Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise by Gene Yang

Martial Media, Culture and Other Arts Martial Media and Popular Culture
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Best seller

Haven’t read this yet, but I’m told it’s good.

‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ tops bookstore graphic novel chart
Published Monday, Mar 12 2012, 2:32pm EDT | By Mark Langshaw

Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise Part 1 has topped BookScan’s graphic novel chart for February.

Gene Luen Yang’s manga book was named as the bestselling graphic novel in the book store market after beating last month’s leader Sailor Moon Volume 3 to the number one spot.

Sailor Moon Volumes 1 and 2 also claimed top 20 places, while Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead accounted for four slots. The zombie series’ highest entry was Volume 15 in fourth.

Dark Horse Comics’ Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace graphic novel adaptation benefited from the movie’s 3D re-release, climbing to number 19 on the chart. Video game tie-in Diablo III: Book of Cain remained in the top ten for a third week running.

Craig Thompson’s Habibi, the top selling literary graphic novel of last year, dropped out of the top 20 for the first time in five months, ICv2 reports.

Two volumes of Masashi Kissimoto’s Naruto and its official character guide took the total of manga books on the list to 13.

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Our latest sweepstakes!

Enter to win AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER – THE PROMISE PART 1 Autographed by Gene Luen Yang Sweepstakes! Contest ends 6:00 p.m. PST on 04/19/2012. Good luck everyone!

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Our winners are announced

See our AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER – THE PROMISE PART 1 Autographed by Gene Luen Yang winners thread

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Note to self: Must pick up Part 2

Speaking of Korra…

EXCLUSIVE: Yang Continues “Avatar: The Last Airbender” in “The Search”
Mon, June 25th, 2012 at 9:58am PDT | Updated: June 25th, 2012 at 10:47am
Comic Books
Steve Sunu, Staff Writer/Reviews Editor

It’s been a fantastic year for fans of “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” Not only did the “Legend of Korra” animated series debuted to near-universal critical and fan acclaim, but Dark Horse continued to up the “Avatar” ante with its graphic novel series “The Promise,” which helps fill in the gap between the end of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” and “Legend of Korra.” Written by “American Born Chinese” creator Gene Luen Yang with art by Gurihiru Studios, the three-part graphic novel series wraps in September – but that doesn’t mean it’s the end of Avatar Aang’s adventures.

This weekend at the American Library Association, Dark Horse announced Yang and Gurihiru will return for a second “Avatar: The Last Airbender” graphic novel series called “The Search,” which explores the biggest unsolved mystery in “Avatar” lore: what happened to Prince Zuko’s mother?

CBR News spoke with Yang, a longtime “Avatar: The Last Airbender” fan, about his work on “The Search,” wrapping up "The Promise, his feelings about “Legend of Korra,” the challenge of linking the two shows and their characters together and the return of Princess Azula.

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CBR News: Gene, the last time you spoke with CBR, “The Promise: Part One” hadn’t been released yet and “Avatar” fans were still chomping at the bit for “Legend of Korra.” Now, “The Promise: Part Two” has just dropped and “Legend of Korra” just aired its season finale. First off, as a fan of the series, how have you been enjoying “Legend of Korra?”

Gene Luen Yang: I’ve loved every episode of “Legend of Korra” so far. The animation in the original show was great, but the Korra stuff is really in a league of its own. The bending fights are nothing short of spectacular. And also there’s this dynamic – all our old friends from the first show are now legends. So far, we’ve seen statues of Aang, Zuko and Toph. It reminds us of something that’s true in the real world, too – the actions of a few, even a few teenagers, can have big consequences down the road.

Of all the Korra characters, my favorite is probably Tenzin. I appreciate how different he is from his dad. I like that he’s so uptight. And with kids of my own, I really relate to what he has to deal with.

This weekend, you announced “The Search” as the next miniseries in the “Avatar” series of Dark Horse’s graphic novels. As a fan of the original “Avatar: The Last Airbender” series, I’d really love that title to refer to Zuko’s long-lost mother – what can you tell us about the significance of the title?

