(Comic) Book Review: A:TLA The Promise Part 3

ISBN: 1595829415
Published: October 9th, 2012
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Read on October 14th, 2012
Synopsis from Goodreads:

Avatar: The Last Airbender creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko bring The Promise to its explosive conclusion The Harmony Restoration Movement has failed, and the four nations are plunged back into war In the midst of the battle, can Aang and Fire Lord Zuko mend the rift between them, or will Aang be forced to take actions that cant be undone? Written by Eisner winner and National Book Award nominee Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese) and drawn by Gurihiru (Thor and the Warriors Four), this is the adventure Avatar fans have been craving.

Review:

I have no idea where to even start.  I will say that it's good I'm not doing a video review for this because I would start rambling and never stop.

I know a lot of people haven't been too thrilled with The Promise from the beginning, and this (the last one of this storyline/arc/whatever) just made everyone hate it more I think.  I wasn't very happy with it either.  I appreciate what their trying to do with this story, but I don't think they pulled it off very well.  The idea of exploring the "new" world after the war (and the founding of Republic City) and how the different cultures are now coming together is very intriguing, and it's a storyline that I'm really interested it.  I just don't really like how they're going about it in here.  There's not even specific things I can pinpoint in this one (I think I did that in my review of part two though), but it's just not that great.

Now, onto spoilery things.

Let's start off with the thing that upset me more than anything else.  They have this huge scene with Mai breaking up with Zuko at the end of part two, and now she's not even in part three!?  You can't do that to me.  If you watch my review of part two, you see me freak out over that, and then there's no resolution in part three.  Mai's not even mentioned.  I know there are other things going on, but seriously?  Then, there's another hint of something between Suki and Zuko (which I mentioned before too)  which causes even Sokka to get this weird look when Suki starts talking about Zuko being "lonely."  If they go any farther than that in The Search (the next storyline they're doing) then I may just give up on these comics.  I can't read that.  First they break up Maiko, and then they make stuff happen between Suki and Zuko?  No.  (And I'm saying that as a Tokka shipper.)

I did appreciate them reuniting Suki with Sokka and Toph though because, as awesome as Sokka and Toph together was, it did make me think about the finale.  It was cute.  At one point Suki says, "It's dark down here," or something like that, just like Sokka did during Day of Black Sun to which Sokka shushes her because "Toph's sensitive to those kinds of things" (paraphrased), and I'm not sure whether I thought that was funny or just random.  Actually, that basically sums up a lot of my feelings about the comic.

I just don't even know how I feel about this comic.  It's definitely not incredibly positive, but I still manage to find a few things that make me like it a bit.  I'm going to read The Search, but I'm not incredibly excited for it, and that's saying something considering I've been waiting who know's how long to find out about Zuko's search for Ursa.