“Avatar: The Last Airbender—North and South” Part 1

“Avatar: The Last Airbender” begins without its title character in this intriguing new arc.

Cover by Gurihiru

Created by Brian Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino
Written by Gene Luen Yang
Illustrated by Gurihiru
Lettered by Michael Heisler

When Aang leaves to aid Zuko with the Kemurikage, Katara and Sokka return to the Southern Water Tribe by themselves. Katara is shocked to find that her beloved village has become a bustling city, with none other than their father, Hakoda, in charge! A northerner named Malina seems to be behind this change, pushing the North and South to be more unified… but what are her true goals?

Mark Tweedale: One thing I love about the Avatar: The Last Airbender TV series is the way it was unafraid to explore its stories from other angles. One of my favorite examples of this is the season two episode “Zuko Alone,” an episode entirely without Aang.

“North and South” is similar in this regard. Despite Aang being front and center on the cover, this issue is really about Sokka and Katara. Since the comics began, these two have been in every single issue, but in supporting roles for other characters’ stories. I’ve been craving something like this, especially in the case of Katara. This is definitely her story.

Plus this story is going back to where it all began. We haven’t been back at the South Pole since the end of the second episode, and there’s that familiar-but-different feeling to the proceedings. I can’t quite put my finger on what it was exactly, but this felt so much like the show I remember. It was almost like déjà vu. Did you get that, Paul?

Paul Lai: Absolutely. I get the feeling that Yang and Gurihiru know they’ve earned enough trust in their loyalty to the TV series that they can go deeper in their storytelling without having to service every principal character in every story. Focusing on Katara and Sokka in this new “North and South” yarn is also paying off for their scarceness in the previous “Smoke and Shadow” storyline, which remarkably didn’t suffer despite the absence of two key sympathetic protagonists.

But I wonder if you think your sense of déjà vu (I have the same feeling) comes from the place the Water Tribe has in the world of Avatar, a kind of unspoiled and pre-colonized ideal that either comes from the visual associations with First Nations communities (as opposed to, say, the Fire Nation’s associations with maybe Imperial Japan or China or something), or from the plain ol’ joy of sledding in the snow and discovering your childhood friends, which characterized the Water Tribe’s introduction in the show. In the saga of the TV show, the Water Tribe of the South Pole played the part of starting point, the place of innocence, for our POV characters Katara and Sokka, so coming back here definitely feels to me like coming home.

And yes, we’re overdue for a Katara-driven story. She’s might be my favorite character (if we’re not counting Korra), and especially since she and Aang have gotten mushy-mushy face, I’ve been really wanting to see the resolute and stouthearted Katara we love.

Mark: I couldn’t agree more. I felt like Katara’s last story was back in “The Southern Raiders” from the TV show. In the finale episodes, while she played a big role, she played a supporting role in other characters’ stories—she supported Zuko in his final battle, she was the love interest for Aang… which was fine because the finale had a lot to cover.

Going into the comics, she’s continued that supporting role, and given the length of time it takes to tell each story, Katara has felt like she’s been there, but on autopilot if that makes sense.

The thing is, the first episode opened with a narration from Katara, as did the introduction of every episode. Katara is our entry point into the series. The location is a big part of it, but for me, I think it’s coming back to Katara herself. Getting to see her hopes and fears and disappointments.

I remember how twisted up she still was over her mother’s death in “The Southern Raiders,” and I remember how she struggled with abandonment issues in “The Awakening,” and this story seems to be setting up the next step in her emotional journey. Plus I’m glad Aang isn’t around, because I like when Katara has to depend on Sokka. He can be goofy, but he’s also fiercely protective of his sister. I mean, do you remember his speech to Toph in “The Runaway”? His whole life, he feels like Katara’s been the one looking out for him.

It’s not that this stuff hasn’t been in the comics—there were some nice nods in “The Search”—but it’s been momentary in the grand scheme of things. Coming back home is stirring up a few memories for Katara, and to be honest it’s stirring up memories for me too.

Plus I know that Katara can have difficulty resolving conflict between her logical and emotional sides and it can result in her becoming cold or suddenly exploding with rage, and this story seems to have a lot of triggers… but to say further on that topic would delve into spoiler territory.

Paul: Indeed! But I appreciate your reading of Katara. Besides being our entry point into the series, Katara is also the one we rely on to be level-headed. This stability can make for a boring character arc, but she’s always had some internal conflicts to work through, as you’ve pointed out. And I think the external conflict presented in “North and South,” one that turns that sacred and stable homeland of hers a bit upside down, presents something for her character to overcome. The non-spoilery premise of this story is that Sokka and Katara return to a South Pole that both is and isn’t the one they left. How would you characterize what they’ve come back to, without giving too much away? And more importantly, do you find the conflict compelling?

Mark: Well, the immediate conflict is kind of exactly what I expected, to be honest. I mean, we know that eventually the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender transforms into the world of The Legend of Korra, so we know that over the next seventy years the South Pole is going to change radically. But this was balanced by Katara’s personal conflict. That’s more nebulous, and it sort of emerges throughout the story. It seems it’ll be the engine that drives things in the next part, too.

