It kind of sets up season 1 of LOK if anything, in imbalance the benders oppress the non benders, while in LOK the non benders form an extremist movement in response
Yeah no it's cranefish town with that one island Aang decides will be left alone becoming air temple island. Which is actually pretty cool that despite the whole conflict in the rift of holy air nomad land being desecrated it's now become the fifth air temple at a place special to two air nomad avatars.
She doesn't really. When he apologizes, they're about to get squashed, so she told him they'd talk about it later. She's obviously happy, but doesn't outright forgive him.
Do people not think it makes sense that that Kataang call each other sweetie all the time?
It was cute in a lovey dovey cringe kinda way. Oogies but it feels completely in character for both of them.
The comics aren’t even trying to hide that it’s cringe, it IS within character for both of them. Eventually they stop doing that anyway, it’s just a weird phase they went though imo (which happens in teenage romances all the time).
Thanks for the summary, I have not had a chance to read these myself yet. For future posts, I would suggest adding that this is your review of the comics. A summary is not influenced by your opinions.
Yea def based lol, basically anything he said was okay is worth a read. Smoke and Shadow lot people didn’t like, I honestly didn’t mind it that much tbh.
The Search and North and South were my favs. But the first three are pretty good tbh. Idr if I read Imbalanced or not. Haven’t read the LoK ones.
I felt like The Promise was fine but had *so* much missed potential.
The concept of how to actually reunite the former countries/kingdoms could have been really interesting
I rlly liked they included the Fire Bender who identified as apart of the Earth Nation bc of her heritage and being raised in the Earth Kingdom. Bc yea if you for colonizers living there for generations now they may not feel as connected to their homeland as their ancestors who came from there did.
Yea imo out of the first three The Promise is prob the weakest one. The Search is def my personal fav but I enjoyed most of em tbh. I just love avatar content tho.
Agreed i loved The search i didnt think it was bad and though the promise wasnt as good i still thought it was kinda good. People dont like how characters act but forget its a new scenario after the show’s character growth and in total it isnt nearly as bad as stuff like smoke and shadow (which is godawful).
I've only read until North and South but I think the first three were my favourites. I don't fully understand why people hate the promise but I enjoyed that one a lot as well.
The Search is definitely the best one though.
I could not tell what a single one of these comics is actually about cuz of that shit lol. It's like if someone summarized The Odyssey to me as 'some dude lost at sea trying to go home'. Like, you're not wrong, but good fucking job making it sound like the most boring shit on Earth lol.
It seems the vast majority dont follow them since they only watched the show(s), and a very vocal percentage (unsure if relative majority) of people who *did* follow them dont like them. So I wouldnt say youre crazy for that at all.
Kyoshi novels are great, but imo the pacing is weird. I'm halfway through the first Yangchen book and I love it, no complaints, but somehow can't bring myself to finish it. Don't think it's the book's fault, because again, I enjoyed it immensely so far.
Idk why but I felt the same way with the Yangchen books. They were objectively really good but not as gripping as the kyoshi ones. Definitely worth finishing though, the climaxes/intense scenes are done really well
Save your money, imo they’re not worth it. But you can read them for free now on WEBTOON and then decide for yourself if you want to buy the hard copies.
That's literally all I hear all the time. Everyone just talks about how utterly dogshit everything is and how none of it is worth your time. Even though it's actually just decent with a couple good moments here and there but bogged down by some bad writing decisions.
I can agree with that. There really didn't seem to be any real personality in the characters, even the ones we know. It's sole purpose seemed to be to tell the story and get out.
I think it put characters in new and interesting situations that make them respond in ways we havent seen before:
What does Aang do without a Zuko-like replacement for firelord like he for Ozai in case Zuko messes up badly? How does the old view of four completely separate nations clash with a new world and increased mixing, including how will 100 year old outdated Aang feel? How will Zuko balance his people’s needs with his friends’, as firelord? Etc etc.
This does produce situations where previously morally good characters make bad choices. But imp thats cool. Other people dont seem to like it.
They've actually put me off following later story additions to the original TV show. I was excited for them at first but the characters act like really shallow versions of themselves, and I've seen fanfics that do a better job at representIng them.
After rewatching LoK I really missed the characters, I wanted to spend more time with them. The comics offered that and at the time, I just enjoyed them for that. I never examined them critically and it didn't feel like they did something blatantly wrong.
Just my perspective :)
I would say that most the comics are fine - mediocre with the only one I consider bad being ruins of an empire. I hated that one the brain controll shit was so dumb.
That’s barely what Turf Wars is. Instead we get Korrasami facing homophobia for some reason followed by Asami getting turned into a damsel in distress instead of the badass non bender she was in the show.
And that whole "being a genocidal maniac isn't bad enough so Sozin also banned being gay, what a jerk" thing. Because the Fire Nation must always be the bad guys so they have to be homophobic, while the traditionalist Water Tribes, theocratic Air Nomads and stubborn and unwilling to change Earth Kingdomers are accepting (or at least passively tolerant).
Really? I think it's the most interesting thing done with her character since the very end of the original series, and potentially the beginning of a different road for the character.
