Animorphs

 It recently has come to my attention that one of my favorite book series Animorphs was releasing a graphic novel called The Predator will launch on Amazon August 24th 2024. In fact, this will be the fifth graphic novel that was released with the first book The Invasion came in 2020.

Animorphs is a science fiction series of youth book that was created by the husband and wife duo of Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate. It was published by Scholastic all the way back in 1996 and lasted until 2001. There was a grand total of 54 books as well as 10 companion books throughout its originally run.

There were several different themes through each story with all six of the main characters taking turns speaking in first person perspective throughout the series. Other themes include, Horror, War, Imperialism, Dehumanization, Sanity, Morality, Innocence, Leadership, Freedom, Family and Growing Up.

A reminder, this is a kids book 😁

The plot revolves around five humans and an alien who were given the ability of change in any animal that they come in contact with. And they use these powers to help put a stop to a secret alien invasion of Earth from a slug like parasite creatures called Yeerks who were led by Visser Three. The Yeerks' plan to take over the Earth by entering into the ear canal and attach themselves to the brain of the human in order to control them.

The Main Characters Were:

Jake- Who is the leader of the team and his signature morph is a Tiger.

Rachel- Is known as the warrior of the group due to her aggressive nature. Her signature morphs are elephants and grizzly bears.

Tobias- Struggles with low self-esteem due to being bullied a lot and is good friends with Jake due to him showing him kindness when no else ever did. He is stuck being a red-tailed hawk in the first book.

Cassie- Is the pacifist of the group having grown up around animals her whole due to her living on a farm with her parents. Cassie's signature morph is a wolf.

Marco- Is the comedian of the team as well as Jake's best friend. His signature morph is a Gorilla.

Ax- Is the alien being known as an Andalite. His full name is Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill when he is in his normal form. 

The story is so amazing because it is dark, which honestly looking back, I am a little bit surprised that it was allowed, but hey I am not complaining.

I always enjoyed going my school library and it was one of the common books I would read and get at school along with Clue and Captain Underpants but those are for another time. The idea of being able to turn into any animal was always intriguing to me. And the idea that kids had to fight an enemy that they can't always see and anything could happen. It was amazing!

Now to be fair, it has been a very long time since I have read any of the books. Honestly I have never been able to find the books since the series ended.

I also really loved the television show that went from 1998 to 1999. And it was one of those kind of shows that I really wish it would have lasted longer.

It was really fun looking back on this because Animorphs was a very underrated series in my humble opinion and it really inspired me to do good and I hope that someday I can write a story that would help inspire others in the future.

God Bless and Be Safe Everyone!