I’m not totally sure how much I’m allowed to say – but you’re right! It’s really, really surreal. Like every other “Airbender” fan out there, I gasped at the end of that scene in the last episode, where Zuko confronts Ozai. How could Mike and Bryan just leave us hanging like that?! In the last episode, with no immediate plans for resolution! And now, for me to have a hand in answering some of those questions – like I said, surreal.

Beyond the title of the book, is there anything you can tell fans about the storyline of “The Search” and where it’ll take Team Avatar?

I’ve always loved the supernatural elements of the Avatarverse. The

Season 1 finale was one of my favorite sequences in the series. We didn’t really do much supernatural in “The Promise” since that story was focused on the political ramifications of the War’s end. But I’m happy to say, writing “The Search” is giving me the chance to explore that side of Aang and his world.

“The Promise” has been a continuation of the “Avatar: The Last Airbender” story, featuring a closer look at the politics that are involved in the world’s reconstruction. Will “The Search” continue to explore the political side of the Avatar’s world or will you be taking it in a slightly different direction?

The politics will be there – they’re difficult to avoid when one of your main characters is the leader of a large nation. However, we’ll be shifting our focus from the nation to the family. Within Confucian thought, there’s a connection between nation and family – the family is a microcosm of the nation. I actually reference that in “The Search.”

One of the great things about “The Promise” is how faithful to the source material the book has been. As you’ve been building this story, how challenging has it been to continue developing the characters in your own way while still staying true to their core?

This project is different from my other projects. With "American Born

Chinese," “Prime Baby” and my other books, I was really trying to express something about me. I wanted what was on paper to match what was in my head. With the “Airbender” project, I’m trying to mimic someone else’s storytelling voice. I don’t want the characters to grow in a direction that suits me or expresses something about me – I want them to grow in a direction that fits their world and their established history.

Now, that’s not to say that there isn’t room for self-expression, but the self-expression occurs where my passions overlap with the Avatarverse. For instance, a recurring theme in many of my stories is culture. That’s also a deeply important part of the Avatarverse, and the basis for a lot of what happens in “The Promise.”

“Avatar - The Search” continues Yang and Gurihiru’s time in the Avatarverse, bridging the gap between “The Last Airbender” and “Legend of Korra”

This line of graphic novels is meant to fill in the gaps between the final episode of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” and the premiere of "Legend of Korra. So far, we’ve gotten a chance to see Toph’s metal bending academy and Aang’s struggle to unite the nations. How will this struggle increase in “The Promise: Part 3” and into “The Search?”

“The Search” focuses on Zuko and Azula. Aang, Katara and Sokka will be there, of course, but the Fire Nation royal siblings are really the drivers of the action. In “The Promise,” we see Zuko struggling with his responsibilities as Fire Lord. “The Search” is the next stage of that struggle.

One of the advantages of “Legend of Korra” is the plethora of flashbacks audiences get, seeing Aang, Sokka and Toph come into their own as leaders of Republic City – but even in the flashbacks, they’re significantly older than in the original series. What’s your plan for making these characters age, if any?

Those are my favorite parts of “Korra!” In “The Search,” the Gang are still teenagers. “The Search” takes place immediately after the end of “The Promise.”

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from previous…

You’re still working with Gurihiru studio for “The Search.” How did you collaborate with them to change up character designs a bit?

Gurihiru’s art in “The Promise” is phenomenal, isn’t it? I feel so lucky to be working with them. I believe they are the perfect combination of Eastern and Western cartooning influences, which in turn is a perfect reflection of “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” They work more directly with Mike and Bryan on character designs, especially when it comes to new clothing for existing characters. I throw in a comment when I can (usually “WOW!”).

Two characters of the original Team Avatar have been conspicuously absent from the “Legend of Korra” flashbacks. Most pressing is Zuko, who currently plays a huge role in “The Promise.” While I’m sure you’re not able to spoil much here, will we get to discover why his influence hasn’t been seen in Republic City at all during the course of “The Search?”

