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Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Rift #1

Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Rift, Part 1

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Sacred Land Defiled!

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

76 pages, Paperback

First published March 5, 2014

368 people are currently reading
9327 people want to read

About the author

Gene Luen Yang

362 books3,367 followers
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.

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5 stars
9,197 (54%)
4 stars
4,641 (27%)
3 stars
2,253 (13%)
2 stars
408 (2%)
1 star
232 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 466 reviews
Profile Image for Alexandra Elend Wolf.
637 reviews320 followers
February 16, 2019
"Don't you think you're trying a little too hard to hold on to the past?"
"Maybe, but don't you think you're trying a little too hard to run away from it?"
"Noy everybody's past is like yours, Aang, some of us have to run away just to... just to live."


I don't really know how I feel about this one.

It made mad at some points, but the end was kinda ok and realistic. I mean it felt very human. Yet, the fact that I was mad most of it doesn't feel good to me.

I suppose I'll have to see how things go and where is this one taking us.
___________________________

More Avatar! I can never get enough.

I'm making it my mission to read at least one of them every month, so, here is the one of this month!

Now on to feed my newest obsession XD.
Profile Image for Rose.
2,000 reviews1,089 followers
February 7, 2014
Another strong start to the next installment in the "Avatar: The Last Airbender" series. Gene Luen Yang, Michael Dante DiMartino, and Bryan Koneitzko team up for the newer series "The Rift." This story starts with Aang taking a journey with the group to honor the memory of one of the former Avatars, Avatar Yangchen. But Aang's surprised to find that not all is as he remembered when the sacred lands are settled by a group of Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom groups working a refinery, which is causing the land to be polluted. Aang worries further with visions he has of Avatar Yangchen, of future events or past he isn't sure, but there are more than a few surprises with the group as they discover the workings of the refinery, and the people behind them.

I continue to be impressed with the level of storytelling and characterizations in these graphic novels. The artwork has stunning clarity and consistency, the balance of humor and tension is engaging, and the story itself has promise as it builds through the volume. I think this is still a series that many who follow the Avatar:TLA universe will enjoy for what it offers. I certainly look forward to see where this particular series goes, even with the reveal at the end. Judging from the scheme of events in this series, Toph is going to get a lot of character focus.

Highly recommended.

Overall score: 5/5 stars

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Diamond Book Distributors/Dark Horse Comics.
356 reviews
October 6, 2016
4/5 stars.
I haven't read any Avatar comics for a while and ahhhhhhh this was great.
Onto the next one!
Profile Image for Nicolo.
3,349 reviews199 followers
May 9, 2014
I'd rate this book higher if I was more familiar with Avatar: The Last Airbender mythology, which I heard was an excellent animated series.

Still, it wasn't a bad book, I'm just not the right target audience for it. Despite it, I still felt the enjoyment of reading it.
Profile Image for Sophie_The_Jedi_Knight.
1,189 reviews
November 18, 2020
*2.5

I swear, some of these comics are so weird.

The plot of this one isn't bad, but everyone seems so out of character. Aang already saw a place where Air Nomad history was taken over; this is just a sacred meadow. Katara doesn't do much except support Aang, and Sokka is just degraded into an idiot. Toph is the worst here - I get that she's going through stuff with her past, but she's so harshly at everyone's throats that it feels like they just met her. Toph is a Slytherin, for sure, but she cares about her friends too! (Also, it annoys me that this guy who Toph might be crushing on is described as her showing "her soft side." What the heck? Toph has shown her soft side so many more times with her friends; she doesn't need some love interest to do that.

Well, let's see how this goes. 2.5/5 stars.
Profile Image for Myron.
26 reviews
March 20, 2014
It appears that all Avatar content since the beginning of season two of The Legend of Korra has been going downhill. I don't want to say this because everything about Avatar was unbelievably awesome for the whole of The Last Airbender and most of the first season of The Legend of Korra was quality. But as an avid fan of the franchise, my disappointment grows.