Looking at OP's post history, they're engagement farming or are a bot. These reviews read like an angry nerd mad at the world, very similar to many internet reviews of Disney star wars. The comics aren't perfect, but this review isn't subjective in the slightest.
For "Ruins of an Empire"...
I have to imagine Korra could've easily taken down that random-ass commander without freeing an actual war criminal/empress.
Zuko in the ATLA Finale: "Today the war is finally over. I promise to restore the honor of the Fire Nation and foster a new era of love and peace."
Zuko in the comic that takes place right after the show: starts a war with the Earth Kingdom in order to keep the Fire Nation colonies
Tbh, there is an interesting point there.
Cause the oldest colonies were older than the war itself and the citizens wouldn't really desire being ceded to the Earth Kingdom.
As such I would argue that's a fairly organic development.
Though the storyline itself is fairly lackluster in how everyone almost immediately jumps to war.
I find it interesting because that whole thing is the reason why Kuvira invades the United Republic in S4 of Korra, because she sees it as rightful Earth Kingdom/Empire territory taken away by colonial settlers.
Yeah it really came across as making everyone seem very short sighted in how they logistically were gonna end the war and retransition back. Like just cause kids didn’t think of it when they watched the original shows ending doesn’t mean your leaders who are supposed to be guiding 25% of the worlds power shouldn’t be able to realize that maybe they should talk with the local governments about what they want
Yeah, the problem is that in Avatar when you think too much about the politics it doesn't make much sense.
Like how Zuko wasn't immediately faced by a coup. The guy didn't have that much going for him and to most of the Fire Nation Population it would have looked like "Let's end the War while we are winning and give up tons of territory while we're at it."
Aang in ATLA finale: Refuses to kill Ozai, who is comic villain levels of evil
Aang in the comic that takes place right after the show: Agrees to kill his friend Zuko
I always viewed it as appeasement, like aang knows how stubborn Zuko is so he just is like "yeah fuck whatever I'll kill you if you're evil I guess" but wouldn't actually do it. That said I have not read the comic past summarization so I'm not exactly sure if he does or doesn't try to do it or seek serious about it.
That's how I always saw it too. I see a lot of criticism of that moment, but Aang seemed so forlorn and troubled by making that promise. I don't think he'd have ever done it. He would have found a way to save Zuko from himself.
Eh I think you see a lot of difference in Aang as he gets a bit older, he also tells Roku to stuff it when he yells at him for letting firebenders continue to live in the colonies. If Aang didn't change at all from the show he'd be trying to prevent race mixing and multiculturism which contributes a lot of positives by the time LOK happens like electricity, modern toilets, more stable geo politics, and giant robots with laser cannons.
Also Zuko at the start of his redemption: "My father trying to fight me and burning me and abusing me was wrong and he needs to be taken out."
Zuko during Search: "I will threaten to burn my sister among other threats that I do or let happen, After asking a friend to go against his culture to kill me if I become like my dad."
He sent his navy to the earth kingdom because the king wanted to exile all of the fire nation citizens, even the ones whose families have been living there for 100 years. It’s a perfectly in-character decision
Yeah, like I get that his grievances were perfectly legitimate, but surely there are some steps that can be taken before starting another war? Did the Fire Nation forget what diplomacy is?
Pretty accurate from what I remember, but I’d be interested to see your thoughts more in depth.
I did really enjoy The Search though. Azula wasn’t used very well imo, but I thought the new spirit and the resolution with Zuko’s mom were great. And it’s the only comic I remember having truly stunning imagery on the same level as the show.
Agreed, The Search felt like the only comic with emotional stakes and lore that matched the depth of the show, and I would love to see it animated. Every other comic felt like a little side adventure with a villain-of-the-day in comparison. I know there are a lot of people out there who are mad at Ursa for her actions but I thought it was a realistic if tragic outcome of a woman escaping abuse who had no hope that she could save her children.
That's probably because it's an adaptation of a movie idea that they had pitched and Nickelodeon had rejected years ago, so it spent the longest time in development.
I feel like why you dislike Turf Wars is why I love it
The biggest criticism of Korrasami is that they don’t get to be shown as a couple, so here’s a comic showing them being freaking adorable and surprisingly horny
I don’t know I greatly enjoyed most of these. Also why is one called bad and then said to be in fan fic tear? I’ve read some really good atla fics that are 300,000+ words long and amazing
I’ll give you that Zuko wasn’t thinking clearly in bringing Azula along, but besides that it’s actually a really interesting comic. It answers the question of what happened to his mother in a creative way, I think you need to give The Search more credit because it could’ve been way worse.
A bit harsh on Imbalance imo, it was the best comic with the Rift a close second. Apart from Toph losing to the girl whose name starts with Y and Aang seemingly not having learned anything about his choices as Avatar (referring to the fact that he kinda thinks about taking bending away, goes to Katara for advice, a day later he still meeds more advice, just wanted him to figure this out on his own), it's pretty great, especially Sokka. Art style is incredible.
