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| 1506726615
| 9781506726618
| 1506726615
| 4.20
| 480
| Apr 04, 2023
| Apr 04, 2023
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it was amazing
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What an adorable little comic. I picked this up on free comic book day and read it with my wife. It was a nice little time. THE STORY: this story takes What an adorable little comic. I picked this up on free comic book day and read it with my wife. It was a nice little time. THE STORY: this story takes place shortly after the end of the original TV series 3 season run, roughly 1 year after aang was unfrozen from the iceberg. katara, sokka, toph, and zuko are trying to throw a surprise party for aang, as this is the closest thing he has to a birthday. But chaos ensues when aang catches his friends suspiciously preparing for the festivities. Aang gets angry as the misunderstandings pile up. THE BAD: if you're expecting big reveals about the lore or major new developments for the characters you know and love... look elsewhere. But I don't think that was the point. This is supposed to be cute and fun. THE GOOD: it's... so... CUTE! If you read this, it's going to put a smile on your face. You get to see toph with her signature snark, katara very awkwardly trying to hide what she's doing without upsetting aang, sokkas inept and goofy attempt to deter aang from leaving the house, zuko getting angry, and even a lovely little chat with Iroh. It's everything you could want in an avatar comic. THE CONCLUSION: final rating is 5 stars. It's not a complex or thematically deep story at all, but who cares? This comic was just trying to be fun and cute- nothing more. And it succeeds at doing so with flying colors. Seek this one out and give it a read. Oh and also, Michael Atiyeh did the colors! That's awesome, he was one of the two main artists behind John Jackson Miller's Knights of the Old Republic comic, which is my favorite comic. So he delivered more of his excellent work here. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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not set
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May 07, 2023
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Hardcover
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| 1506721869
| 9781506721866
| 1506721869
| 4.18
| 1,714
| Nov 30, 2022
| Nov 30, 2022
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really liked it
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Patterns in Time is the most recent release for the Legend of Korra, following 2017-2018's Turf Wars trilogy and 2019-2020's Ruins of the Empire tri
Patterns in Time is the most recent release for the Legend of Korra, following 2017-2018's Turf Wars trilogy and 2019-2020's Ruins of the Empire trilogy. After multiple delays, Patterns in Time finally released on November 30th, 2022. So let's get to the review! For context, I have not been all that impressed with The Legend of Korra, both the TV series and the expanded content. The show left me with mixed feelings at best and I did not like "Turf Wars" at all. I've been wanting to read "Ruins of the Empire" but I have struggled to find and acquire a copy. That being said... "Patterns in Time" may be the best LOK content I have ever come across. THE STORIES: Patterns in Time is an anthology of short stories, exactly like Team Avatar Tales was for Avatar: The Last Airbender; a mixture of reprinted one-shots originally released on Free Comic Book Day and brand new original stories that were written specifically for this collection. THE REVIEW: It's not worth splitting this review up into "THE BAD" and "THE GOOD" because for the most part, I really enjoyed this entire collection. I could say "A Change In the Wind" and "Cat-Owl's Cradle" were my least favorites but even then, the former still had some cute Korrasami chemistry and the latter was still a fun adventure with some good character moments for Bumi. And aside from those minor complaints, this collection is full of bangers- while the only standouts from "Team Avatar Tales" were the reprinted Free Comic Book Day issues, pretty much every single story in "Patterns In Time" is great, whether they were reprinted or original. "Friends for Life" is adorable, and reminded me how angry I was when Naga got shafted in the TV series. "Skyscrapers" is a wonderful story about young Asami and her mother, and it's by far the best characterization for Asami Sato I have ever seen. Out of the original stories released specifically for this collection, this one is my favorite hands down. "Wisdom" is an excellent first glimpse at Guru Laghima, the legendary airbender idolized by Zaheer in Season 3. "Lost Pets" is probably my favorite showcase of Meelo in both the LOK TV show and the expanded comics content. I wish I caught this one when it originally released for Free Comic Book Day because I found it fun and wholesome. "Weaver's Ball" is a really good examination into a younger Korra while she was still stuck in the White Lotus Compound. "Clearing the Air" is one of the more recent Free Comic Book Day releases and I actually have a copy of the original FCBD issue. It's a wonderful bridge story about young Tenzin were we also get to see the adult versions of Aang and Toph prominently featured. Probably the high point of the collection. THE CONCLUSION: Final rating is 4 stars. If there's anything specific I could see really bothering some readers, especially those that liked or loved The Legend of Korra, it's that there's no Mako, Bolin, Varrick, or Zhu-Li in any of these stories. But that didn't bother me at all, personally. At its worst, "Patterns in Time" was still good. At its best, this collection was fantastic. For the most part, the shorts in this collection do a really good job accentuating the best aspects of the TV series and kinda-sorta ignoring the aspects of the series that didn't work. As for a recommendation, that's a definite yes from me! If you are a fan of The Legend of Korra, you're going to love this. Honestly, I think the only people who wouldn't like this collection were those that hated the TV series already. Like I said, I was much more mixed on the series and I still really liked this. "Patterns in Time" was a really nice surprise for me, so I hope you all can check this one out and enjoy it as much as I did. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Mar 11, 2023
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Mar 11, 2023
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Mar 11, 2023
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Paperback
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| 1506702023
| 9781506702025
| 1506702023
| 4.34
| 4,635
| Mar 26, 2019
| Mar 26, 2019
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it was ok
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Ah, The Legend Of Korra. I've had quite the journey with this sub-franchise of the Avatar Series, aka the "Avatarverse". The first entry in this rapidl Ah, The Legend Of Korra. I've had quite the journey with this sub-franchise of the Avatar Series, aka the "Avatarverse". The first entry in this rapidly expanding franchise, the 3-season animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender (ATLA), still remains my favorite television show of all time. On top of that, it spawned a pretty impressive run of graphic novels, most of which I have already reviewed here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list.... The Legend of Korra, on the other hand, has been a bit of a roller coaster for me. I first watched the show when it hit Netflix in 2020- and I really didn't like it, to the point where I downright hated the first season. I quickly decided I was not going to read any of the post-LOK comics. Then I rewatched it, and liked it... somewhat more? I still consider The Legend of Korra to be a very mixed bag and there's still so much of it I despise. But on my second watch I was able to appreciate the stuff that was actually good, and I grew to like Korra as a character (something that didn't happen on the first watch). And overall I can say I like the series now. Is it as good as Avatar: The Last Airbender? Hell no. But I can appreciate its attempt to try something different from its predecessor and the show does have its great moments. It doesn't work as a sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender, but I can enjoy it as a separate story in the Avaterverse- at least parts of it. So while I don't have much of an interest in watching The Legend of Korra for a third time, I have grown to like the show enough to at least explore the comics that are connected to it. Which brings me to the first of these LOK stories, the "Turf Wars" graphic novel trilogy, with all three parts collected here in a single volume- which primarily exists to build on the romance between Korra and Asami that Michael Dante Dimartino and Bryan Konietzko (aka "Bryke") were not able to do much with for some reason (and yes- I know the most common factor to blame is early 2010s Nickelodeon, but interviews with Bryke have contradicted that idea before. So I don't know, and I'm leaving it at that). Let's get to the actual comic. THE KORRA-ASAMI RELATIONSHIP: I really need to address this topic specifically before I get into the usual BAD and GOOD aspects to this comic. Because "Korrasami" is pretty much why this comic exists. In terms of the Korrasami ending in the TV series, I thought it was fine. I didn't love it, I didn't hate it, I pretty much just accepted that it happened before I moved on with another rewatch of ATLA. One the one hand, I'm completely on board with Korra being a bisexual Avatar. I believe representation of marginalized communities in media is incredibly important, and I acknowledge how important this relationship was for LGBTQ+ representation in children's media. Most importantly, I feel really happy for anyone who felt represented or were inspired by LOK's Korrasami ending. But on the other hand, it didn't really feel earned. It definitely didn't come out of nowhere- explicit evidence on screen appeared as early as the Season 3 premiere (with a blush from Korra). I also think season 3 did a good enough job building a genuine friendship between the two girls that I could have seen it becoming a romance in season 4. Unfortunately, Korra and Asami don't spend very much time together on-screen in the 4th season of the series. Sure we are told they sent letters to each other during the 3-year gap, but even after Korra returns from exile, she and Asami do not spend much time together on screen. Somthing that also felt weird to me in Season 4 is that we see Korra blush at Asami again, but we never see Asami blush at Korra. I fully believed that Korra was in love with Asami but I never really got the sense that Asami loved Korra back. So while I felt that there was a proper foundation for a relationship, there wasn't enough development built off of it for a romance to fully bloom (at least in my opinion). Going back to network politics, it's hard for me to completely pass it off to the idea that Nickelodeon was afraid to let Bryke portray a same-sex romance because a) by the time we got to season 4, the series was no longer airing on television. It had already been transferred over to various streaming sites before season 3 was even fully released. b) Mike and Bryan have stated in interviews that Nickelodeon was fully onboard with Korrasami, so I don't understand why they had to be so subtle about it in the show (they've made statements that contradicted other network related evidence before). So overall, whether it was the network, or the story of season 4 itself not allowing time for the necessary character development, I find the Korrasami ending to be just fine. I'm fully on board with Korra and Asami being together in concept and I didn't see any cynicism in it from the show itself, but neither did I feel a sense of emotional satisfaction or triumph when they departed for the spirit world hand-in-hand. THE STORY: We pick up right where "Book 4: Balance" ended. Korra and Asami are enjoying their vacation in the Spirit World, finally sharing their first kiss, but then they must get back to their reality- literally and figuratively (I know the spirit world and the human world are both real in this universe, but come on, I'm sure there was some symbolism intended on Mike's part). The aftermath of the battle between Republic City and Kuvira's Earth Empire still looms over the world. Many people have been displaced, the spirits worry about more intrusion into their home from humans, and gang violence is on the rise with the rise of Tokuga, who takes over the Triple Threat Triads. There's also a dispute over land rights surrounding the portal with a local businessman and a looming presidential election. And not to mention, the "Korrasami" relationship! How will their friends react? How will Korra's parents react? How will the rest of the world react? Will the two lovers figure out how to balance all of it? THE BAD: Alright, enough about the show, lets finally review the comic in full. I'll address the big Korrasami in the room later, because first I have to get out of the way what doesn't work about "Turf Wars"- basically everything else. Let's start with the characters- well, every character that isn't Korra. Because nearly every character that isn't Korra is completely wasted. Asami Sato is pretty much just as boring in this comic as she was in the LOK Television series. She's just here to look pretty and be Korra's love interest (view spoiler)[; and also to be rescued by Korra (hide spoiler)]. She didn't have any sort of character development in this story. Out of all the missed opportunities that the Turf Wars trilogy suffered from, this was probably the biggest one. Tokuga was a major disappointment for me as a villain. When he first showed up, I thought he was very cool and badass (view spoiler)[ he basically takes Jet's hook-swords and Tai-Li's chi-blocking and rolls it into one (hide spoiler)]. One of my biggest complaints from the LOK series is how it almost completely relegates its nonbender characters to the sidelines (and, well, nonbenders in general). It's especially egregious when you consider the whole point of the first season was about how nonbenders should be equal to benders. But anyways, it was refreshing to finally see a threatening nonbender in a Legend of Korra property. But that is ruined pretty quickly, (view spoiler)[ when tokuga gets infused with spirit magic (hide spoiler)] and the comic goes right back to LOK's tendency of unintentionally making non-benders look useless. And aside from Tokuga's aesthetic