This one was reaaaally good. The Rough Rhinos and Toph's father came back and I'm shortly going to dive into Part 2!! ( )

Another good start to an interesting arc, this time with a glimpse into the industrial revolution that is so prevalent in The Legend of Korra. There's a little bit of environmental consideration and reservation discussion going on as well. ( )

Looks like this series will focus a bit on Toph's story line, which will be fun to read. ( )

ARC provided by NetGalley

It is almost time for one of the highest Air Nomad holidays, Yangchen’s Festival, which has not been celebrated in over one hundred years. Aang decides its time to change that. With the help of Katara, Sokka, Toph, and three air acolytes they head to the island to celebrate. But trouble is in the air. Visits from Avatar Yangchen, Toph’s laid back attitude, and a refinery owned by the Fire and Earth Kingdoms operating on sacred Airbender land, is about to set off another war! Damage is being done and a mysterious quake has everyone’s nerves on edge. While Aang is an airbender and the Avatar, Toph may hold the key to solving this mystery.

One of the best things about the graphic novel series of Avatar the last Airbender, has been that Gene and crew have the chance to tell us new stories about Aang and the gang. Even better though is that they get to bridge the gap between Avatar the Last Airbender and the Legend of Korra, so we can see what happened in between times. In this book we see how the factory on Airbender land is leading the world into the industrial age, with nonbenders able to do tasks that were once only able to be done by benders. My favorite thing about this new trilogy though is that we get to focus on Toph. Because seriously, how much more awesome can you get than Toph? No seriously...try to be more awesome than Toph and you can’t. She’s small, fierce, kick butt, powerful bender, who despite her facade just wants to be a part of the team. I love it! Gene has clearly immersed himself in the Avatar universe and has accurately captured the characters and their movements within his writing. He has created a well crafted story that does justice to the series and feels just like an episode (ok multiple episodes) of the TV series. He accurately captures the essence of the characters, like Toph and Sokka and that sense of humor/immaturity/maturity that we all grew to love.

The artwork...wow the artwork is absolutely fantastic. I don’t think Bryan Gurihiru worked on the actual series, but man does he capture the characters perfectly. It’s like looking at a print version of the cartoon. He’s able to capture their expressions, even their very movements down to the last detail. And the colors are absolutely pitch perfect.

All in all this is the absolute perfect combination of writer and artist to work on this series and continue it for fans. For fans of the series this is just what you’ve been waiting for. It feels like Aang and crew never left. And if you’re new to the series...why are you starting with this book? Go watch the original series and get hooked on it and then come back and read this title. I give this tale 4 out of 5 stars and can’t wait to see what happens next. ( )

Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Rift, Part 1 by Gene Luen Yang opens with Aang hoping to share with his friends and the new air nomad devotees the festival of Yangchen. At the sacred valley, though, a factory town has arisen it's getting in the way of Aang's spirit abilities.

There are three big things going on here all of which will hopefully be addressed in books two and three. First there is the defilement of sacred land. Then there is the refinery which has automated things to the point that bending powers are no longer needed and the environmental disaster from all the pollution the factory is generating. Finally there is Aang's disconnect from the spirit world even though Yangchen appears to be trying ton contact him.

The Air Nomads (except for Aang who was trapped in the spirit world for 100 years) were systematically wiped out (genocide) but most of their land that Aang has visited has been left to return to nature. Yes, there was the village of the air gliders but they were living in harmony with what the Air Nomads had built centuries before.

The factory and the disconnect (or disharmony if you will) that Aang feels with the spirit world on these once sacred and now defiled grounds rings painfully true. This story has been experienced countless times across the Americas. Native populations have been wiped out through disease, war, forced relocations and their lands taken as a cheep source of natural resources or a place to put the factories or other necessary but undesirable parts of modern living. Those people who do manage to stay on their ancestral lands often face health issues from pollution, poverty, and a disruption of spiritual traditions, language, culture, and so forth. ( )