Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise, Part Two

Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise, Part Two
Script: Gene Luen Yang, Art: Gurihiru, 2012

Premise: Sequel to The Promise, Part One, and Avatar: The Last Airbender
Tensions rise between The Fire Nation and The Earth Kingdom over the fate of the disputed colonies. Zuko seeks advice from an untrustworthy source, Katara struggles with being the girlfriend of the now-famous Avatar, and Sokka and Toph try to knock some sense into Toph's students.

This is a really strong second chapter. At this point, fans know what is eventually going to happen with the colonies. Legend of Korra has finished its first season, and since it takes place further into the future of that world, we know the founding of Republic City is going to be the eventual solution to the political problem. Seeing how they get there, though, is a story I'm still very excited to read.

More important than that larger story, of course, are the stories of the characters. They're dealing with more complicated problems, problems that don't have easy answers. The emotion is strong in every scene, and the dialogue continues to be wonderful. Sokka and Toph's adventures at her school are lighter in tone than the other plots, but humor has always been an important part of Avatar. Toph is particularly awesome here, she gets some nice character growth and most of the funniest lines. Aang and Katara meeting with Aang's fans takes a sharp turn towards poignant when I least expected it. Zuko's plot-line, of course, is full of rocky paths and misspoke words, and some very moving moments.

I absolutely loved this, and if I loved it slightly less than Part One, it is only because it continues the tone perfectly, but doesn't quite top the first one. However, I rather expect Part Three to bring all our characters back together, and be amazing.

The cliffhanger on this one certainly gave me chills.

5 Stars – An Awesome Book