features, he's just a boring gang leader. Then there's the other characters who are ported over from the show. Almost all of them are here- Mako, Bolin, Tenzin, Jinora/Ikki/Meelo, Lin Beifong, President Raiko, etc. President Raiko is basically just there to be a self-serving politician and an obstacle for Korra. Everybody else is left high and dry with nothing substantial to do in the plot. Mako is just doing his cop thing, Bolin is now a cop because Mike didn't know what else to do with him, the airbenders are just there (with Tenzin making me long for his story in the first two LOK seasons when he was extremely complex and interesting). Lin Beifong has none of the grumpy police chief energy she had in the series, even if she isn't out of character otherwise. I particularly found the handling of Korra's parents to be a complete mess. (view spoiler)[ at the start of the comic, Korra comes out as a lesbian to her parents. Her parents first reaction is to be happy for her and Asami. It would have been really sweet if right afterward Mike didn't try to frame it that her parents were close-minded and unaccepting. Instead, Tonraq tries to give Korra some legitimately good advice about the perception of same-sex relationships in society, Korra misunderstands, and at the end there's a conversation between Korra and her father that was framed as a moment of reconciliation, but instead it made me feel like the comic was gaslighting me. (hide spoiler)] Then there's the handling of LGBTQ+ themes overall in this story and I think the results were mixed. Korra and Asami face almost no pushback from the rest of the world for their relationship in this comic, and as a reader it left me frustrated; because while on the one hand it is really nice and wholesome that all of Korra/Asami's friends and mentors are accepting of their love and really happy for them, from a narrative standpoint it misses some major opportunities for other characters to have interesting development and for the story to explore LGBTQ+ issues in a nuanced way. I also found the exposition from Kya on LGBTQ+ worldviews to be frustrating for similar reasons (view spoiler)[ While it makes sense and its nice to know the original air nomads were 100% open and accepting of gay and lesbian monks, it also recalls the "noble savage" trope in uncomfortable ways when it just so happens that the air nomads were the most liberal and tolerant culture in the world in this regard. Especially when you realize that the leader of the real-world Tibetan society, Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, holds anti-LGBTQ views. I think it would have been more thematically rich for the old air nomads to be close-minded, showing that Aang's culture was flawed and forcing Tenzin to confront an uncomfortable aspect of his society's history. For the water tribes, it was fine. I didn't have any problem with how it was explained for them and it does make for a conflict with Korra that could have been interesting. As for the fire nation, its thematically excellent for Sozin to make the fire nation anti-LGBTQ+, that's realistic. It's a textbook tactic for a tyrant to cast minorities as "others" for the people to hate and fear. Nazi Germany didn't just persecute Jews- many other groups were targeted by Adolf Hitler, including homosexuals. Where I take issue with the comic is that it doesn't even bother to talk about how LGBTQ+ people are perceived in the modern fire nation under Firelords Zuko and Izumi. As for the Earth Kingdom, I don't like how the description is used as a blanket generalization for the entire nation. I could believe it being true for Ba Sing Se, especially because Kyoshi created the Dai-Li. But the Earth Kingdom as a whole was shown to be incredibly diverse both in Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. (hide spoiler)]. While Mike's intention to explore these issues in the wider Avatar setting to be admirable, I don't think he went nearly far enough. In addition don't like the way the comic explored the issue of the spirit portal, mostly from the POV of the spirits. I get why Korra would be more aligned with the humans here, because even though she's the Avatar she's still human (and the show really narrowed in on that at the end of season 4). But I think the spirits acquiesced a little to easily. Though this might be more due to the narrative itself leaving too many loose ends (view spoiler)[ Tokuga's story doesn't have a resolution either (hide spoiler)]. I also think the resolution itself completely goes against the themes they were going for in this regard (view spoiler)[ Korra wanted the spirit portal to be accessible to everyone but it is explicitly given to the air nation at the end. What? (hide spoiler)] Lastly... the story itself- or at least, the rest of the plot outside the Korrasami relationship. It just slowly meandered from beat to beat and set-piece to set-piece. And there's almost no resolution to anything. Korra and Asami solidified their romance and ended the story as a happy couple, without any movement forward or backward otherwise. The Turf War between the Triple Threats and the Creeping Crystals as far as we know, is still ongoing. This just isn't acceptable to me after a comic trilogy as big and long as this was. THE GOOD: While I did have many complaints with "Turf Wars", there are some redeeming qualities. The biggest one is the relationship between Korra and Asami itself. While I was fine with them getting together in the show, in "Turf Wars" they have some really nice chemistry together. Any time there was a scene that was just the two of them talking to each other as girlfriend and girlfriend, I found it very sweet and very wholesome, and I genuinely enjoyed seeing them as a couple. This is the one big aspect the comic was trying to focus on and it did a decent job building upon the bare-bones foundation from the series. I also think Korra herself works well as a character here. She doesn't receive substantial development or have a big character arc, but I do think her portrayal works as an extension from the season 4 ending. We see both the bullish brawler Korra has always been and the more thoughtful, more careful person she became by the show's conclusion. The balance was achieved perfectly as her first tries talking things out but she also knows when that won't work and she needs to throw down. So even though basically everyone else is a nothing character, at least the protagonist herself works ok. If any other character(s) worked for me in this comic, it would be Varic and Zhu-Li. This felt like a fun, compelling continuation of their relationship. Thematically, I really liked seeing Zhu-Li develop from Varic's submissive assistant in seasons 2 and 3 of LOK, to a more assertive equal in season 4; and now in "Turf Wars", Zhu-Li finally gets to stand above Varic- and it's so sweet to see him fully on board with all of it (even if there might be some selfish aspects (view spoiler)[ Varic is still a businessman afterall, and being married to the president has got to have its perks (hide spoiler)]). As for Varic, he is delightfully entertaining as ever. Mike doesn't overuse his familiar zingers and almost all of this comic's best lines, especially the comedic ones, are given to him. Varic's presence is always fun and with "Turf Wars", that trend continues. I guess I can compliment Wonyong Keum- because while his arc isn't an emotionally effective or interesting, unlike the other characters (Varic and Zhu-Li notwithstanding) he at least has something resembling actual character development. As for the artwork, it's fine. Irene Koh's artwork really falls short from Gurihuru's excellent recreations of the ATLA aesthetic or Peter Wartman's excellent comedic expressions but it's not outright bad either. Some of Koh's panels are a bit strange looking but for the most part the action scenes and character expressions (especially the Korrasami scenes) get the job done. Same with the dialogue- there are some really bad lines at times but when its most important to get right (again, the Korrasami conversations) it's effective enough. Lastly... while the reveal that Kyoshi was bisexual adds nothing to the story, it gets a pass because it gave F.C Yee the foundation for the Kyoshi Rangi paring in The Kyoshi Novels, which is likely my favorite romance in all the Avatarverse. Fight me. THE CONCLUSION: Final rating is 2.5 stars, rounded down. I think the comic did a good enough job giving the Korrasami romance some much needed chemistry, and I genuinely found them to be a nice, wholesome couple. The times were it was just the two of them sharing a scene with one another were genuinely well done and I like them as a couple more after reading "Turf Wars" than I did after I finished watching the LOK TV series. But aside from that, there is very little if anything to enjoy with the "Turf Wars" graphic novel trilogy. The plot is thin and meandering, with way to many missed opportunities. Despite Korrasami being a more compelling couple, Asami is still nothing more than Korra's love interest. While I liked how Korra was written, "Turf Wars" didn't add anything substantial for her beyond what the show already provided. I look at this storyline and can't help but wonder if it would have worked better as a standalone graphic novel where Michael Dante Dimartino could have really narrowed in on exploring Korra and Asami as a couple and LGBTQ+ issues in the Avatar Universe. These two characters and their anxieties about being different makes for a story and struggle that so many people in this world relate too whether they are fans of ATLA/LOK or not. And the spirit portal would have worked perfectly fine as a B-plot that could thematically connect to the Korrasami A-plot. But I think this was undone by the need to make this a trilogy, hence the need to add larger scale conflicts with the gang wars and the election. It causes the story to struggle with its scope-"Turf Wars" is both too small and too big at the same time, preventing any of the storylines from being explored in a satisfying way. At the end of the day, my recommendation for "Turf Wars" will be based on how much you liked Legend of Korra. If you are here for more Korrasami, go for it. You'll have to skip or skim through large portions of the comic, but the scenes they have together will probably make you happy. If you love the LOK TV series and want more of the Korra era and its characters, look elsewhere unless you also fall into the more Korrasami camp at the same time. "Turf Wars" doesn't ruin anything from the show, but it doesn't add anything all that substantial either. Lastly, if you disliked the series, this comic is not going to change your mind. "Turf Wars" pretty much carries over everything that worked in The Legend of Korra, but also everything that didn't- so at the end of the day it is a very accurate and compelling continuation of the series for better and for worse. So take that for what it is, and I hope this review was helpful. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 23, 2023
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Jan 26, 2023
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Jan 26, 2023
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Hardcover
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| 141975677X
| 9781419756771
| 141975677X
| 3.92
| 7,900
| Jul 19, 2022
| Jul 19, 2022
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liked it
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When it comes to the the Avatar franchise, aka, the "Avatarverse", we have begun to cross a threshold. Following the iconic television series Avatar:
When it comes to the the Avatar franchise, aka, the "Avatarverse", we have begun to cross a threshold. Following the iconic television series Avatar: the Last Airbender, its sequel series The Legend of Korra, some scattered graphic novels, and a pair of novels telling the origin story of Avatar Kyoshi, a new arm of Nickolodeon and Paramount+ has been announced: Avatar Studios. And with that, we will be getting a much larger volume of content related to ATLA, TLOK, as well as brand new stories taking place in the world of Avatar. And I could not be more excited. The first of these new releases is the novel we are taking a look at today: FC Yee's The Dawn of Yangchen! This book comes from the same author who gave us the two Kyoshi novels, now rebranded as part of a larger series of novels called "Chronicles of The Avatar", which The Dawn of Yangchen is part of too. And while I did enjoy the book overall, it was a bit of a letdown. I liked the book and think there's potential in a sequel (which this book teases), but it was a step down from both The Rise of Kyoshi and The Shadow of Kyoshi. THE STORY: Given that this book stars Avatar Yangchen, it takes place many, many years before The Rise of Kyoshi and Avatar: The Last Airbender, but given that we don't know how long Yangchen lived, it's impossible to pin down exactly when this book takes place. I'm going to guess at least 500 years before "The Boy in the Iceberg", but again, don't quote me on that. The one thing that's for certain is that most of the story takes place some years after the events of the Yangchen flashbacks portrayed in Gene Luen Yang's The Rift. Avatar Yangchen lives in a time of corruption- a group of wealthy nobles called The Shangs have control over a couple of cities in the Northern Earth Kingdom, most notably the port city of Bin-Er. Their influence even extends to Yangchen herself- she may have mastered the four elements and undertaken a mission or two by the time this book begins proper, but she is still fairly inexperienced. One day, she crosses paths with a water-bending thief in Bin-Er named Kavik. After learning of a mysterious weapon the Shangs are building, she recruits Kavik to help her discover the truth and prevent a catastrophe. THE BAD: This novel can get really slow at times, and my investment in the story constantly waxed and waned throughout the book. It wasn't necessarily bad, but neither did it consistently grab my attention. I'll get more into why when I talk about the good stuff, but for me I just found the parts where Yangchen and Kavik were split up and on their own not all that interesting. While they worked really well together, I didn't think they carried scenes all that effectively by themselves. I wonder if part of why large portions of the middle didn't work that well were because many of the sequences in this novel felt like filler. The Dawn of Yangchen presents itself as a political thriller- plenty of interplay between powerful people with an underlying mystery that needs to be solved. And most of the scenes leading up to the big climax just