By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)
Dark Horse Comics
Available March 10th, 2021
Click here to order on Amazon USA
The difference between the previous release of The Legend of Korra: The Art of the Animated Series–Book One: Air and the new is that it’s almost double the size. This book is enormous! Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko have a lot to say, and this edition could not be any more timely with the big news about Nickelodeon’s Avatar Studios opening shop to expand the universe!
Anyone wanting to read about the production process for making Korra is in for a treat. These two creators cover a lot of ground in short expositions instead of a lengthy essay. There’s plenty more they can say, and anyone needing to catch up can also purchase the revised edition of The Last Airbender. Preview pages can be found on Dark Horse Comics’ website.
Plus, Mike and Bryan may well have said everything. Going forward, Nickelodeon and Paramount have exclusive rights and just where the series can go is up to the team. First up is a movie! Variety and EW has confirmed this plan.
As for what this book offers is additional artwork. There’s twelve chapters, and while the first half is familiar content, it’s the last sections I enjoyed flipping through the most. “Skeletons in the Closet” has information about the darker aspects of this universe. We learn about blood bending and even more production design pages to admire.
My favourite chapter is with the “Ancillary Art.” As much as I would love to own the original illustrations seen here, some of which distributed at specific conventions or were part of other exclusives, I don’t have the space to display everything. This tome does an excellent job of collecting the notes every budding fan, up-and-coming illustrator and art admirer wants to see. One piece I love seeing is how Ang, Soka, and Toph look as adults! But the work that steals the show is Jeong-Hoon Kim’s Olympics-themed illustration. I’d sacrifice a limb to own this print on a full sized banner!
