Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise, Part 1

Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise #1

by Gene Luen Yang, Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino

The war is over...but the adventure has just begun!

Picking up exactly where Avatar: The Last Airbender left off, The Promise takes Aang to a Fire Nation colony in the heart of the Earth Nation, where tensions between neighbors threaten to shatter the world's newfound peace—putting the Avatar on a collision course with one of his closest friends, Fire Lord Zuko!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Manga, Fiction, Young Adult, Graphic Novels Comics

76 pages, Paperback

First published January 25, 2012

About the author

Gene Luen Yang writes, and sometimes draws, comic books and graphic novels. As the Library of Congress’ fifth National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, he advocates for the importance of reading, especially reading diversely. American Born Chinese, his first graphic novel from First Second Books, was a National Book Award finalist, as well as the winner of the Printz Award and an Eisner Award. His two-volume graphic novel Boxers & Saints won the L.A. Times Book Prize and was a National Book Award Finalist. His other works include Secret Coders (with Mike Holmes), The Shadow Hero (with Sonny Liew), Superman from DC Comics (with various artists), and the Avatar: The Last Airbender series from Dark Horse Comics (with Gurihiru). In 2016, he was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow. His most recent books are Dragon Hoops from First Second Books and Superman Smashes the Klan from DC Comics.

Reviews

[s · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH, I CAN LITERALLY SCREAM ABOUT THIS FOR ETERNITY. This book literally picks up right after the show ends (I was wrong about the other comic) and it's fucking intense as hell.

Full review to come because I'm too busy binging the rest of the books in this series and that ending was fucking INSANE.

[Mrinmayi · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Aang call Katara "sweetie"
Sokka(in Kiyoshi warriors uniform):

Mrin( Chilling with Toph) :

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sokka's "oogies" reminds me of Mean Girls 🤦😂


I love the characters already!

One of the best artwork ever in graphic novels.

I am sure the show is good but I will to the graphic novel series as for now.

Fire Lord, I am obsessed with this character. Love his character. He has a legacy to maintain and keep up. So much more is coming up.


The only thing I don't like at all is what makes Sokka to overuse his "oogies" - the unwanted PDA between the Avatar and his girlfriend. It's annoying when it becomes too cheesy 🤦


The characters are intense. The character development is so damn good. The plot is too good.

The other side characters have a voice of their own.

Conflicts. Politics. Magic. Fantastical elements. Romance. Friendship. Promises to keep. Martial arts 🖤 my heart's blackness shines!


Ends on a cliffhanger though.

The real fight is coming up!

[Alexandra Elend Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

"When you are in a position of power, you must put the needs of the world above your own."

I need this so much I've watched Avatar: The Last Airbender twice in my life, one when I was little and the second a couple of weeks ago, and that has been enough to know that it will forever be one of my favorite TV shows. So when I discovered that these comics existed I just had to get my hands on them.

That's a decision for which I'm pretty grateful. The comic has the same feel that the show did, and since it picks up from where the show left off you don't miss anything.

The characters were just as awesome as always and I was already needing to see my baby Zuko again. So far we have just gotten a little glimpse of Iroh for what I'm a bit disappointed, but oh well.

The plot centers around the difficult period that the world enters after the end of a 100 years war and how everyone will adjust at the same time that some hard decision must be made and compromises met.

Everything is complicated since you have to try help people make peace with a nation that had been oppressing them for so long, and seeing both sides of any agreement is.... hard.

Zuko shines in this and proves to be somewhat wiser than the rest -with a little help- and is starting to see a problem that everyone was trying to either ignore or most people don't even see.
Yes, nobody knows what to do yet-I have an inkling thanks to The Legend of Korra which I've not seen but know about- and I know that when they reach that understanding is not gonna be easy to keep.

The ending has me nervous though, Zuko go to Iroh I'm pretty sure he will have a great idea of how to help!

