Status Report

Michael Grant has released a video on his Facebook, informing the fans that K.A. Applegate will be signing autographs for the new relaunch Animorphs books at the L.A. Times Festival of Books! Here is the video:

So for those that missed it:

April 30th, 2011
L.A. Times Festival of Books

12:00PM to 1:00PM
Scholastic Booth

1:30PM to 2:30PM
School Supplies Booth

A full program schedule should be up at the official website, so be on the look out for that at events.latimes.com.

On top of this, Michael Grant is also hosting a video FAQ at his Youtube Channel (Watch the Introduction Video here). This is mostly being done for the release of his latest book Plague, the newest book in his GONE series, but I doubt that he’d turn down questions for Animorphs, Everworld, or any of his other series as well. This video FAQ is going to last until April 6th, so make sure you get those questions in while you can!

That’s all for now!

Thanks to Kaitlyn from our Facebook Page, Australian fans can now pre-order the relaunch editions for Animorphs #1 & 2! Also, if you order by tomorrow (Sunday, March 20th) then you can get free shipping on your order by typing in SMILE (Details on the coupon here). The books themselves are also currently on sale for 40% off, so grab them while you can! Here are the links:

May 2011

Animorphs #1: The Invasion
Pre-Order for Australia

Animorphs #2: The Visitor
Pre-Order for Australia

These have been added to our pre-order page as well. Thanks again to Kaitlyn for the heads up!

As for other international orders, I have no word yet on whether they are available at the same time as everywhere else (I know a few people were asking about Indonesia). I have only checked sites like Amazon so far and turned up nothing, but if anyone knows of any specific online booksellers for international countries which have Animorphs available for pre-order, then please do let me know so that I can pass that along to the fans!

That’s all for now. If you missed out on our previous post, then make sure you’re caught up (or for the entire week, really. Lots of new info!)

Until next time!

Thanks to TimmyTuan who just posted on our previous post today: The Official Animorphs.com Website is now updated with an entirely new relaunch look! Check it out:

The new update includes all of the new models for Jake, Rachel, Cassie, Marco, and Tobias, as well as cover morphing animations for all of them! On top of this, the Animorphs #6 cover we posted today is now also available in colour (see right).

That’s all I’ve noticed at this point. I’ll be doing more archive-worthy things later, but I just wanted to update about this before I left for work. Major thanks again to TimmyTuan for letting us know!

Thanks to Ian, we now have two very cool things to share with you today!

First: The sale we mentioned about earlier this week for the relaunch books, is most definitely for current orders, not pre-orders! Scholastic is shipping Animorphs #1 & 2 out early (almost 2 months in advance!), and this is now confirmed. To prove it, here is Ian holding up his copies of both books:

We have no idea why Scholastic is suddenly releasing these so early, but I suggest fans take advantage of this while they can! Remember, this is only for The Scholastic Store, not Amazon or anywhere else. The 30% off sale is still in effect (as I am posting this), and there is no closing date posted for it yet. The advanced shipments are also only for U.S. residents at the moment, as the Scholastic Store does not ship out for international orders. (Please correct me on this if I am wrong!)

Second: The inside of Animorphs #1 & 2 features a sneak preview of all 6 relaunch books, which also finally reveals the cover of Animorphs #6! Ian, who is now lucky enough to own both books, was able to provide us a scan:

All of this has already been added to the relaunch pages. The relaunch trailer we posted about recently has also been added to Animorphs #1 & 2, as well in our video page.

One last thing: there is also a new link! In the excitement of revealing the trailer last time, I completely forgot to mention that Scholastic has released a new link related to the relaunch. It is scholastic.com/JoinOurFight. At the moment it just redirects to the official animorphs.com site, but if it goes to anything more than that, then we’ll definitely keep you updated!

That’s all for now. Thanks again to Ian, for providing us with the pictures and scans. Also thanks to Jordan, who also confirmed the early shipments by forwarding me a copy of his shipment notice from Scholastic.