didn't really grab me. Perhaps a second read will help me understand the context and the build up better, but for now I just don't think the disparate scenes leading up to the finale were tied together very well. THE GOOD: While many scenes in this book felt like they dragged, The Dawn of Yangchen still had some really strong aspects. The middle may have been very hit and miss, but it did have a solid opening, and, more importantly, a fantastic ending. The best part of this book by far was the relationship between Yangchen and Kavik (view spoiler)[ and no, it's not romantic... as much as I was hoping it would be (hide spoiler)]. The dynamic between these two and the story arc between them was incredibly well done. (view spoiler)[ Never had I seen a pair of characters who I desperately wanted to see become a couple, but so happy to see them not become one in the end. You can definitely see why these two would be emotionally attracted to each other, but them ending up not on good terms was the perfect end point given Kavik's betrayal (hide spoiler)]. Lets start with Yangchen. I think she works pretty well as a protagonist. She has an interesting personality that works as a compelling setup for the advice she would give to Aang before fighting the firelord- Yangchen in this book can be very kind and compassionate, but has the will to undertake difficult actions when necessary. She can develop feelings for someone but also has the capacity to be angry and unforgiving when she is hurt. In addition, I love how how Yangchen's connections with her past lives is developed- at least in this book, her relationships with Szeto and the avatars preceding him is not the same as what we see for Aang, Korra, or Kyoshi. While I do think Yangchen is a solid protagonist, it's Kavik who became my favorite character in the novel and really carried the story. I absolutely loved his character arc and how his various family members played into it. I found his motivations compelling, and he has quite an entertaining personality. I'm really excited to see where his story goes when the next installment comes out. While he wasn't that interesting in this book specifically, I'm really excited to see more of Jujinta for one reason- he's a nonbender! I know that that doesn't seem like much, but the treatment of nonbenders in this franchise after ATLA has not worked very well for me. Despite Legend of Korra spending its entire first season on why nonbenders should be equal to benders, the following seasons unintentionally send a message that someone in the avatar's world only matters if they can bend (this was especially egregious in Korra's 3rd season). And Kyoshi's team Avatar didn't have a single nonbender. Here though, Yee has finally recaptured the idea that nonbenders have just as much to contribute as benders do, when Jujinta proves to be an essential participant in the heroes' success during the climactic battle- they could not have succeeded without him. I also really like the worldbuilding. F.C Yee did a great job presenting the Yangchen Era as different from that of Kyoshi, Aang, or Korra, but it still feels like it's part of the Avatar universe. It is presented in a way where I can buy Yangchen's world as one that would progress into Kyoshi's. Most importantly, the plot of this book compellingly sets up the origin for a bending type that appears in both Avatar: the Last Airbender AND The Legend of Korra (view spoiler)[ Unanimity is COMBUSTION BENDERS! (hide spoiler)] Lastly, FC Yee's writing is still solid. His ability to write exciting and unique bending sequences carries over from the Kyoshi novels and into this one. Even if there aren't as many well written characters here, Yee still proves to be effective at creating and fleshing out characters that I can get invested in and want to see more of. As for the story, while it isn't always good, when the story is good, its fantastic. THE CONCLUSION: Final rating is 3.5 stars, rounded down. Much like The Rise of Kyoshi, The Dawn of Yangchen is a flawed opening entry that shows a story with great potential. The story often dragged, and most of the villains were pretty bland. But those shortcomings are balanced out by great characterization for Yangchen and Kavik, interesting worldbuilding, and solid action sequences, and strong potential for Jujinta as a character in the inevitable sequel. After the success of the Kyoshi novels, I was really worried that F.C Yee would end up writing Yangchen's story as a rehash of the Kyoshi series in an attempt to recapture what worked there. But I'm really happy to see how much Yangchen and her story stand out as its own unique story that still feels right at home in the amazing setting that is the world of Avatar. Sure this installment wasn't as good as either of the Kyoshi novels, but it was good for what it was- and if/when a sequel is released, I will be first in line to pick it up and see how Yangchen's story is continued. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jul 19, 2022
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Aug 27, 2022
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Jul 19, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 1506708129
| 9781506708126
| 1506708129
| 4.26
| 4,431
| Jun 2020
| Jun 16, 2020
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liked it
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Well, I finally managed to read Imbalance for the first time! And with that, all of the graphic novel trilogies taking place after Avatar: The Last Ai
Well, I finally managed to read Imbalance for the first time! And with that, all of the graphic novel trilogies taking place after Avatar: The Last Airbender have been completed! I really, really enjoyed the 5 trilogy run from Gene Luen Yang, with his final trilogy, North and South, being my absolute favorite. After North and South, Gene Luen Yang was replaced with Faith Erin Hicks as the primary writer of comics featuring the members of Aang's Team Avatar. Gurihuru has been replaced with Peter Wartman. While she hasn't written another 3-part comic storyline since Imbalance, Faith Erin Hicks has since gone on to write Katara and the Pirate's Silver, Toph Beifong's Metalbending Academy, and Suki, Alone- all three of which were pretty entertaining and enjoyable for what they were. Imbalance... left something to be desired. I didn't think it was bad overall, but was a significant step down from Yang's run of comics. THE STORY: Team Avatar (excluding Zuko, because he is busy ruling the Fire Nation) is on its way to Yu Dao when Toph requests a visit to Earthen Fire Industries (The factory from The Rift), which has since become surrounded by Cranefish Town, a rapidly expanding settlement named after the birds who inhabit the area. And the situation, unfortunately, isn't going well. A member of the Business Council in charge of Cranefish Town is leading a mixed group of disgruntled water-, earth-, and fire benders in an uprising against the non-bender population, hoping to kick them out of the town. It's up to Avatar Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph (along with Suki, who shows up later in the comic) to put a stop to the bending supremacists and bring peace and harmony back to Cranefish Town. THE BAD: It feels like this comic was specifically designed to justify the existence of Republic City, and in particular the Equalist Movement, in the first season of The Legend of Korra. Not that I have a problem with this idea at all. But the execution here just felt off, and harms much more of the comic than you would expect. The worldbuilding and lore serves as the largest problem this comic has by far. It's not the concepts themselves that bother me, its the execution in the story. Whether it was the choice of Hicks or a mandate from Mike and Bryan, I thought it was a colossal mistake to place this comic right after the events of North and South- because I do not buy how quickly Cranefish Town builds up. The last time we saw this place- in "The Rift"- and in universe, these two comics take place in the exact same year. I know that they used Cranefish Town's rapid growth as part of the city's personality, but come on, this is a stretch. Even more unnatural is how quickly the Bender vs. Nonbender conflict became such a big problem. Again, I can understand what Faith Erin Hicks was going for, the theme about technology eliminating the necessity of bending the elements. And in concept, I like it. But... yeah no, I'm not buying how quickly all of this happens in-universe. In "The Rift" we see the first tech-driven factory line having gone up only a month before the story opened, and then in the same year benders started losing their jobs at a fast enough rate that now they want to kick all the non benders out of the settlement? Come on. Seriously, all of these logistical issues in the worldbuilding could have been solved if they either A) came out with one or two other comic trilogies leading up to this, and/or B) have a time skip of a few years first. I would have bought both the ideas of how rapidly Cranefish Town is growing and the festering sentiment of Bender Supremacy. Also... Sokka mentions how the bender vs. non-bender tensions have been under the surface for generations... WRONG! The Avatar world never had a problem with conflicts between benders and non benders until technology started advancing to the point where benders started to become obsolete. Yeah the fire benders were evil for a while, but the evil came from the fact that they were a fire nation under a fascist, imperialist regime. Not the fact that they were benders trying to suppress nonbenders. I could have been more forgiving of the bad worldbuilding choices if the characters were better written, but alas, most of them were not. I didn't necessarily think Aang/Katara/Sokka/Toph were out of character, but they had little to no character development here. In the previous comic trilogies, not every character was consistently given an arc, but at least one major character each round was given complex character development and an intricate story arc. Gene Luen Yang even went farther than that and often pitted established characters against each other ideologically, and it lead to amazing dynamics in those stories. Here though, there's none of that. The four main characters of Team Avatar are lacking when it comes to any of the amazing traits from Yang's comics. So while they aren't necessarily bad, I found them uninteresting to follow, at least by the standards of Avatar: The Last Airbender or even just the post ATLA comics. The villain didn't really work for me either. I didn't understand how Liling's backstory connected to her motivations in this story. Having your prospects screwed over after the fire nation getting into Ba Sing Se during the hundred year war would suck, but come on, why are you conflating that to a problem with non-benders that only benders could solve? THE GOOD: Ok, ok, there may be a lot of things about "Imbalance" that bother me, but I did enjoy various aspects of it. I do want to clarify, I did think the characters felt like they did from the original series and the comics before this. Sure Hicks didn't offer a very interesting take on these characters, but I definitely saw the same characters I know and love. I did like Ru, she was a very sympathetic character with a solid story arc. Out of the new characters, she was the standout. However, the best character in "Imbalance" has to be Suki. Faith Erin Hicks gives her a bigger role than Gene Luen Yang did in any of his five trilogies, and it's really nice to see her back on screen with Sokka again. And... my god, she was a BADASS in this comic. And while I overall prefer the art style of Gurihuru when it comes to the Avatar Universe, Peter Wartmann's artwork is a good substitute. He still draws the characters in a way that looks like the characters from the series, the bending is pretty well done, and the color palette is pleasant on the eyes. However, my favorite aspect of Wartmann's style (and the one aspect he does better than Gurihuru) is the comedic panels. Yang's run of comics gave the characters a variety of funny lines of dialogue but Peter Wartman nails the visual gags. There were several panels where I had to stop reading for a moment because I had burst out laughing. THE CONCLUSION: Final rating is 3 stars. I really hope this is not the last time chronologically we see Avatar Aang and the rest of his friends before the events of The Legend of Korra, especially in comics. "Imbalance" was not bad, and I do think Faith Erin Hicks is a decent writer for the Avatarverse (even if she isn't on the same level as Gene Luen Yang). That being said, it's hard not to shake the feeling that "Imbalance" exists purely to connect Avatar: The Last Airbender more directly with The Legend of Korra. The previous five storylines from Yang and Gurihuru were made to bridge the two series as well, but when Gene Luen Yang was writing the Gaang, his stories felt like they were sequels to Avatar: the Last Airbender first and Legend of Korra prequels a distant second. This feels like Mike and Bryan wanted to rush Aang's world as quickly as possible to the state that it would be in during Korra's time. The Promise, The Search, The Rift, Smoke and Shadow, and North and South gave us a slow but deliberate progression of changes to the world that showed the transition between the world of Avatar: the Last Airbender to that of The Legend of Korra in a seamless, compelling way. "Imbalance" throws that approach out the window and rushes its way to giving us Republic City and the bender vs. nonbender conflict we see in LOK season 1. And because of how much it rushes the worldbuilding, I struggled to care about the story or even what the characters were doing. If you are wondering about my recommendation? It disappoints me to say this, but you can take or leave this one. With the ATLA comics from Gene Luen Yang and Gurihuru, I would recommend all of them in a heartbeat. I can't say the same for "Imbalance". If you just want to see more of Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Suki (sorry Zuko fans, he's not in this one), this is fine. But if you're looking for compelling insight into the world of Avatar, especially how ATLA and LOK connect together? This may actually make the lore surrounding the Eqalists and the bending vs non-bending conflict even more confusing. I don't know, I can still recommend the other Avatar work done by Faith Erin Hicks, she is talented and does understand the Avatar's world and its characters. But Imbalance was a disappointment, and I'm going to focus on "North and South" as an "ending" to the post ATLA comic saga. ...more |
Notes are private!