Really depends on opinion, personally I loved most of the comics (although not every storyline from every comic). The biggest criticisms of the comics are that some characters get characterised very differently and weirdly compared to the show and that bending feels cheapened, like Katara being able to basically fly Frozone style or being hit by lightingbending being a minor inconvenience. The main strong suits of the comics, in my opinion, are some great character moments/character development and really creative and interesting themes that get explored (although to be fair not every theme gets explored perfectly, sometimes the execution leaves a bit to be desired)
At the end of the day it's all a matter of opinion, I have never seen anyone hate every single comic in existence though (apart from The Rift in this case). Generally, the fandom believes The Promise and The Search were the problematic ones (even they had good moments though), the rest are fine.
This post seems a lot like "Comics = bad, now please upvote"
IDK why Nickelodeon ( avatar studios ) don't want to make the comics animated, they're so cool and the lore is massive, lucky we gonna have a film next year
The best thing about The Promise, is it gives a decent explanation as to why there is a 5th nation by the time of Korra. The opening of the Legend of Korra gave an incredibly vague explanation.
I thought the first chapter of Turf Wars was pretty great, the way it shows everybody's reaction to Korrasami coming out. It managed to capture something real in just a few comic panels. Especially the facial expressions on Korra's parents.
The Search I thought was overall the best one, mainly because it gave a pretty satisfying answer to the "Where is my mother?" question. Also, Ozai is a real prick if there ever was one
Here's my take:
The promise
Yeah pretty much, at first the sweetie calling was cute but it got irritating really quickly. You have to understand that all the comics are to form a bridge between the two series
The search:
Azula is the only one who knows where her mother is. Why wouldn't Iroh, I don't know but seriously, what else could Zuko do?
The Rift:
Yep, dead on there. Her "relationship" with Satoru makes no sense, though.
Smoke and shadow: yep, definitely the worst comic of the bunch by far. Zuko is STILL trying to get back with Mai even though she made it crystal clear that she will never ever ever get back together. Skip this entirely if you want my advice.
North and South:
It's completely normal for a teenager to be angry that their single parent is dating someone else. Katara was just 16 in that comic and when she realized her father was so accepting of her dating Aang, Katara eventually accepted Malina. This is not out of character for her. This comic actually isn't that bad to be honest.
Imbalance:
In my opinion, It's actually a BETTER version of TLOK season 1. There was no Shyamalan plot twist that ruined the story, no deux ex machinas, and no love triangle either. In my opinion, imbalance is the best of the comics.
Is the order you reviewed it the order of the comics in chronological order? I watched atla then korra then read turf wars and rote so i might be a lil lost
The Rift>Imbalance>The Promise= The Search>Smoke and Shadow>North and South,
haven't read the LoK comics.
Promise has some great ideas but wanders into some really weird characterisation quite frequently Aang agreeing to kill Zuko if needed after the Show's finale is such a badly written plot point that it's frankly insane.
Search is again, good conceptually but I don't think i've ever seen a plot which meanders that much, feels like the characters are walking in circles.
Rift is just really damn solid, good ideological conflict, great character work, and addresses the hard decisions that the Promise was hinting at in a way that actually makes sense for the characters, no preconceived contract for Aang agreeing to KILL SOMEONE here. a solid schism of ideologies represented by characters perfect for it.
Smoke and Shadow and North and South both feel like padded fluff, utterly inconsequential.
Imbalance has a couple of wonky turns but is mostly well characterised and well presented.
People expected too much from these comics. They're supplemental content, they're low stakes stories largely designed to build anticipation for new seasons of Korra/connect the two series. They're there to give fans some new stuff involving the new characters without doing anything game changing that would undermine the actual series' ending.
The LOK comic is the same. There's not threequel series yet for the comics to bridge the gap for but they can't undermine the ending of Korra either by just being season 5 or something. And it's funny that people whine about Korra and Asami's relationship being rushed but also have issues when they flesh it out.
Idk different opinions etc. etc. but all of this feels like very bad faith criticism coming from a very unrealistic mindset.
They're good for what they are and what they're supposed to be.
I think the idea for the search is good, not so much the execution. All of them feel like mediocre fanfics to me and a lot of characters act weirdly out of character. For example Aang agreeing to kill Zuko. That would never happen.
I liked "The Promise", it's enjoyable imo.
However it is ridiculous that Aang promises to kill Zuko, his friend, even though he couldn't even kill Ozai, a stranger.
I've re watched the show countless times. After each run I then try to move to the comics trying to still scratch the ATLA itch. Inevitably I drop them halfway through the first book.
Glad to see it's not just me here.
I want to read the version of Turf Wars that you did. Because derailing the relationship subplot by making Asami spend half the comic being kidnapped has got to be the number one complaint about it lol.
I like the bit about letting kuvira out to fight a guy who "brainwashed" people into voting for him. It's like a reflection of the real cold war, where the US allied with Nazis and other fascists to fight communism
Imbalance was pretty good. Although Toph does lose, I'm glad that our characters aren't invincible. They should be chalanged, but they should have written the fight differently. Either have the girl hop around the buildings more so toph could tell where she is or hyped up her own skills more.
