I read all six of the Animorphs Graphic novels by Chris Grine!
I read the first book with my tween book group at the library, and it was so fun to talk to them about it. They generally really liked it. Only one kid was skeeved out by the morphing. Most of them didn’t really get the main conflict, though. I’m not sure if this is because they are too young (many are third graders) or if the portrayal of the Yeerks isn’t very clear.
Each graphic novel adapts one book in the series, and so far they haven’t conflated any books. At some point they will have to, if they keep going with the series. Graphic novels take so long to publish, it would be impossible to finish a fifty-plus book series. In an interview, Chris Grine says he’d like to keep adapting it at least through the David trilogy. We’ll see!
The adaptation is mostly good! Very faithful to the books for the most part. The art is mostly good. The portrayals of the morphing are fantastic, and the animal drawings are phenomenal too. The only problem is that Grine tends to use the same face for everyone, which can make the storytelling confusing (and the character development a little dull). I also think he could style them a little better – Rachel looks very grunge, when she should look more feminine and trendy. But the colors are gorgeous, the action sequences are great, and the morphing is CREEPY.
Some changes that I noted from the original series: Tobias’s suicide attempt is softened, which makes sense for this adaptation. Second and third graders will definitely pick up this series (kids who read graphic novels tend to read up, so that may have been too heavy). The series is still set in the 90s, but for the most part a kid might not notice – until they realize there are no cell phones, and until book five or six when they use a VCR, ha!
I’d love to see them able to finish the series, mostly to see how they trim it in order to finish in a timely fashion. Fun book, and your older tweens will definitely love it. The just might not be tweens by the time the Animorphs meet the dinosaurs…