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The Last Airbender: Prequel: Zuko's Story |  | Authors: Dave Roman, Alison Wilgus
Creator: Nina Matsumoto
Publisher: Del Rey
Category: Book
List Price: $10.99
Buy New: $6.00
as of 9/5/2010 17:04 PDT details
You Save: $4.99 (45%)
New (27) Used (10) from $3.55
Seller: BooKnackrh
Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 83106
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Pages: 144
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5 x 0.6
ISBN: 0345518543
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.5973
EAN: 9780345518545
ASIN: 0345518543
Publication Date: May 18, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
THE SON WILL RISE
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Prince Zuko is banished from the Fire Nation by his own father, Fire Lord Ozai. Horribly scarred and stripped of everything he holds dear, Zuko wanders the earth for almost three years in search of his only chance at redemption: the Avatar, a mystical being who once kept the four nations in balance. All around him, people whisper that this is an impossible taskâthe Avatar, after all, disappeared a century agoâbut Zuko defiantly continues the search. His quest is all he has left.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 13
 Sweeet. August 14, 2010
Selden
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is a seriously charming, if slight, addition to Avatar for fans of the series. In fact, I suspect it's the only product associated with Shyamalan's racist, sexist, and apparently boring and incoherent film which is worth mentioning in the same breath as the excellent original material.
Unfortunately, it *is* tied in to the film, which is one of its substantial drawbacks. The film versions of Zuko and Iroh are actually much less of a distraction than I expected, thanks to Nina Matsumoto's fantastic work with expressions and the fact that the writers largely nail the characters' voices. Uncle Iroh works especially well, while Zuko, though rather generic design-wise, thankfully has a visible scar, and does look amusingly close to his season three self on occasion. On the other hand, the need for firebenders to have an outside source of fire to draw on, also a detail from the film, was more annoying than I'd anticipated: Matsumoto does her best to make it look as organic as possible, but there's always the niggling thought that it's just as well there was a lantern or whatever handy.
The other big problem is the length. The manga is largely a character piece, which is all to the good: the interaction between Zuko and his uncle was one of the great pleasures of the original series, and the creative team here manage to do it justice without slipping into sentimentality - no small feat given the subject matter. As such, though, it thrives on more meditative moments, which are just the kind of thing manga is great at providing. So it's a pity that there wasn't room for, say, a few pages of scene-setting, or of Zuko and Iroh drinking tea or eating together - the sort of thing the tv series got a lot of mileage out of whenever it was able to fit it in. As it is, the manga is really a series of brief vignettes, with not enough pauses for breath in between to properly ground the world and the characters.
Having said that, the world is very much that of the animated series - ironically, given the film's racebending, a lot of the Fire Nation incidental characters look even more specifically Japanese than in the original. Matsumoto's work is great - clear, energetic and unfussy, with a lot of solid blacks. Some of it does feel a bit rushed, but I'll definitely be seeking out her other stuff after this. And Matsumoto does a lot to keep the tone from getting too angst-ridden, as well: she has a great line in Zuko's trademark teenage stomping, and her Iroh is often hilarious.
All this adds up to a slightly odd artifact which certainly doesn't stand on its own, but which works very well as a footnote to the animated series - it's got some nice easter eggs for fans, and it does some particularly interesting work with the great villain Azula. There are also some 'making of' pages padding it out at the back, which are fun: it's especially good to get a look at the script. For a movie tie-in which deals with Zuko at his woobiest, it's a really solid piece, very much better than it needed to be. It's a pity that this creative team didn't get a chance to get to grips with this material without space constraints and the need to fit in with the movie holding them back.
Mandatory for every fan to read. Really good. August 13, 2010
TJ (Michigan, USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I may not like the live action movie from which this was based on, but I do like the show. As a fan of the show, I can say that this book was quite enjoyable to read and to give some insight on Zuko's dark past. Unlike that other graphic novel that I reviewed, this one was pretty solid. Since Zuko is my favorite character from the show, buying and enjoying a book about him is a no brainer. The drawing and art (like the other TLA graphic novel) is a little iffy and could use a lot of improvement. It's also pretty short. An hour at least. That aside, the story is awesome. Prince Zuko is banished by his father, Fire Lord Ozai, from the Fire Nation to hunt down and capture the Avatar. His Uncle Iroh comes along to help with his search and offer advice. It explains a lot like how Zuko got the Blue Spirit mask from the show and the events of his life leading up to the show and the movie. You will also see a familiar face from the show, but I won't spoil it. :) Anyhow, even though it has M. Night's Last Airbender's logo on it (which will undoubtly scare people off), I would say check this book out as a fan of the show. It won't dissapoint.
 Mediocre August 10, 2010
TexasTeacher (Texas)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a decent book, but nothing exciting. It is more meant for children that adult fans of the Avatar television series. Unfortunately, this is book is heavily tied in to the abysmal movie by M.N. Shyamalan., less to the amazing television series by Mike and Bryan. One big downside is that the characters are drawn in a mixture of styles - Zuko and Iroh are drawn as their movie characters look, but Azula and Patik look as they did in the cartoon series - so it feels a little strange. Overall, it was cute, but did not snap and crackle with the amazing storytelling we all came to expect from the Avatar on television.
 Could be alot better August 6, 2010
Silent
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
I wish this good was worth buying. Simply put; just like the movie that just came out, don't waste the money.
Disappointing presentation August 3, 2010
Miguel Valdez López (Monterrey, Nuevo León Mexico)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Two things: I liked the story, I'm disappointed in it's presentation.
PRESENTATION.
1. The content of this book is in black and white.
If anything, Avatar: The Last Airbender's series is a colorful world. To open this product and see it fully in black and white was the first disappointmet.
2. There are NO page numbers.
Avid reader or not, one expects a certain quality in the books you buy. That includes PAGE NUMBERS. What? Ran out of black ink?
3. The drawings and the insertion of dialogue balloons where sometimes at odds. Some Characters would be blocked by the dialogue balloons on some pages.
STOY (no spoilers, I promise)
1. Azula is not a cunning character here. She's almost sympathetic. Bad decision.
2. Zuko and Iroh both witness a premonition that should have never taken place. The fact that they know this information by the end of this book minimizes their character arks impact through the TV series. They should have never known about such premonition, oherwise, they already known about what's going to happen.
3. I agree Zuko's character should be this impulsive, it was the thing I most admired about this book.
All in all, this book had so much opportunities, but it seemd like they rushed it through the printing line, in order to meet a deadline. Disappointing.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 13
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