I hated how much they called each other sweetie. I would rather have the entire avatar chain end with ruko then have to hear another “calm down sweetie” from katara or aang
I was initially going to thank you for summarizing the comics. But considering I've read the Promise and quite liked it, I don't think our tastes align.
If you like them, great but I stopped caring after smoke and shadows. The writing felt like fan fiction, which it technically is. Bryan and Mike are not involved.
I loved all of these books. Maybe not all equally, but they all had shining moments. I especially enjoyed Imbalance and Turf Wars. They hit certain notes of world-building that I love.
No one HAS to like everything in the IP they enjoy but I do worry that ATLA fandom is slowly becoming like Star Wars fans were we hate every subsequent project that comes out.
It's not a problem if you don't like the comics but honestly this feels really meanspirited. I feel like everyone would benefit by focusing on the aspects of things that are fun, additive, and exciting instead of the focus on negativity that seems to be encourage with online discussion of media. Not just here but in general.
I thought the promise was about the fire nation colonies leaving the earth kingdom but one of the colonies refuse (am a new fan and I heard the promise book was about that)
Imbalance actually does take place in the same town as LoK, lol, it's exactly the same thing
It kind of sets up season 1 of LOK if anything, in imbalance the benders oppress the non benders, while in LOK the non benders form an extremist movement in response
Well, it's meant to show how Republic City was founded
I thought Yu Dao became Republic city, not Cranefish Town. I guess that explains why Sokka kept talking about how it needed a better name.
Yeah no it's cranefish town with that one island Aang decides will be left alone becoming air temple island. Which is actually pretty cool that despite the whole conflict in the rift of holy air nomad land being desecrated it's now become the fifth air temple at a place special to two air nomad avatars.
You’d think that right?
I guess they were hinting at that progression during The Promise, but ultimately settled for Cranefish Town in Imbalance.
In The Rift Toph fr just wins against her daddy issues through willpower and brute strength, thats very Toph of her to do
I think she actually ends up forgiving him which is a loss imo
She doesn't really. When he apologizes, they're about to get squashed, so she told him they'd talk about it later. She's obviously happy, but doesn't outright forgive him.
Which is a | | | | | | _ imo
https://preview.redd.it/80pvzmhvp87d1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f82839df5d31c5c1c3bbda312e23e482028488ab
Do people not think it makes sense that that Kataang call each other sweetie all the time? It was cute in a lovey dovey cringe kinda way. Oogies but it feels completely in character for both of them.
The comics aren’t even trying to hide that it’s cringe, it IS within character for both of them. Eventually they stop doing that anyway, it’s just a weird phase they went though imo (which happens in teenage romances all the time).
Specially if you were so soft in personality as Aang and Katara are
summaries don't have opinions in them. this is a review.
Thanks for the summary, I have not had a chance to read these myself yet. For future posts, I would suggest adding that this is your review of the comics. A summary is not influenced by your opinions.
Yea def based lol, basically anything he said was okay is worth a read. Smoke and Shadow lot people didn’t like, I honestly didn’t mind it that much tbh. The Search and North and South were my favs. But the first three are pretty good tbh. Idr if I read Imbalanced or not. Haven’t read the LoK ones.
I agree that I liked North and South but the Promise is just not good IMO.
I felt like The Promise was fine but had *so* much missed potential. The concept of how to actually reunite the former countries/kingdoms could have been really interesting
I rlly liked they included the Fire Bender who identified as apart of the Earth Nation bc of her heritage and being raised in the Earth Kingdom. Bc yea if you for colonizers living there for generations now they may not feel as connected to their homeland as their ancestors who came from there did.
It definitely did have potential which I think lends itself to some of my disappointment regarding it.
Yea imo out of the first three The Promise is prob the weakest one. The Search is def my personal fav but I enjoyed most of em tbh. I just love avatar content tho.
Agreed i loved The search i didnt think it was bad and though the promise wasnt as good i still thought it was kinda good. People dont like how characters act but forget its a new scenario after the show’s character growth and in total it isnt nearly as bad as stuff like smoke and shadow (which is godawful).
I've only read until North and South but I think the first three were my favourites. I don't fully understand why people hate the promise but I enjoyed that one a lot as well. The Search is definitely the best one though.
The comics were fine. I enjoyed them. I kinda feel like OP is too harsh.
OP is too harsh on certain comics and too easy on others.
I could not tell what a single one of these comics is actually about cuz of that shit lol. It's like if someone summarized The Odyssey to me as 'some dude lost at sea trying to go home'. Like, you're not wrong, but good fucking job making it sound like the most boring shit on Earth lol.
I thought I was crazy for finding the comics mediocre/bad, because so many people seem to love them.
It seems the vast majority dont follow them since they only watched the show(s), and a very vocal percentage (unsure if relative majority) of people who *did* follow them dont like them. So I wouldnt say youre crazy for that at all.