Um… you’ll just have to read the comics.

Speaking of Zuko, he can’t catch a break. After all the heartache he went through in the original series, he’s now getting drawn back in to his father’s web, Mai has left him and the Earth Kingdom is about to declare war. What are the chances he’ll be able to find some happiness when this is all over?

Well, like Ozai said, “Zuko was lucky to be born.” That struggle is who he is. Don’t you know people who are like that? I have an acquaintance who is like that. Great guy, but life just seems to have it in for him – his health, his relationships, nothing seems to go his way. Even so, you can see him making progress over the years. Often it’s two steps forward, one step back, but when you take the long view there’s definitely progress. That’s how I imagine Zuko to be. And frankly, I find folks like that more admirable than folks who get everything handed to them.

Speaking of Zuko’s family, what’s Azula been up to? Her stay in the Fire Nation mental institution has got to be incredibly interesting.

In “The Search,” we’ll see what a prolonged stay in a Fire Nation mental institution does to a person.

Katara and Aang’s burgeoning relationship is certainly something fans were clamoring for since the announcement of “The Promise.” Thanks to “Legend of Korra,” fans now know they get married and have a child, but what trials will their relationship have to go through before getting to that point?

At the beginning of “The Promise,” Katara and Aang are still in that lovey-dovey stage of their relationship. They call each other pet names and are way too affectionate. By the end of “The Promise,” they will have gone through their first conflict. Their relationship will continue to mature in The Search, but it will take a backseat to the Fire Nation Royal Family. After all, that is one messed up family. They need all the panel-time they can get.

So, Toph eventually has a daughter. Will readers actually get to see what Toph is like in a relationship in “The Search?” What is it like knowing you may have to explore that aspect of her character in coming installments?

I love Toph. She was my favorite character to write in The Promise. Sadly, though, she doesn’t have a big role to play in The Search.

And for a slightly silly question, what about Cabbage Corp? You’ve already dropped a few references to the incredibly unlucky cabbage merchant – are there plans to chronicle his rise to power in the background?

It’s an inspiring story, isn’t it? An unlucky cabbage merchant, through elbow grease and sheer will power, grows his one cart into a huge, multi-generational corporation! That guy is my hero!

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Avatar: The Last Airbender --The Search

Avatar: The Last Airbender --The Search Comics Trailer

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An interview with Gene

I just picked up Book One of The Search…for my kid. :wink:

Comic Book Day: Join “The Search” with Gene Luen Yang
by Dan Casey on March 20, 2013


When I first saw commercials for Avatar: The Last Airbender, I didn’t really give it the time of day; I wrote it off as the kind of schlock that was trying to cash in on the anime boom at the time, and doubly discounted it because it was a Nickelodeon cartoon and I’d moved on from Doug and Rugrats to more adult fare. Today, my face couldn’t be covered in more egg; the series is terrific, and I’ve been watching episodes in a manner that can only be called “voracious.” When I was approached by Dark Horse about the release of their new tie-in graphic novel, Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Search, Part I, I was similarly skeptical, because adaptations of successful franchises – regardless of medium – tend to have a reputation for being lousy. Again with the face omelettes. It’s a good thing I enjoy breakfast nearly as much as I enjoyed this comic, which you can preview in this exclusive book trailer below.

The Search, Part 1 serves to flesh out the universe of the show, filling in part of the gap between the events of the original series and spiritual successor Legend of Korra. With art by series stalwarts Gurihiru, a story written by Gene Luen Yang, and co-developed by Avatar creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, the book is a wonderful reintroduction to the world of Aang and his merry band of benders and serves to answer one of the most burning questions for the show’s fandom: What happened to Zuko’s mother? To get the skinny on what we can expect from the book and future installments, I caught up with Gene Luen Yang to talk to him about unfortunate cabbage merchants, jumping back into the world of Avatar, and what’s next from the American Born Chinese scribe.

