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Review: Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise, Part 2
I am terrible at keeping up with this series. Part 2 came out all the way at the end of May, and only now did I think to look into it and get myself a copy for review. Someone remind me to look for Part 3 in September. Though after reading The Promise, Part 2, I can’t say as how I’m too disappointed with missing out. This series – an in-canon continuation of the Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon – takes a noticeable step down in both quality and excitement with the second chapter, much to my displeasure.
The Promise, Part 2
Roughly about 90% of this comic is just filler material, and bad filler material at that. Nickelodeon and writer Gene Luen Yang clearly knew where they wanted the story to be at the end of Part 2, but it seems like they ran out of interesting stuff to do following the cliffhanger for Part 1.
Comic rating: 3/5: Alright.
I don’t even know if I can call this an entertaining comic. It’s not funny, the action is boring, it’s painfully predictable, and nothing of note happens to any of the main characters. The only thing Part 2 has going for it is that it looks and feels like an Avatar cartoon. Most of our favorite characters are back, and they talk and act like we remember them. The art is also exactly like the old cartoon. Plus the spirit of Avatar: The Last Airbender is in this comic. It feels like I could be watching a real episode. So I guess that’s a plus, and it should make fans happy. But if you were looking for a real, interesting look at life after the cartoon, Part 2 does not deliver.
Still, the overall story has me interested enough to return for Part 3 in September. As long as someone reminds me to pick it up.
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review.
Review: Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise, Part 1
Hey Aang Gangers, did you remember that Dark Horse Comics was going to publish a direct sequel comic book to Avatar: The Last Airbender? I had forgotten all about it, until I randomly saw it mentioned online about a week ago. Well the first chapter was released all the way back in January, and I’ve finally gotten my hands on a copy! We all know that Legend of Korra started this past weekend (I haven’t seen it, don’t spoil it for me!), but this comic book The Promise, is all about our favorite characters from the original series. It’s set one year after Aang defeated Fire Lord Ozai, and it’s about the work that must be done to bring peace back to the land.
The Promise: Part 1
And so far, it’s fantastic! All the characters are back, and almost all of them are growing from where we last saw them at the end of the cartoon. This isn’t just the continuing adventures of Avatar Aang and his friends, this is real, in-continuity growth and exploration of their world. This is everything you could want in a direct Avatar: The Last Airbender sequel.
Comic rating: 4/5: Good!
Written by Gene Yang, the titular ‘Promise’ is one that the new Fire Lord Zuko asks of Avatar Aang, and it drives this first graphic novel. As Fire Lord, Zuko is dealing with an incredible amount of pressure to try and end the machinations of the 100 Years War. Fighting a bad guy is easy, governing in his place once he’s gone is hard. So the comic has a lot of nice political issues to deal with, while giving Aang a challenge that can’t be fought physically. The cartoon series was all about preparing Aang for the showdown with Ozai. But now that the fight is over, Aang has to get to the real task of maintaining peace. That can be much harder, with far more complications.
So the story is quite fascinating, and it’s great to revisit the characters. Though one complaint I have is that some of them don’t seem to have grown or changed at all. I realize that it has only been one year since victory, but I would have liked a bit more depth in exploring these familiar characters. I suppose keeping them the same will make it easier for younger readers, but I wanted more.
Especially since Zuko seems to be regressing very very quickly.
A lot of the comic is definitely very light on plot and character development. This book is geared towards the younger set. But it’s still a good read. Click the jump to read a full synopsis of The Promise, in case you can’t get a copy for yourself! The next two parts are due out in May and September, and I’ll definitely be checking those out as well!
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