Comicsgirl

Avatar: The Last Airbender The Promise Part 1 Buy at Powell’s

Gene Luen Yang made a comic clearly explaining why he had no interest in the Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action movie. A lot of people like to bring up that the cartoon was created by a couple of white men, but the Asian influence is clearly respectful and thoughtful. Yang understood those things about the series and that’s why he loved it (and that’s why most of us loved it, actually).

So it was delightful news when it was announced that Yang would be writing the Avatar: The Last Airbender comic book series that will bridge the gap from the end of the animated series and the upcoming The Legend of Korra (not upcoming fast enough, but that’s another issue). It seemed like he’d do right by Avatar.

And it should be to no one’s surprise that he did.

Yang, along with artist duo Gurihiru, Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Promise Part 1 (2012, Dark Horse), has created a pitch-perfect comic that is a wonderful extension of the animated series.

No, if you haven’t watched the series (and why haven’t you?), you’re going to be pretty lost, despite a quick catch up in the first few pages. Despite the defeat of Fire Lord Ozai by Aang and Zuko taking his place, there are still many issues to sort through in the four kingdoms. Among them are the Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom. After the “Harmony Restoration Movement” is announced, the action picks up a year later. And obviously, not everything is going as well as planned. Zuko and Aang have to face their old conflicts as well as growing up.

Most of the action here focuses on Zuko, which is fair (Avatar: The Last Airbender was as much about his journey as it was Aang’s, after all) but the other characters aren’t neglected. Sokka tosses out a few good lines as he expresses his horror over the fact his sister, Katara, and Aang are now a couple. Toph has started a school for metalbenders, which I’m guessing we’ll see more of in the next book.

Gurihiru does a masterful job of capturing the look of the series while still giving it their own style. I love how subtly the characters have aged — they still look like themselves, but everyone’s taller and Aang’s a bit more muscular, Katara a little curvier and Zuko’s face is slightly more angular. Likewise, Yang writes these characters as older and more mature without sacrificing the personalities we’ve come to know. It’s a wise transition as these character approach adulthood and will continue to face more adult decisions.

The action scenes are beautifully-paced and definitely capture the feel of animation on the static page. There’s still humor throughout, even as the story begins to take a darker turn. (It’s still appropriate for the ages that Avatar: The Last Airbender was appropriate for, however, so no worries there.)

Unlike many other comic continuations or adaptations of TV shows, Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Promise Part 1 is completely satisfying. Gene Luen Yang’s and Gurihiru’s love for the original shows through. I’m already eagerly awaiting part 2.

Advance review copy provided through NetGalley.

For the first time this year, The National Book Festival had an entire pavilion devoted to graphic novels. The festival has been quite welcoming to comic creators in the past, so this wasn’t necessarily a huge leap. Still, it’s a welcome addition.

And clearly the star of the lineup was Amulet creator Kazu Kibuishi.

Kibuishi opened his talk by saying when he was 3 or 4, his mother had her sights on him becoming a doctor. As a child who already liked drawing, he figured the only chance he’d really get to make cartoons was by doing caricatures of his patients, and that didn’t seem good enough. He expressed his excitement for the Scholastic Book Fair at school, where he’d pick up Garfield collections And sometimes, if they were out, he’d begrudgingly get a Marmaduke one instead (he then jokingly clarified that since this was being recorded, he did want to state Marmaduke is great). He also said he’s delighted that his books are now published through Scholastic and being sold at the same book fairs he loved.

Kibuishi said he didn’t go to art school — as much as he loved drawing and comics, he realized he probably couldn’t make a living at it. So he picked what he thought was a safer bet — filmmaking. He said, basically, film school taught him “to watch movies really well” rather than the actual craft of making movies. Still, even he admits that his film background tends to give his comics a cinematic scope.

After graduating, seeing that his family was facing some financial difficulties, he got a job as a graphic designer. But he decided that wasn’t for him and after turning down a promotion, he landed in animation, including a stint at Disney. His frustrations there (he said he was being paid to not do anything) eventually decided to give comics another try.