The ending of The Search was fairly ridiculous with them letting Azula go free and Zuko being reunited with his mother was done in a far too convenient way. While those were my complaints for the last part of that series, most of the series was an entertaining read.

When The Rift Part One came out I was hesitant to be excited as my most recent experiences with Avatar content has been disappointing. Sadly this comic book only fulfilled my expectations. While some may argue that it is too early to judge as this is only the first installment of a trilogy for the series, I still feel that there are glaring errors or simply weird, baffling moments that would not exist if this story was done properly.

This story begins reasonably with a feast celebrating the new elected leaders of Yu Dao (the city that will become Republic City). Aang has a vision where he sees what we assume is Avatar Yangchen. This reminds him of Avatar Yangchen day and he takes the gang out to celebrate. This is where things begin to derail.

They come upon a statue Aang believed was Avatar Yangchen, but instead the statue looks different. The obvious thing for them to do now would be to question its existance and search for answers. Instead, they simply accept that its a different person. This makes no sense at all.

Following this we see Aang and Toph being incredibly stubborn for almost no reason. Then there's a random water bender glaring at Katara (at least that's what it looked like). Aang goes chasing Yangchen's spirit while no one seems to think this might be a major issue (ITS A BLOODY PREVIOUS AVATAR APPEARING TO HIM, THEY ONLY COME FOR SERIOUS BUSINESS).

They then find a factory and meet a fanboy who turns out to be running the joint. Toph for some reason develops a crush on this dude which is completely out of character for her (since when would she care about some dude who is being a submissive fanboy of her?). Toph and Aang argue some more because Toph cares more about this fanboy than Aang at the moment. Then it ends with Toph finding her dad is owner of the factory, which makes me wonder why the fanboy didn't mention this to her.

I still have hope that things can improve, but I am expecting more disappointment. Prove me wrong Gene!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Saranya De (s. ia.).
952 reviews132 followers
June 25, 2025
This part... I did not like it much...

Expect more philosophical debates about progress vs. tradition... all while Aang tries to mediate with the subtlety of a flying bison...
Profile Image for Sonja.
629 reviews534 followers
August 11, 2017
❝Don't you think you're trying a little too hard to hold on to the past?❞
❝Maybe, but don't you think you're trying a little too hard to run away from it?❞
❝Not everybody's past is like yours, Aang. Some of us have to run away just to... just to live.❞
I really enjoyed The Rift: Part One! Gurihiru continues to amaze me with their stunning art. Every page I turned, I was greeted with beautiful artwork. The art alone is enough of a reason for me to continue reading the Avatar: The Last Airbender graphic novels.

The Rift: Part One focuses more on Toph than the other Avatar: The Last Airbender graphic novels. And personally I found that to be a very welcome development. Toph is one of my all-time favourite characters: she's strong, powerful, innovative, but also funny, kind, and good. I loved seeing more of her backstory, and I'm eager to read The Rift: Part Two to perhaps find out even more about her.
❝Toph Beifong doesn't bow to anybody.❞
description
Profile Image for (inactive).
211 reviews84 followers
June 6, 2020
this one was a liiiittle boring for my taste but i appreciate the cliff hanger and the focus on toph’s character.
Profile Image for Sophia.
2,562 reviews379 followers
March 4, 2019
I enjoyed the beginning of this story and the fact that we get to see more of Toph than in the last story line! This introduces a couple of new things; a long forgotten Air nomad tradition that Aang wants to complete (after a past Avatar shows him visions) as well as a factory that has taken up residence on sacred land. There is a mystery surrounding the factory and Aang and co. must find out what is really going on. But as Aang tries to preserve his past, Toph comes face to face with hers! I am so excited to see where this goes and how Toph deals with this new development!
Profile Image for Pamela Espinosa.
56 reviews7 followers
January 1, 2021
Bastante introducturio con buen planteamiento de la problemática. Amo a bebé Toph y lo bonita que se ve cuando le gusta alguien.

