Review: Avatar- The Last Airbender: The Search
Quick Summary
Pros: The comic answers questions about Zuko’s mother and goes on to answer unasked questions about other aspects of the series. The main storyline is captivating and the emotions within it are well-written. The artwork looks great and particularly shines in a few key moments.
Cons: Small elements of the story rely on coincidence too much.
Overall: This book is such a significant and satisfying expansion of the Avatar story that it makes a case for being required reading for any fan of the series. At its core, it revolves around a compelling and wonderfully emotional story. This is then complemented by the introduction of plenty of new lore, much of which directly addresses concepts from the original series. Any Avatar fans should consider reading this book, especially if they are curious about what happened to Zuko’s mother.
Story
Avatar: The Last Airbender- The Search, by Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Gene Luen Yang, is an incredible expansion of the Avatar universe accomplished through a deeply emotional story. This storyline explains what happened to Zuko’s mother in a way that should satisfy any fan. However, it goes further than this and introduces new elements of Fire Nation politics, the main characters’ histories, and connections between the regular world and the spirit world. All of this is done through a story that starts out with an emotional core and continues to build on this as it progresses. All in all, this is a fantastic comic that does a lot for the Avatar universe.
(spoilers start here)
The Search revolves around a highly emotional story about a woman forced to go through heartbreak after heartbreak, her son’s quest to rediscover her, and the tension this journey creates in the cast. From the book’s first few pages, a few simple scenes imbue the story with emotion, as readers see how much Ursa cares for Ikem before the two are ripped apart. The rest of the volume follows suit and shows how this initial heartbreak leads to tensions within the royal family and created an environment where Ursa was forced to leave her old life behind and even purge herself of the painful memories.
Then, these emotions are turned on their head as the volume comes to a close. Readers learn that Ursa and Ikem were reunited and even get to see Ursa and Zuko reunite, after Ursa’s memories are returned. There is even an indication that Azula learned something. It is a wonderful close to a highly emotional story.
All of this is also a significant expansion on the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender. The TV series concluded with lingering questions regarding Zuko’s mother and this comic promised to resolve them. However, this comic goes far beyond simply explaining what happened to Zuko’s mother and even goes on to further detail large pieces of lore. This includes some critical pieces, like Ursa’s entire history and the fact that Zuko’s father treated him poorly partially to torture his mother, and some less critical but still interesting pieces, like some character motivation for Koh. Readers can leave this volume with a deeper appreciation for this series, which could even make rewatching it more worthwhile.
My only complaint is that it occasionally feels like too many aspects of the story rely on coincidence in order to push the narrative forward. However, besides this, the book is great.
(spoilers end here)
Art
The artwork in The Search, by Gurihiru, generally maintains the satisfying level of quality seen in The Promise (Review). It recaptures the aesthetic of the television series, ensuring a sense of familiarity with the characters and environments. It then uses this aesthetic to introduce several new features that work well with this book but feel as if they could have also been seen in the TV show, with a beautifully designed new spirit character being the most notable addition. All of this is then approached with structures that help the story flow forward and do well in emphasizing emotions. There are a few tiny moments where the bending looks a little weird but, for the most part, the artwork here looks great.
Continuity
Avatar: The Last Airbender- The Search directly continues the story from Avatar: The Last Airbender- The Promise (Review) the conclusion of the Avatar: The Last Airbender television show.
The story here continues in Avatar: The Last Airbender- The Rift (Review).