Book Review: Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise Trilogy

It's been a while since I've finished reading The Promise Trilogy, but I still find myself flicking through their pages every once in a while.

The Promise Trilogy picks up immediately where the Avatar series left off back in 2008, when peace and harmony among the remaining nations - the Fire Nation, the Earth Kingdom, and the Water Tribe - is restored by Avatar Aang with the help of his friends.

To keep balance in the world, Avatar Aang, Fire Lord Zuko, and the Earth King started the Harmony Restoration Movement - a movement that seemed to be the very solution to keep peace among the nations, until a rift between the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation plunges the world back into war a year after the movement is announced.

With a promise that if fulfilled might shatter his friendship with Fire Lord Zuko, Avatar Aang faces his biggest dilemma yet.

Reading The Promise Trilogy brought back so many good memories of the show, sometimes urging me to be reminiscent and a bit sentimental. There's also a huge sense of familiarity, even though the story is told in an entirely different format, as author Gene Yang perfectly captured the personality of every character in the script he wrote for the graphic novel. I couldn't help but hear their voices in my head as I went through their lines.

I love the artwork as well. If I were to describe it in one word, I would say, "brilliant". Dark Horse comics didn't go wrong in picking Gurihiru to do the job, because he recreated the characters perfectly. They looked so much like their TV counterparts, that  they made me think that they were moving right before my eyes.

Overall, I would say that The Promise does not disappoint, unless you're one of those unappreciative Avatards who just couldn't move on.

The Promise will be followed by another trilogy entitled "The Search", which will follow Zuko's journey in finding his long-lost mother, Ursa, and will also explore the spiritual side of the Avatar universe. Gene Yang and Gurihiru will team up again for the new Avatar project.

The Search Part 1 will be out in March 2013.

♥Andz