A Little Smoke Was All It Took To Get the Better of the Mighty Avatar

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books in the Avatar: The Last Airbender series, or don't mind knowing spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

Avatar: The Last Airbender
Smoke and Shadow
By Gene Luen Yang & Gurihiru
in collaboration with Bryan Konietzko & Michael Dante DiMartino
Amazon ~ Powell's

The Fire Nation is threatened by a prophecy told by the Kemurikage--mysterious figures thought only to exist in legend: remove Zuko from the throne or the country will perish! Unrest is brewing as the New Ozai Society prepares to make its move against the crown, and children begin to go missing from their homes under mysterious circumstances! Avatar Aang and his friends are doing everything in their power to save them--but will it be enough?!


I'll admit, when I realized that this would be a continuation of Zuko's family's story following The Search, I was a bit more excited than I was for The Rift. I mean, I love Toph, and it's interesting seeing what the Fire Nation colonies are getting around to, but between Zuko and Azula and their mother, there's just so much drama and baggage to unpack. Add in some good political intrigue and a mystery to things, and I'm sold!

Unfortunately, I left this story feeling just underwhelmed.

Don't get me wrong, there were a lot of great elements in this story. Like Ursa's return to the palace triggering major PTSD, Ursa's face change confusing and alienating her from her young daughter, the upheaval that a regime change might cause within that nation, and Zuko's continued struggles in finding his own leadership style when surrounded by opposing advice. And I would have loved to see more done with all those elements, but with all that and even more plot elements being introduced, it felt like it was rushing to try and tie up the major plot threads before the last page. In fact, that's exactly how long we have to wait for Ursa's resolution, and only three pages at that.

But I'm probably getting ahead of myself here. Let me back up.

The story picks up fairly closely to what we left off with in The Search. Zuko is returning to the palace with his mother and her new family, accompanied by Aang, Katara, and Sokka for...support? But during their absence in the capital, there has been unrest among those still loyal to the previous Fire Lord. And this unrest boils over into a straight coup attempt when Zuko and his family are attacked on their way to the palace. And as if the political drama wasn't enough, the drama becomes all too personal when Mai, Zuko's ex, finds herself trapped smack dab in the middle of things with her loyalty to and lingering feelings for Zuko on one side, and her father on the other.

And all that's before the kidnappings start.

Suffice it to say, this story has a ton of moving parts, and unfortunately I think that was to its detriment. I think things could have worked okay if it was contained to the political unrest, the kidnappings, and probably Zuko and Mai's relationship struggles, but then there's this whole subplot with Ursa's PTSD, her face change from The Search estranging her from her daughter, and her seeking closure and the strength to move past Ozai, which is resolved literally in the last 3 pages of the book. And don't get me wrong, I am all for this depiction of PTSD and moving forward from your past, but it just seemed shoehorned in instead of given enough time to breathe on its own.

Though, if I'm being honest, the most annoying subplot for me was Mai's and Zuko's relationship issues. Mai broke up with Zuko in The Promise after he neglected to be open with her regarding his decisions, like seeking advice from Ozai. And I get it, part of being in a relationship is being open and honest with one another, and consulting each other about big decisions, supporting one another, and accepting support. But the scene itself seemed an afterthought in the story overall, that I was a little surprised it actually came up again.

Here Mai has started a relationship with a guy who hangs out in her dad's New Ozai Society. Oh, did I mention that her dad is leading the charge against Zuko's reign? Anyway, her relationship starts out as simply a way to squeeze the guy for information, but when it turns out that he's open to other views, their relationship becomes more permanent. Thing is, between it starting out as a lie on Mai's part, with her acting nothing like herself around him, and then being forced back into Zuko's circle to combat the New Ozai Society, and the subsequent kidnappings, things get more than a bit awkward.