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Apr 18, 2022
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Apr 23, 2022
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Apr 25, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 1506722741
| 9781506722740
| 1506722741
| 4.13
| 1,620
| Nov 10, 2020
| Nov 10, 2020
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liked it
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Welcome to my next Avatarverse review! I have just completed reading the five-year run of comics taking place after the events Avatar: The Last Airbend Welcome to my next Avatarverse review! I have just completed reading the five-year run of comics taking place after the events Avatar: The Last Airbender written by Gene Luen Yang and illustrated by the Gurihuru duo. You can see my reviews here: ~The Promise- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ~The Search- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ~The Rift- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ~Smoke and Shadow- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ~North and South- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... "The Lost Adventures" and "Team Avatar Tales" are two separate anthologies of short stories focusing on Aang and his friends, even though this review is for the library edition that collected both in one comprehensive volume. Normally when something like this comes out for comics I try to do more detailed reviews for individual separate parts, but for this one, I feel basically the same for both "The Lost Adventures" and "Team Avatar Tales"- it's good. For both anthologies, there wasn't a single story that I flat out disliked. The characters all felt like themselves in every single short, and I found myself entertained on some level pretty consistently. On the flip side, very few of the stories from either anthology stand out in a particular way, and there's nothing here that screams essential. While I thoroughly enjoyed reading everything compiled in this book, nothing here adds all that much to the world of Avatar or its characters in the same way that the post ATLA comic trilogies do. Instead of my usual sections for "THE STORY", "THE BAD", and "THE GOOD", I'm just going to briefly go over each anthology and point out which stories stood out the most. The Lost Adventures collects comics that were originally released from 2005-2009 in Nickelodeon Magazine, Nickelodeon Comics Club, or as part of DVD collections for the original TV series. All of these take place during the events of ATLA, except for a pair of non-canon comic shorts. I enjoyed all of them to some extent, but these were my favorites. Relics (Book One)- This story is my favorite not just from "The Lost Adventures", but this entire collection. It reveals that not every Air Nomad was killed right away when the Fire Nation attacked the Air Temples- in some ways that's... better? But what happened to those few survivors from the initial attacks... may have been worse. It leads to a poignant little character arc for Aang. The information I found regarding this one's release is conflicting. "Relics" was the only story in The Lost Adventures to be featured in a Free Comic Book Day issue from Dark Horse Comics. However, the AvatarWiki states that "Relics" originally came out in the 2011 FCB Day circuit, while wikipedia states that it first showed up in Nickelodeon Magazine and was later reprinted in the FCB 2011 issue. I'm more inclined to believe Wikipedia, because if it originally showed up in FCB 2011 the story would have been released with "Team Avatar Tales" instead. It's Only Natural, Going Home Again, The Bridge (all Book Two)- this trio of stories offers extra details to help bridge the gap between Seasons 2 and 3 of ATLA. The Season 3 premiere gives the briefest of explanations describing what happened to the Earth King, but "It's Only Natural" fills in the gaps and offers more details on how and why he and Bosco parted ways with the Gaang. Season 2 of ATLA ends with Zuko and Azula still in Ba Sing Se, and when Season 3 opens they are already back in the Fire Nation. "Going Home Again" offers details that show them leaving the Earth Kingdom and returning to the Fire Nation. "The Bridge" depicts exactly how Katara, Sokka, Toph, and the warriors of the Southern Water Tribe capture the Fire Nation ship that we see them on in the Season 3 premiere. In addition, it offers some insight into the depts of despair that our heroes had sunken into since the Season 2 finale- especially Katara. Dragon Days (Book Three)- this is the first, and currently, the only depiction we have seen of Kuzon, Aang's childhood friend from the Fire Nation. This also gives us another glimpse of the dragons that inhabit the world of Avatar. New Recruits (non-Canon)- Originally, I was not planning to point this one out in my review. Even beyond the fact that it isn't canon, I just didn't find the quirky bender kids all that creative or interesting. But then I learned about how this comic came about, and I have a much bigger appreciation for it and the new bender characters now. A write-in contest from Nickelodeon Magazine was sent out to readers, who were called on to create their own original Avatar characters. The winners would have their characters featured in a special comic. The contest drew over 4,000 artists. The reader-submitted characters were created by the following winners. ~Visola, the Wave-Ring-Surfing water bender, was created by Angela B. (age 16 at the time) ~Analay the Shadow Bender was created by Shelby S. (age 10 at the time) ~Hiroshi the Tunneling Earth Bender and his Rock Dragon Genji was created by September M. (age 12 at the time) ~Riley the cookie dough bender was created by Jackira K. (age 8 at the time) ~Old Man Yahshi was created by Mike T. (age 12 at the time) So yes, "New Recruits" is fan fiction. But it's "official" fanfiction. And regardless, now that I know the backstory behind it, I think it's charming and deserves to be seen by Avatar comics readers. - Team Avatar Tales is a grab bag of stories taking place across the ATLA timeline (note: not Legend of Korra). It collects the three Avatar storylines originally released in Free Comic Book Day issues at that point, and includes a collection of brand new stories. Some of them take place during the ATLA series while others take place afterwards during the time period of the Gene Luen Yang comic trilogies. In this collection, the three standouts are "Rebound", "Shells", and, "Sisters"- consequently, the stories released on FCB (2013, 2014, and 2015 respectively). "Rebound" is a nice little supplement/prequel to Smoke and Shadow that focuses on Mai and gives a bit more insight on her side of that storyline. "Shells" gives Suki a rare chance to be in the spotlight, and reveals the origins of the Kyoshi Warriors. "Sisters" is Ty Lee's chance to take the spotlight and expands on her relationship with the other members of her family. While the original stories from this anthology have a nice mix of drama and comedy, none of them left much of an impact on me. THE CONCLUSION: Final Rating is 3.5 stars for The Lost Adventures and 3 stars for Team Avatar Tales. So if I had to give this library edition anthology book an averaged out rating, I'd give it 3.5 stars, rounded down. While I enjoyed reading these stories by every means of the word, "The Lost Adventures" and "Team Avatar Tales" do not have that essential feel that the post ATLA comic trilogies do. That being said, I was impressed by how consistently all of these writers stayed true to the existing characters we all know and love. On my most recent rewatch of Avatar: The Last Airbender, I did my best to try and read these in chronological order alongside the episodes of the show, and for the most part it works pretty smoothly. I think casual viewers of the series and/or the comics can skip this one, but I recommend this collection to hardcore fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender who want to read everything Avatar. At the end of the day, I don't think either "The Lost Adventures" or "Team Avatar Tales" should be a priority for readers trying to explore the world of Avatar outside of the TV series- the post ATLA comics are much more "important" in that regard. That being said, I don't think either anthology, let alone this combined library edition is a waste of time or especially money- if you decide to acquire this collection, I think you'll enjoy it. Just don't expect something on the same level as the TV series or some of the comic trilogies that also feature these characters and this world. ...more |
Notes are private!
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Apr 19, 2022
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Apr 19, 2022
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Apr 19, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 1506701957
| 9781506701950
| 1506701957
| 4.25
| 6,603
| Nov 07, 2017
| Nov 07, 2017
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it was amazing
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Well, here it is! The final reread for the series of graphic novels taking place after the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender! After this, I will fi
Well, here it is! The final reread for the series of graphic novels taking place after the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender! After this, I will finally get to review a first-time read for a post ATLA graphic novel with Faith Erin Hicks' Imbalance. "North and South" is the final Avatar storyline from writer Gene Luen Yang and the artist duo Gurihuru and wow, did they go out on a high note! The Promise was, well, a promising start (pun intended), but it definitely felt like Yang was figuring things out a little bit between juggling every member of Team Avatar from the original series alongside introducing several plot and worldbuilding threads that would play into the following storylines. Yang seemed to have found his stride with The Search, which returned to the adventure feel of the TV series and answered the biggest unresolved question from that show: what happened to Zuko's mother? It even wrote Toph out of the story to keep things more focused on Zuko and Azula. After giving Zuko the spotlight, The Rift wrote him out and brought back Toph in order to offer a deep dive into HER character, along with a more defined character arc for Aang. Smoke and Shadow brought things to the Fire Nation, which meant Zuko would get more character focus once again. While Toph was absent for unexplained reasons, Katara and Sokka were ushered out of the story to again, focus on Zuko- alongside Mai, who gets more of a presence for the first time in Yang's graphic novels. That brings us to "North and South"- in which we finally get a post-ATLA graphic novel focusing on Katara and Sokka. After mostly staying in the role of sidekicks for the first 3 storylines and being written out of "Smoke and Shadow", Aang's original companions finally get the spotlight. But given that "North and South" would be the last ATLA graphic novel Gene Luen Yang would get to write, he of course brought back Aang, Toph, and Zuko for one last hurrah. And with "North and South"- Yang and Gurihuru created what is currently my favorite graphic novel in the Avatar Universe, and my favorite storyline in the Avatar franchise outside of the original 3-season run of Avatar: The Last Airbender. THE STORY: Katara and Sokka have returned to their home in the South Pole for the first time since the end of the hundred year war. Hakoda, now the head chief of the Southern Water Tribe, has partnered with the Northern Water Tribe, along with the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation, to help rebuild and recover from the devastation they suffered from the war. When Katara and Sokka come back home, it looks and feels like a whole new place from the tiny, destitute village we see during the series premiere and second episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender. That tiny village has become a small city, and the igloo inhabited by Gran Gran (now married to Master Pakku) is the only remaining building from the original village. The rapid modernization has lead to an ideological divide that has split the Southern Water Tribe right down the middle- the disagreements even extend to Katara and Sokka themselves. Toph arrives in the South Pole for a partnership with developers from the North, while Zuko and Earth King Kuei arrive to establish embassies for the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom Respectively. Avatar Aang returns to rejoin Katara and Sokka following his business in the Fire Nation. Will the people of the South Pole be able to come together and agree on a course for the tribe? Or will the conflict between tradition and progress break them apart? And even the aid of Toph, Zuko, and the Avatar himself is not a guarantee that things will go smoothly- as they have their own perspectives on the matter. THE BAD: I have almost nothing bad to say about "North and South"- but in good faith, I will point out a couple of nitpicks. Just like in the previous graphic novels, the focus on some characters (in this case Katara and Sokka) comes at the cost of giving other important characters their own arcs or important things to do. Aang, Toph, and Zuko are given compelling reasons in the narrative to be present, but otherwise they are just here because they were the main characters of Avatar: The Last Airbender. So if you were hoping for this to be a comprehensive story where every character gets a chance to progress and develop and/or their own moment to shine (especially given that this is the last outing as of right now for Gene Luen Yang and Gurihuru), that's not what "North and South" is. It's another storyline that plays out like a multi-episode story arc just like the other four graphic novel trilogies were. In short, this isn't an epic finale for every character in the same way the "Sozin's Comet" 4-parter was for ATLA. It has a similar formula to the other graphic novel stories before it- it just so happens that in this case, we get to examine the post-war South Pole and focus on Katara and Sokka. But that's part of why at the end of the day, the lack of focus on the other members of the Gaang outside of Katara and Sokka doesn't bother me in the slightest. At this point I've gotten used to these comics going with a round-table approach where each of the characters gets their time to be fleshed out and developed, so it wasn't an issue at all. Besides- most importantly, we finally get to have a storyline in these comics focused on Katara and Sokka- the two characters who have needed focus and development the most since The Promise. The only other nitpick is that during my reread I noticed one of Toph's arms is drawn weird in the final panel, but this is such a minor flaw that can easily be overlooked if not outright ignored because the rest of the panel is such a beautiful snippet of perfection. THE GOOD: Alright, let's get to what I loved about "North and South" because I absolutely LOVED IT! Starting off with Katara and Sokka, I've waiting a long time for these comics to develop their characters, and I was not disappointed. Katara and Sokka are the only members of Team Avatar you get to see throughout all of Part 1- heck, it takes until roughly a third of the way through Part 2 for Aang to show up! This gives Yang ample opportunity to explore the changes taking place at the South Pole, and more importantly, plenty of time for us to see them through Katara and Sokka. I absolutely love how each character reacts- Katara is longing for what it once was "before the war", while she was still a little girl and their mother was still alive. And given that she is the last waterbender of the Southern Tribe (view spoiler)[, or at least, she assumes that before discovering a pair of girls from another village who have been conditioned to hide their talents (hide spoiler)], of course she would want to hold onto, preserve, and recover the cultural traditions that were nearly lost during the war. Given that she burdens herself with this monumental responsibility, it makes sense as to why Katara is so apprehensive to all the change. (view spoiler)[ And the fact that her father has found himself a new girlfriend doesn't help. AT. ALL. (hide spoiler)]. For Sokka, it makes perfect sense for him to be so open to the South's modernization. Not only did he have little to no memories of their mother (in fact, he grew to a point where he thought of Katara whenever he tried to think of her), he always felt like he was inadequate- in fact, before leaving, he failed to do the one thing he believed he was meant to do (being a warrior and defending his village). It wasn't until Sokka left to join the Avatar when he encountered technology, swordfighting, and discovered he had valuable talents of his own- AFTER