Samantha Robertson

Before the pretty enjoyable continuation comics, during its television run, Avatar: The Last Airbender spawned a set of short comics in various venues, Nickelodeon Magazine and the like. They're short stories, ranging from two to fifteen pages in length, set between episodes of the show (five during Season One, nine during Season Two, twelve during Season Three, and two out of continuity), and as lends itself to their length, they're mostly humorous.

In Avatar, comedy tends to mean Sokka, and show more in my mind, this is nothing but excellent, because Sokka-- as the goofy-but-loveable-non-magical-one-with-a-real-sense-of-duty-- is definitely my favorite Avatar character. We get to see him pretend to be the Avatar to impress a girl in "Sokka the Avatar" by Joshua Hamilton and Justin Ridge, try to teach the Earth King how to live in the wild in "It's Only Natural" by Johane Matte and Joshua Hamilton, frustrate Prince Zuko with his insistence that "swordbending" is a real thing in "Swordbending" by Alison Wilgus and Justin Ridge, and form his own club in "No Benders Allowed" by Alison Wilgus and Elsa Garagarza.

Best of all, he enlists in the Fire Nation army in "Private Fire" by Hamilton and Matte again. "Private Fire" is my favorite story in the book, and I smile every time I think about it (which is more often than you might think); of all of these, it's the one I dearly wish had been made into a television episode. In it, Sokka is put through his paces in the same disguise he adopted a few times in the show, Wang Fire, complete with comically large mustache. The ending is just hilarious, so I won't spoil it for you: but if you love Sokka, you'll love this.

Other highlights include the occasional universe-expanding serious story or actioner, like a flashback to Aang's pre-iceberg days in the Fire Nation in "Dragon Days" by Alison Wilgus, Johane Matte, and Tom McWeeney, or "Combustion Man on a Train" by Alison Wilgus, Rawles Lumumba, and Tom McWeeney, a great little action tale where Sokka and Aang must fight their most brutal enemy while minimizing civilian casualties on a fast-moving train.

There are also a number of stories that bridge the gap between the second and third seasons. In addition to the aforementioned "It's Only Natural," Zuko and Mai begin their romance (as poor, cute Jin gets pushed to the side) and Zuko decides to for sure throw in his lot with his own people in "Going Home Again" by Aaron Ehasz, May Chan, Katie Mattila, Alison Wilgus, and Amy Kim Ganter, and Team Avatar secures a Fire Nation ship in "The Bridge" by Joshua Hamilton, Tim Hedrick, Aaron Ehasz, Frank Pittarese, and Reagan Lodge. None of this are particularly essential (obviously the show did just fine without them), but they are nice to have.

Overall, if you're a fan of Avatar and want more adventures with its well-balanced cast of characters, this book is a quick, fun, enjoyable read. show less

Overall I enjoyed this collection of short comics following around the cast and characters of Avatar: The Last Airbender. However, the broad range of art styles made for a somewhat disconnected feel. I most enjoyed the stories where the art closely mimicked the original animation, or where the art was a bit more realistic. Thankfully, those entries made up most of the volume.

This is the PERFECT addition to Avatar canon. While not all of the art appealed to me aesthetically, the stories and character voices were pitch-perfect, and I have never cackled so loudly in my life. If you love the series, you MUST read this.

I love the Avatar series! I personally think it's one of the most thought out and beautiful cartoons on tv right now. So when I saw the opportunity to read this I just had to try, luckily Dark Horse and NetGalley let me and I'm so happy they did!

This is a must for any Avatar fan! These stories take place in between the episodes and are great additions to the show. I admit there were times where I wanted to know how they did certain things and a lot of those questions were answered here. Not show more to mention some really great "what-ifs" were answered too. Some of these were simply awesome! For instance have you ever wondered what would happen if Bumi and Toph fought? How they managed to get a Fire Nation Navy ship in the third season? Or maybe you were wondering what happens when Aang gets a cold...Trust me these are worth reading. They are really enjoyable stories but you won't find a lot of the same depth in most of them. There is even a cute story about the bender-creation contest that the creators held, which I thought was amazing for them to do.

The book is separated into the seasons of the show and the stories in chronological order which really helps you place where each little story goes in the timeline. Some of the artwork is very familiar and others are little more sketchy and rough around the edges, but for me it didn't diminish the book any. it actually made it more enjoyable because you can tell just how many people actually put work into this series. At the end they include some numerous sketches and some stunning background artwork for the show, which is a nice added bonus for those who like the show visually.

I recommend this for fans of the show, especially the younger ones who are sure to enjoy it. I'll definitely be buying this once I get the chance. show less