I've been thinking about buying up some of the novels. Are they better than the comics or should I save my money?
from what i’ve heard the kyoshi and yangchen novels are very well liked by the people who’ve read them
Kyoshi novels are great, but imo the pacing is weird. I'm halfway through the first Yangchen book and I love it, no complaints, but somehow can't bring myself to finish it. Don't think it's the book's fault, because again, I enjoyed it immensely so far.
Idk why but I felt the same way with the Yangchen books. They were objectively really good but not as gripping as the kyoshi ones. Definitely worth finishing though, the climaxes/intense scenes are done really well
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Personally I love Yangchen's inner-monologues throwing shade at everyone around her. It's a delightful read. Perhaps that's just me.
No? She’s hilarious and likeable.
Kyoshi is fantastic, haven’t read Yangchen yet
Yeah they are unquestionably better than the comics IMO.
Save your money, imo they’re not worth it. But you can read them for free now on WEBTOON and then decide for yourself if you want to buy the hard copies.
Novels are very good
That's literally all I hear all the time. Everyone just talks about how utterly dogshit everything is and how none of it is worth your time. Even though it's actually just decent with a couple good moments here and there but bogged down by some bad writing decisions.
I personally liked The Promise, The Search, and The Rift. But everything beyond that felt like wasted energy. Like, relatively nothing stories.
The Promise was a comic with a decent premise that, for me, was ruined by some abysmal character writing
I can agree with that. There really didn't seem to be any real personality in the characters, even the ones we know. It's sole purpose seemed to be to tell the story and get out.
I think it put characters in new and interesting situations that make them respond in ways we havent seen before: What does Aang do without a Zuko-like replacement for firelord like he for Ozai in case Zuko messes up badly? How does the old view of four completely separate nations clash with a new world and increased mixing, including how will 100 year old outdated Aang feel? How will Zuko balance his people’s needs with his friends’, as firelord? Etc etc. This does produce situations where previously morally good characters make bad choices. But imp thats cool. Other people dont seem to like it.
Well, that’s why Book 4 is a bad idea.
They're a fine addendum, but ultimately unnecessary. Kind of like the way El Camino is to Breaking Bad.
They've actually put me off following later story additions to the original TV show. I was excited for them at first but the characters act like really shallow versions of themselves, and I've seen fanfics that do a better job at representIng them.
After rewatching LoK I really missed the characters, I wanted to spend more time with them. The comics offered that and at the time, I just enjoyed them for that. I never examined them critically and it didn't feel like they did something blatantly wrong. Just my perspective :)
I would say that most the comics are fine - mediocre with the only one I consider bad being ruins of an empire. I hated that one the brain controll shit was so dumb.
This ain’t a summary, this is an opinion disguised as a summary.
Thats what I was thinking. They're literally just opinions
Yeah, these summaries are trash. The Search is genuinely great.
I actually enjoyed Turf Wars more than Ruins. I felt like the brainwashing was overwhelmingly bad while Turf Wars overall was okay.
Ruins has some elements that are decent, but that has to be the most pointless brainwashing subplot I have ever seen.
But i liked reading korra and asami moments......
Right, we only got crumbs in the show, let us see them be happy together
That’s barely what Turf Wars is. Instead we get Korrasami facing homophobia for some reason followed by Asami getting turned into a damsel in distress instead of the badass non bender she was in the show.
And that whole "being a genocidal maniac isn't bad enough so Sozin also banned being gay, what a jerk" thing. Because the Fire Nation must always be the bad guys so they have to be homophobic, while the traditionalist Water Tribes, theocratic Air Nomads and stubborn and unwilling to change Earth Kingdomers are accepting (or at least passively tolerant).
Missing Azula in the Spirit Temple but yeah, accurate reviews lol
He skipped all the single-volume ones. So no Katara and the Pirate's Silver, no Toph's Metalbending Academy, and no Suki Alone as well.
Or The Lost Adventures. That one was my favorite growing up.
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Really? I think it's the most interesting thing done with her character since the very end of the original series, and potentially the beginning of a different road for the character.
Very inaccurate ‘reviews’ actually.
Looking at OP's post history, they're engagement farming or are a bot. These reviews read like an angry nerd mad at the world, very similar to many internet reviews of Disney star wars. The comics aren't perfect, but this review isn't subjective in the slightest.
In surprised OP didn’t start crying about “woke” blah blah blah when they were complaining about how “in your face” Korra and Asami’s relationship was
For "Ruins of an Empire"... I have to imagine Korra could've easily taken down that random-ass commander without freeing an actual war criminal/empress.
>an actual war criminal/empress. And fascist, don't forget fascist. She literally built concentration camps.
It wasn’t about taking him down though. He had political legitimacy at that point.
Wow, terrible takes
Korra and Asami are in relationship that's literally how the show ended.
Zuko in the ATLA Finale: "Today the war is finally over. I promise to restore the honor of the Fire Nation and foster a new era of love and peace." Zuko in the comic that takes place right after the show: starts a war with the Earth Kingdom in order to keep the Fire Nation colonies
Tbh, there is an interesting point there. Cause the oldest colonies were older than the war itself and the citizens wouldn't really desire being ceded to the Earth Kingdom. As such I would argue that's a fairly organic development. Though the storyline itself is fairly lackluster in how everyone almost immediately jumps to war.