Amulet began as a pitch for an animated movie and was inspired by his parents’ financial situation — or as Kibuishi put it, that he, in some ways, had to become his “parents’ parent.” He said that the siblings Emily and Navin are, in a good number of ways, based on his sister and brother.

Since Kibuishi was not able to use any computer-assisted visual aids, he drew for the audience instead as he talked. I know he’s quite used to drawing these characters at this point, but I was amazed at how quickly and casually he was able to do this, especially when his attention was elsewhere.

Kibuishi also talked about his high school teacher that encouraged him to write and that he feels like his training is stronger as a writer and storyteller rather than someone who makes comics.

Kibuishi then turned it over to audience questions (which probably took up about half of his allotted time). Many of the young fans of Amulet had questions, from specific plot points to his inspirations (there were a good number of children in the audience), which I think is great.

I liked his responses to the question of his recommendations for elementary and middle school students interested in drawing and making comics. He said that the technical aspects aren’t as important as just doing it. He said the main problem is trying to find a way to function while doing it (as well as making money) but that at this point, he feels like it’s his job to teach and encourage children to read.

When asked when the fifth book of Amulet was coming out, he pulled out his three-ring binder containing his thumbnails of pages and sketches. He said he’s working on it now. Later, when someone asked how long the series was going to be, he joked that he thought it was going to be 2 books and at this point, it will be over “whenever the story decides it’s over” but probably somewhere between 7 and 10 books. (In any case, we have more Amulet to look forward to.)

He talked a bit about the Flight anthologies he edited. Initially, he had seen other animators and artists in his position and wanted to give them a platform to showcase their works. He also mentioned being inspired by Hayao Miyazaki’s comic works (it should come as no surprised to anyone that Kibuishi is inspired by Miyazaki). Even though Flight has ended with volume 8 (which he said was for a variety of reasons, but partially just that anthologies are often hard to sell), the concept will continue in a format for younger readers called Explorer.

A few questions were asked about an Amulet movie and he said a live-action one is in the works with Will Smith’s children in the lead roles. He said he wrote a treatment but understanding how the film industry works, he doesn’t know if they’ll use it. When asked if he wanted to write the script, he said it’s still a possibility but he’s more interested in doing his comics.

Around that point, his time was up and he gave thanks as he began to leave the stage to make way for the next guest.

I am curious, though, what happened with his drawing that he created on stage. I did see two girls excitedly approach the stage and ask about it. I don’t know if they ended up with it but I would love it if they did.

It was a good first year for a dedicated Graphic Novel pavilion at the National Book Festival and I hope it’s back next year. Especially if they continue to bring in creators like Kibuishi.

Admittedly, I have no read the other books in Kazi Kibuishi‘s Amulet series (well, I haven’t read them yet. It hasn’t been due to a lack of interest as it is due to “too many other comics and not enough time”), Amulet Book Four: The Last Council (Scholastic, 2011) has me hooked.

Despite having little familiarity with the story, it felt very easy to pick up the plot. Kibuishi doesn’t spend much time explaining things, but the characters and motivations are instantly clear through the strength of his storytelling. It’s perfectly fine being thrown right into the action — the story moves so quickly there’s not much time to be lost.

Kibuishi’s simple, strong lines for his characters give them a distinctive and clear charm. He draws their emotions plainly on their faces and communicates as much through composition and wordless panels as he does through dialogue. There’s a real sense of movement in these pages, and his experiences as an animator definitely give this book a cinematic quality. Large, scene-setting shots of cities or landscapes are given weight, as are close-ups on our lead characters. Color adds to the effect — strong blues provide watery shadows as our lead Emily makes her escape from peril and warm gold tones fill the outside spaces of Cielis.

While it’s a story about a world in peril with many international conspiracies, it’s also clearly a story about a girl discovering who she is. I love the strength of Emily’s relationship with her family and her bravery despite the odds she faces and the doubt she has about what she’s doing. Although I’ve only seen her in action in this book, I admire her progress and I think I’ll enjoy where she’ll end up.