And that awkwardness was both relatable and annoying. I don't know, maybe it's because it came across so real that I was uncomfortable reading it? Kei Lo was a sweet guy, with an interesting backstory, and Mai seemed happy around him. But that's just it—Mai seemed happy. Between trying to maintain a relationship built on falsities, and her revelation that she couldn't be open and vulnerable for fear of being hurt again, she just wasn't being truthful with him. Or even with herself. And again, I love the realness and drama that this type of story portrays, but I feel like it wasn't given enough time to build and resolve. Its conclusion takes just a single page, right before Ursa's finale, and we don't even get enough info for it to feel like a resolution. I get that relationships are complicated and ever evolving, but, again, it felt shoehorned in instead of an essential plot.

Which brings us to the actual main characters of the story: Aang and Zuko. Though, if I'm being honest, Aang really isn't a main character here. He comes in because the Kemurikage are vengeful spirits who seem to be behind the kidnappings, but his whole interaction boils down to a fact-finding quest, arguing with Zuko about being totalitarian, and a quick fight sequence at the climax. But, I guess he did have a lot of stuff to go through from the last story, and we get to see him try and be more diplomatic with the spirits instead of ordering them around...kinda...so he's fine I guess.

But really, this is Zuko's show. He's concerned about his mother's return home, and how his new little sister will adjust. He's forced to contend with an attempted insurrection and how that effects the safety of his family and his nation. Once the kidnappings start, he's faced with the awkwardness of working with his ex, plus finding balance between personal and professional courtesy among his staff. And when his own sister is among the new kidnapping victims, he's forced to contend with feelings of panic and unworthiness, as well as deal with the warring advice of his generals and friends.

And the revelation that comes in the last book, the machinations driving this whole kidnapping scheme, was actually pretty brilliant. I'm not sure that I buy that specific character coming to that conclusion, given their past, but I suppose it does fit some aspects. Once again, I wish we could see more of them here, have more interaction with Zuko, or even Ursa or her daughter, but I appreciate what little we did get. And I sincerely hope we see more of them in the future.

Pulling back from the plot a bit, I did notice that there was a noticeable lack of comedy in this story. With Sokka being taken out of the story fairly early on, and so much of the plot hinging on politics and emotional strife, there really wasn't as much room for our typical slapstick or witty banter. Well, part one did have some punctuating the fight scenes (I couldn't help but chuckle at some of the grunts getting confused about who to fight with Mai's father calling the shots), but after that point most of the humor seems to come from the awkwardness between Zuko, Mai, and Kei Lo, with Aang looking on, which, as I've already said, was kinda hit-and-miss for me.

Do I have to say the art is once again fantastic? I mean, you can tell just from the covers that the art style is once again exactly what we've come to expect from Team Avatar. And I finally learned that Gurihiru is a team of female artists, which is pretty awesome. Count me in for checking out some of their other work. From the menace of the Kemurikage and the unnerving underground crypts, to the emotional scenes, to the fight scenes, everything is clear, vibrant, and practically a part of the original series.

As for how this fits into the overall Avatar story, it's definitley one you can't read out of order. Between picking up pieces directly from The Search, referencing a little of what happened in The Rift, and teasing Katara and Sokka's next adventure in North and South, this one really can't just be picked up on a whim by a casual Avatar fan without some confusion. Or at the least, some major spoilers. I'll admit that the month-long time-skip did kinda throw me, what with us missing an entire month of Ursa and family in the capital, but I suppose there just wasn't enough space.

Which continues to be my main complaint of this book. Wheras the other Avatar stories thus far seemed to fit neatly into a three-episode structure, this one just needed more pages to properly introduce and wrap up everything it wanted to touch on. I mean, the exploration of Ba Sing Se in the original show lasted 6 episodes, and this story felt just as complex if not more-so. I'm hoping some aspects will be readressed in future stories, but as it stands now, this was probably my least favorite of the series just for its disappointing execution.

Overall, Smoke and Shadow felt like it had just too much to say in the space it was allowed. An ambitious story, filled with political intrigue, emotional drama, and a kidnapping mystery to boot, it had a lot of great aspects to it, but the limitations placed on it just failed to wow me. It did a good job with its characters, expanding on their stories and moving them forward, but, as is common with this series, I'm left wishing for more. I think fans of Avatar, and this comic series will find a lot to like here, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of what comes next. Until next time~