" 'You ready sweetie?' 'I'm ready sweetie.' "

This cracked me up so badly! To be honest it was a bit too cheesy.

I'll get right to the next issue now!

[Brigid ✩ · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading:

Oh ... whoops, I still need to review this. Heh heh.

Before reading:

Well OF COURSE I WILL READ THIS. I HAVE TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS AND STUFF.

So yeah, for those of you who don't know, there are going to be these two graphic novels which basically fill in the gaps between The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra (which comes out ... who knows when, but sometime next year). So like, hopefully stuff will be explained. And yeah. I'm so tired I can't even think right now. But YAAAY I'M EXCITED. It still won't be the same as having the TV show, and I'll still be drooling like a rabid dog waiting for TLOK, but OH WELL it's better than nothing. Or than watching the original series fifty billion times.

(JK, actually ... watching the original series fifty billion times is awesome. It never gets old.)

ANYWAY, I read a leak from this book via Tumblr. (Sorry, I had a link but it doesn't work anymore ... It was probably taken down.)

So yeah, I'm not really sure if I'm excited or pissed off. I guess it depends on how everything turns out. Basically, these are the spoilers as revealed by the leak:



- Characters like Roku, Mai, Suki and the Kyoshi Warriors, Ty Lee, and the Freedom Fighters will be making an appearance

YAY. BRIGID HAPPY.

- Zuko asks Aang to “end him” should he ever get out of hand like his father

Kind of clichéd, but .... *sighs* still very Zuko-like. Also if Aang kills Zuko, that would be, well, kind of stupid.

- Roku agrees that Aang’s responsibility to the world is greater than his friendship

Wow, Roku. You're a nice guy.

- Yes…Aang and Katara refer to each other as “sweetie”.

OKAYYYYYY. I ... just .... I don't even know what to say. If you read the excerpt, you'll see what I mean. Look, I'm a total Kataang supporter, but really, it's a little too much. Or maybe way too much. It's kind of overkill. Like, alright, I get that they're an item now, but the whole "sweetie" thing just feels uncharacteristic of both of them. It really weirds me out.

- The colonies are indeed in a state of unrest, and there have been riots agains the peace movement

Woohoooo. MORE VIOLENCE.

- ZUKO RECLAIMS CROWN AS MASTER OF BAD DECISIONS AND GOES TO HIS FATHER FOR HELP IN THE LAST STINKIN PANEL.

Oh, Zuko. You never learn ANYTHING, do you?!



Well, that's all I've got to say right now. And thus ends my nerdy little rant.

[Sonja · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender, I recommend checking out this graphic novel!

Why You Should Read The Promise:

• The comic is set just after the end of ATLA, so this is the perfect book to read if the ending of the series left you wanting more!
• The artwork is stunning, it feels like watching an ATLA episode!
• Toph is a badass as usual
• Zuko is the Fire Lord™️
• And the promise is quite intriguing too.

Buddy read with my brother Siamak

[Henny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still wish there would be a 4th season but maybe these comics will answer my questions and still my cravings for more of this fantastic universe and characters!

[Caz (littlebookowl) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4.5 stars

[(inactive) · Rating 4 out of 5]

my heart is so fucking full rn.

[Vi · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much fun! Loved to see my favorite characters again on a new adventure ❤️.

[Vero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amé regresar al mundo del Avatar y los cuatro elementos 🤎

[Ronyell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Introduction:

Now, I am a huge fan of the “Avatar: The Last Airbender” TV series and when I heard that there was going to be a comic book series that would continue from where the TV series last ended, I was so excited that I had to pick up this series! “Avatar the Last Airbender: The Promise Part One” continues from where the TV series ended its run and I have to admit that this was a brilliant continuation of the world-acclaimed TV series!

What is this story about?