The sci-fi-meets-fantasy setting is beautiful and evokes everything from Star Wars to various role-playing games. There are space ships but there’s also elves. The everything-goes aesthetic gives Kibuishi plenty of room to play — characters are everyone from the fox-faced Leon to a couple of robots (one of which looks a lot like a toy rabbit). It always feels fresh and fun and nothing feels out of place. Rather, the openness of this world gives the book its strength. The complexity and completeness of Kibuishi’s world makes it feel lived-in and familiar.

Clearly, I’m going to go read the other three parts and eagerly await the fifth. I need to know what happened before, yes, but I absolutely need to know what happens next.

So here’s the fun part.

Scholastic Inc. is offering five copies of Amulet Book Four: The Last Council (prize is valued is $10.99 per book) for me to give away. I am going to make this easy. You can watch the book’s trailer below (which is awesome and will make wish they would make a beautiful animated big-screen version of these books), read the synopsis and tell me why you want to read this book in the comments. Or just leave a fairly relevant comment. (Please leave a valid email address so I can contact you.) On Sunday evening (Sept. 25, 9 p.m. EDT), I will pick five winners at random (if more than five people comment) and let you know.

Come on, it’s a chance at a free book! What do you have to lose?

Kazu Kibuishi’s thrilling, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling series continues!

Emily and her friends think they’ll find the help they need in Cielis, but something isn’t right. Streets that were once busy are deserted, and the townspeople who are left live in fear. Emily is soon escorted to the Academy, where she’s expected to compete for a spot on the Guardian Coucil, a group of the most powerful Stonekeepers. But as the number of competitors gets smaller and smaller, an awful secret is slowly uncovered – a secret that, if left buried, means the certain destruction of everything Emily fights for.

Speaking of Sunday, Kazu Kibuishi will be at the National Book Festival on the National Mall. He’ll be speaking at 1:55 p.m. and signing books from 4 to 5 p.m. I will be there, at the very least, for his talk. There’s also some other interesting comics/graphic novel-related programming on Sunday that I will likely stick around for.

Review copy provided by Scholastic.

Since Raina Telegmeier and Dave Roman primarily make comics for younger readers, any event with the two of them will be focused more on that audience. The event yesterday at One More Page Books in Arlington was no exception, but I also think the adults that tagged along were just as charmed by these two (if they weren’t before, they are now). I don’t know who wouldn’t adore them after seeing them in action. They are great ambassadors for comics — both in terms of making them and reaching a new audience of all ages.

Billed as an opportunity to “interview” the two, the children were given “press passes” and allowed to sit in chairs marked “press.” This was a cute move by One More Page Books and I do think it helped the children feel more confident about interacting with Telegmeier and Roman.

The event began with having children in the audience share reading duties with the two creators in performing chapters of their comics. This is always fun and the children (with help from both Telegmeier and Roman) were impressive young actors.

Telegmeier then demonstrated drawing facial expressions, taking suggestions from the audience. She makes it look incredibly easy and fun. Roman also did a couple, although he was a bit apprehensive at first (jokes were made that it wasn’t going to turn into a “Dave versus Raina” battle of who could draw better) but there was also a playful ease to his drawings. He was given “disgusted” as his prompt, which quickly became a kid eating a plate of blue food and disliking it.

After that, the children (and adults!) got to ask questions. The children asked great questions and were genuinely interested in what Telegmeier and Roman had to say. In fact, I’d say these children asked better questions than the ones that get asked at most Q&As during panels. I actually learned quite a bit.

One of the first questions was “What is the best thing and the worst thing about making comics?” Both creators like meeting their readers and that comics has allowed them to connect with people and make friends. Both agreed that the worst part about it is how long it takes to make comics. Although they worked on the books off and on, they said that Smile and Astronaut Academy each took five years to complete, and then jokes were made about how quickly they can be read). They are both doing comics full-time now, though (in their “studio” which is also known as their “living room”) so they said their books should not take as long.

A couple of girls asked about X-Men: Misfits and one girl seemed really heartbroken when they informed her that the sequel was never going to happen (especially after she was told that Rogue and Jubilee were set to appear in it). Probably the best part of this discussion was Roman describing shoujo manga as being “sparkly” to those who didn’t know what it was.