Paul: Yes, knowing where the world is headed does add a layer of fascination to how each Nation/Tribe develops, and it’s definitely time for us to check in with the evolution of Water Tribe. But can I register a minor complaint? Something I think Konietzko and DiMartino’s show did very well was to make epic-sized conflicts very grounded in very personal relationships. Although Yang and Gurihuri have maintained that balance between huge stakes and human interactions, I have to admit that part of me read this story and, without giving too much away, sighed to myself and mumbled, ‘Political intrigue again?’ Maybe I was in the mood for a different tenor of story… or maybe I haven’t given this one enough time to develop.

Mark: No, I think that’s fair. It’s kind of unavoidable really. I mean, we’re five arcs into this series and we’re still settling in the characters after the Hundred Year War. The cast became so large throughout the series, I couldn’t imagine it being any other way, but we’d go through an entire season of the show in the same time it takes to get through an arc of the comic. The pacing is different; we live with these stories longer. And that has an effect on our expectations.

What I’ve found is there seems to be this pressure for each story to address a larger range of material. We check in with many characters, locations, plotlines. We’ve lost those stories we’d have in a single episode that was very contained and focused. I think that was key to that balance between huge stakes and human interactions. And it also means each arc doesn’t have a strong overall mood. It gets a bit diluted trying to service so many aspects.

But, these are all reasons why I’m excited about this arc, because there is some pruning going on. The focus is narrower.

Paul: I can see that. We’re not preoccupied with Toph on one hand and the Fire Nation rebellion on another. We’re pretty grounded in a single place and set of characters, and that is really nice, and needed. Filling in the history and legacy of Katara’s family also exploits interest from their past place in Avatar and their future place in Korra’s world, so I do feel like this narrower focus is long awaited.

That leads me to ask, though, since this is the fifth arc: I always felt the show did a glorious job of self-contained world-building and storytelling in its three seasons. Do you have any feeling that, five series into the comics, the bloom is off the rose, the imaginative spark is dimming, or the creative force is flagging at all?

Mark: Honestly, I’m not sure. I don’t think so, though. This is a turning point though. At this point we’ve had arcs that dealt with Aang, Zuko, Toph… this story feels like it’ll complete the set, you know? From here, I feel like the series can go some really interesting places.

Paul: Right. I wasn’t sure when we began this conversation whether I should be measured in my enthusiasm, but you’ve given rationale to exactly why, in fact, I DO remain very locked in to this series, very interested, not at all tired or bored. It’s probably fair to say we both still avidly recommend Dark Horse’s ongoing Avatar stories.

My last pre-spoilers point: Have we come to take artist-pair Gurihiru for granted on this series? The two of them draw so solidly and seamlessly, like some Platonic ideal of animation-inspired cartooning, that I almost fail to notice how technically proficient the art is. It goes down like butter-coated biscuits. I feel like I’m damning them with faint praise to call them ‘technically proficient,’ but what I mean is that they’re so consistently spirited, vivacious, and smooth in their visual storytelling that I nearly forget about them as artists altogether. But I guess sometimes, that’s the goal, right?

Mark: They’ve been working together for a while and it shows. And I have to admit, this is where I feel really out of synch with comics news. There’s always this focus on the new. And I get that—the new can be very exciting—but I’m the kind of person that gets excited about the fourth, fifth, and beyond arcs. There’s this thing that happens that seems almost like magic to me. When you first start on a series, you’re getting to know everything… but then so are the creators. As you get deeper into a series, the characters’ voices cement and the body language becomes much more specific.

I had a moment reading this volume where Sokka mentions his Auntie Ashuna’s seal jerky. It was a callback to a previous mention in another story, but the thing is, I couldn’t remember if it was from the comic or the TV show. The voice of the character and the acting were so natural to me, the two had merged in my head.

So Gurihiru’s art is certainly working for me.

Paul: Hear, hear. Let’s raise a glass to these comics’ artful continuity, stories as old and deep as Gran Gran, and worlds with many corners to explore. Thanks for articulating all those aspects that keep me on board for “North and South.” Shall we take the plunge into the Spoiler-y abyss?

Mark: Aye, let’s do it. Let’s talk spoilers.

OK, first up, just out of pure curiosity, I have to know what your favorite moment of the comic was.

Paul: Sokka jokes, always. But two jump to mind: first, the burst of nostalgia you already mentioned when Katara and Sokka return and recall those first encounters with Aang—nostalgia for them AND for us. But I’ll also reserve a special affection for scenes like their reuniting with Hakoda. I love an ambiguous father-character who turns out to be earnest in his devotion to his children, so even though our trust for Hakoda remains up-for-grabs (fair to say?) in this book, I’m still fond of their relationship. Yours?

