Dark Horse picks up Avatar Story where the TV series ended
Nickelodeon has teamed up with Dark Horse to continue the Avatar: The last Air Bender story line shortly after the TV series ends. On board are writer GENE LUEN YANG and artist GURIHIRU, who keep the look of the series in place, but not so much the sound of it. One of the best tributes an offshoot product based on mass audience performance piece, whether TV, film or internet based, is to write words that carry the voice of the original actors. In the case of this issue, The Promise Part 1, this is an area where the material fails to reach the expectations of the original. Though simple and straightforward, The Promise Part 1 does have enough twists within to keep a cerebral connection to the audience. The story covers a few years in a few pages, the newly crowned fire lord, the defeated Ozai’s own son Zuko, has promised the Avatar, Aang, to bring stability and peace after 100 years of war. He promises to pull out all the colonies the Fire nation established in rival nations, but in return wants an oath from Aang that the last Airbender will take Zuko’s life should he begin to become the tyrant his still living and imprisoned father was.
Skip a year or so and the problems begin. Zuko has changed his mind. Many of the colonies are generations old, have relationships between peoples of two nations, and do not wish to be dismantled or forced to leave. Conflict anew. The set up for this comic book series is simple and nuanced at the same time: Will Aang keep a promise made, to take out Zuko, because the Firelord has decided to retain his colonies, or is there another way to keep the hard fought peace? Sprinkle in familiar characters from the series and their opinions on the matter and you get the potential for a lot of political intrigue between some good old fashioned super-power fighting.
For this reason, potential, I am recommending the comic book series to fans of the TV show (it will have no meaning to fans of the live acted movie). The starting story is a little wobbly. First off, despite the advancement of time over years, the main folks do not age, either in physical design or intellectual focus. Aang now has a girlfriend in Katara and her brother, Sokka, gets the “oogies” whenever they kiss or talk sweet to each other. If these kids have aged, been through war together, sewed peace throughout their lands, it seems a little forced that Sokka’s entire range of emotions about his sister’s (can’t say lover yet, I don’t think…) boyfriend is disgust at public displays of affection. I would think he would have very deep concerns, fears, or great joy, and this romance. But he is about as deep as a piece of paper. But the potential is there, the development of the meaning of this relationship to him – to his attitude toward Aang, and its reflection upon his relationship with his own girlfirend – could be uncovered. He just needs to be a little less boy and a little more man. In general the moving through time but not aging is the weakness of this inaugural effort. I think the only one. This is a good start for a revivication of The Last Airbender, but please guys – develop these wonderful characters a bit for us will you?
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