Until next time!

I guess I was just in the right place at the right time, because guess what? I was the first viewer as Scholastic uploaded its OFFICIAL trailer for the Animorphs Relaunch! Here it is:

Also, ta da! Here is a clear shot of the new Rachel model that the new trailer has revealed. We recently caught a glimpse of her in the previous post, but this most definitely proves we have a new (and more accurate) portrayal of Rachel for the books. What do you think?

That’s all for now. As always, be sure to check back for more updates on the Relaunch!

Jumping in for a quick update: Michael Grant (co-author/co-creator of Animorphs) just posted a very cool video of the new Animorphs Lenticular Covers in action, right from his backyard! Check it out:

The video was posted on his Facebook. So if the above video does not work, then you will have to log in! Or you can go directly there (click here).

One really important thing to note: There seems to be a new Rachel model! The video is small and blurry, but she appears to be different from the last time we saw the book morph in K.A’s Scholastic Video. I’ll post a picture once I can get a clear shot.

That’s all for now!

Update: These are the clearest shots I could get:

The Scholastic Store has put the Relaunch books Animorphs #1 & 2 on sale for 30% off! There is no date posted as to when this sale is supposed to end, so people should take advantage of this while they can! Links:

Animorphs #1: The Invasion (Buy at Scholastic Store)
Animorphs #2: The Visitor (Buy at Scholastic Store)

The odd part is that I don’t even see anywhere where it says that this is for pre-orders. (Could Scholastic already be selling these before the launch date? Hopefully one of our fans will be able to answer this!)

On an unrelated note: I’ll be updating the Project page soon (hopefully next week), so if anyone here has a cool community project they’d like people to know about, then please forward it to me (either by email or by commenting below). I’ll be choosing a select few to highlight for that post.

Until next time!

UPDATE: Thanks to Tara (who posted below), you can also get an additional 20% off if you type in SCIENCE as a promotional code during checkout. I saw the code before originally making this blog post, but since it said it couldn’t be combined with any other offer, I just assumed that was the case. Apparently, not so! So with this code, that now makes the books 50% off!

Important thing to note though: The ‘Science’ Promotion ends tomorrow (March 14th), so jump on this sale while you can!

We’ll also hopefully know whether these are for pre-orders or not by the folks who have ordered this already. Since I live in Canada, I am unable to take advantage of this sale, so I’m counting on you guys to keep me updated!

Good news for those that work in book stores by day, Scholastic Canada has released its 2011 Paperback Catalogue which reveals the new floor display for the relaunching of the series! Here are some screenshots:

So expect to see these at select locations for the relaunch in May. The floor displays themselves are priced at $95.88 each, and Scholastic has also released an Order Form PDF, as well as an HTM version for online orders. (Please remember that this is all in Canadian pricing, which is why the books are $7.99 in the form and picture above. The U.S books are still $6.99 each).

That’s all for now. All of this new info (with higher res photos from above) have been updated in books #1-3 of our relaunch book pages. If anything else comes up, we’ll be sure to keep you updated.

Okay, here is that ridiculously large update that I promised. Lots of new things, as you can tell right away from the title, so let us not waste any more time. First up:

The Mission (Book) Database: There are 80+ new international Classic covers added (And by Classic, I mean the 90’s books, so don’t freak out thinking that it’s for the relaunch). There is also 1 new inside cover added for Megamorphs #2, thanks to Matt. It was the last inside cover we were missing, so we are now officially complete with those! (I think.)

On top of this, I have also gone through all of the book pages and added videos for the ones that had their cover animations released. You will be able to see these videos right on their individual pages as opposed to the way we had it before. The book page layouts have also been slightly tweaked and rearranged to give everything a more uniform and organized look.

