw in the woods by the house where he lives, who tells him about the four clans of cats who live in the area (Thunderclan, Riverclan, Windclan, and Shadowclan). The leader of Thunderclan, Bluestar, comes across them and tells Rusty that she has been watching him and believes that he has what it takes to become a warrior. But in order to do so, he will have to give up his comfortable life as a pet and come train to become a warrior in the clan. Rusty decides to do so and begins his apprenticeship. He has to adjust to a more difficult but rewarding way of life, and while he makes new friends like Greypaw, he also makes enemies and has to learn about the political machinations between the different clans. Life as a warrior cat is not easy and the book does not shy away from the struggle to stay alive and the grim reality of death. I appreciated the complexity of the story and the motivations of the different clans, as well as the messaging around friendship and what it means to be a good leader. I’m looking forward to the sequels!