he left the South Pole. And after seeing the potential of technology in The Rift, of course he would be excited to see non-benders like himself become as capable as benders like his sister. While his home and his people are valuable to Sokka, he isn't so beholden to the past the way Katara is. And I love how this difference in views creates friction and tension between Sokka and Katara, but Yang doesn't go the easy, petty route of putting them on physically opposing sides in a redux of "The Great Divide". Hakoda gets some amazing development here. And carrying forward in the tradition of the post ATLA comics, Yang takes Hakoda in risky but compelling new directions. He remains consistent with how he was portrayed in the show, but Yang found a great angle for Hakoda that shows him struggling as a leader with far more responsibility than he once had, but his struggles aren't the same as those that Zuko went through in Yang's other comics. (view spoiler)[ Beyond all that, I LOVE how Yang gives him a new romantic partner in Malina, leading to a wonderful extra layer for Katara's character arc. And much like how Sokka has been open to the changes the South Pole has been going through as a whole, I love how Sokka just kind of goes with it. (hide spoiler)]. According to the Wiki, Gilak appears in Season 3 of ATLA. I wouldn't be surprised if he was an unnamed background character that I've blinked and missed in the past- but regardless, he only becomes a fleshed out, named character in "North and South". And he is a great villain in this story. Gilak's motivations and reasons to hate the Northern Water Tribe are very understandable. He also makes for a menacing antagonist, leading to some of the most emotionally powerful scenes in the entire run of the ATLA comics. Malina is also a great character. I like how she functions as a bender... and that's about all I can say without going into spoilers. (view spoiler)[ like i mentioned in other spoilers previously, her romantic pairing with Hakoda was a great way to add to his character. I also loved the moment at the end when Katara saved her, it was a badass feat of bending for Katara and served as a strong moment of character growth and resolution for both of them. Oh, and the fakeout where they made it look like Malina was going to die? one of the best fakeouts I've ever seen, and an awesome subversion of expectations. (hide spoiler)] Kanna* and Pakku are great to see again. I love getting to see more of Gran Gran*, especially because we didn't see her at all after the 2nd episode of the original series. And Pakku feels just like he did in ATLA season 1, but it's cool to see him finally doing more of what he isn't accustomed to do (view spoiler)[ training girls how to water bend (hide spoiler)], showing how much he has not just changed, but adapted to his new life. And the two secret waterbending children are lovely and wholesome. Going quickly through the other characters, they didn't have much when it came to characterization or contributions to the overall story with Katara and Sokka, but they work perfectly well. I also like how they themselves exacerbate the growing ideological divide among the Southern Water Tribe between tradition and progress. Toph of course is on the the side of modernization and development, she has a personal stake in seeing it happen. And it's perfectly in line with her arc in "The Rift" where she completely embraces industrialization, even when it comes at a cost to the cultures affected. I like how Earth King Kuei takes the side of progress, even if much of that comes from his social ineptitude, so it adds some humor and levity to the story (which is important given that the comic relief side of Sokka is heavily toned down in this comic). Aang, being the Avatar, remains neutral- his priority is making sure the tensions don't erupt into violence and balance can achieved again. Zuko stays neutral for the most part as well, but he comes from the perspective of wanting to do whatever he needs to do in order for him, and by extension, the Fire Nation, to atone for the atrocities they committed against the Southern Water Tribe. (view spoiler)[ The closest he comes to taking a side is when the Earth King is kidnapped. (hide spoiler)] Finally, what an excellent final hurrah for Gurihuru. This might be some of the best artwork they have pulled off for these comics. The bending sequences, backgrounds, and designs are all on point like they always are, but with "North and South" in particular they managed to pull off more subtle emotion in the character expressions than they have in the previous volumes (not like they failed at it before- it's just EVEN better than before with "North and South"). Gene Luen Yang's writing was of course essential to making North and South as successful as it was, but I wonder if Gurihuru's artwork was what made the emotional journeys of Katara, Sokka, and Hakoda stand out from the other ATLA comics that Yang and Gurihuru created. THE CONCLUSION: Final rating is 5 stars. What an amazing final storyline from Gene Luen Yang and Gurihuru. Even though it isn't necessarily a finale that tied together every plot point and character arc in a neat little bow, it does feel like a finale of sorts from the stories told by this team that began all the way back with The Promise. We get post-war explorations of all 4 nations, as well as a more classic Avatar-style adventure that wraps up the most important unresolved threads from the original series. While it would have been nice to get some more development for Suki, we still got incredible continuing storylines and character arcs for Aang, Zuko, Toph, Katara, and Sokka that expertly integrated old side characters from the series alongside a host of memorable new characters. And perhaps I like to call this a finale of sorts for "The Promise", "The Search", "The Rift", "Smoke and Shadow", and "North and South", because "North and South" is the best trilogy out of the five. And for now, I feel pretty good in calling "North and South" the best of the comics taking place in the world of Avatar. I've also read The Lost Adventures and Team Avatar Tales but those are anthologies and most of the stories take place during the series. In addition, I have read Katara and the Pirate's Silver, Avatar: Toph Beifong's Metalbending Academy, and Suki, Alone. While I liked all three of them, none of them reached the heights of any of the post ATLA graphic novel trilogies. All of these will get reviews from me later down the line. As for the Legend of Korra comics, I have not read either Turf Wars or Ruins of the Empire- though given that I'm not a fan of the LOK series, these two trilogies have an uphill battle for me to like them as much as I have loved the post ATLA comics- ESPECIALLY "North and South" Do I recommend the five comic trilogies from Gene Luen Yang and Gurihuru? That should be a no brainer- Yes! Of course I do! All of them range from great to amazing- the "worst" one you'll be able to get right out of the way, only to save the "best" one for last. So what are you waiting for? Flameo, Hotpeople! ...more |
Notes are private!
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Apr 15, 2022
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Apr 17, 2022
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Apr 18, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 1506700136
| 9781506700137
| 1506700136
| 4.34
| 8,227
| Oct 04, 2016
| Oct 04, 2016
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really liked it
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With four out of the five rereads done, lets get to another review for the Post Avatar-The-Last-Airbender graphic novels! The Post-ATLA graphic novels With four out of the five rereads done, lets get to another review for the Post Avatar-The-Last-Airbender graphic novels! The Post-ATLA graphic novels continue their strong run with another entry that belongs right alongside the TV series, though "Smoke and Shadow" is a step down from The Search and The Rift. THE STORY: Zuko is trying to help Ursa, Noren, and Kiyi into life at the royal palace when he encounters the New Ozai Society, a movement dedicated to overthrowing him and putting Ozai back on the Fire Nation Throne. When the movement becomes too much for Zuko, Suki, Ty Lee, and Mai to handle, he asks Avatar Aang for help- and interrupting his planned trip to the South Pole with Katara and Sokka. The former heads back to the Fire Nation to aid Zuko, while the latter two stick with their plans to return home. And Toph... I'm pretty sure she's just operating her metalbending school? THE BAD: There's two problems I have with this storyline holding it back from true greatness. First, is a problem I alluded to in my section for where the heck is Toph? It's not that I need to see Toph in this story. She doesn't really have a place to offer a meaningful contribution in "Smoke and Shadow", so I'm fine with her not being included. However, it's jarring that she isn't even mentioned in this comic trilogy because before, when the comics would write out a character, there was a given reason. In The Search, we are told that Toph is unable to join the rest of the Gaang in the quest to find Zuko's mother because she is too busy running her metalbending academy. Zuko was absent from The Rift because we are told that he is too busy getting his mother settled into the palace. Heck, even in "Smoke and Shadow", a conscious effort is made to justify why Katara and Sokka are gone from the story. So I ask again, what is Toph up to that prevents her from participating in this story? The second issue I have happens to be the biggest one- the love triangle. This just didn't feel necessary. Love triangles almost never turn out well, and this is another one that doesn't turn out well. To me, it felt like a heel turn from The Promise, which made the risky decision of breaking up Zuko and Mai after Zuko's duties and struggles as firelord drove them apart. But between the dynamic with Zuko/Mai/Kei Lo and Gene Luen Yang implying at Emerald City Comiccon 2017 that Zuko and Mai get back together a couple years after "The Promise", it feels like either Yang or Mike and Bryan decided to walk back the direction taken by "The Promise" in order to restore the status quo established at the end of Avatar the Last Airbender. And this brings up another point- why did Bryke allow Yang to break up Zuko and Mai in "The Promise" only to start planting the seeds leading to them getting back together in "Smoke and Shadow". At the end of the day, it just resulted in a predictable and bothersome love triangle dynamic, where... you know what? I'll take it, because it's at least tolerable, and a hundred times more compelling than the love square cringe we get between Korra/Mako/Asami/Bolin in the first season of Legend of Korra. THE GOOD: Despite my complaints, "Smoke and Shadow" is still pretty good. It's not the best graphic novel trilogy taking place after ATLA, but it's still a worthy addition to this post-ATLA saga. I love the continued story about Zuko figuring out what it takes to be the firelord. It tackles different aspects of his new role from what he dealt with in "The Promise", and hence does not feel like a retread. It adds to the continuing story of Zuko and the conclusion of his character arc in "Smoke and Shadow" is fantastic. I also love Ursa and Kiyi. They have a really interesting dynamic, and for Ursa it shows how hard it is to adjust to her new life back with Zuko. It's particularly heartbreaking to see the consequences her decisions at the end of "The Search" continue to affect her. (view spoiler)[ and to top it all off, her final scene confronting Ozai is ABSOLUTE PERFECTION. it's a badass moment, we get an incredibly effective summation of Ozai as a character, and what makes him tick. It ends with a symbolic closure for the conflict between Ursa and Kiyi, and a conclusion to Ursa's character arc that had been ongoing since the original series. (hide spoiler)]. Speaking of Kiyi, my god she continues to be adorable! (view spoiler)[ And what is this? Kiyi is a FIREBENDER? AWESOME!! (hide spoiler)] I also like Mai in this story, at least when it concerns the arc she has with her father. I love how she doesn't condone his actions, but still sees the good in him as well. Also, she's badass, like she was in the show. And it makes perfect sense for Mai's father to be the mastermind (don't worry this isn't a spoiler, it's established pretty early on that he's the mastermind of the New Ozai Society), because he used to be the governor of occupied Omashu. Of course he would see Zuko's removal of fire nation Colonials as weakness and would want to see Ozai back on the throne. Oh, and BTW, Tom Tom is still adorable. It's fun to see him as a toddler now that he has grown beyond the baby he was in ATLA. Heck, I even like Kei Lo quite a bit. The only thing he did wrong was fall in love with the flakey ex-girlfriend of one of the most iconic characters from the Avatar franchise. He's smart, resourceful capable, and a really sweet kid. I found myself wishing Mai could stay with him, to be honest. But either way, I think Kei Lo has a compelling character arc (view spoiler)[ including the ending, where it is implied through visuals that he's the one to break up with Mai (hide spoiler)]. The Kemurikage were quite a cool concept. They were a spooky and menacing presence, and the lore behind them is an awesome addition to the Avatar universe- and even better, it helps progress the story in a well-delivered twist. (view spoiler)[ It's very fitting for Azula to be behind the Kemurikage impersonators, and it results in a pretty cool and intriguing progression for her as a villain and as a character. (hide spoiler)]. The last set of characters to address is Aang, Suki, and Ty Lee. All three of them are side characters in "Smoke and Shadow", but all three of them feel like themselves and all three get moments to be cool. In particular with Ty Lee, this comic adds a nice bit of character development that shows the scars from the original series have not been healed completely. Last but not least, the artwork is once again excellent, like you would expect from Gurihuru at this point. The design of the Kemurikage is amazing, and the action sequences look amazing as always. I don't really have anything new to say about the art that I haven't already talked about in The Promise, The Search or The Rift. This is once again another BEAUTIFUL comic to look at. THE CONCLUSION: Final Rating is 4 Stars. I didn't like "Smoke and Shadow" as much as some of the other post ATLA graphic novel storylines, but I still found a great deal to enjoy. The continuing development of Zuko and his family dynamics, the exploration of the Fire Nation after the 100 year war, and Gurihuru's amazing artwork. It still remains a worthy addition to the continuing story of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I will say though, the recent release of the paperback omnibus for Smoke and Shadow parts 1-3 reveals way to much. That aspect might have been ill-advised. Next up is the final reread in the post-ATLA Graphic novels, North and South! I'm looking forward to this one. And then, I'll be reading Imbalance for the first time! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 14, 2022
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Apr 16, 2022
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Apr 16, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 1616555505
| 9781616555504
| 1616555505
| 4.27
| 10,896
| Feb 24, 2015
| Feb 24, 2015
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really liked it