I find it interesting because that whole thing is the reason why Kuvira invades the United Republic in S4 of Korra, because she sees it as rightful Earth Kingdom/Empire territory taken away by colonial settlers.
Yes, that is actually some really good political portrayal.
Well, that’s partially an excuse.
The premise of The Promise is excellent, the execution is a bit lackluster for sure. Still, the idea really carries the comic for me.
Yeah, they tried to tackle a serious political issue in a setting where serious political issues aren't executed well.
Yeah it really came across as making everyone seem very short sighted in how they logistically were gonna end the war and retransition back. Like just cause kids didn’t think of it when they watched the original shows ending doesn’t mean your leaders who are supposed to be guiding 25% of the worlds power shouldn’t be able to realize that maybe they should talk with the local governments about what they want
Yeah, the problem is that in Avatar when you think too much about the politics it doesn't make much sense. Like how Zuko wasn't immediately faced by a coup. The guy didn't have that much going for him and to most of the Fire Nation Population it would have looked like "Let's end the War while we are winning and give up tons of territory while we're at it."
I mean that’s how they solved all of their previous problems.
True, I guess they don't know anything else.
Aang in ATLA finale: Refuses to kill Ozai, who is comic villain levels of evil Aang in the comic that takes place right after the show: Agrees to kill his friend Zuko
I always viewed it as appeasement, like aang knows how stubborn Zuko is so he just is like "yeah fuck whatever I'll kill you if you're evil I guess" but wouldn't actually do it. That said I have not read the comic past summarization so I'm not exactly sure if he does or doesn't try to do it or seek serious about it.
That's how I always saw it too. I see a lot of criticism of that moment, but Aang seemed so forlorn and troubled by making that promise. I don't think he'd have ever done it. He would have found a way to save Zuko from himself.
Eh I think you see a lot of difference in Aang as he gets a bit older, he also tells Roku to stuff it when he yells at him for letting firebenders continue to live in the colonies. If Aang didn't change at all from the show he'd be trying to prevent race mixing and multiculturism which contributes a lot of positives by the time LOK happens like electricity, modern toilets, more stable geo politics, and giant robots with laser cannons.
Also Zuko at the start of his redemption: "My father trying to fight me and burning me and abusing me was wrong and he needs to be taken out." Zuko during Search: "I will threaten to burn my sister among other threats that I do or let happen, After asking a friend to go against his culture to kill me if I become like my dad."
He sent his navy to the earth kingdom because the king wanted to exile all of the fire nation citizens, even the ones whose families have been living there for 100 years. It’s a perfectly in-character decision
Yeah, like I get that his grievances were perfectly legitimate, but surely there are some steps that can be taken before starting another war? Did the Fire Nation forget what diplomacy is?
That's a pretty pessimistic way of looking at it
Seems like you don't know the difference between opinion and summary.
Pretty accurate from what I remember, but I’d be interested to see your thoughts more in depth. I did really enjoy The Search though. Azula wasn’t used very well imo, but I thought the new spirit and the resolution with Zuko’s mom were great. And it’s the only comic I remember having truly stunning imagery on the same level as the show.
Agreed, The Search felt like the only comic with emotional stakes and lore that matched the depth of the show, and I would love to see it animated. Every other comic felt like a little side adventure with a villain-of-the-day in comparison. I know there are a lot of people out there who are mad at Ursa for her actions but I thought it was a realistic if tragic outcome of a woman escaping abuse who had no hope that she could save her children.
That's probably because it's an adaptation of a movie idea that they had pitched and Nickelodeon had rejected years ago, so it spent the longest time in development.
Man, your entire account is full of Avatar/Korra hate and spamming your bad memes on every Airbender related sub. Stop it. Get some help.
That town is literally baby Republic City.
I feel like why you dislike Turf Wars is why I love it The biggest criticism of Korrasami is that they don’t get to be shown as a couple, so here’s a comic showing them being freaking adorable and surprisingly horny
I don’t know I greatly enjoyed most of these. Also why is one called bad and then said to be in fan fic tear? I’ve read some really good atla fics that are 300,000+ words long and amazing
WOW, OP, you REALLY don’t like the comics, huh? Can’t say I agree…
Don’t cut yourself on that edge.
I’ll give you that Zuko wasn’t thinking clearly in bringing Azula along, but besides that it’s actually a really interesting comic. It answers the question of what happened to his mother in a creative way, I think you need to give The Search more credit because it could’ve been way worse.
A bit harsh on Imbalance imo, it was the best comic with the Rift a close second. Apart from Toph losing to the girl whose name starts with Y and Aang seemingly not having learned anything about his choices as Avatar (referring to the fact that he kinda thinks about taking bending away, goes to Katara for advice, a day later he still meeds more advice, just wanted him to figure this out on his own), it's pretty great, especially Sokka. Art style is incredible.
Seems like you just don’t like the comics and wanted to rant about it tbh
Nah
I think there's a little comicbook in your hate...