After the events of “Avatar the Last Airbender” where Aang finally defeats Fire Lord Ozai and brings peace to the world, Aang along with the new Fire Lord, Prince Zuko, try to bring peace to the world by establishing the Harmony Restoration Movement. Unfortunately, when Zuko goes to visit the Earth Nation, he realizes that there are still tensions from the Fire Nation’s takeover and this might put his friendship with Aang to the test. What’s even worse is that before all this, Zuko asked Aang to kill him if he starts acting like his father and Aang is unsure of doing this, since he is a peaceful person who does not like to kill anyone.

Will Aang go through with his promise to kill Zuko if he starts acting like his father?

Read this volume to find out!

What I loved about this story:

Gene Luen Yang’s writing: I never would have thought that I see the day that there would be a comic book adaptation of “Avatar the Last Airbender” and manages to stick faithfully to the spirit of the TV series (unlike a certain movie adaptation of the TV series). Gene Luen Yang’s writing is both intense and hilarious at the same time and it brilliantly captures the spirit of the TV series! I loved the way that Gene Luen Yang wrote each character as they remain faithful to their TV counterparts, such as Sokka still being the comic relief of the group, Aang still retaining his peaceful and child like nature and Zuko still being the troubled son of the former Fire Lord. I loved the way that Gene Luen Yang added more character development to Zuko’s character as now we are seeing that Zuko is worried about becoming just like his father and is also trying to handle the duties of being the new Fire Lord. It really added so much drama and tension to Zuko’s character as we find ourselves wondering whether or not Zuko will become like his father and how he would handle the duties of being the Fire Lord without resorting to the same tyrannical tendencies of his father. I also loved the way that Gene Luen Yang made the stories flow so well with the events that happened in the TV series as it felt like I was watching another episode of “Avatar the Last Airbender” (or in this case, the fourth season that never came) and it makes me feel so delighted to see more development from each of these characters!

Gurihiru’s artwork: Gurihiru’s artwork brilliantly captured the designs of the characters from the TV series such as Katara still having her long brown hair and large blue eyes and Aang still having his large blue and innocent eyes, while his bald head still contains the famous blue arrow tattooed on his head. I also loved the way that Gurihiru drew the characters’ clothing and the world they live in as it brilliantly reflects the culture of Asia, making the world truly exotic!



Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Avatar the Last Airbender: The Promise Part One” is a brilliant volume that superbly reenact the world-acclaim TV series and I am definitely looking forward to reading the second part of this series pretty soon!



Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

[Bine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Einfach viel zu schnell vorbei! Unfassbar wie natürlich sich der Comic an die Animationsserie anschließt, ohne dass man sich groß umstellen muss. Das Feeling ist genauso wie in der Serie. Man kann sich alles animiert vorstellen, man hat sofort die Stimmen der Charaktere im Ohr. Sie benehmen sich genau wie in der Serie. Bemerkenswert gut umgesetzt! Die Story ist auch nicht an den Haaren gerbeigezogen, ich kann mir so gut vorstellen, dass die Serie so weiter geht. Außerdem ist die Geschichte nach wie vor sehr tiefgründig. Da ich mich selbst viel mit Postkolonialismus auseinandersetze, ist die Frage wie man mit den Feuernationkolonien nun umgehen soll super spannend für mich und kann es kaum erwarten, zu erfahren, wie Aang und Co. den Konflikt lösen. Einzig die Liebesbeziehung zwischen Aang und Katara finde ich befremdlich. Ich shippe sie immer noch mit Zuko, ich kann da nicht aus meiner Haut. Ich meine, das eine Panel, wo er sie so bestimmend festhält. Hallo? Das kann doch kein Zufall sein. Ich denke, ich bin hier nicht die einzige, die die beiden zusammen sehen will hach.

[Sophie_The_Jedi_Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5

I technically read this a while back, but I really don't know why. I never actually finished the Avatar TV show as a kid for some reason. But I've finished it now (love it), and so I'm checking out the "canonical" graphic novels.