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My journey through the Avatarverse continues with the third graphic novel trilogy starring Aang and his friends, aka "Team Avatar", or "the Gaang"! Th My journey through the Avatarverse continues with the third graphic novel trilogy starring Aang and his friends, aka "Team Avatar", or "the Gaang"! These post Avatar: The Last Airbender graphic novels have been a blast to read again. And yes, I've read all of them once already except for Imbalance (and to be clear, I also have yet to read the post Legend of Korra Comics). But this is the first time I'm reviewing them. With The Promise and The Search already reviewed, let us continue on with "The Rift!" THE STORY: Continuing the trend of "The Search", one character from Team Avatar is off doing their own thing while the rest of the group participates in the main plot. In The Search, Toph was absent so she could tend to her metalbending academy. Now, Zuko is sitting this one out, making sure Ursa gets comfortable back at the palace. The story opens in Yu Dao as the mixed Fire Nation+Earth Kingdom Citizens form their own independent coalition government. But during the celebrations, Aang spots an apparition- one of his past lives, Avatar Yangchen! He knows Yangchen is trying to reach out to him, but he can't understand what she is trying to say- something is causing a disconnect. In an attempt to reconnect with her, he leads his air acolytes in celebration of the first Yangchen Festival in 100 years. However, when they discover a small town that has been built on sacred Air Nomad land, Aang finds himself in a moral dillemna- and at odds with Toph about what to do. Is it more important to preserve the sacred site of a lost culture, or is it more important to let progress thrive? THE BAD: Much like The Search, there are a couple of problems to found in "The Rift", even if the comic is otherwise great for the most part. The biggest issue that stuck out for me was the thematic element about ancient Air Nomad artifacts/places vs. the needs of the people of the present day. It's not that this is an uninteresting theme to explore and I don't think Gene Luen Yang does a bad job exploring it, for me it's retreading old ground. While The Promise got an opportunity to explore new themes and ideas that the original series did not touch upon, a good portion of the themes in the story told by "The Rift" were already explored in an episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender- "The Northern Air Temple", episode 17 of the first season in the series. While there is a good deal of variety between "The Rift" and the ATLA episode, the conflict and resolution are similar enough to make the resolution feel predictable. This also bleeds over into Aang's characterization, which while not bad, leads to a bit of a retread of the character arc Aang goes through in "The Northern Air Temple". The other issue is that Sokka is given some jokes that don't work, including... (view spoiler)[ the return of the unfunny "oogies" schtick (hide spoiler)] THE GOOD: It isn't quite as good as "The Search", but I do think "The Rift" is still better than "The Promise"- which means it manages to live up to the standards of these post-ATLA graphic novels, as well as the standard of the original TV series. The characters work really well here. Starting off with Aang, while I've seen the character arc he goes through before, he has lots of great moments. I really enjoy the moments where he is teaching the air acolytes new lessons at the spur of the moment, and his romantic scenes with Katara are so sweet. His interactions with his past lives are incredible (more on that later), but the highlight with Aang's character development in "The Rift" is his relationship with Toph. Which brings me to Toph, the focus of this story and fittingly, the standout. She is BRILLIANT here. I love how Yang is willing to put some serious conflict between her and Aang, and it leads to some riveting drama- Earth vs. Air, Pacifism vs. Action, and most importantly, Progress vs. Tradition (and by extension, holding onto the past vs. embracing the future). Both characters have understandable motivations (view spoiler)[ especially when Aang saying "it's just how it's done" triggers some painful memories in Toph (hide spoiler)]. Toph sees the value in what the citizens of this small town on former Air Nomad land have created- and in fact calls out Aang on his inconsistent approach between this town and Yu Dao (of course, it makes total sense for Aang because of the different circumstances). However, I must hide the best part of Toph's story here, because it's a (view spoiler)[: Toph's father shows up, and I ADORE what Gene Luen Yang did with him. "The Blind Bandit" is one of my favorite episodes from the original series, and this comic builds upon the threads with Toph parents from that episode in such a heartbreaking but powerful way. I absolutely loved their interactions, and learning what happened to Toph's mother makes Toph's father a sympathetic and compelling character here. His story arc was excellent, even beyond his reconciliation with Toph. (hide spoiler)]. Going into the past avatars I alluded to before, lets just say this comic only got me even more excited for the upcoming release of The Dawn of Yangchen. Simply put, Yangchen was great. The flashback scenes showed how badass Yangchen was, and the conversations she has with Aang are great. It also leads to a poignant payoff from a thread introduced in The Promise concerning Avatar Roku. In addition, General Old Iron and Tienhai were fascinating spirits. These two lean into the more humanoid side of the Spirit World but they fit right in to the aesthetics of Avatar. One element that I found "The Rift" handling significantly better than "The Promise" and "The Search" was Katara and Sokka. I liked them in the previous comics just fine, but they didn't have much to do. Both characters felt like they were just along for the ride. But now, they actually have a contribution to the plot, and seeing them operate by themselves was really fun. I also liked the bits of insight we get on the Southern Water Tribe as Katara and Sokka encounter some old friends from back home. Finally, the artwork from Gurihuru continues to be excellent. The designs are fantastic, the characters look amazing, and the bending is breathtaking. The backgrounds also look wonderful and I loved seeing a glimpse into the distant past during the era of Yangchen. THE CONCLUSION: Final rating is 4.5 stars, rounded down. Yes the thematic element of a sacred Air Nomad Site being used by new inhabitants is a retread of the themes explored in "The Northern Air Temple" episode. However, pretty much everything else in this comic is done so well that I can forgive it. The exploration into Toph was phenomenal, and I loved learning about Avatar Yangchen. As probably expected, "The Rift" is another excellent continuation of the Avatar Franchise, be it the post ATLA graphic novels or the original TV series itself. If you have read the previous graphic novel trilogies and enjoyed them, you'll probably enjoy this one as well. Unlike The Search, this comic trilogy doesn't really work as a jumping in point, it requires the context of the previous two trilogies. But just like those other two comic trilogies, I offer a glowing recommendation to this one. ...more |
Notes are private!
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Apr 13, 2022
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Apr 13, 2022
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Apr 13, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 1419735055
| 9781419735059
| 1419735055
| 4.35
| 22,420
| Jul 21, 2020
| Jul 21, 2020
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it was amazing
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Now that I have completed my second reading of "The Shadow of Kyoshi", it's time to review it! My journey through the Avatarverse continues upon my co
Now that I have completed my second reading of "The Shadow of Kyoshi", it's time to review it! My journey through the Avatarverse continues upon my completion of the Kyoshi novels, currently a duology. The Rise of Kyoshi was a solid starting point for Kyoshi and her origin story, but I found some flaws holding it back. Regardless, it was a solid starting point which gave the sequel plenty to build upon. And building upon is exactly what "The Shadow of Kyoshi" did. I loved this novel, to the point where it was good enough to elevate the previous book. THE AUDIO: Much like I did for this book's predecessor, I'd like to discuss the audiobook first because my experience with it was pretty similar to The Rise of Kyoshi. Even upon my initial audio listen, I enjoyed The Shadow of Kyoshi more than The Rise of Kyoshi, but the monotonous narration of Nancy Wu nearly sank this one. Ugh, I hate being so harsh, and part of me wonders if this was how Miss Wu was directed to narrate the text, but... yeah, I pretty much had the exact same experience here that I did last time. I'll give her credit that the voices she does for the characters are on-point, but the narration itself is so boring that makes FC Yee's otherwise excellent writing look underwhelming. THE STORY: Nearly two years have passed since Avatar Kyoshi's quest for revenge against Jianzhu had concluded and she learned that her childhood friend Yun was alive. Having parted ways with the Flying Opera Company and with Rangi returning to the Fire Nation, Kyoshi has been spending the majority of her time going after Dao-Fei throughout the Earth Kingdom. Her only companion as of right now is Jinpa, a monk from the Southern Air Temple who serves as her secretary. Kyoshi's main drive has been to track down Yun and bring him back so they can be friends again like they used to, but an invitation from Firelord Zoryu to join him at his palace sends Kyoshi to the heart of the Fire Nation. The avatar finds herself in the middle of a brewing conflict between two Fire Nation clans- Firelord Zoryu's Keosho bloodline, and his half brother Chaejin's Saowon. Will Kyoshi be able to live up to her duty as Avatar and prevent a violent conflict from erupting? And what has become of Yun since he was taken by Father Glowwurm? (I'm not going to go into that here- you'll need to pick this book up for yourself and find out through the interludes in this novel!) THE BAD: I don't have nearly as many criticisms with "The Shadow of Kyoshi" as I did "The Rise of Kyoshi". Much of what made the first novel work carries over to this one, and many of the issues found in book one were fixed in some way here. The one point in this novel that didn't quite work for me was a stretch in the middle- namely how it plays into the climax of the novel. (view spoiler)[ When Kyoshi makes her move against Chaejin and Huazo, she forces Rangi to stay behind, to Rangi's dismay. I feel like there should have been more of a rift between the two, given that Rangi is both Kyoshi's loyal bodyguard AND her girlfriend. When it initially happens, it all makes sense. Kyoshi has a duty as the Avatar, and she doesn't want her actions to cost Rangi her honor. I really like that concept. However, in the finale, they are reunited after she sent Jinpa on a retrieval mission. I wanted to see more of a reconciliation between the two- either Kyoshi to apologize and to explain her actions to Rangi, and/or for Rangi to mention that she understood why Kyoshi did what she did. Perhaps Yee's intention was that those actions were in the past, and Yee had other matters to focus on in the scene. And I wouldn't buy it being a length issue, because The Shadow of Kyoshi is almost 100 pages shorter than its predecessor. So at the end of the day, this felt like a missing scene or unresolved character conflict to me. (hide spoiler)] THE GOOD: I don't know what else to say, but... what a fantastic payoff from what was set up in the first book! The story was interesting all the way through this time. I liked seeing how different the Fire Nation was during Kyoshi's era as well as the beginnings for what it would become by the time of Avatar Roku. The political plotline with the Fire Nation weaved quite nicely with Kyoshi's personal quest with Yun. And by the end, I loved seeing everything from this book as well as the previous book come together in a pretty epic and satisfying way. Kyoshi and Rangi carried the first novel fairly effectively even through the slower parts of the second half. Once again, they are great characters to follow. Kyoshi herself truly comes into her own as her origin story concludes, and you can see the beginnings of the cold and brutal persona she becomes known for in most of her era. In particular, I love how Kyoshi always goes out of her way to protect those she cares about- and not in the way you would expect (view spoiler)[ it's amazing to see the lengths Kyoshi goes to keep her companions out of situations that force them to compromise their values. I already mentioned how she protects Rangi from risking her honor, but I also love how she prevents Jinpa from having to use violence (hide spoiler)]. Rangi, once again, is awesome, and I hope that this isn't the last we see of her and her adventures with Kyoshi. The two of them make for such an endearing couple and I dread the day when I will have to experience the end of their relationship (because Kyoshi lives to be 230 years old! whether Rangi eventually dies tragically or she just grows old and passes on, it saddens me that Avatar Kyoshi almost certainly spends the majority of her life and her avatarhood without Rangi by her side). Either way, I need more with these two- whether it is through a third Kyoshi novel, a graphic novel/comic, or even movies/TV series continuing their story. Yun also makes for an excellent character, you can't help but feel sorry for him. He's a victim of circumstance- the grave mistakes of Avatar Kuruk's companions. He is a big reason why "The Shadow of Kyoshi" makes for such a strong continuation from "The Rise of Kyoshi". He serves as a thematic parallel to Kyoshi and what it means for her to be the Avatar. What do you do when destiny doesn't go your way? How will you deal with the hand your dealt when fate seems like it's actively trying to wrong you? It makes Kyoshi's journey throughout these two novels that much more fulfilling, and Yun all the more menacing when things unravel. The biggest improvement that this book makes to the last one are the characters surrounding Kyoshi and Rangi. Jianzhu was already a good villain, and Yun is an even better one. But the improvement is even more pronounced with the other characters. Hei-Ran didn't have that much to do in the first book, but she has more of an arc in the second one. And most of the new characters are quite memorable. Firelord Zoryu has a compelling character arc that directly plays into the future evolution of the Fire Nation. Chaejin and Huazo work well too. Atuat is a lot of fun- she's quite a quirky presence and she elevated every scene she was in. My favorite new character, however, has to be Jinpa. He is in direct opposition to Kyoshi in just about every way, making for a great foil- she's an earthbender, he's an airbender. Kyoshi is stoic and doesn't take issue with solving problems by force (view spoiler)[ to the point where she takes it far enough for Kuruk to step in and stop her (hide spoiler)], while Jinpa is a pacifist. Kyoshi is bold and brash, while Jinpa is cautious and nervous. It makes for an excellent dynamic between the two. I loved the insights we get into past Avatars in this novel. We finally learn the identity of the fire avatar preceding Roku, and learn about what he was like as Avatar. Szeto was a bureaucrat, focused on the unremarkable but necessary accounting and logistics that helped improve life in the Fire Nation. The small amount that is revealed about Avatar Yangchen turns out to be surprisingly eye-opening, offering major revelations that lead to the situation the world has found itself in during the first years of the Kyoshi era. Most importantly, we get more of a dive into the life of Avatar Kuruk- why he was seen as a disappointment, why his former companions acted the way they did, and hence why Kyoshi was stuck dealing with the things she was forced to deal with. It was an awesome dive into more lore from the world of Avatar, and in the cases of Yangchen and Kuruk, directly played into the wider story of both Kyoshi novels. Finally, there's the bending sequences. And this time, FC Yee might have outdone himself. The action scenes are really awesome this time around, especially the final battle in the climax. The bending is still executed well, and just like in the first book there's so many standout scenes because of how varied FC Yee writes the sequences. THE CONCLUSION: Final rating is 4.5 stars, rounded up. "The Rise of Kyoshi" ran as Kyoshi mastered the four elements, so "The Shadow of Kyoshi" could ascend as Kyoshi grows into her avatar destiny. I liked the first book fine, but I absolutely loved the second one. It's amazing that we never see any of the achievements Kyoshi became known for and yet I never felt the absence of the Dai Li or Chin the Conquerer (if anything, the portrayal of the Earth Kingdom in The Rise of Kyoshi leaves the door open as a set-up for his rise). The story that we got was just that satisfying. Would it be cool to get more Kyoshi content that delves into the events leading to formations of Kyoshi Island and the Dai Li? Of course it would. That being said, if these two books are all we get for the foreseeable future, I'm honestly ok with that. I'll just read these two books again and enjoy the overall well-crafted and exciting story that Kyoshi has been given so far. Recently, it has been confirmed that the Kyoshi novels have been rebranded as part of a wider series called "Chronicles of the Avatar", and the next novel will be The Dawn of Yangchen. With FC Yee returning as the author, I could not be more excited for the novel's release on July 19th, 2022. Until then, I'll be looking forward to the next time I will get to revisit the memorable characters and awesome elemental bending that Avatar Kyoshi's origin story has to offer. ...more |
Notes are private!
