A Northerner, a Southerner, and an Air Nomad, All Working Together

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
North and South
By Gene Luen Yang & Gurihiru
in collaboration with Bryan Konietzko & Michael Dante DiMartino
Amazon ~ Powell's

When Katara and Sokka return home to the Southern Water Tribe, they are shocked to find that it has gone from a small village to a bustling city! Malina, a Northerner, is behind the change and plans to unify the Water Tribes, but Gilak, a Southerner, leads a fierce rebellion to stop her. In the face of these two opposing tribes, Katara will have to make peace with her nostalgia and mistrust to save the home she loves from being permanently torn apart.


Welp, it's finally time to focus on Katara and Sokka. While they were present in books 1-3, and had a very short stint in book 4 (mostly setting up this book), I can't say the pair ever had much impact in their stories, aside from comic relief or sideplots. So I was happy to finally get them front and center, especially if their story was all it promised to be.

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!

The Border Between Our Two Worlds Grows into a Rift

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

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

Avatar Aang asks his friends to help him honor Yangchen's Festival—one of the highest Air Nomad holidays, which hasn't been celebrated in over one hundred years. But cryptic visits from the spirit of Avatar Yangchen herself lead Aang to discover a jointly owned Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom refinery—operating on land sacred to the Airbenders! Is this simply a case of corporate greed or is something more mysterious happening?


Tackling my unfinished series this year, and juggling a new job on top of all that, I decided to go a little out-of-order and jump back into the Avatar comics/graphic novels. I went ahead and re-read through the first two again, then jumped straight into this one. But after reading through it, I think I actually may have read it before. Well, I knew I'd read at least the first part, but I think I recognized enough in it that I'd actually read the whole thing through. Well, better late than never, right?

May You Find Who - And What - You Are Searching For

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

For years, fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra have burned with one question - what happened to Fire Lord Zuko's mother? Finding a clue at last, Zuko enlists the aid of Team Avatar - and the most unlikely ally of all - to help uncover the biggest secret of his life.

Immediately following the Avatar's adventures chronicled in The Promise, this remarkable oversized hardcover collects parts 1-3 of The Search, from Airbender creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko! Featuring annotations by Eisner Award-winning writer Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese) and the artist team Gurihiru (Thor and The Warriors Four), and a brand-new sketchbook, this is a story that Avatar fans need in an edition they will love!


Once again I must lament over the decision not to put these stories into a fourth season. This story in particular was one that EVERYONE wanted to know, was teased in both the finale of Airbender, as well as in the premiere of Korra, and could have easily carried its own made-for-TV movie. But, as it stands, it still was an amazing story.

Fulfill Your Promise and Restore the World to Harmony

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

Aang and friends band together for an exciting new adventure, beginning with a face-off against the Fire Nation!

A plan to force Fire Nation colonists from their homes in the Earth Kingdom has brought Fire Lord Zuko and Earth King Kuei to the verge of war. While Aang and Katara work tirelessly for peace between the two nations, Sokka helps Toph prepare her metalbending school to defend themselves against a rival class of firebenders! Will Aang be able to bring peace in time, or will his friendship with Zuko be destroyed and the world plunged back into war?

Think of it as Book (season) Four of Avatar! Written by Eisner winner and National Book Award nominee Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese), in collaboration with Avatar creators Bryan Konietzko & Michael Dante DiMartino, and drawn by art team Gurihiru (Captain America: Fighting Avenger), this is the Avatar's greatest adventure yet! This deluxe hardcover collects the New York Times best-selling The Promise Parts 1 through 3, with new annotations from Yang and Gurihiru, as well as an exclusive sketchbook of never-before-seen art! This is the story that Avatar lovers have been clamoring for, as well as a perfect jumping-on point for new fans! *


Why couldn't they just have green-lit a fourth season? It says it right in the description there, "Think of it as Book (season) Four of Avatar!" Because in all intents and purposes, it is a fourth season of the show.