The premise of this one is instantly off. "The Promise" is Zuko asking Aang to kill him if he ever becomes like his father. And... Aang agrees. Aang. Aang, who doesn't eat meat and doesn't kill anyone or anything. Sure, sure, this is in-character. And then he talks with Roku and it's the same thing as the last few episodes: "But I can't kill someone!" "But you must." Same. Thing.

I did like seeing all the characters, though, that was fun.

3.5/5 stars, because this premise is ridiculous. Aang would never agree to that. Well, onto volume 2.

[Mayi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I literally LOVE this series. I lost count of the times when I saw all the chapters. I recommend it 100%

[Aranza (grumpy version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zuko is literally my favorite character. We see him through all the series struggling with himself, but just because the War is over doesn’t mean the struggles are over too.

Because of the expansion of the Fire Nation, many colonies have been in the Earth Kingdom for over a hundred years. People have made their roots and families in those places. But with the war over, the Earth Kingdom just wants the colonies to go back to the mainland, and to restore peace the way it used to.

You don’t need to be a genius to realize why this may be a problem.

At first, the plan of moving the colonies seems the perfect solution. But then, Zuko is faced with the reality that what seemed something simple is actually incredibly complicated.

As always, Zuko stole the show for me. He’s just such a well thought, three-dimensional character. He’s a 17 year old boy who’s trying to lead an entire nation after a war. He’s just doing his best to be fair to the world and his people.

Toph, Sokka, Katara and Aang are also part of this issue and you can’t even start to understand how much I missed these guys. Aang frustrated me a bit, along with the rest of the gaang, I admit, but well. Hopefully they realize what they are doing on the next issue :)

[Iryna *Book and Sword* · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the review of the whole mini series, and more reviews, please visit my book blog

The Promise is a quick and entertaining read about Aang's adventures after the war was ended.
It's very nice to see all of the characters, and humor is great as usual.

Aang and Katara calling each other 'sweetie' gave me the oogies though.

Onto the next one.

My WEBSITE
My INSTAGRAM
My WORDPRESS BLOG

[Tilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's so much fun to re-visit this world again!

[Emma Angeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so happy when I realised these existed lololol and then I bought the first five oops

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Original post at One More Page

I never really go to the graphic novels section of NetGalley, but anything Avatar: The Last Airbender related is an automatic pick for me. I loved the series, so reading this was a definite treat.

The graphic novel picks up immediately where the series ended (spoiler warning if you haven't watched the entire series yet), where Aang and Zuko and the rest of the gang were working on bringing back peace in the world. One of the things they were planning to do was to return the Earth Nation land that the Fire Nation invaded back to its rightful owners, but trouble looms when resistance comes. Zuko experiences a personal crisis and asks Aang to promise something...something that Aang wasn't sure if he can really fulfill. But a promise is a promise, right?

What. Fun. I loved this graphic novel, and it brought back fond memories of the series I loved. I love that it picked up where it left off, providing excellent continuity. I love that everyone was there too, and honestly, I could imagine the graphic novel all animated and their voices still rang in my head (Dante Basco!). The funny and serious parts were pretty balanced, and the "oogie" moments were hilarious.

It's also quite apt that I read this a few weeks before I got to watch the first few episodes of Legend of Korra. If you're a fan of the series, you really shouldn't miss this. The only thing I wish is that it was longer, or, that I have part 2 with me already! And part 3! Please, NetGalley, please have it in your catalog? :)

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second Read:
Delving back into this world felt so familiar and amazing! I have always really loved these characters and this world! Getting back into this series, I remember how much I loved the first few parts and I can't wait to read more of this world in comic book form!


First Read:
This comic basically picks up right where the anime left off and I love where it went! You see Team Avatar celebrate the end of the war, then a promise is made (which is why the comic series is called "The Promise") then it jumps to a year from when the Fire Lord is defeated. The story is not the only thing that is awesome in this comic, the illustrations and the wording is amazing! I can hear the characters voices in my head when I read the speech bubbles and there are so many details in the drawings! I love everything in this comic except for one tiny thing, certain someones keep calling each other 'sweetie' way too much. Besides that though, I am in love with where they are taking the story line and can't wait to delve into part two of this series.