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not set
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Apr 10, 2022
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Apr 12, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 1616552263
| 9781616552268
| 1616552263
| 4.58
| 17,435
| Feb 05, 2014
| Feb 05, 2014
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it was amazing
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My adventure through the Avatar Universe continues with the next graphic novel trilogy taking place after Avatar: The Last Airbender- The Search! After My adventure through the Avatar Universe continues with the next graphic novel trilogy taking place after Avatar: The Last Airbender- The Search! After the solid foundation offered by The Promise, "The Search" was released in three parts over the course of 2013 to answer a burning question fans have had since the ending of Avatar: The Last Airbender- what happened to Zuko's mother? Speaking of "The Promise", I thought it was a pretty strong opening for the post-ATLA graphic novel storylines, but definitely had a couple of wrinkles to iron out. With that in mind, does "The Search" succeed in ironing out those problems and improve upon its predecessor? Would I have given this a 5 star rating if it didn't? THE STORY: Following his first year as the Fire Nation's ruler, Firelord Zuko decides it is time to find out where his mother, Ursa, went, and what happened to her. With failed search party after failed search party, and even an attempt from June the Bounty Hunter coming up fruitless, Zuko finally takes action himself and goes on an adventure. Toph may be too busy with her metalbending school, but he reunites with Aang, Katara, and Sokka. Zuko also brings his unhinged sister, Azula, with them, needing information that she alone contains. Will Team Avatar succeed in their quest? Or will Azula prove too dangerous and unravel their efforts? THE BAD: I have very little to complain about here. It's basically nitpicking. Once again, Katara and Sokka were not left with much to do here, especially the former in this case. They weren't badly written, but I just found it a bit disappointing to see them once again just to be "along for the ride" after their minimal contributions in "The Promise". While Aang is more important in that he is needed for various plot points to happen, he doesn't get much, if any, development either. THE GOOD: This graphic novel trilogy does an excellent job answering the one lingering question from the original Avatar series, as well as provide an insightful story on its own about the messed up and twisted nature of Zuko's family. Starting with Zuko himself, I loved his story here. While it doesn't focus much on his struggles as the firelord, "The Search" offers some amazing exploration into his continued family drama. I absolutely love how Gene Luen Yang approaches Zuko's feelings toward Azula and Ozai- while of course he acknowledge all the pain and trauma that was inflicted upon him by his abusive father and sister, he still can't let go of the fact that they are family. He will do anything to try and have a better relationship with two people who really don't deserve it. The tragedy is compelling, and it shows how strong Zuko is despite everything that happened. He refuses to stoop to the cruel depths of Ozai and Azula, wishing instead to offer an olive branch and reconcile. Whether this was Yang's intention or not, I'm sure that's a philosophy he adopted from Uncle Iroh. As for Azula and Ozai, these two were written incredibly well too. Yang strikes a perfect balance for Azula, maintaining her continued presence as a villain, but at the same time making her tragically sympathetic. She goes from a villain you love to hate in ATLA to being a villain you feel bad for but still need to watch out for. The dynamic between Azula and the rest of the team here consistently kept my attention- and ad the edge of my seat. As for Ozai, this is a perfect example of how you can make a one-track big bad a more memorable and fleshed out character just by doubling down on that one-track big bad approach. Ozai was a one-dimensional power hungry dictator in the original series, but he was great because of Mark Hamill's incredible voice performance and he was exactly what he needed to be- a plot device, a means to an end for Avatar Aang's hero's journey. Heck, you don't even see Firelord Ozai's face until the final season- because you don't need to. In this comic, you see more of him, and even though he stays a simple character, Gene Luen Yang shows the true extent of how twisted and cruel Ozai truly is. Here, he is rotten to his core, and takes the role that Azula did in the original series- being upgraded from a means to an end to a villain who you love to hate. I've seen some controversy behind how "The Search" chose to handle Ursa, but I think it added some fantastic depth to her story. It makes her a much more flawed, complex human being, but she still remains compelling and consistent with the little we see of her in the original series. By adding an extra element of tragedy to her situation, it adds depth to the tragedy of Zuko's upbringing, as well as the depths of Ozai's evil. You also get some nice easter eggs that provide background to various minor elements from ATLA. For me, it all worked wonderfully. "The Search" does a great job keeping the focus where it needs to be- on Zuko, Azula, and Ursa (and by extension, Ozai). However, that doesn't mean the other characters both old and new don't work- they absolutely do. Starting with the Mother of Faces, she is an awesome addition to the Avatar's world. Every scene with her works on every level. I also like the side story involving Misu and Rafa, which helped to enhance the themes of the bonds between siblings that is explored throughout this story. I do like Sokka significantly more in "The Search" than I did in "The Promise". Not only is that unfunny "oogies" gag nowhere to be seen here, but he develops a memorable little rapport with Zuko and gets a badass moment towards the end. Katara may have almost nothing to do except bend some water, but I did still feel like this was the Katara I know and love from the original series. Ikem was a likable character and Kiyi is just to cute to miss in this storyline. Finally, the artwork from Gurihuru delivers once again, just like in "The Promise". In fact, it might be even better here. The designs for the spirits that show up in "The Search" are amazing, and the action sequences are just as fun and exciting as they were in "The Promise". This is a case where having the library edition of "The Search" really helps as you get to discover some of the behind the scenes insights that went into creating this comic- and once you learn those tidbits, the work on display comes to life even more. THE CONCLUSION: Final rating is 4.5 stars, rounded up. "The Search" is pointed to by fans of the franchise as an essential piece of media to experience for the story of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and I completely agree. The world of ATLA has rapidly expanded beyond that original 3-season TV series (as well as The Legend of Korra sequel series) through books, comics, and other media. With the new formation of Avatar Studios, the expansion will only continue- and at a more rapid pace than it had ever before. However, If there's ONE comic or novel that I would recommend as unmissable, "The Search" would be it. This trilogy of graphic novels resolves the one unanswered question from the otherwise perfectly wrapped up Avatar: The Last Airbender in a compelling, exciting story that stays true to the characters the original series made us fall in love with. If anything, this feels just like an episode of the show, or at least a 2- or 3-parter. While I think it will be rewarding to read The Promise first, it's not completely essential. "The Search" stands on its own well enough that those who only want to answer the question of Zuko's mother can read this and get a complete, self-contained story. Of course, I would recommend the other post-ATLA graphic novels, but "The Search" is an excellent place to start. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 06, 2022
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Apr 07, 2022
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Apr 07, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 1616550740
| 9781616550745
| 1616550740
| 4.41
| 27,518
| Feb 19, 2013
| Feb 19, 2013
|
really liked it
|
I've been going through a deep-dive of the Avatarverse lately, rewatching Avatar: The Last Airbender and rereading the Kyoshi novels. And as of right
I've been going through a deep-dive of the Avatarverse lately, rewatching Avatar: The Last Airbender and rereading the Kyoshi novels. And as of right now, I've been rereading the comics that take place during and after my favorite TV series of all time. "The Promise" originally came out in 3 parts from January-September, 2012. I'm going to be reviewing all three parts in one go. So let's dive right into the first of six graphic novel trilogies starring Avatar Aang and his friends! THE STORY: While we open right after the ending of Avatar: The Last Airbender, most of the story takes place one year later. Aang and Katara are an established couple, Zuko is the reigning Firelord, and Toph has started a metalbending school with three students under her wing. Team Avatar may have defeated Firelord Ozai and ended the Hundred Year War, but balance has yet to be achieved. Since the time of Firelord Sozen, there have been Fire Nation colonies in the territory of the Earth Kingdom. And while the removal of Fire Nation colonists initially went smoothly, tensions erupt in Yu Dao, one of the oldest colonies. Earth King Kuei sends an army to expel the colonists, while Firelord Zuko sends an army of his own to protect them. Making things more complicated, the interactions between Fire Nation colonists and Earth Kingdom natives have lead to a shared, blended cultural identity for its citizens- including mixed fire-earth families and romantic relationships. Caught in the middle, will Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Suki be able to prevent another possible war? THE BAD: I only had a couple of problems with this comic, but both go into spoilers. (view spoiler)[ The first problem has to do with Sokka, and a character decision that is used to create an unfunny running gag. It turns out, as Aang and Katara are having their kiss during Avatar: The Last Airbender's final shot, Sokka stumbles upon them. While its understandable that he might feel weirded out at first with his sister dating a kid who he grew to see as a brother, I don't buy that he would still feel uncomfortable about it after a year. It also comes off as jarring because Sokka expected Katara to be comfortable around him and Suki, and he has seen her develop feelings for other boys such as Jet (and he was definitely around for at least one of the instances where Katara kisses Aang on the cheek, so I don't buy that he wouldn't have known either). Katara actually does call out Sokka for his behavior and mentions him and Suki, but we don't actually see them arguing about it. I would have been more accepting of this character decision if we actually saw them have a meaningful conversation, but instead Yang skips past it with an underwhelming visual gag. And most importantly... the "oogies" schtick is just not funny. The second issue I have is with Zuko, but this one is more minor. It's not a problem with Zuko's characterization conceptually, but simply a consequence of the way Gene Luen Yang sequences the scenes. Zuko is struggling with being the Firelord, and seeks Ozai for advice. I don't mind this on its own, and in Part 3 there's a well done scene which reveals why he did not seek the guidance of Uncle Iroh. I just think this scene needed to occur much earlier, in Part 1- because after the reveal in part 3, Zuko's actions make sense. However, until you get to that part, it feels very jarring to see Zuko quickly seeking the advice of his cruel, abusive father who didn't accept him even after he supposedly took down the Avatar and restored his honor, but not his loving, deeply caring uncle who quickly forgave him even after Zuko's backstabbing. (hide spoiler)] THE GOOD: Tie-in fiction has a less-than-stellar reputation when it comes to the literary world. As someone who reads a ton of Star Wars books and comics, tie-in media can be... hit or miss, to put it lightly. I've read tie-ins to Star Wars, How to Train Your Dragon, Dungeons and Dragons, and Dragon Age, among others, and I have encountered content all over the quality curve. The graphic novels taking place after Avatar: The Last Airbender had quite the uphill battle- they not only were facing the negative stereotype that tie-in media often has, but they also needed to live up to what is widely considered one of the greatest TV shows ever made. To say "The Promise" succeeded against both of these hurtles would be an understatement. It's not just well above average for tie-in fiction, this actually lived up to the standards of the acclaimed TV series it is based on. While it doesn't reach the heights of the very best moments and episodes ATLA had to offer, it is a worthy continuation of the show to the point where it feels completely natural. The story is quite compelling and really interesting. It continues the tradition of the original series of tackling nuanced issues and themes in a way that is understandable for children and mature for adults. The imperialism of the Fire Nation may have come to an end, but healing the wounds of war is not easy. Colonialism is a very complex issue, and "The Promise" explores it with both a balanced and tasteful approach. It doesn't shy away from the painful legacy of Fire Nation conquest, but neither does it take the easy route; it also acknowledges the good that came from cultural integration. This is done through the brilliant portrayal of Yu Dao and its citizens. The comic brings back a host of familiar side characters from ATLA and introduces a series of new characters- and Gene Luen Yang does a fantastic job handling both. I also love the design of Yu Dao and how Yang and artist Gurihuru blended Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom aesthetics. Aside from my misgivings that I mentioned in the spoilers from "THE BAD", I really liked how the characters were