Review: Avatar- The Last Airbender: The Promise
Quick Summary
Pros: The characters and their actions feel authentic to the show. The comic paints a great picture of this unique time in the Avatar world. The narrative has some great themes that address complex issues in a nuanced way. The artwork looks good and successfully captures the spirit of the show.
Cons: This is mostly a book for Avatar fans, not newcomers to the series.
Overall: This comic is a great way to continue everything good about Avatar: The Last Airbender. The volume directly continues the show’s overall story and individual character development in a way that feels natural and earned. It also tells a captivating story on its own, one filled with thoughtful themes and questions. Any fan of the original show should read this book, especially if they are interested in the time between the original show and the sequel series.
Story
Avatar: The Last Airbender- The Promise, by Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Gene Luen Yang, is a satisfying continuation of the Avatar: The Last Airbender series. It picks up right where the show left off and immediately begins developing lingering plotlines and open-ended character stories. Readers get to see Aang and Katara explore their new relationship, see Toph expand the field of metalbending, see Zuko struggle with his father’s legacy, and see the entire world begin to shape into what was seen in Avatar: The Legend of Korra. In this way, the comic works as a way to continue everything great about the show. However, it also tells a great story on its own, one that addresses colonialism, racism, and the value of a culture. As a whole, all of these factors come together to create a wonderful reading experience.
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The most obvious positive offered by The Promise is simply getting to see more of “The Gaang”. Each of the characters is captured well throughout this book and their dialogue and actions feel as if they could have been seen in any episode of the show. Each of their story progressions, whether it involves starting a metalbending school or overseeing the withdrawal of the Fire Nation from the Earth Kingdom, also feels authentic. Essentially, the book is wonderfully successful in bringing back the show’s charm.
In this same way, the book helps to begin bridging the gap between the last episode of The Last Airbender and the first episode of The Legend of Korra. Readers get to see the first ideas of Republic City make their way into characters’ heads, see the Air Acolytes form, and see global politics take on a new shape as old ideas are modernized.
However, the best part about The Promise is the themes and messages it develops within its own narrative. This is a book that addresses the destructive nature of colonialism and asks how we can deal with its repercussions in the present. It also, like the rest of the Avatar properties, chastises racism and segregation, suggesting that intermingling cultures can produce more beauty than isolationism. The Promise tackles these issues in the same nuanced way in which the show approached them, producing a narrative that feels natural but still allows the reader to feel a full range of emotion.
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Art
Like the story, the artwork in The Promise, by Gurihiru, is able to capture all of the positives from the show and bring them into this comic. The characters and locations wonderfully reflect the show’s style and aesthetic. This allows expressive moments from the characters and creates cityscapes and countrysides that show the complexities of the Avatar world. The page structures are also well-done and several larger spreads are seriously impressive, which helps bring out the drama in a few key moments. In general, the visuals in this book are a big success and are likely to please any Avatar fan out there.
Continuity
Avatar: The Last Airbender- The Promise directly continues the story from the conclusion of the Avatar: The Last Airbender television show.
The story here continues in Avatar: The Last Airbender- The Search (Review).