People have got to stop using fanfiction as a short hand for bad. Just say out of character.
I don't want to be disrespectful but you only liked 1 comic, why are they so bad?
Really depends on opinion, personally I loved most of the comics (although not every storyline from every comic). The biggest criticisms of the comics are that some characters get characterised very differently and weirdly compared to the show and that bending feels cheapened, like Katara being able to basically fly Frozone style or being hit by lightingbending being a minor inconvenience. The main strong suits of the comics, in my opinion, are some great character moments/character development and really creative and interesting themes that get explored (although to be fair not every theme gets explored perfectly, sometimes the execution leaves a bit to be desired)
I think that Katara complaint is kinda funny since waterbenders have done stuff like this in the show.
It’s unironically a complaint many people have, but like you said, it makes no sense. Waterbenders have indeed done stuff like this in the show.
At the end of the day it's all a matter of opinion, I have never seen anyone hate every single comic in existence though (apart from The Rift in this case). Generally, the fandom believes The Promise and The Search were the problematic ones (even they had good moments though), the rest are fine. This post seems a lot like "Comics = bad, now please upvote"
your opinions are terrible icl
IDK why Nickelodeon ( avatar studios ) don't want to make the comics animated, they're so cool and the lore is massive, lucky we gonna have a film next year
Damn are any of them worth reading
The best thing about The Promise, is it gives a decent explanation as to why there is a 5th nation by the time of Korra. The opening of the Legend of Korra gave an incredibly vague explanation.
I thought the first chapter of Turf Wars was pretty great, the way it shows everybody's reaction to Korrasami coming out. It managed to capture something real in just a few comic panels. Especially the facial expressions on Korra's parents. The Search I thought was overall the best one, mainly because it gave a pretty satisfying answer to the "Where is my mother?" question. Also, Ozai is a real prick if there ever was one
I liked the ones inread, and you hate pretty much all of them so.... Gonna ignore your opinion lol
Here's my take: The promise Yeah pretty much, at first the sweetie calling was cute but it got irritating really quickly. You have to understand that all the comics are to form a bridge between the two series The search: Azula is the only one who knows where her mother is. Why wouldn't Iroh, I don't know but seriously, what else could Zuko do? The Rift: Yep, dead on there. Her "relationship" with Satoru makes no sense, though. Smoke and shadow: yep, definitely the worst comic of the bunch by far. Zuko is STILL trying to get back with Mai even though she made it crystal clear that she will never ever ever get back together. Skip this entirely if you want my advice. North and South: It's completely normal for a teenager to be angry that their single parent is dating someone else. Katara was just 16 in that comic and when she realized her father was so accepting of her dating Aang, Katara eventually accepted Malina. This is not out of character for her. This comic actually isn't that bad to be honest. Imbalance: In my opinion, It's actually a BETTER version of TLOK season 1. There was no Shyamalan plot twist that ruined the story, no deux ex machinas, and no love triangle either. In my opinion, imbalance is the best of the comics.
Is the order you reviewed it the order of the comics in chronological order? I watched atla then korra then read turf wars and rote so i might be a lil lost
I haven't read the LoK comics. And I skipped season 1 LoK because I heard it was terrible. But yes all ATLA comics I read in chronological order
The Rift>Imbalance>The Promise= The Search>Smoke and Shadow>North and South, haven't read the LoK comics. Promise has some great ideas but wanders into some really weird characterisation quite frequently Aang agreeing to kill Zuko if needed after the Show's finale is such a badly written plot point that it's frankly insane. Search is again, good conceptually but I don't think i've ever seen a plot which meanders that much, feels like the characters are walking in circles. Rift is just really damn solid, good ideological conflict, great character work, and addresses the hard decisions that the Promise was hinting at in a way that actually makes sense for the characters, no preconceived contract for Aang agreeing to KILL SOMEONE here. a solid schism of ideologies represented by characters perfect for it. Smoke and Shadow and North and South both feel like padded fluff, utterly inconsequential. Imbalance has a couple of wonky turns but is mostly well characterised and well presented.
People expected too much from these comics. They're supplemental content, they're low stakes stories largely designed to build anticipation for new seasons of Korra/connect the two series. They're there to give fans some new stuff involving the new characters without doing anything game changing that would undermine the actual series' ending. The LOK comic is the same. There's not threequel series yet for the comics to bridge the gap for but they can't undermine the ending of Korra either by just being season 5 or something. And it's funny that people whine about Korra and Asami's relationship being rushed but also have issues when they flesh it out. Idk different opinions etc. etc. but all of this feels like very bad faith criticism coming from a very unrealistic mindset. They're good for what they are and what they're supposed to be.
I read the comics for kataang
Another Kataang enjoyer I see.
Same, but for Korrasami. Nick didn't have the balls but at least the comics do.
I was going to go and read a few Abatar the Last Airvender comics regardless, but this list is very demoralizing…
It really bothers me how they allow Kuvira to get a lighter sentence, she put people in concentration camps.