I know that the publisher folding is the reason the sequel never got published, but I think so many people seemed not realize there was an audience for X-Men: Misfits. The audience for that book was right there.

These children loved these comics and excited to talk to these creators about them. One girl remarked that her friend gave her Smile (at a Girl Scout camp!) days after she got her braces and now she and her friends pass the book around (she also had an obviously well-loved, well-read copy with her).

Telegmeier was asked about her Eisner (and then later, we asked why she just doesn’t carry it around with her all the time). She said she’s still riding the high.

As a final note, Roman showed one of his Astronaut Elementary minicomics to the audience, telling them that if they want to make comics, they don’t have to wait for a publisher — they can do it themselves. I like that he made that point. One of the things I love most about comics is that it’s open to just about anyone.

Afterwards, the pair signed copies of their books and took plenty of photos with the attendees. Everyone seemed to have fun, and the staff of One More Page Books let the event wrap up naturally. No one was rushed through the line and everyone got to have their moment with Telgemeier and Roman.

If you’re in the DC area and missed last night’s event, they pair will be back in area for Small Press Expo next month. Stop by and buy their comics.

I am glad I got to see them before that. It was a fun night.

One More Page Books has some photos up on Facebook (see if you can spot me!). I have a few on Flickr (I used some of them in this post).

Avatar: The Last Airbender The Lost Adventures Buy at Powells.com

I have written about Avatar: The Last Airbender before. As an animated series, it was epic in scope with a well-developed mythology and beautiful animation that appealed as equally to adults as it did to children. I think it’s something that will last the test of time (but let’s just continue to ignore that movie version — in my world, it doesn’t exist).

Some of Avatar: The Last Airbender has appeared in comic form before — from last year’s Zuko’s Story prequel by Dave Roman and Alison Wilgus with art by Nina Matsumoto to the adaptation of the movie, as well as a few titles from the late Tokyopop. The crossover makes sense — it’s a series that captured the imagination of plenty of creators (and with planned meetups at Comic-Con, it obviously continues to do so).

That’s a lot of introduction to get to Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Lost Adventures (Dark Horse Comics, 2011), but I think it’s necessary background. Originally scattered in the pages of Nickelodeon magazine, it’s a wonderful thing to have all these comics in one place.

All the comics take place within the timeline of the series and do assume knowledge of characters and events. These comics aren’t meant to be an introduction to the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender but a compliment to it.

Still, the comics don’t get too bogged down in continuity. Understanding who these characters are and what’s come before is necessary, but for the most part, the individual stories are playful and comedic. It may be going a bit far to say they’re all gag-based, but most of them do have a punchline. Still, there’s the series trademark thoughtfulness and poignancy in many of these comics — Avatar: The Last Airbender presented a world of complications and so even when things were fun, there was always something at stake.

The book features a diverse group of artists and writers, from those who I was familiar with (Roman, Wilgus, Brian Ralph, Gurihiru) to those who were unknown to me (Rawles Lumumba, Johane Matte) as well as many people who worked on the series itself, from the creators to storyboard artists and episode writers. Everyone here was obviously passionate about Avatar: The Last Airbender and the consistency of the art and writing is amazing.

I realize I haven’t talked that much about the individual stories here, but this doesn’t feel like a traditional anthology where the stories feel separate from each other. The cohesiveness of this book is part of what makes it great. However, I did love Wilgus’s and Gurihiru’s “Boys’ Day Out” where Katara and Toph dress up as boys to be allowed into a restaurant, manage to get into some fights, and ultimately decide being a boy isn’t much fun. Ralph’s “Fruitstand Freestyle,” a wordless tale that follows Momo, is probably the most unusual for the volume (it’s more Ralph than it is Avatar: The Last Airbender) but I love that it’s here. All of this, though, it a tremendous amount of fun. I have no complaints.

So really: Do you like Avatar: The Last Airbender? (If you don’t, why not?) Do you like comics? (If not, why are you here?) If the answer is “yes” to both of those, why don’t you have this already?

(Digital review copy provided by NetGalley.)