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ramiel's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As with the last comic, I already wrote my review on the plot of this in my review for the actual book. I still appreciate Grine's way of drawing faces and paneling, and I also think he did really well with the body horror of the kids' morphing.
Specific things:
Interesting that the comic chose to make the guys harassing Rachel the same poachers who were hunting them as birds. I don't think it added or subtracted anything to the story itself, and I imagine the choice was because it was easier than drawing two NEW random one off characters when you already have two random one off small fry villains. Still, it was an interesting choice.
Also, fuck those guys.
It seems like the comic might be going with the old TV show's "the four kids are now a group of friends who hang out in each others houses" when I'm pretty sure they primarily hang out at Cassie's barn and tried to avoid looking like a "group" together in the books, even at this point? Rachel having "Cassie and the boys" come over just seemed so odd to me idk.
Moving on. There are some minor things, like internal thoughts, that are hard to pull across in comic form, but I think they did pull through where it counted (specifically the scene with Melissa and Rachel-as-Fluffer cuddling while Tobias tried to convince Rachel to leave). Despite not giving us Rachel's internal thoughts, we could see where her motivation was and what drove her to go back to the Chapman house.
Additionally: the way the Chapman house was drawn, with the monotony and feelings of emptiness, were very good. Melissa losing her mind in that house is completely understandable when your parents look at you with dead eyes like that. Grine's Mr. Chapman is also A+ very good use of expressions, like Iniss is still trying to figure out how to work human facial muscles. His facial responses to Rachel and Melissa compared to his responses to his "wife" compared to the beat down, sad, dejected old man he becomes whenever Visser 3 is around were the highlight of this book. Plus, the real Chapman squaring down with Visser 3 despite barely being able to stand? Great coloring, king shit.
Grine's taxxons are still cute.
Interesting that the comic chose to make the guys harassing Rachel the same poachers who were hunting them as birds. I don't think it added or subtracted anything to the story itself, and I imagine the choice was because it was easier than drawing two NEW random one off characters when you already have two random one off small fry villains. Still, it was an interesting choice.
Also, fuck those guys.
It seems like the comic might be going with the old TV show's "the four kids are now a group of friends who hang out in each others houses" when I'm pretty sure they primarily hang out at Cassie's barn and tried to avoid looking like a "group" together in the books, even at this point? Rachel having "Cassie and the boys" come over just seemed so odd to me idk.
Moving on. There are some minor things, like internal thoughts, that are hard to pull across in comic form, but I think they did pull through where it counted (specifically the scene with Melissa and Rachel-as-Fluffer cuddling while Tobias tried to convince Rachel to leave). Despite not giving us Rachel's internal thoughts, we could see where her motivation was and what drove her to go back to the Chapman house.
Additionally: the way the Chapman house was drawn, with the monotony and feelings of emptiness, were very good. Melissa losing her mind in that house is completely understandable when your parents look at you with dead eyes like that. Grine's Mr. Chapman is also A+ very good use of expressions, like Iniss is still trying to figure out how to work human facial muscles. His facial responses to Rachel and Melissa compared to his responses to his "wife" compared to the beat down, sad, dejected old man he becomes whenever Visser 3 is around were the highlight of this book. Plus, the real Chapman squaring down with Visser 3 despite barely being able to stand? Great coloring, king shit.
Grine's taxxons are still cute.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Stalking
Not-common-Animorphs-triggers. Like the books, Rachel (a thirteen year old) is threatened with sexual assault by two adult (maybe older teenaged, but I'm pretty sure they're adults) men who she scares away by morphing - for the minor triggers. It's about four pages.