Review: Avatar the Last Airbender The Promise

This is a page of reviews for Gene Yang's Avatar the Last Airbender, The Promise comics.

User:Kate Winters
"White"

- If you ever see me turning into my father Aang, I want you... I want you to end me

Avatar The Last Airbender [the Promise], Library Edition, is a compilation of the brilliant graphic novel series The Promise, written by Gene Yang and and with art by Gurihiru. It follows the story of Team Avatar directly after the War and the effect of trying to separate two deeply entrenched cultures in the Fire Nation Colonies.

It begins at the very end of the Last Airbender Series. Zuko agrees to disband the Fire Nation colonies in order to restore peace with the Earth Kingdom and he asks Aang to make a very serious Promise. But a year later Zuko discovers the city of Yu Dao, where the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation citizens rely on each other for prosperity, that he changes his mind. The inability of the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation to resolve the matter peacefully and diplomatically makes for a thrilling roller coaster ride, where Team Avatar has to decide whether the Four Nations must remain separate,  Zuko, between the advice that his father gives and his own beliefs on morality and Aang on whether to fulfill his Promise to his best friend.

The themes of this book revolve around cultural identity and the illusion of separation. Each of the main characters has to challenge their view on the world and decide not only on what they believe is right, but what right is. For the first time multi ethnicity is introduced in Avatar, with half Fire Nation half  Earthbender, Kori Morishita, who is determined to protect her home, and the pressuring of those around her to pick a side. Is she Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom? These serious issues are handled in an entertaining way, with the deep themes balanced nicely with the characters humor and fun.

This is a must read for any last airbender fans. It is brilliant, staying true to the original series, whilst exploring issues of its own. The library edition includes comments from Gene Yang and never before original sketches. I loved every second and enjoyed seeing the limits and strains of the characters relationships. It is an epic read and I cannot wait for the following series, The Search.