The third and final installment of The Promise comic will arrive in comic book stores this week; all three issues will be published in a single volume early next year.
The wait is nearly over for fans of Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender. The final installment of the sequel comic The Promise hits comic book stores Sept. 26, and will be available from bookstores and online retailers on Oct. 9.
In addition, the full comic will be collected in a hardcover volume to be released in February 2013. This “Library Edition” will also include early sketches and additional artwork created for the comic.
Avatar: The Last Airbender aired its final episode in 2008. The Promise, written by Gene Luen Yang with art by Gurihiru Studios, picks up the story soon after the conclusion of the animated series. The comic highlights the challenges faced by Avatar Aang and newly-crowned Firelord Zuko as they try to establish peace in their nations after 100 years of war.
The Promise will not be the last comic continuing the stories explored by the animated series. Another three-part comic entitled The Search will be published by Dark Horse next year, presumably to resolve a popular mystery from the series – the whereabouts of Zuko’s mother, Ursa.
The Search, also written by Yang, is said to take Zuko and his sister Azula on a journey to find their mother. Princess Ursa’s disappearance (when the two were children) was discussed in the animated series, but the details remain shrouded in mystery.
In contrast to The Promise, the story reportedly takes advantage of the “supernatural elements” of Aang’s world, though the Avatar himself will play a fairly minor role.