Mark: The meeting up with Hakoda moment was one that was fraught with peril for me, because I know Katara’s got a bit of baggage there. Obviously he’s her father, and she loves him, but when he left, Sokka and Katara were kind of thrust into early adulthood. It’s part of the reason Katara’s so dependable, because she had to be. But yeah, it was a nice moment, and beautifully drawn. I swear, Gurihiru looked at reference of past Sokka-Katara-Hakoda hugs. It was really on point.

But for me, my favorite part was the opening, the dream with Kya. (I mean just look at the layout on that opening page!) There’s a long history in the series of dreams manifesting emotions that the characters aren’t dealing with, and I thought it was smart to start the story that way. It’s a callback to previous stories in which Katara had been the lead, and it shows the kind of South Pole she wants to come home to.

But it’s all different now. The village has been replaced by a city, and the low-tech tribe suddenly has snowmobiles. (I know we’ve seen some advanced technology throughout the series, but it really jumps out as strange to see a device like that in the South Pole, especially since the Sato-mobile is still many decades away.) But the big thing was Malina.

I honestly don’t know how Katara’s going to react to that. Hell, I don’t know how Sokka’s going to react to that! I mean, some things can make him suddenly very serious, and I could totally see that happening here. I dunno. I feel like both kids are potentially in a vulnerable place, and for once they won’t be able to lean on each other because they’ll be too busy dealing with their own stuff.

I feel like this was a nice progression throughout the comic, gradually ramping up the changes to the one that will potentially turn their world upside down.

Paul: Yes! If you have to find an authentic and meaningful way to wedge some turmoil between Sokka and Katara, leveraging their different feelings about Hakoda’s a great mechanism. Come to think of it, so is a weird romantic triangle. Or a tension between traditionalism and novelty. Oh no! I’ve just realized… we’re going to have an authentic and meaningful wedge between Sokka and Katara, aren’t we?

Mark: I think we are. But I wouldn’t put it past Gene Luen Yang to go a completely different direction with it. I remember reading “American Born Chinese” and being stunned by the turn that story took, so I know he can really surprise me.

Actually, I thought it was a nice ol’ bait and switch to introduce this political conflict as the A plotline, but then reveal it’s the B plotline. Or at least, that’s where it feels like this part left it. I imagine the political plotline will be used to bring out aspects of the more personal family conflicts.

Paul: Haha. Yes! And all Gene Luen Yang-isms. That reminds me of another Gene Luen Yang-ism. He likes to write jerks, and then to write other characters call them jerks. Which makes me think that Malina and Maliq could have been written much jerkier, and I’m glad that we’re not sure how we’re supposed to feel about them. That makes the B political plotline feel much more like it really will distil down to the A family plotline, which I also prefer.

Mark: I think Yang did a good job of making Malina and Maliq sympathetic, but out-of-synch with many of the locals. They’re not jerks, they’re just in a different world than they’re used to.

Speaking of jerks though, the construction guys… now those guys were jerks. I burst out laughing when they walked into Hakoda’s office later, saw Katara and were like, ‘YOU!’ and Katara stares back (perfect expression from Gurihiru) and says, ‘You.’ It felt like a moment right out of the show. Anything more you want to mention?

Paul: I agree that moment exemplifies how accurately Yang and Gurihiru have nailed these characters’ voices.

Mark Actually, literally the only thing in this installment that threw me was Paku’s laugh. ‘Hee hee’ was all wrong, I thought. I remember the voice actor, and he feels like more of a ‘Heh heh’ kind of laughter.

Paul: I’m convinced that both you and Gene Luen Yang have rooms in your homes where Avatar is running on constant repeat. (Hold on, setting that up in my living room right now…)

Mark: Well, for one of my birthdays I marathoned all 61 episodes over two days. It was AWESOME.

Paul: Haha. Now that’s an EVENT! And hey, reading these new Avatar books has become an event in itself too, right? So’s chatting with you about them. Thanks much!

Mark: Doing a review with someone else is always more fun. I enjoy seeing new aspects in the story I didn’t pick up on.

OK, so let’s grade this one. I thought it was a solid introduction, but it had a lot of set-up too. There’s some exciting potential, but for the most part, this was about the political intrigue, and as you said, we’ve seen that before. It’s a bit familiar in that regard. The art was excellent, especially the location work. Gurihiru introduced us to new and familiar locations, that weren’t just a scene, but evoked emotions from their connections to Avatar: The Last Airbender or to The Legend of Korra.

Overall I’m giving this one an 7.5. The political stuff pulled it down a bit and the introductions slowed down the pacing, but at the same time, I’m very impatient for the next part. And having Katara in the lead was pure wish fulfillment.

Paul: I’m with you on that. As you helped me see, our curiosity for Katara’s and Sokka’s story and their part of the world has been slow-roasted to perfection, and as a Part One, the narrative scope seems appropriately sized to give us something we will really care about. We’re in accord about the grade, though I’d be ready to curve upward depending on the execution in the next two parts. Yang and Gurihiru’s track record, though, earns the benefit of the doubt from me, so you can bet I’ll be reading.

Final Verdict: 7.5. There’s a lot simmering that will likely come to boil in the next part.