Buscaba algo tranquilo, corto y divertido para empezar el año y esto fue perfecto. Le pongo 3.5 por ese final que me dejó en shock!
Profile Image for Lexi.
126 reviews47 followers
March 4, 2021
This first part???? That ending? Are you KIDDING?
Profile Image for Samantha.
781 reviews9 followers
December 31, 2015
Real Rating: 4 1/2

I have to say, I think these books are finally coming into their own. Not that I disliked the first two trilogies, but they had flaw after flaw. Not that this one doesn't have some flaws as well, but I enjoyed it more than the others.

First off, the art. I've always enjoyed the art of these books, but I think the style has grown on me even more. I'm not a huge artist, but there's a few panels that I want to sketch out because I thought they were so beautiful.

I also love the nods to the Korra series. I'll say more about that in my spoilers section, but I did appreciate that the writer is really trying to connect Avatar and Korra together, and it helps the world feel richer because of it.

I loved the character designs for the new characters, and it was great seeing some of the old again. I knew beforehand that this trilogy is going to focus on Toph, but the end of this book was perfect! I really want to get my hands on the second book, as this trilogy is bringing up some stuff with Toph that I've always wanted to see play out. Very vague, I know, but spoilers.

My one complaint is Toph. She's my favorite character and I love this focus on her, but... There were a few moments she seemed a little too harsh. I mean, Toph isn't afraid to say what she really feels and she is really confrontational, but I feel like she would have a little more respect for Aang by this point. The Toph in this book occasionally feels like Book 2 Toph, where she hasn't really bonded with the Gaang. Toph could still be a little mean in Book 3, but... I don't know. I don't know how to explain it, other than saying while Toph was great for the most part in this book, there were a few moments I felt she was downright mean.


SPOILERS BELOW!!!







Satoru. I love his character design and his personality and his bits with Toph were great. However, while I like seeing Toph hit it off with him, I get the feeling he's related to the Sato's of Korra. I mean, the name is fairly close, and he's all about inventing new technology, including the forklift (which can be seen as similar to the satomobile). Maybe I'm just reading too much into it, but that honestly was my first thought when I read his name, and it didn't help that he had said "Fire ferrets" right before that.

But if he really is Asami's grandfather (that's my guess, anyways. I need to refresh myself on Asami's family and her father's business, but I don't think there's anything that contradicts my thoughts.), then there's no way Toph and him get together. Because while Asami's father could have come from another wife, it would still make Lin/Opal and Hiroshi related to one another. Maybe by blood, maybe just by family relationships. And while nobody seems to know about Toph's two husbands, I don't think such a thing as Lin and Asami being related would be overlooked in the three seasons of Korra that have aired.

This has turned from a review of the book to my speculations and thoughts... So, I'll wrap this up.



Overall, I really enjoyed this book. There was a moment or two that pulled me out of the book, but I think these graphic novels just keep getting better and better. Katara and Sokka do take the background a little, but they add quite a bit of humor if you really pay attention to the panels. Plus, it's nice to see Toph getting some focus on issues that the Korra series hasn't really touched on, rather just on her metalbending academy. I can't wait to see where this story goes.
Profile Image for Isa.
613 reviews314 followers
January 1, 2015


ARC provided by Dark Horse Comics through Netgalley

While out with the Avatar Team and General Iroh in the Earth Kingdom, Aang sees a vision of past Avatar Yangchen who tries to warn him of something which he can't hear.
Convinced Avatar Yangchen is asking him to reinstate a traditional Air Nomad celebration in her honour, Aang sets out with the Avatar Team and his new air acolytes to celebrate Yangchen's Festival. But things do not go as planned, and Aang's need to reconnect with the past clashes with Toph's need to escape it.

It's really delightful to see a comic so faithful to the show's characters!
We get to see Aang dealing with trying to rebuild a heritage robbed by genocide, and Toph dealing with a past that robbed her of a normal childhood.
This seems to be setting Toph as the main character to be developed in the next instalment, and with Toph being one of my favourite characters I, for one, cannot wait!
Profile Image for karla⁹ ⛈.
313 reviews50 followers
July 17, 2020
I guess what I was just trying to say... Don’t you think you’re trying a little too hard to hold on to the past?