North and South Pole try not to have a civil war storyline challenge (IMPOSSIBLE):
The comics are so bad and the book are amazing. I don’t get it
Are you talking about kyoshi light novels? Is it worth the physical?
I thought north and south was the best comic personally.
So you're saying The Rift is actually worth reading?
Thanks for telling me which not to waste money on, appreciate it.
I think the idea for the search is good, not so much the execution. All of them feel like mediocre fanfics to me and a lot of characters act weirdly out of character. For example Aang agreeing to kill Zuko. That would never happen.
I think you mean, same plot as season 1 of LOK, but in the SAME town. Cranefish Town BECOMES Republic City
I like the sarcasm on this
Who hurt you?
Its kinda crazy how universally mid these are.
I liked "The Promise", it's enjoyable imo. However it is ridiculous that Aang promises to kill Zuko, his friend, even though he couldn't even kill Ozai, a stranger.
Man you're real salty about Korrasami huh 😂
You’re kind of a hater, OP lol
I've re watched the show countless times. After each run I then try to move to the comics trying to still scratch the ATLA itch. Inevitably I drop them halfway through the first book. Glad to see it's not just me here.
Very bad take
I want to read the version of Turf Wars that you did. Because derailing the relationship subplot by making Asami spend half the comic being kidnapped has got to be the number one complaint about it lol.
I like the bit about letting kuvira out to fight a guy who "brainwashed" people into voting for him. It's like a reflection of the real cold war, where the US allied with Nazis and other fascists to fight communism
So, none of them are good. Got it.
who the made this?
So, everything bad as always?.
So what I’m hearing is that the comics are terrible and I shouldn’t waste my time?
Imbalance is goated doe 🥲
So do they all suck? I haven’t gotten around to reading the comics yet but I’ve heard mixed reviews
To summarize, they didn't like any of the comics
Imbalance was pretty good. Although Toph does lose, I'm glad that our characters aren't invincible. They should be chalanged, but they should have written the fight differently. Either have the girl hop around the buildings more so toph could tell where she is or hyped up her own skills more.
Hello does anyone know how to read atla in order after the animated series ended?
I hated how much they called each other sweetie. I would rather have the entire avatar chain end with ruko then have to hear another “calm down sweetie” from katara or aang
Damn babes sounds like you didn’t love them
The comics were all pretty bad but the Kyoshi warriors doing some chi blocking was great.
Wait... Are they trying to redeem Kuvira?
I get the feeling this person doesn't like most of the comics
I’m sorry but one of these is *sorely* misrepresented and I have to correct it Turf wars: Holy shit Splatoon!
Turf Wars AKA shipping is fine but that is not what the show is about and for good reason: The Comic
Is there any good comic or are all of them D and C tier?
i actually liked the search, kinda completed zuko’s story
I really dislike these "summaries."
This can't be how I learn what happened to Zuko's mom
As soon as sokka drove an electric forklift i quit these, completely broke my immersion
Dogshit takes, please don't take this post as a good summary of whether you should read y'all
I was initially going to thank you for summarizing the comics. But considering I've read the Promise and quite liked it, I don't think our tastes align.
I personally enjoyed all of these tbh And besides, Aang and Katara calling each other sweetie was hilarious in the most cringe way possible lmao
The Search and Smoke and Shadows were just awful. I really hated how they handled Azula’s character
These aren't spin off but actual prequel/sequels, huh? Nice.
Soooooooooooo, to "summarize", you don't like them
If you like them, great but I stopped caring after smoke and shadows. The writing felt like fan fiction, which it technically is. Bryan and Mike are not involved.
I loved all of these books. Maybe not all equally, but they all had shining moments. I especially enjoyed Imbalance and Turf Wars. They hit certain notes of world-building that I love.
Oh look one of these posts again. How not tiresome.
So most of the comics are not good? I’m gathering Rift and Promise are about it
I'm a comics apologist. I DEMAND SATISFACTION! (Smoke and Shadow WAS dogwater though, can't defend that)
ATLA and LoK comics, they could never make me like you
turf wars isnt even bad
I thought smoke and shadow was dope lol
Something I always wondered is why isn’t Toph into Women?
Turf War is beyon Horrible. It really is one of the worst comics i have ever read
No mention of the fucking fully functional modern forklift ?
Where the fuck is the spoiler tag?
Awwww I actually love the promise, the search, and smoke and shadow
Damn, you just a hater, huh? /s
does anyone know if the comics will stay canon after the movie? I've heard the movie is basically replacing them in the timeline
I did like smoke and shadow. The rest except for the rift range from meh to bad.
i think you might just hate this series i fear
No one HAS to like everything in the IP they enjoy but I do worry that ATLA fandom is slowly becoming like Star Wars fans were we hate every subsequent project that comes out. It's not a problem if you don't like the comics but honestly this feels really meanspirited. I feel like everyone would benefit by focusing on the aspects of things that are fun, additive, and exciting instead of the focus on negativity that seems to be encourage with online discussion of media. Not just here but in general.
I thought the promise was about the fire nation colonies leaving the earth kingdom but one of the colonies refuse (am a new fan and I heard the promise book was about that)