Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Rift, Part 3

Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Rift #3

by Gene Luen Yang, Gurihiru (Illustrator)

The spirits are restless!

As Avatar Aang and his friends confront an ancient spirit determined to destroy a town on land sacred to Air Nomads, Toph and Aang find themselves on opposing sides in a battle of gigantic proportions. If Toph and Aang don't put aside their differences, there's more at stake than just their friendship!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult, Graphic Novels Comics, Manga

76 pages, Paperback

First published November 18, 2014

About the author

Gene Luen Yang writes, and sometimes draws, comic books and graphic novels. As the Library of Congress’ fifth National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, he advocates for the importance of reading, especially reading diversely. American Born Chinese, his first graphic novel from First Second Books, was a National Book Award finalist, as well as the winner of the Printz Award and an Eisner Award. His two-volume graphic novel Boxers & Saints won the L.A. Times Book Prize and was a National Book Award Finalist. His other works include Secret Coders (with Mike Holmes), The Shadow Hero (with Sonny Liew), Superman from DC Comics (with various artists), and the Avatar: The Last Airbender series from Dark Horse Comics (with Gurihiru). In 2016, he was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow. His most recent books are Dragon Hoops from First Second Books and Superman Smashes the Klan from DC Comics.

Reviews

[Alexandra Elend Wolf]

"I don't think the past and the future are separate. They're connected you know? By today. By us."

The whole tradition/past against innovation/future team that was treated in this comic is, I think, something fairly relevant, still today, to our cultures and lives. Remembering the past and learning from it to be able to move into the future and be wiser for it is a balance that, sometimes, is not so easy to find.

We have both parts well represented with Aang and Toph, who have very clear postures respect this particular subject. So you definitely have someone to relate to and that will go with your view.

Saying that I found Toph to be to intense for my liking is little, I was running short on patience for her this time around, and her unwillingness to trust her friend drives me crazy. There were several moments when I just wanted to scream at her or punch her.

In the end, they solve their differences, rather because they have to more than because they're - coffcoffTophcoffcoff- willing to do so. But, hey! Everything is solved and everyone is happy, so good for them.

I liked it, don't misunderstand me I did, but I think that it wasn't quite so interesting as previous stories have been. Was it because Zuko wasn't in it? Maybe - a girl can have a crush, ok? - but also because the story just wasn't exactly something that called and captured my attention.

"It is not human to dominate, but to create."

"The spirits will always have a place in this world, as long as you, and humans like you, create one for us."

[Sophia]

This part was so emotional and I wished that I had read it faster than I did! The ending was such an amazing culmination of the events within 'The Rift' story line and I feel like if I had the rest of the story fresh in my mind, it would have had a bigger emotional impact. In saying that, I still felt the hope that the ending inspired and enjoyed the character development. I also loved the way they pulled the themes together so well, blending the traditions of the past and the growth of the future so well! Overall, this was a great emotional story line that had beautiful artwork and planted the seeds for a bright future for this world!

[Sophie_The_Jedi_Knight]

Come on, every time, every time.

Ugggh. This one is the best one. Again. This always happens...

Toph has some amazing moments in here, as does Sokka. Oh, I love them both so much. The cabbage seller was a fantastic inclusion, and I loved this insight into the spirit world. I also liked the other Southern Water Tribe people - it gave some good stuff with Katara and Sokka. This volume was great. 5/5 stars.

[Ivy Bernadette]

"I don't think the past and the future are separate. They are connected. By today. By us."

[Saraí Elvir]

Me siento como Penga cada vez que veo a Sokka 😍
Sólo para añadir Toph es una reina!

[Ashley]

I love how these comics tie in to what Legend of Korra has been doing for the past two years with the spirit world, and seeing how this series lays the foundations for the world we see in LOK. (I will be really sad after the LOK finale next week.) They really feel like an extension of this story and these characters. I hope they continue for a long time. I don't want to live in a world where I don't get new Avatar stories once in a while.