Nerdist: First and foremost, I know that you’re a fan of the series. How have you been enjoying Legend of Korra?Gene Luen Yang: Yeah, absolutely. I have really been enjoying it. The action, in particular, I think they really stepped up the animation for the action. It’s been amazing. I’m really impressed with the new world they’ve built. It’s obviously connected to the world of the old series, but they’ve created something really new and fascinating.N: I agree. I actually saw Legend of Korra before I saw Avatar, which wasn’t really on my radar at the time. I was worried about how accessible it would be, but it prompted me to go back and check out the original series.GLY: Oh, okay. You’re one of the first people I’ve talked to that’s approached the world in that way. That’s really cool. You were able to follow all of the stories?
For the most part, yes. I probably missed some of the references to the original that diehard fans might have picked up on, but I feel like I was able to piece it together pretty well.
GLY: Yeah, I think they took a lot of the concepts that played a lesser role in the first series and made them really prominent in the second series. Like the metal bending, for example. They built an entire police force off of that.
N: Let’s talk about The Search and what readers can expect. As an Avatar novice, I found it very accessible even without knowing everything that came prior.
GLY: The mini-series, to answer that question, the one question Mike [Dante DiMartino] and Bryan [Konietzko] introduced at the end of the last series was, “What happened to Zuko’s mother?” That was in the last ten minutes or so of the final episode. I remember it because when I was watching that episode, I wasn’t connected to the property at all. That was one of the most cliffhangery things to do, especially for the series finale. In the last few moments of the last episode, there’s a scene with Zuko and his dad, and Zuko asks what happened with his mom, and the scene cuts before you get an answer.
N: Oh god, that’s the worst.
GLY: Right? [laughs] I think I screamed some sort of expletive at my TV when I watched. Now, three years later, I’m part of the team that’s going to give the answer to that question. Life is a weird thing sometimes. That’s the overarching purpose, though. We also wanted to dive into the dynamics of Zuko’s family. He was probably my favorite character in the original series. He was so complex and really embodied the struggle between good and evil to the point where he sort of resembled Two-Face from Batman. Half is good, half is evil. Mike and Bryan didn’t create the character in a vacuum; he was part of a family that went back four or five generations, so we’re going to explore some of that. Almost half of it is flashbacks and the other half takes place in present time.
N: To clarify, the “present time” is the period in between the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra?
GLY: Yeah, closer to the original series. It’s about two years out.
N: And I know this is part 1, but how long will it ultimately be?
GLY: It’ll be like The Promise, so three books.
N: One of the things I really enjoyed about the The Search – Part 1 is how it delved into the supernatural side of Avatar and the spirit world. What attracted you to highlight these elements?
GLY: That’s something I really loved about the original series – how supernatural it got. The whole concept of the Avatar and Aang’s powers are all rooted in the spirit world. The focus on the spirit world gradually increases as the series moves on. In The Promise, the first three volumes of the comics, we didn’t really touch on it at all. We had a little bit between Aang and his predecessor, Roku, but we wanted to touch on it in a bigger way. In the original series, there’s all these little nuggets that are embedded in the spirit world and we wanted to play with those.
avatar1
N: How closely do you work with Mike and Bryan on the comics? Is there an editorial edict that you’re given or are you given a set of narrative points to hit and the freedom to tell the story your way?
GLY: For both The Promise and The Search, the story started with a long conversation between me and Mike and Bryan. During the conversation, we’ll talk about the history of the world they’ve built. They’ve thought quite extensively about the world of the Avatar and how Korra is connected to the airbenders. There are big pieces that are set in stone – like Aang reestablishing airbender culture. In the initial conversation, we’ll talk about the big pieces, some things that might happen around those pieces, and from that conversation I’ll write an outline. Then that goes through several rounds of edits with them, and from there I’ll write the scripts. Then the scripts go through several rounds of edits. Mike and Bryan give a lot of creative input, but we also get input from Dark Horse editors and editors at Nickelodeon, so it’s pretty collaborative. The work on The Search, though, is even more collaborative than in the past. We really went back and forth on the back story.
N: I can imagine, especially because it has such a complex mythology.
GLY: That’s right. There are scenes that overlap between the series and the comic. Some scenes in the comic serve as extensions of scenes from the show. There are several flashback episodes, so we used elements of those.
N: That makes the comics even more special, because there’s only so much you can fit into a 22 minute episode.
