Avatar the Last Airbender Grahphic Novel | The Search | Review

'No matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are. ''

Remember this line from the show as you read this.

I mean what more can I say other than, We get the answer to what happened with Zuko's mother!

I cant believe it took me so long to read this.

I wont be going into what actually happens to Ursa. I will just say I think it was very well done, logically and emotionally compelling.

What I want to put attention to is, "What does this book do for the Avatar world in general? How does it fit in with our established lore?"

I loved it, I think this book was more memorable than The Promise graphic novel. I wanted to go over some of the themes this book covers, and tie ins to the original. (and even a nod to the future)

I don't believe what Im going to talk about is spoilers, but if you dont want to have any ideas you can stop here. Just know that the art is incredible! Inspiring honestly. And you will love every second of exploring the Avatar world from this book.

Some of the themes I liked:

Siblings. This isn't just about Zuko. Azula also needs to find her mother. The fact that Sokka and Katara are on this journey too isnt just a coincidence, and is a nice reminder of healthy and unhealthy sibling relationships. And the sibling theme doesn't stop there!

Faces and Mask. These are very prevalent in this book and work well to weave what we already know. We see the origin of Zukos famous blue spirit mask, and how it ties to Ursa and her background. We get a mention of our favorite centipede Koh - and a new spirit that is incredibly and beautifully realized in this book!

There is a quick nod to female water benders from the north, its nice how some things are not forgotten, it makes what Aang and the group did have lasting consequences for the world.

Very interestingly, if you have the edition I have, you learn how they were working on Korra book 2 Spirits at the same time as this. Alot of the development of how spirits work was essentially worked out in this book and used in Korra (or vice versa) This was an awesome little tid bit and make a fan like my self feel the care and thought they put into making this world grow.

I highly recommend, the stories in this book are fascinating and art beautiful! I expect nothing less from this franchise and they've done it again!

The Rise of Kyoshi | Review

Honestly there was alot of good quotes, but I wasn't marking them.

As much as Kyoshi wanted to stay, in a single, frozen pool of moments, the current carrying them forward was too strong.

I really enjoyed this. If you're caught up on all Avatar shows and lore or content, Kyoshi fits right in while making her own place.

Kyoshi has one of the hardest upbringings of Avatars that we've seen so far. You can see why she becomes the hardened blunt Avatar Aang meets and learns about. All the connections we come across that lead back to the Last AirBender are always a treat.

We learn about her signature style and weapons. We learn a little more about the past Avatars. Most interestingly, and for the first time, we can see each of the 4 nations living at the same time. It was very interesting to hear about how Earth, Water and Air have their own issues. I dont know if this was on purpose or not, but Fire is never mentioned as such, and seems to honestly be the strongest of the 4 nations. Which I think is a perfect casual set up for why Sozin thinks to start the war.

If you recall from the show:
Sozin commented that the Fire Nation was going through a period of great prosperity and wealth and told Roku that together, the two of them could spread it throughout the world by expanding the empire, to make a "brighter future" possible.

I like that Kyoshis world shows why this thought process is possible.

After Aang, Korra was refreshing in her more brash and bullheaded attitude. Kyoshi takes it even a step farther, born into a world with more strife than Korra's. Although there is a little too many similarities between the two sometimes... I almost wish we could have had Korra communicate with Kyoshi at some point.

Anyway, clearly I'm very happy with the story and lore. The writing was also well done, the explanation of Bending was clear and well done, it seemed to have the same respect for the art as the show did.

Very excited for the sequel!