Publisher’s Summary: 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! Written by Eisner Award winner Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese) in close collaboration with Avatar creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, this is the story Avatar fans have been waiting for!
Content advisory: Action and fighting mostly involve throwing fire, water, air, and earth at opponents, with no real damage done. Romance is limited to Aang and Katara kissing at least twice (giving Sokka “oogies”). There’s no other objectionable material. Basically, if you’ve seen any episodes or other graphic novels of Avatar, you know what to expect.
Does this book end? No. The Promise, Part 2 is due out in June 2012.
My thoughts: As I mentioned in my review of The Lost Adventures, I’m a huge fan of The Last Airbender. Unlike Adventures, however, this book (which comes out February 7, 2012) tells one continuous story that takes place after the end of the series. It starts right at the end of the last episode, adding in a little bit to fit the new and old stories together before moving forward a year to get to the main story presented. With the world working towards peace, the problem of numerous Fire Nation colonies still within Earth Nation lands becomes a problem. Simply moving the colonies back seems simple enough, until they colonists decide that they don’t want to move. What will Aang and his friends do to ensure peace?
This book captures all of the heart, humor, and action of the cartoon series and expands on the stories told nicely. Aang still faces struggles to find the balance of peace, as well as keeping the promise he gave to Fire Lord Zuko (hence the title). I won’t give anything more away, but I will say that this is an excellent book!
The bottom line: Fans of The Last Airbender will be thrilled to read “the rest of the story” about Aang working to find peace in a world scarred by war.