GLY: Yeah, that totally applies to comics, too, man. There’s so many times when I’ve been working on comics and wished I had double the amount of space. [laughs]
N: Oh! Before I forget, I think I know the question on everyone’s mind: will we see our favorite cabbage merchant pop up?
GLY: [laughs] Ummm, you’ll have to read the comic. No comment.
N: Right, right, no spoilers and all that.
GLY: I do love that guy, I’ve got to say.
N: What are the challenges in writing an original, creator-owned project versus writing for a well-established franchise like Avatar?
GLY: It has been quite a challenge to work on it, but it’s also been a real privilege. I think when I’m working on my own stuff, I’m trying to express some sort of vision I have inside myself. When I work on somebody else’s stuff, I really want to try to stay true to what’s been established before. I really want to capture the character’s voices. And with something like Avatar, it’s a difficult thing to do. A lot of people have some deep-seated emotions attached to these characters. When I first started working on Zuko’s mother’s back story, I had a hard time because I found the ending of the original series really emotionally satisfying. I didn’t know how to extend the story beyond that deeply satisfying ending. So, the challenge is how to capture the essence while moving these characters forward.
N: That’s very interesting. I’m so used to hearing that people hated an ending, so it’s refreshing to hear about your struggles with what you saw as a story that had been wrapped up tidily.
GLY: I really did like how it ended. [laughs]
N: Well, I certainly think you rose to the occasion.
GLY: Oh, thank you. I really appreciate that.
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N: Coming of age seems to be a recurring them in works like American Born Chinese, Level Up and even Avatar. What keeps you coming back to this theme?
GLY: Yeah, I don’t know. I think for the most part it’s unconscious. I’m certainly not unique in this, but that part of my life is probably where I have the most vivid memories – whether that has to do with hormones or the sheer amount of change I was going through during those years – but because my most vivid memories are from that time, I have a lot to draw from.
When I was starting in comics – the comic book market isn’t as rigidly segmented as the book market is – and when I started selling in comic book stores, I wasn’t really thinking about it. When you sell directly to comic book stores, you don’t really think about the age categorization. It was only after I published American Born Chinese with First Second that they started thinking about it and they categorized it as “Young Adult.” Now that it’s happened, I think that’s a really good place for me to fit, because that’s where I’m drawn a lot, with the emotions behind the stories.
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N: You mentioned self-publishing and I wanted to talk to you about that. Many of our readers are content creators themselves or aspiring content creators. What were some of the challenges of self-publishing, and what’s a piece of advice you would give to them?
GLY: Well, first, I think it’s a totally different world now than when I started. When I started, it was the ’90s and the Internet was this totally unformed thing. Nowadays, most of them start off on webcomics, and you can automatically reach the masses. It’s really efficient in an intense way, so I kind of envy comics that are starting now in a way. Me, I was hand-drawing my comics and selling them at local conventions and comic book stores. For cartoonists, now they can just draw comics and put them on the web, share with friends, and build an audience. I think it’s pretty awesome…. Production and distribution costs – we were worried about having enough money to get it printed and getting it into stores to have people see it. You don’t need to worry about that stuff anymore. The power is in the creator’s hands. You can email it to review sites yourself, put it up yourself and get a huge audience.
I think the real challenge these days is on the creative side and making it stand out from the pack. So, what I tell people when they ask for advice is that you have to develop a habit, some sort of creative habit. You have to block off some time, sit down for a couple of hours where all you’re doing is writing and drawing. And you have to have people keep you accountable to make sure it’ll get done. You need to have people in your life that will make you feel bad about yourself if you don’t finish your work, kinda like a boss. You need to have that for a few years until you internalize those voices. For me, when I first started writing comics, I was living with a couple of college friends and I told them that, at the end of the day, I would have a page done and if I didn’t have it done, they should make me feel bad about myself. And that’s how I got my first comic done. These roommates made me feel bad about myself. So, really, the habit is the most important thing to get down.
N: What else are friends for? That’s really funny, but it makes sense. It’s so easy to have projects in various states of incompletion, so having those people as a motivating factor is a smart tool.
