Comments | racebending: Early Review of Gene Yang's "The Promise" Part 1

jedifreac in racebending

Early Review of Gene Yang's "The Promise" Part 1

Jan 07, 2012 17:29

Hi guys. Racebending.com was sent an early review copy of "The Promise." We put up our review, which you can read here.

I also included some of the history behind how Gene Yang got the job. Did you know that he came to the attention of the publishers when they saw his comics protesting the whitewashing of "The Last Airbender" movie?

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Comments 4

mrcab January 8 2012, 03:58:02 UTC

I wish I had something to ask but the internet seemed to answer my questions. How 'bout this: On a scale of 1-10, where would you place this first book?

jedifreac January 9 2012, 00:01:58 UTC

Hmm...I would give "The Lost Adventures" a 7 out of 10 and Part 1 of The Promise 8.5 out of 10 but only because it feels like Dark Horse stretched out a 280 page comic into 3 super short installments to milk the money out of fans. The Promise isn't as strong as a standalone as you'd think...really hoping to see the next two installments. It sets up a conflict that does not feel one-third of the way resolved in the first volume.

mrcab January 9 2012, 00:44:03 UTC

Awesome. Thanks. I think it's one of those thing where I'd probably wait for the rest of it to come out before investing time into reading it... in hopes that it picks up after the first book. It's almost like buying individual comics; I gave that up years ago.

"...Dark Horse stretched out a 280 page comic into 3 super short installments..."

Yeah, it's annoying when things get stretched out like that. That's a big reason I end up not watching a lot of new TV shows. Even when you FF though the commercials, it's still drawn out. -Beside the half-hour series. I rather have content crammed together rather than spread thin.

jedifreac January 9 2012, 01:47:22 UTC

Don't get me wrong, I really think it's worth investing time to to read "The Promise." It just feel like part one of a three part sequel miniseries.

The Promise is a significant departure from "The Lost Adventures" which mostly contained standalone short vignettes from Nick Magazine. With The Promise, Dark Horse is pushing a significantly more mature plotline (one that is arguably even more complex that the one of the show--there is not big bad guy like Ozai.) Aang is placed in a situation where he has to make some pretty hard decisions where it seems like no one really wins. It is surprising for a children's comic (target audience: 10 and up) and challenges fans with critical thinking, too.