Avatar: The Last Airbender Volume 1

From the shelf of unread books.

Title: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Issue: Volume 1
Date: 2006
Publisher: Tokyopop
Writer: Bryan Kanietzko, Michael Dante Dimartino
Artist: Anna Kernbaum, John Lo, Louis Csontos, Monalisa J. de Asis
Letterer: Thomas Montalvo-Lagos
Editor: Zachary Rau

Full-color adaptation of the opening episode of the animated series. Katara and Sokk,a of the south-pole Water Tribe discover Aang, the last of the Air Nomads, who has been frozen in ice for more than a century.

While this sticks closely to the story from the animated show, that story is excellent, and these opening moments do a nice job of capturing the mix of humor and tenderness that makes this story so special. This is a nice introduction to the major characters, with the possible exception of Sokka, who is stuck mostly in the comic relief role. I loved seeing the beginnings of the connection between Aang and Katara, and the worldbuilding flows nicely with the story.

Rating: 8.5/10

Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise Part One

Title: Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise
Issue: Part One
Date: January, 2012
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Writer: Gene Luen Yang
Artist: Gurihiru
Letterer: Michael Heisler

This is a direct sequel to the Avatar: The Last Airbender animated series, and it takes place after the conclusion of that series. Writer Gene Luen Yang (I gave him an 8.5 for his graphic novel American Born Chinese) has a great feel for the flavor and characters of the show while loading this story with political themes and elements of classic tragedy.

The story focuses on the deadly promise that Ang has made to Zuko, and Zuko's own struggles with the burden of leadership of the Fire Nation. Starting out with the best of intentions to return captured territory to the Earth Nation, Zuko finds himself mired in political problems far more complex than he had anticipated, all while struggling with the creeping paranoia that comes with absolute power.

Meanwhile Ang and Kitara take on the role of peacemakers, but the conflicts that are brewing threaten to turn friend against friend.

The story is accessible, fast-paced, and fun. And the political dilemmas that it presents echo the situations in Israel/Palestine and in post-colonial nations around the world. And Zuko's experiences as ruler are classic Shakespearean tragedy.

This book is a worthy sequel and stands alone quite well. I could take or leave the comic relief portions, but they are in keeping with the flavor of the series and they never get in the way of the more serious elements of the story.

Rating: 8.5/10