GLY: That’s the other thing – learning how to finish something even when you don’t really like it. I’d start on a project and be really into it, but then a few days, months, weeks later I’d get bored of it and want to move on. And you have to finish something in order to move on to the next one.
boxers-saints
N: You have to fight the urge to move on to that fresh new idea. Speaking of new ideas, tell us about your upcoming project Boxers and Saints. What attracted you to writing about the Boxer Rebellion?
GLY: Yeah, yeah! I’ve been working on Boxers and Saints for, like, six years; I had to do a lot of research. I was actually working on The Search during the same period, so I’m sure there are some ideas and themes that bled over. I’d be interested in seeing if anyone picks up on that. So, the Boxer Rebellion was this war that occurred on Chinese soil in 1900 – over a hundred years ago – between European powers and these poor, illiterate Chinese teenagers. Back then, the Chinese government was incredibly weak after a century’s worth of war against Japan and England, so they couldn’t defend themselves All the major European powers set up bases of operation in the major port cities called “concessions.” They were basically colonies, and the official government couldn’t do anything about it. The poor, the farmers basically, felt really embarrassed by this foreign presence in their homeland, so they invented this ritual where they would call upon the Chinese gods to come down and possess them, giving them these superpowers. Then, armed with these superpowers, they ran through the countryside killing off European soldiers, missionaries and Chinese Christians, who were seen as traitors to their people at the time.They’re called “Boxers” because their martial arts reminded the colonists of European boxing. The Boxers almost won; these poor, illiterate farmers almost beat off these professionally trained European armies. Unfortunately, by the summer of the next year, they were definitively defeated by reinforcements that came from India. But before that, it almost looked like the Boxers would win. The historical event fascinates me on many different levels. The Boxers remind me of modern-day geeks and nerds in a certain way. They didn’t learn about Chinese gods from textbooks; they learned about them from travelling Chinese operas, which was basically their pop culture. They would watch these colorful characters duke it out on stage and it was like good television at the time. They were so inspired by these heroes that they wanted to become like them; it was almost like cosplay. During that ritual, they became these gods, so it’s a lot like modern cosplay where people put on costumes to become these characters. They were really inspired by the pop culture of the time, a fact which I found particularly inspiring. Another aspect that fascinates me is the Chinese Christian aspect. Back then, if you were a Chinese Christian, you were really seen as a traitor to your own people. It intrigues me as to why people reacted this way. The Christian missionaries actually got tons and tons of converts. These people who were unable to find a place within Chinese society looked to the stories of another culture to find themselves. They began calling themselves by Western names; they’d get baptized and assume European names and refer to each other as such, and that aspect really reminded me of modern day manga fans. This is definitely not true of all American manga fans, but there’s a certain segment of readers who have a hard time finding themselves in American culture and stories, and when they read Japanese manga, they find stories that are so different from the culture that they live in that they’re able to relate through the lens of other people’s culture. It’s a two-volume project – the first volume has the Boxers as the protagonists and the second volume has the Chinese Christians, the Saints, as the protagonists.
boxers-dcg
N: Oh, wow, that’s a really cool narrative split. I like that two-pronged approach.
GLY: Thank you! We’ll see how it goes. It’s several months away, a September release.
N: What comics are you reading and enjoying right now?
GLY: I’m reading through Fables right now. I have a co-worker who’s really into it, so he’s been loaning them to me. I’m also reading the My Little Pony series with my kids and, I have to say, I’m enjoying it a lot more than I expected to.
N: Oh my… would you classify yourself as a brony?
GLY: Ha, I’m not there yet. I’ve only read the comics; I haven’t actually watched the cartoon show. My kids watched it and they’re both into it, but I haven’t made the leap yet. We’ve also been reading this series called The New Crusaders from Archie Comics with my nine year-old, but it’s really good.
N: I’m not too sure what’s going on with the world of Archie these days. They’ve got one coming out called Afterlife with Archie where a zombie apocalypse breaks out in Riverdale.
GLY: Really? They’ve got some really innovative stuff over there; it’s not the same old Archie.
N: Last question – what’s in your ideal burrito?
GLY: My ideal burrito? [laughs] You know what I like is the parts of the animal that no one else likes to eat like tongue and stomach, like tripe, so it’d be all the throwaway pieces of the animal.
N: [laughs] Just the discarded animal parts?
GLY: Exactly.
N: Most people say “carne asada” or “pork” when I ask this question, but there’s always room for good lengua.
GLY: Right! It’s a burrito that tastes you back. [laughs]

