Review: Avatar the Last Airbender - The Rift, Part I

7:24 pm 6 February 2014
Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Rift, Part 1 - Gurihiru, Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, Gene Luen Yang

Another strong start to the next installment in the "Avatar: The Last Airbender" series. Gene Luen Yang, Michael Dante DiMartino, and Bryan Koneitzko team up for the newer series "The Rift." This story starts with Aang taking a journey with the group to honor the memory of one of the former Avatars, Avatar Yangchen. But Aang's surprised to find that not all is as he remembered when the sacred lands are settled by a group of Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom groups working a refinery, which is causing the land to be polluted. Aang worries further with visions he has of Avatar Yangchen, of future events or past he isn't sure, but there are more than a few surprises with the group as they discover the workings of the refinery, and the people behind them.

I continue to be impressed with the level of storytelling and characterizations in these graphic novels. The artwork has stunning clarity and consistency, the balance of humor and tension is engaging, and the story itself has promise as it builds through the volume. I think this is still a series that many who follow the Avatar:TLA universe will enjoy for what it offers. I certainly look forward to see where this particular series goes, even with the reveal at the end. Judging from the scheme of events in this series, Toph is going to get a lot of character focus.

Highly recommended.

Overall score: 5/5 stars

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Diamond Book Distributors/Dark Horse Comics.

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