[Jul]

I've really been enjoying this comic series. Same high-quality writing as the show. As I was reading this book, my 2 1/2 year old son walked by, stopped and stared at the cover for a solid 30 seconds before crying out, "Avatar state! Yip, yip!" and then he ran off.

[Tilly]

Another great addition to the series. I really like how this volume in particular made a huge build-up for the conflict with the spirit world in "Legend of Korra". I also loved to see Toph´s character development and the conflict with her family in this trilogy.

[Sonja]

I loved The Rift: Part Three! It's such a great ending to this story arc.

[Review to Come]

[Jen • Just One More Page]

Review for all three parts under the cut.
WOOOOH I’M DONE!

Part one: OH SHIT TOPH’S DAD SHOWED UP. Though I can’t really say I feel very bad for her; I can’t wait for her to grow up and stop being so disrespectful and flippant to what’s important to the people she calls her friends. Speaking with Aang about the fact that the refinery is the future he’s working towards could have gone much more gently and respectfully. It is VERY rude to disrespect another’s culture and traditions. Toph is in no place to mock or insult it. So I’m VERY VERY CURIOUS TO SEE IF SHE’LL ACTUALLY GROW A LITTLE NOW.

Part two: Man the feels I’m feeling are so conflicting right now. I feel bad for Toph because of her dad but FUCK SHE STILL COULD LEARN A MILLION TONS OF RESPECT. Aang is right in that Toph may have had a point about clinging too hard to the past but she STILL had no right to disrespect another’s culture like that. That was just plain rude and childish. But HOO BOY. CLIMAX BUILDUP. THIS IS SO GOOD. FUCK CORPORATE GREED MAN I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE EVERY ASSHOLE HERE PUT IN THEIR PLACE.

Part three: Oh, Toph. Toph Toph Toph. You’re still rude as shit and have a LOT of growing up to do but somehow you always make me LIKE you again. And THEN there’s RETRIBUTION WITH HER FATHER. AND A COMPROMISE BETWEEN GROWING TOWARDS THE FUTURE AND KEEPING THE PAST TRADITIONS. AND ALL SEEMED TO WORK OUT SMOOTHLY. GOOD LORD what the world couldn’t do to learn these kinds of lessons.

Overall, SO GOOD, and SO WELL DONE, and SUCH a worthy lesson to learn and perhaps most importantly to me - HOLY SHIT I’M CAUGHT UP AND CAN START KORRA NOW AS SOON AS I GET MY HANDS ON IT. OHHHHH MY GOD. I’M SO EXCITED OMFG IT’S KORRA TIIIIIME *runs off towards the sunset*

[Aleksandra]

4.5 stars!

Great conclusion to this arc, I loved it so much! New characters are great, especially one soft smart boy who has his eyes on Toph.

I love the resolution of the conflict and honestly, ATLA: The Rift has so much to unpack, I'm definitely going to come back to this story time and time again.

I love the uplifting and humanity-positive tone of this volume, as nice spirit lady said: It is not human nature to dominate, but to create.

[Ashley Owens]

Good but I miss Zuko.

[Althea ☾]

"There will always be place for the spirits, as long as you create one for us."

I adore the plot and the design of these comics <33

and it's nice to see the other side of Toph that wasn't really seen or explained too much in the series adaptation.

[Pamela Espinosa]

4.5 🌟
Me siento tan orgullosa de mi bebé Toph. Fue entretenido y me encantó el cierre de la historia.

[Kayla Charisse]

I love all the Avatar graphic novels, especially when they truly show insight on how Aang's world developed into Korra's!

[Toshita]

Ooooh it was so good once again but I am a little disappointed with the ending because it left some unanswered questions for me. Especially because they were a part of the conflict that was mentioned throughout the book. The book never clarified if they managed to get the river to be clean again. Am I to just assume that getting rid of the iron mine made the river become clean? Also what about the spirit friendship festival is creating a welcoming space for the spirits? Are they keeping the river clean? Are they doing something else to specifically welcome the spirits? What about the mining operation by Satoru, are they going to keep using benders and are they going to pay them well enough?