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Gene Yang on Continuing ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ with Dark Horse Comics

At WonderCon 2013, Fanboy Comics Senior Contributor Kristine Chester talks with writer Gene Yang regarding his feelings on the live-action film adaptation, the comic’s connection to The Legend of Korra, and more.

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Soon to be a spin-off?

We’ve done some promos with Gene Yang. His work is superb.

‘Avatar the Last Air Bender Zuko’s Story’ Premiere Updates: Nickelodeon to set a surprise release? Plot includes Zuko’s mother

(Credit: Nickelodeon) Plot and release of the ‘Avatar the Last Air Bender Zuko’s Story’ remains to be unknown
April 17 10:12 AM 2015
by Staff Writer

The lack of plot and a premiere date for the “Avatar the Last Air Bender Zuko’s Story” is not stopping fans from looking into the possible plot ideas for the upcoming film. One of the interesting adventures most likely to be featured in the upcoming Nickelodeon film is the search for Zuko’s mom.

Back in 2013 a one hour discussion about the new Dark Horse Comics for the Avatar series subtitled "The Search for Zuko’s Mom’ was covered during the WonderCon. Writer Gene Luen Yang entertained fan questions about the possible comic adaptation of the favorite Nickelodeon cartoon. The writer, being a fan expressed great interest and enthusiasm in writing the comic book series. “It’s been kind of a crazy thing. It’s been really crazy to get so deeply involved in the Avatar world. It’s an amazing fanbase.”

The search for Zuko’s mom was never considered in the Avatar series since Aang was the one on focus. But looking deeper into Zuko’s life, finding the woman who allowed her son to be left in the hand of a cruel father is quite a very interesting angle to work on in a comic series might as well as in the cinemas.

Another interesting plot that can be explored in Zuko’s life story is the events after his banishment. Prince Zuko, who possesses a heart softer than that of his father was banished for having a conscience during one of his practice fights with his father. He was banished and vouched to search for the Avatar Aang to redeem himself to his father and the whole of the fire nation.

Unfortunately, Nickelodeon has been mum about the release of the movie-spinoff of the Avatar series. It was initially rumored that the “Avatar the Last Air Bender Zuko’s Story” will premiere after the release of the “The Legend of Korra Spin-off”. Fans of the series are also looking forward to an animated movie adaptation of the cartoon series. They seem to have had enough of Nickelodeon’s first attempt of converting the Avatar series into a real life action movie.

Whether Nickelodeon choose to pick a plot with Zuko’s mom in it or the events after Zuko’s banishment, fans of the series will definitely look forward to the premiere of the “Avatar the Last Air Bender Zuko’s Story” movie spin-off.

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changing the subtitle from “The Promise by Gene Yang” to “the comic books”

Team Aang gets a chilly reception in Avatar: The Last Airbender comic preview


Dark Horse

CHRISTIAN HOLUB
December 17, 2018 at 04:26 PM EST

This week marks a changing of the guard for Avatar: The Last Airbender comics. Since the iconic animated martial arts adventure series went off the air in 2008, writer Gene Luen Yang has been penning the further adventures of Avatar Aang and his friends in a series of comic books. But with the release of the Avatar The Last Airbender: Imbalance, Part One graphic novel, a new creative team is taking over in the form of writer Faith Erin Hicks and artist Peter Wartman.