In addition to this, the Database has a Relaunch books section now too! I debated on how to handle this for a while, but I eventually decided that it would be best to separate it from the current Classic book pages, rather than try to merge them together. For one, it would be clutter-hell to try and organize the different marketing campaigns, promotions, products, etc, that would be related with the two book runs. I also thought it would be best to not compromise on the comprehensive amounts of detail on those current Classic pages, for fear that new readers would start reading them. Hopefully the two sections will keep things organized and at the same time be spoiler-friendly for those new to the series. I may merge them in the future, once the relaunch has run its course, but for now they are best to be kept separate.

Moving on from that, the Articles Section is now also updated: A relaunch category has been added, along with all of the official news for it so far: Scholastic’s library webcast, press release, K.A’s video, cover animation, etc.

This brings me to our very last part of the update: The Video Section. Everything is changed in there, from the way it operates, to the way it is structured behind the scenes. I have new categories set up for future Relaunch related media, and all of the videos so far have also been added in there, along with stuff we had before: morphing animations, tv show clips, trailers, etc.

So, to sum up (and for those that didn’t bother reading any of that), here is a brief rundown of everything added in for this update:

 
ARTICLES & INTERVIEWS

– Scholastic’s 2011 Spring Library Preview Webcast
– Scholastic’s Relaunch Press Release, including:

• K.A. Applegate’s video
• #1 Cover Animation

 
VIDEOS

– Restructured and new layout redesign.
– Categories and videos added for Relaunch Media (from articles).

 
MISSION (BOOK) DATABASE

Relaunch Books:

New pages for #1-6.
01: Cover Animation, Alternate cover, and related media.
02: Alternate cover, and related media.

Classic Books:

01 – Morph animation.
02 – Morph animation.
03 – Morph animation.
07 – U.K. Cover.
13 – Cover animation.
16 – U.K. Cover. Cover animation.
17 – U.K, German, and French Covers. Cover animation.
18 – German, and French Covers. Cover animation. New Trivia.
19 – U.K, German, and French Covers. Cover animation.
20 – U.K, German, and French Covers
21 – U.K, and French Covers. Cover animation.
22 – U.K, German, and French Covers. Cover animation.
23 – U.K, and French Covers. Cover animation.
24 – U.K, and French Covers. Cover animation.
25 – U.K, German, and French Covers. Cover animation.
26 – U.K, and French Covers. Cover animation.
27 – German, and French Covers
28 – U.K, German, and French Covers
29 – U.K, German, and French Covers
30 – U.K, German, and French Covers. Cover animation.
31 – U.K, and French Covers
32 – U.K, and French Covers
33 – U.K, and French Covers. Cover animation. New Trivia.
34 – U.K, and French Covers. Cover animation.
35 – U.K, and French Covers
36 – U.K, and French Covers
37 – U.K, and French Covers
38 – U.K, and French Covers
39 – U.K, and French Covers
40 – U.K, and French Covers
41 – U.K, and French Covers
42 – French Cover
43 – U.K, and French Covers
44 – French Cover
45 – U.K, and French Covers
46 – U.K, and French Covers
47 & 48 – U.K Combo Cover
49 $ 50 – U.K Combo Cover
51 $ 52 – U.K Combo Cover
53 – French Cover
54 – French Cover
MM#1 – U.K, German, and French Covers
MM#2 – 7th Inside (thanks to Matt), German, French, & U.K Covers.
MM#3 – French Cover
Alternamorphs #1 – French Cover
Andalite Chronicles – U.K, and French Covers
Visser Chronicles – French Cover
Hork-Bajir Chronicles – French, and U.K Covers (Didn’t notice this until now, but the U.K one has Aldrea looking at the reader!)

Phew! At this point I’d also like to add that I will forever hate Amazon and other book sites for unnecessarily adding white space to all of their cover pictures. I had to individually crop every one of those covers folks!

Anyway, I think that’s it for now. The archive is no where near complete, but we are making progress, and this update was another huge step forward. Look around, enjoy. If you see anything wrong that needs fixing, or if you have something that I don’t already have (or have it in better quality), then please get a hold of me as usual. I will do my best to get it up there as soon as I possibly can.

Until next time! 🙂