Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise Part 1 (Avatar: The Last Airbender Book Four) [Paperback]

Michael Dante DiMartino (Author), Brian Konietzko (Author), Gene Luen Yang (Author), Bryan Gurihiru (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 7, 2012 | Series: Avatar: The Last Airbender Book Four

The wait is over! Ever since the conclusion of Avatar: The Last Airbender, its millions of fans have been hungry for more - and it''s finally here! Think of it as Book (season) Four of Avatar! This series rejoins Aang and friends for exciting new adventures, beginning with a face-off against the Fire Nation that threatens to throw the world into another war, testing all of Aang's powers and ingenuity! Written by National Book Award Nominee Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese), in close collaboration with series creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, this is the story that Avatar lovers have been clamoring for, as well as a perfect jumping-on point for new fans!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gene Luen Yang began drawing comic books in the fifth grade. In 1997, he received a Xeric Grant for Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks, his first comics work. He has since written and drawn a number of titles, including Level Up and Prime Baby. American Born Chinese, his first graphic novel from First Second, was a National Book Award finalist, as well as the winner of the Printz Award and an Eisner Award. He also won an Eisner for The Eternal Smile, a collaboration with Derek Kirk Kim.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (February 7, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595828117
• ISBN-13: 978-1595828118
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #488 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Publishers > Dark Horse
  • #1 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Graphic Novels > Fantasy

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Picks up right where we left off..., January 26, 2012

By 

BlueFairy (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise Part 1 (Avatar: The Last Airbender Book Four) (Paperback)

FYI: I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley for purposes of review. (I read that one, and then went out the day it arrived in stores, bought a hard copy and read it again.)

Premise: The war is over, but bringing peace to the Four Nations isn't as simple as winning a battle. This is the continuing story of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

I LOVE THIS. I loved this to pieces. This made me laugh and gasp and cry aloud. I love these characters, and this is completely in tone with the series: funny and sweet and heartbreaking.

It even starts by devoting three pages to the voiceover that opened every episode of the series, so it dropped me immediately into the right mindset for this world. I can hear the voice actors in my head. If you haven't seen Avatar: The Last Airbender, GO DO THAT. And then when you get to the end and want more, you're in luck!

The Promise interweaves some of the character moments we saw at the end of the last episode into the start of a new story, in which Zuko and Aang struggle with the Fire Nation colonies that were established in the Earth Kingdom during the war. It becomes a difficult question: what is the best thing to do, for those people who live there and for the Nations as a whole? How long have they been there? Are they Fire Nation citizens? Earth Kingdom citizens? What about the Earth Kingdom people who are angry, who lost people in the war, who want every Firebender gone? There are no easy answers for the characters.

There are plenty of great character moments, from an early conversation between Aang and Zuko that introduces the core emotional plot and had me right by the heartstrings, to the sweet moments showing the development of Aang and Katara's relationship. Toph and Sokka meanwhile maintain the right amount of comic relief to keep the tone on balance. Plenty of characters get at least a cameo, but there are occasional subtle words or references to keep the reader on track in case you forget who someone is.

You know the next element that's needed for Avatar: action! And this doesn't disappoint. The fight scenes are gorgeous: clear, dynamic, and inventive.

The art is beautiful throughout, in fact. Mostly just true to the series, although I especially liked the addition of Aang's prayer beads containing all the symbols of the elements, that he apparently uses to talk to the previous Avatars. The design work on that was beautifully done, and there are little elements to the art that I only noticed on a second look, little details that just enhance the whole.

This is a medium-short graphic novel at 76 Pages.

Be warned, this ends in a cliffhanger! And I have to wait until MAY for Part 2?

5 Stars - An Awesome Book

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Back again with old friends, January 26, 2012

By 

Andy Shuping (Macon, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise Part 1 (Avatar: The Last Airbender Book Four) (Paperback)

ARC provided by NetGalley

This book picks up right where Avatar Season 3 left off. The war has ended and Zuko is now Firelord. He's dedicated to restoring peace among the nations...with the help of the Avatar and his friends of course. His first step, withdrawing the Fire Kingdom settlements from the Earth Kingdom, the Harmony Restoration Movement. But trouble soon arises. Some of these colonies have been there for generations and have even intermarried and neither side wants to sepearte. Zuko torn between the plight of these families and the healing that needs to be done calls off the movement. But not all in the Earth Kingdom are happy about the Zuko withdrawing his support and Aang and his friends are going to have to work fast to prevent war from overcoming the world once again.

Gene Luen Yang, author of "American Born Chinese," brings his immense writing talents to the Avatar universe. Even though Gene is an avowed Avatar fan, I still approached this book with a bit of trepidation. As an outsider to the original series (or even in any of the comics) how would he approach the relationships in the series? How would he approach Aang and Zuko growing into their roles? My fears were unfounded however, as Gene has clearly immersed himself in the Avatar universe and has accurately captured the characters and their movements within his writing. He has created a well crafted story that does justice to the series and feels just like an episode (ok multiple episodes) of the TV series. I really like how he's approaching the Zuko/Ozai relationship. At the end of the cartoon series we're left with the image of Zuko asking about the whereabouts of his mother and Gene deftly weaves this interaction into the story to give the reader more information. He also accurately captures Sokka and that sense of humor/immaturity/maturity that we all grew to love. I love when Sokka sees Aang and Katara kissing and shouts out about how it's oogie, it's just so him. The one thing that bugs me, just slightly, is when Aang and Katara call each other sweetie. It just doesn't feel right coming from them. I don't know what word they should use, but it just feels weird.

The artwork...wow the artwork is absolutely fantastic. I don't think Bryan Gurihiru worked on the actual series, but man does he capture the characters perfectly. It's like looking at a print version of the cartoon. He's able to capture their expressions, even their very movements down to the last detail. And the colors are absolutely pitch perfect. I think one of my favorite scenes is at the very end where Zuko is visiting Ozai and Bryan just nails the expression on Ozai's face. Even without his firebending power you can tell its him. Compared to some of the comics I've seen that came out based upon the series this art just nails it. In my head when I'm reading the comic it's like watching the cartoon.

All in all this is the absolute perfect combination of writer and artist to work on this series and continue it for fans. For fans of the series this is just what you've been waiting for. It feels like Aang and crew never left. And if you're new to the series...why are you starting with this book? Go watch the original series and get hooked on it and then come back and read this title.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, but a bit short, February 3, 2012

By 

Mel Rose (MD, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise Part 1 (Avatar: The Last Airbender Book Four) (Paperback)

Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise Part 1 picks up pretty much where the series ended. A year after the war ended, there are still problems going on which Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko have to resolve.

I loved this book! Yes, the pages are leaked online and you can actually find the entire book online and read it there, but you should really buy the book itself. It's worth it. :) The art is beautiful, the story line follows with Avatar and the characters are pretty much the same as always.

What I wasn't crazy about, besides the length, was two things. First, the "sweetie" part. I don't know, it just seemed strange hearing "sweetie" all the time from Katara and Aang. And I mean All The TIME. A bit overkill. The second thing, and it might just be how they want to work this in the story, was more on Zuko and how he was. He seemed to take two steps back than where he was at the season finale. Maybe they're doing that for a reason, maybe not. I'm not sure, but I wasn't crazy about it.

Still, loved it, recommend it and will be waiting to purchase the next one! Even more since they left us with a cliffy at the end. ;) Let's just hope the second book is a bit longer than this book was.