Hicks has been a comics writer for some time now, and is probably best known for her Nameless City series. These graphic novels tell the story of a city that’s been invaded and re-conquered so many times that it’s constantly getting new names from various invading powers, and how that affects friendships between invaders and the people who have lived in the city all their lives. Avatar always seemed like a strong influence on Nameless City, which explains why Hicks was so excited to get the call from publisher Dark Horse.

“I write and draw comics for younger readers, and Avatar is really the gold standard for storytelling for a young audience,” Hicks tells EW. “The world is complex, the characters are complex, and it never talks down to its readers. Nameless City is not an homage to Avatar (Bone and Fullmetal Alchemist were also big influences), but Avatar was definitely a huge influence on it. And then after doing my own complicated fantasy trilogy for children, I just got contacted out of the blue by Dark Horse saying Gene Yang was moving on as a writer and they were interested in having me write real Avatar comics. It’s just really exciting and really cool.”

Hicks and Wartman pick up with the gang — peaceful airbender Aang, wise waterbender Katara, intense earthbender Toph, and funny fighter Sokka — a few years after they helped end the Hundred-Year War that threw their world out of balance. But peacetime is still full of its own conflicts and problems, as Aang and the team find out in the pages below when they follow the summons of Toph’s father and arrive in the multi-ethnic factory town that will become Republic City by the time Korra succeeds Aang as Avatar.

“I wanted to show the growing pains of Republic City,” Hicks says. “It’s not perfect in Legend of Korra, there are problems with crime, but it’s still this huge multicultural city where all the different people from across this world come and live together in relative harmony. I wanted to show the difficult growing pains it took for the city to reach that level. The thread going through the first book in particular is about how benders were previously employed to do certain tasks, and then machines came in and put them out of work. With the rise of machinery, now non-benders have a lot more power and say in society, where previously it was just benders who would have most of the power because of their special abilities. I wanted to play around with those ideas of societal imbalance, and showcase this social shift that was happening because of the rise of industrialization.”


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Any fans stressed out about canon shouldn’t worry too much about Hicks connecting these dots. Although they didn’t write the new series, Avatar: The Last Airbender co-creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko are still on hand as consultants, giving Hicks notes on the story and helping her refine her ideas for the world.

Wartman came up with new character designs for the main cast, showing how much they’ve changed since their first adventures while still staying true to their roots and their youth.

“I love these kids. It’s actually really fun writing them now as teenagers,” Hicks says. “They technically have a lot more agency and power than they did at the beginning of the Avatar series. Back then the Fire Nation was taking over the world and Aang was being hunted, whereas now he’s the Avatar and someone who can affect world politics. I want to bring that aspect of it, because they do have these adult challenges, but also I like it when they act like teenagers. I like when they struggle with their relationships, where they’re friends but there are undercurrents of different kinds of feelings going on. I really enjoy it as a writer. They’ve gone through this incredible journey and come out the other side so much more mature, but they’re still very young. I want to bring that to these particular stories.”

Like other Avatar: The Last Airbender/Legend of Korra comics, Imbalance will arrive in three graphic-novel installments. Part One is out this week, with Part Two and Part Three set to follow in the coming months. Hicks says she’s just getting started, and she’s not alone. With prose novels and a possible live-action remake on the horizon, the future of Avatar remains bright.

“It’s a big world,” she says. “I love the idea of the shifting dynamics of this world. I’m interested in how industrialization affects this world, going from superpowers to machinery. I’m really curious about the Spirit World, which they only lightly touched on in Avatar. I just feel like Avatar is such a huge world, there’s so many potential interesting stories to tell. It just feels like it’s open to endless possibilities.”

I’ll be curious to see how the upcoming Netflix Live-action Airbender series might affect the comics.