Firestarter - Jimmy Eat World

Avatar: The Last Airbender
The Promise, Part 1

Author: Gene Luen Yang
Illustrator: Gurihiru
Pages: 76
ARC Acquired from: Dark Horse Books via NetGalley

For those who don't know, there's going to be another Avatar television, featuring Aang's granddaughter, the new avatar. This is the first in a series of graphic novels that will connect (in some fashion...I'm not sure whether the whole span of time will be covered or not) the old show with the new one.

This volume focuses on Zuko in his new role as leader of the fire kingdom. He fears that one day he will become like his father, a terrifying despot bent on world domination, so he forces Aang to promise to kill him, should that be the case. Will this be necessary? Will Aang have the stones to follow through if it is?

The first 15 pages of the story summarize the plot of the show (3 seasons in 15 pages...right), mostly by using the intro of the show. Much is made of Aang and Katara as a couple, but I still don't buy it. Like Sokka, the whole thing gives me the oogies. Zukatara all the way!

The rest of the tale talks about the first issue to come up in world politics after the change in power: the Fire Kingdom colonies in the Earth Kingdom. The people of the Earth Kingdom want them gone, but some of them do not want to go, because they have lived there for over a century. Can this be sorted out without war?

So far, I'm definitely digging getting more Avatar. However, I have to say that I think the fact that the volume consists of only 80 pages is seriously lame. More next time, guys!

"I'm a twisted firestarter"

When Water Comes to Life - Cloud Cult

Avatar: The Last Airbender:
The Lost Adventures

Authors: Aaron Ehasz, Josh Hamilton, Tim Hedrick, Dave Roman, J. Torres
ARC Acquired from: Dark Horse Books via NetGalley

For those of you not familiar with Avatar, you probably should be. It's super cute and deeper than you might expect on first glance. It took a few episodes to grow on me, but, by the end, I was pretty much in love with it, even if my ship didn't turn out (still a little bitter!).

Anyway, The Lost Adventures is, as you may have guessed, little episodes that happen between the episodes or scenes of the show. They span all three seasons, and, as with any collection of stories, some are better than others. For the most part, I give this a big thumbs up. These little vignettes definitely retain the atmosphere of the show, giving the impression that at least some were probably cut from the show for time and are now being given to the fans (just in time to amp up interest for the reboot).

My only complaint is about the two sections which really do not seem to belong in this anthology. Two of the stories are totally amateur hour; the art is awful and the stories unremarkable. When you can make the characters look realistic, why wouldn't you do so? The last story had silly art, but it made sense in context; these other two were trying to be serious and good, but failed utterly.

Avatar fans should definitely give this a looksee, if they want more cute. Now, I really want to watch Avatar (although I won't because I'm working on Party Down and M*A*S*H) and am totally stoked for the reboot!