[Saraí Elvir · Rating 3 out of 5]

No pude evitar leerlo con sus voces jaja

[Alayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Estoy entre un 3.75 o un 4 directo (por lo corto que es) pero las estrellas que le doy son las mismas, así que poco importa.

La promesa es una trilogía que se desarrolla una vez terminada la guerra de 100 años, en un mundo que aún está tratando de construirse, y tiene como protagonistas a Aang, sus amigos, y principalmente a Zuko.
Su nombre se debe a una petición que le hace Zuko a Aang al principio de este tomo y esa "promesa" es lo que lo llevará a un conflicto interior sobre qué hacer si lo que te pide un amigo te es imposible de hacer, por más leal que seas, puesto que te duele o no te creés capaz de hacerlo.
Es corto, obvio, y se lee nada; tiene sus partes graciosas y bobas (como todo capítulo de Avatar en la serie) y tiene sus reencuentros con personajes que había olvidado.

Vi la serie de chica mil veces y hace algunos años volví a verla toda completa, por lo que sí, me considero bastante fan.
Sólo hace poco sube de la existencia de estos cómics, y como estoy ahora mismo aburrida en mi pieza, de vacaciones, sin ganas de dormir, me propuse leerla (puesto que encontré todas sus partes en una página para leer cómics online) y acá estoy, volviendo a mi infancia, leyendo sobre cosas que en algún momento me volvían loca, y sonriendo de ternura y nostalgia como una loca.

Me sentí volver en el tiempo a ver a Aang charlando y pidiendo consejo al Avatar Roku; me volvió loca y me confundió un poco el ver tan "cariñosos" a Katara y Aang, aunque me dio mucha risa. Y me alegró, obviamente, leer sobre chistes de Sokka después de tanto tiempo sin ver la serie.

En fin, fue un lindo reencuentro con mi infancia, y puesto que nunca tuve tiempo de ver Korra (aunque quiero), fue también una forma de volver a conectar con algo que en su momento amé tanto, y además, tener contacto con algo nuevo de la historia que nunca había visto/leído.

Muy recomendable. En un rato o mañana sigo con la segunda parte.

[Virginia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so excited when I got this in the mail!! I totally miss the world of A:TLA and was so chuffed to delve back into this world. I know this is part of the promotional material to set up for the next Avatar series, but I don't care. All I want is MORE ZUKO!! MORE ZUKO!!

The art is beautiful and the humor asides are fun. I think in graphic novel form, the story seems a bit more juvenile than the cartoon, but I realize also that this first volume is the set up and not the climax/resolution. I can't wait to find out what happened to Zuko's mom. YAY!

[svenjasbuecherliebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5🌟 - Das Avatar Universum ist so so toll! Seit dem ich klein war habe ich jede Folge im TV geschaut und geliebt auch heute schaue ich mindestens ein Mal im Jahr die komplette Serie durch 🤍- es ist für mich eine magische Welt und ich bin so froh, die Comics entdeckt zu haben!

Für mich ganz klare 5🌟 da ich alles daran geliebt habe! Ich freue mich auf Band 2💫🤍

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took away one star because a) it's too short, and b) Aang and Katara saying "sweetie" felt too out of character for me. However, this graphic novel is bloody good and a great extension of the series. Now I just need to get the other two...

[Shee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ugh so good to be back in this world was seriously missing the squad.

[ScottIsANerd (GrilledCheeseSamurai) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Completely satisfied!

The only thing this book had to do for me to love it was to be as good as the tv show was.

And it was.

Success!

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Docking a whole star for the unnecessary amount of times Aang and Katara referred to each other as sweetie

[oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

@ fire lord zuko: yes i do the cooking, yes i do the cleaning