Maybe, but don’t you think you’re trying a little too hard to run away from it?



Me gusta el conflicto entre preservar la cultura y las tradiciones del pasado vs sacrificarlo en el nombre del ‘progreso’ y ‘futuro’.

Personalmente estoy de parte de Aang, no me agrada la visión capitalista con la que algunas personas creen que tienen el derecho de destruir lo que es importante para unos justificado que es en nombre del futuro.

Profile Image for Nicolo.
3,349 reviews199 followers
September 12, 2016
I admit that I could have enjoyed this better if I was more familiar with The Last Airbender cartoon on Nickelodeon. I've only seen less than five episodes of it.

The book is well-written and I could get by enough with what I know about the cartoon to enjoy it but just barely. Still, this is a great book for a younger reader.
Profile Image for Joost.
432 reviews122 followers
October 28, 2017
Omg een nieuw personage is WOW HUH AAAAAAAAHHHH! Dit boek gaat over een geest (denk ik?) waar avatar Yangchen voor waarschuwt en ook de familie van Toph verschijnt weer. Tot nu toe nog niet een graphic novel die net zo goed is als de vorige reeksen, maar ik ga snel door met de rest van deze reeks!
Profile Image for Toshita.
583 reviews60 followers
August 23, 2023
Once again another great installment in the Avatar series! I love how each of the books are interconnected and reference each other. It really makes it seem like the series has truly continued. I was curious about what the Rift would be about and it looks like I was very wrong. I'm looking forward to the next book!
Profile Image for Gretal.
981 reviews84 followers
June 6, 2020
I love one Toph Beifong so much
Profile Image for Mayla Sperindio.
254 reviews6 followers
March 9, 2024
I only found the version separated in 3 parts🙄
The stars are all for toph
Profile Image for Mijo Stumpf.
136 reviews3 followers
May 28, 2024
Every time they come up with new ways to talk about complex things. In the wake of me walking away from HP, ATLA is here to help. ❤️
Profile Image for Jen • Just One More Page.
289 reviews99 followers
December 29, 2015


Review for all three parts under the cut.
Profile Image for Miss Clark.
2,867 reviews221 followers
April 24, 2014
3.5 stars

Toph is the main character here! She is dealing with everything that she tried to run away from - her family, stifling traditions and restrictions, etc. At first this causes conflict between her and Aang as he tried to revive an old Air Nomad festival, but they have made up by the end.

Best line was from Iroh, finishing up his stint as the interim Fire Lord and on his way back to Ba Sing Se:

I had much more fun .. and more tea.. than I had expected!
The National Tea Appreciation Day was a rousing success!


Ursa and her family were visiting Zuko in the capitol city for the first time which is why he is not there.

Meanwhile there is trouble in the spirit world and the last air Avatar Yangchen begins appearing to Aang, showing him a vision of a terrifying dark spirit causing destruction, but Aang does not know if it is a past event or yet to come.

And then there is an Earthen Fire refinery that employs people from all tribes that is built on top of sacred Air Nomad ground. Oh, and the refinery is co-owned by none other than... Toph Beifong's father.

The chief engineer has quite the crush on Toph and she seems pretty friendly toward him.

The river there is polluted, but it is not the refinery's fault. What is causing it?

And why did Nutha glare at Katara? What did she ever do? Esp. since Niyok seemed friendly and glad to see Katara?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Ashley.
3,424 reviews2,337 followers
December 14, 2014
Some scattered thoughts:

1. Toph is awesome. I love her. More Toph.
2. I like how the conflict between Aang and Toph was handled here. It felt authentic, and not manufactured.
3. It might be my imagination, but I think the art is finally aging the characters up?
4. I hope this series goes on for a long time.
5. Only complaint: Isn't it too early for machines to show up in this world? I'd like to see a timeline for industrialization in the Avatar world.

I just realized how nerdy that sounded.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 466 reviews

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