This is unrelated but what if Suyin's father is Satoru? Toph and Satoru definitely had some moments, if you know what I mean.

[jolie]

When the border between [the spirit and the human] worlds grow into a rift, the avatar will always side with the humans. The avatar is, after all, a human.

that hits deep. these comics are so good there’s always more lore for them to drop fr 😭

—spoiler alert

i really liked how we see more of the gang at opposing sides. it helps us see the avatar isn’t always right and shows they aren’t afraid to challenge each other when it’s needed. i was in much more conflict over what happened in this comic than in the search bc i could empathize with both sides. i did really enjoy this but i do wish there was more of an apology between the characters after they said such unkind words to each other.

[Azul]

bonito, complicado, avatarezco, verdadero pero uggh

[Kat]

"The bitter grip of dead is still be sweeter than disloyalty"
The dark one

[Amanda (MetalPhantasmReads)]

Another awesome volume!

[Gretal]

ahhhh that was wonderful

[Reuben Barry]

Let’s be honest… Toph didn’t need the metal benders she just wanted an apology.

[anye]

como dije, la historia es demasiado interesante. ambos toph y aang aprendiendo a vivir con su pasado y aang teniendo q luchar con el futuro 😭 my shaylas

[Yokie01]

Only remark: Where's Zuko?

[Manayer]

3.9/5

[Sasha (bahareads)]

Note: this review is to span all three vols. of 'The Rift'

I picked this up because I'm a huge ATLA fan! I love the TV show so much. I wasn't sure what to expect when I began to read 'The Rift' but I was pleasantly surprised. The art was great, I got lots of feels from the story, and I think the plot overall was great.

I LOVED that we see the Air Acolytes (the beginning of them) from LOK! I was also pleased with the way Aang reacted to them, it was very human and natural. Satoru was a nice add in this comic (I'm going to guess that he will probably be Toph's baby daddy), it was great to see a softer side of Toph as there was only a few of those moments in the show. Lao and Toph's rekindle was sweet and I wonder if she will rekindle with her mother..

An interesting theme that flows throughout all of the comics I've read so far is the struggle between the old and new world; I thought it was perfectly done in here. Aang, especially, was prevail in that theme; He's the bridge between the spirit and human world, he was raised in the distant past but now lives in the present. He's always being torn in two places but because of his knowledge of both sides we always see him overcome his obstacles.

The back ground story on why and how the festival started was great! (Once again I would love a book or something of Spirit World stories.) It was neat that we got to see a lot of Avatar Yangchen as I don't recall seeing or hearing barely anything about her in the TV show. I was tearing up when Avatar Roku and Aang rekindled, I believe the relationship between the past selves and the present is so special I hate LOK for destroying it!!

What I didn't like was the random angry water tribe girls, I felt like they were there for extra drama, the only good thing they gave us was a look into the current state of the Northern Water Tribe.

[Sunil]

The Rift concludes fairly satisfactorily, though I wish it had delved a little more into the relationship between Toph and her father. They do have a great scene together, however. I enjoyed Toph's metalbending students as well. One of the most interesting aspects of this installment is how it examines the balance between the spirit world and the mortal world, which Korra has been doing as well. With The Rift, Gene Luen Yang balanced a story of personal growth with a story of societal growth.

[sophia (flitteringpages)]

PSA: toph is the love of my life

[R.]

10/10
This was epic. It was so good that I didn't even notice that the best character in human kind, Fire Lord Zuko, wasn't in it.

[Saranya [uni- s.ia.]]

Aang wrestles with being a bridge as Republic City takes shape...
Toph's family drama gets a metal-bending twist.

This part contained a lot of emotional drama... definitely worth it