Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise Part 1 [Paperback]

FYI: I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley for purposes of review. (I read that one, and then went out the day it arrived in stores, bought a hard copy and read it again.)

Premise: The war is over, but bringing peace to the Four Nations isn't as simple as winning a battle. This is the continuing story of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

I LOVE THIS. I loved this to pieces. This made me laugh and gasp and cry aloud. I love these characters, and this is completely in tone with the series: funny and sweet and heartbreaking.

It even starts by devoting three pages to the voiceover that opened every episode of the series, so it dropped me immediately into the right mindset for this world. I can hear the voice actors in my head. If you haven't seen Avatar: The Last Airbender, GO DO THAT. And then when you get to the end and want more, you're in luck!

The Promise interweaves some of the character moments we saw at the end of the last episode into the start of a new story, in which Zuko and Aang struggle with the Fire Nation colonies that were established in the Earth Kingdom during the war. It becomes a difficult question: what is the best thing to do, for those people who live there and for the Nations as a whole? How long have they been there? Are they Fire Nation citizens? Earth Kingdom citizens? What about the Earth Kingdom people who are angry, who lost people in the war, who want every Firebender gone? There are no easy answers for the characters.

There are plenty of great character moments, from an early conversation between Aang and Zuko that introduces the core emotional plot and had me right by the heartstrings, to the sweet moments showing the development of Aang and Katara's relationship. Toph and Sokka meanwhile maintain the right amount of comic relief to keep the tone on balance. Plenty of characters get at least a cameo, but there are occasional subtle words or references to keep the reader on track in case you forget who someone is.

You know the next element that's needed for Avatar: action! And this doesn't disappoint. The fight scenes are gorgeous: clear, dynamic, and inventive.

The art is beautiful throughout, in fact. Mostly just true to the series, although I especially liked the addition of Aang's prayer beads containing all the symbols of the elements, that he apparently uses to talk to the previous Avatars. The design work on that was beautifully done, and there are little elements to the art that I only noticed on a second look, little details that just enhance the whole.

This is a medium-short graphic novel at 76 Pages.

Be warned, this ends in a cliffhanger! And I have to wait until MAY for Part 2?

5 Stars - An Awesome Book

ARC provided by NetGalley

This book picks up right where Avatar Season 3 left off. The war has ended and Zuko is now Firelord. He's dedicated to restoring peace among the nations...with the help of the Avatar and his friends of course. His first step, withdrawing the Fire Kingdom settlements from the Earth Kingdom, the Harmony Restoration Movement. But trouble soon arises. Some of these colonies have been there for generations and have even intermarried and neither side wants to sepearte. Zuko torn between the plight of these families and the healing that needs to be done calls off the movement. But not all in the Earth Kingdom are happy about the Zuko withdrawing his support and Aang and his friends are going to have to work fast to prevent war from overcoming the world once again.

Gene Luen Yang, author of "American Born Chinese," brings his immense writing talents to the Avatar universe. Even though Gene is an avowed Avatar fan, I still approached this book with a bit of trepidation. As an outsider to the original series (or even in any of the comics) how would he approach the relationships in the series? How would he approach Aang and Zuko growing into their roles? My fears were unfounded however, as Gene has clearly immersed himself in the Avatar universe and has accurately captured the characters and their movements within his writing. He has created a well crafted story that does justice to the series and feels just like an episode (ok multiple episodes) of the TV series. I really like how he's approaching the Zuko/Ozai relationship. At the end of the cartoon series we're left with the image of Zuko asking about the whereabouts of his mother and Gene deftly weaves this interaction into the story to give the reader more information. He also accurately captures Sokka and that sense of humor/immaturity/maturity that we all grew to love. I love when Sokka sees Aang and Katara kissing and shouts out about how it's oogie, it's just so him. The one thing that bugs me, just slightly, is when Aang and Katara call each other sweetie. It just doesn't feel right coming from them. I don't know what word they should use, but it just feels weird.

The artwork...wow the artwork is absolutely fantastic. I don't think Bryan Gurihiru worked on the actual series, but man does he capture the characters perfectly. It's like looking at a print version of the cartoon. He's able to capture their expressions, even their very movements down to the last detail. And the colors are absolutely pitch perfect. I think one of my favorite scenes is at the very end where Zuko is visiting Ozai and Bryan just nails the expression on Ozai's face. Even without his firebending power you can tell its him. Compared to some of the comics I've seen that came out based upon the series this art just nails it. In my head when I'm reading the comic it's like watching the cartoon.

All in all this is the absolute perfect combination of writer and artist to work on this series and continue it for fans. For fans of the series this is just what you've been waiting for. It feels like Aang and crew never left. And if you're new to the series...why are you starting with this book? Go watch the original series and get hooked on it and then come back and read this title.

I love The Last Airbender. I love the characters, plot, premis and world. I cannot wait for Legend of Korra to be released.

These comics seem as if they are going to fill the gap between the two series. I'm very glad for them. I wasn't ready to give up Aang yet, and there can only be another avatar after one dies.

The story takes place what seems like several months after the last battle. Familiar characters are doing things they enjoy. I found it super precious that Uncle Iroh had opened a tea shop.

I don't know if it was the artist's style, art direction, or something else entirely that made Aang taller. Thank you for that! I would have found the make-out scenes much more disturbing had Aang not gone through a growth spurt. He's so much shorter than Katara in the series! I know he aged dramatically through the show, but he was still portrayed with the same voice and the same size, so I always thought of him as a twelve year old.

A few things felt a little forced. Sokka's jokes landed flat and just were not timed well. I expect more from Sokka.

Aang and Katara ended up calling each other 'sweetie' constantly. It got to the point where I wasn't sure if they were mocking each other or what, but every word bubble did not need to repeat it. Take a page from River Song's book and use it with class!

A good chunk of the comic contained Zuko and Aang yelling at each other, but other then that, I really enjoyed it. Can't wait for the next installment to be out.

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