handled. Aang feels just he did from the series, but he is also given a new character arc to explore. The story he has with his fan club plays quite nicely into the themes of dealing with difficult, not-black-and-white changes brought about by the sins of the past. Aside from Aang, the character with the most focus from the original series is Zuko. I outlined my problems with how some of his scenes were sequenced under a spoiler tag in "THE BAD", but otherwise I loved how his struggle with being the firelord and his fear of becoming bad again were portrayed. Gene Luen Yang's risky choices were already commendable, but the important thing is that he succeeded with [mostly] flying colors. Katara doesn't get that much to do in this story, but she has a poignant moment of character growth that plays into Aang's arc. Her motherly, anchoring persona and badass waterbending also get their moments to shine, and I love seeing her and Aang grow as a couple. For Toph, the comic is mostly just showing what she has been doing since the series ended. Similar to Katara she doesn't have much of a central role in the story, but her attitude and overall awesomeness carry over from the series. She feels just like she did from the show. I also enjoyed the three quirky metalbender students and their dynamic with Toph. Sokka was my least favorite character here (namely due to the aspects I discussed under the spoiler tags in "THE BAD") but when he wasn't stuck doing an unfunny running gag (view spoiler)[ again, the "oogies" (hide spoiler)] I otherwise felt Gene Luen Yang got his character right. His ingenuity and knack for coming up with plans is on full display, and most of his comedy still works just fine. He still gets some good lines and the attempts at physical comedy usually land. Lastly, Gurihuru's artwork is excellent. I like the new costumes some of the established characters are given (Zuko's new design in particular is awesome) as well as the designs of the new characters. The backgrounds are fantastic and offer a perfect blend of designs between familiar and new. The biggest surprise came from how exciting the bending sequences are. Action sequences are difficult to pull off in comics, and while the action doesn't reach the exquisite animated mastery found in the TV series, the action scenes in this comic work perfectly fine and still feel like "Avatar" action scenes. THE CONCLUSION: Final rating is 4 stars. There were a couple of aspects that didn't work for me here, but the good stuff was so brilliant and so fantastic that could mostly be forgiving. The post-series graphic novels for Avatar: The Last Airbender are a worthy additions to the franchise, and "The Promise" is, well, a very promising start to the continuing adventures of Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Zuko, Suki, and the other characters we all know and love. New and exciting challenges and conflicts are introduced for the classic characters. Our old favorites are also given the chance to meet a variety of new and interesting people. And new lore, locations, and themes are added that serve to greatly enrich a world that was already well realized to begin with. What else is there to say? Stay tuned as I continue the journey of Avatar Aang and his quest to maintain balance in a world recovering from war with The Search, The Rift, Smoke and Shadow, North and South, and others! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 05, 2022
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Apr 06, 2022
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Apr 06, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 1419735047
| 9781419735042
| 1419735047
| 4.44
| 34,415
| Jul 16, 2019
| Jul 16, 2019
|
really liked it
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After taking a long hiatus on in depth reviews, I'm back looking at more tie-in fiction, which is my primary motivation for reading novels: to experie
After taking a long hiatus on in depth reviews, I'm back looking at more tie-in fiction, which is my primary motivation for reading novels: to experience more of the wider worlds and universes of my favorite fictional media franchises. Avatar: The Last Airbender (ATLA) is my favorite TV series of all time, even if Star Wars is my favorite franchise overall. I've been making my way through Avatar content over the years with The Legend of Korra (or LOK, which unfortunately I did not like very much), and the graphic novels focusing on Aang and his friends after the ending of ATLA's third season. The most recent foray into this universe for me is the Kyoshi Novels. And at least for the first in the Kyoshi duology, "The Rise of Kyoshi", I have read this one twice now. I plan on reviewing The Shadow of Kyoshi after I read that one a second time. But for now, lets look at the origins of Avatar Kyoshi- the one who came just before Avatars Roku, Aang, and Korra. THE AUDIO: while I usually talk about this later in my reviews if I listen to the audiobook, I think its more important to bring it up early- because that had a big influence on my shifting opinions with both this book and what I hope will be the case with The Shadow of Kyoshi. When I first read this duology it was through the audiobooks- and to be frank, they left something to be desired, utterly failing to do these books justice. I'm sure Nancy Wu is a wonderful person, and I will still give her credit in that the voices she did for the characters were actually quite good. But her narration... I feel bad for being so harsh, because YIKES. Wu's narration for both of these novels was so bland and monotonous that she made these books look/sound so much worse than they actually are. It was only after I read this book in print alongside my fiance that I found more to appreciate here. THE STORY: When we first were introduced to Avatar Kyoshi in ATLA, it was only in legend and heresay. With this novel and its sequel, we finally get a glimpse at who she was. The Kyoshi novels are an origin story for the one who would go on to separate Kyoshi Island from the mainland Earth Kingdom continent, as well as create the infamous Dai Li agents. Our story begins 400 years before the events of ATLA. After the death of Kyoshi's predecessor, the water bender Kuruk, his companions- earth bender Jianzhu, fire bender Hei-Ran, and air bender Kelsang, rush to find the next avatar and avoid repeating what they saw as Kuruk's mistakes. They scour the Earth Kingdom for 7 years and find a boy named Yun, who they misidentify as the next Earth Avatar. But when the truth eventually reveals itself, Jianzhu directs his efforts toward Kyoshi and she is forced to flee. Yun's former bodyguard, Hei-Ran's fire-bending daughter Rangi, accompanies Kyoshi on her quest for revenge against Jianzhu, even as he continues hunting her. They come across a group of bandits and thieves (whom along with pirates are referred to as "Dao-Fei" in these books) called the Flying Opera Company on their ensuing adventures- consisting of water bender Kirima and earthbenders Wong, Lek, and Lao Ge. They agree to train Kyoshi to prepare her for her reunion with Jianzhu in return for helping them on their various missions and heists. THE BAD: While the audiobook version of "The Rise of Kyoshi" does this book absolutely no favors and sucks out almost everything that made this an enjoyable read in print, there's still some significant problems that not even another narrator such as January LaVoy, music from either ATLA or LOK, and/or bending sound effects could have smoothed over. The problems I'm going to bring up here are specifically from the text itself. My biggest problem is the plot, specifically in the second half. Conceptually, everything about this story should work- and it actually does for a large part of the novel (more on that later). But once Kyoshi and Rangi meet the rest of what FC Yee refers to as Kyoshi's "Team Avatar" in the forward, the novel's pacing is thrown out of balance (see what I did there?). I will elaborate on why I absolutely LOVED the first half later, but once the plot reaches a certain beat (view spoiler)[ when Kyoshi and Rangi join the flying opera company (hide spoiler)], the second half grinds to a screeching halt and suddenly starts meandering and dragging its feet. For much of the first roughly 200-250 pages, especially the first 3rd, I was hooked by all of the twists and turns this novel took. But then the story slows down and becomes more generic and predictable until close to the end. The weakness of the plot in the second half could have been more forgivable if all of the characters were interesting enough to carry the story- after all, even almost all of the "lesser" episodes of ATLA still ranged from good-to-great because of how invested we were in the brilliant characters. But here, much of Kyoshi's Team Avatar didn't really land for me the way FC Yee was probably hoping. We learn a bit about Lek and his relationship with the past leaders of the group, but Yee doesn't explore it enough for his backstory to rise above "Mommy and Daddy Issues". Kirima and Wong get it even worse- by the end of the book I didn't know ANYTHING about them. Kirima was just "water bender" and Wong was "the muscle [,who also know how to earth bend]". THE GOOD: Especially after reading this book a second time, I found far more to appreciate. The first half of the novel was honestly masterful. FC Yee does an amazing job setting the story up- even with the false avatar plotline. Despite knowing that the lie will eventually reveal itself (because the book isn't "The Rise of Yun") I was surprisingly very invested in the plot leading up to this reveal, and the payoff was really well done. The only twist that I could see coming was the false Avatar reveal, and that one was telegraphed from the second chapter. Yee does a great job introducing the pieces and putting it all together, but he also ensures that the momentum keeps going afterwards. Most importantly (and why this did NOT turn out to be a disaster like Rebel Rising, another YA novel that had a far better first half than second), the finale sticks the landing in a very satisfying way. It does a great job wrapping up Kyoshi's character arc so far, and throws in a twist that genuinely shocked me the first time (the surprise in my fiance's voice was PRICELESS) and sets up the second book quite nicely. While not every character works, I really liked most of them. Starting with Kyoshi herself, FC Yee ensures that her story can't be missed- there's far more to explore with this Avatar than the mere glimpses we see in ATLA. Her origins are interesting, she has an interesting personality, and her motivations are compelling throughout the novel. You also get to see origins/explanations for pretty much every piece of her character design in ATLA, but none of it feels overly forced. In particular, I really liked how FC Yee elaborated on why Kyoshi uses her fans, and it contributes nicely to both the overall story and Kyoshi's character. (view spoiler)[ Additionally, I LOVED the romance between Kyoshi and Rangi. Honestly, to me the Kyoshi+Rangi romance is everything that the Korra+Asami romance was going for but SO MUCH BETTER. Feel free to take my opinion on whether this is LGBTQ+ representation done right or not with a grain of salt because I'm a cis-het white man, but I view this as representation done right. It feels like there was a natural and compelling buildup, and the first kiss scene is precious as hell. I had no problem believing that these two were in love. (hide spoiler)] Next there's Rangi, who is a great companion and foil to Kyoshi. She has a sense of honor akin to the fire nation, but is also adaptable when the situation calls for it. She's got a strong-willed personality and is a capable fighter but isn't edgy just because firebender, and she also gets her chances to show vulnerability as well. Jianzhu makes for a fairly solid villain. He poses a credible threat to Kyoshi and her companions, and whenever he shows up on the page he never fails to be intimidating. He also has compelling motivations and enough personality so even though he is a despicable person, Yee does a good job helping the audience understand why he is the way he is. As for the other notable characters who get less page time, they work well for what they need to do. For anyone who is familiar with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, you'll probably find many parallels between Kreia and the character of Lao Ge. While the similarities are close enough that I swear FC Yee played KOTOR 2 and was so drawn to Kreia that he wanted to add an equivalent to the Avatarverse, that isn't a bad thing. The two characters have enough differences for Lao Ge to stand on his own, and his gray morals and philosophy still add an interesting element to Kyoshi's story. I also enjoyed Kelsang and his relationship to Kyoshi, as well as Hei-Ran. If there is one aspect that was night and day improved for me when I read the book in print instead of listened to the audiobook, it's the bending sequences. This is the part that suffered the most from the audiobook. Yee's bending sequences are awesome. They are filled with tension and he does a great job describing the sequences as they play out. In addition, there's a perfect balance with the amount of bending that occurs in the book- the book isn't light on bending, but here isn't so much that the book uses it as a crutch. Most importantly, there's a surprising amount of variety to the bending sequences, so whenever an action scene occurs, most of them stand out and are impactful enough to remember. THE CONCLUSION: Final rating is 3.5 stars. I would have rounded down if all I had was the audiobook, but I'm rounding up because I got to read the print version with my fiance. While "The Rise of Kyoshi" is flawed, I still enjoyed it and found it to be a worthy addition to the Avatar universe. I already enjoyed The Shadow of Kyoshi more than "The Rise of Kyoshi" when I listened to the audiobooks, so I'm really excited to revisit it in print. If you're a fan of the Avatar franchise I highly recommend this novel. While it isn't the same level as Avatar: The Last Airbender, I still enjoyed "The Rise of Kyoshi" quite a bit. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Dec 05, 2021
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Dec 13, 2021
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Hardcover
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