Avatar: The Next Shadow

Avatar #2

by Jeremy Barlow, Josh Hood (Illustrator), Wes Dzioba (Illustrator)

Clan rivalries erupt amid turmoil in an untold story set immediately after the events of James Cameron’s 2009 blockbuster film Avatar !

Jake Sully maintains his position as leader of the Omatikaya Na'vi tribe, but with their Hometree destroyed, he begins to doubt his place among them. As the Na'vi and human feud persists, tensions between the tribes begin to escalate as longstanding family animosities ignite--spawning treachery and betrayal!

Writer Jeremy Barlow ( Thicker than Blood , Star Darth Maul--Son of Dathomir ) and artist Josh Hood ( The Green Goblin , Star Mirror Broken , Ghost Rider ) bridge the gap between Avatar and the highly anticipated sequel, Avatar 2, in this story of family, sacrifice, and survival!

Collects The Next Shadow #1-#4.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Manga

88 pages, Paperback

First published August 24, 2021

About the author

Eisner Award nominated writer and editor—and your only hope.

Reviews

[Sara Woś · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strasznie się cieszę, że ten komiks zostaje wydany w Polsce.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Takes place directly after the end of Avatar. Jake Sully is challenged as leader and poisoned. It's a solid continuation of the movie.

I guess Disney / Marvel felt badly about taking away Star Wars, Predator and Alien from Dark Horse and through them a bone they didn't care about in Avatar.

Received a review copy from Dark Horse and Edelweiss.

[Josh Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Avatar is everyone’s favorite punching bag, but I make no apologies for my love of the movie. It came along at the darkest part of my life, and escaping to watch Avatar and soaking in its themes of rebirth may have saved my sanity. That and the melding of SciFi and Fantasy elements with such a high level of visual quality such as nothing I’d ever seen before. I mean, everyone gets their own telepathically linked mini-dragon! Everything this Fantasy fan could want in a movie.

So not surprisingly, I am looking forward to the sequels. I picked this comic up as a means of following the breadcrumbs to the new movie, and I am surprised to say I enjoyed this quite a bit. It’s a fast, easy read with some depth to it.

The art was good, if a tad inconsistent at times, and the story was an entertaining one-and-done that picks up right where the movie leaves off.

I was so happy to revisit this world and found the tone of this to be in keeping with the movie. I see it’s gotten very little love on Goodreads, and that’s likely a reflection of the general disdain that seems to be the fashionable opinion of the second highest grossing movie of all time. Some people just live to hate things that are popular, and I suppose I can’t throw shade since I despise football and will be glad to tell you all about it, LOL.

Anyhow, 5 stars for capturing the essence of the movie perfectly while moving the story forward, if only slightly.

[OutboardCap · Rating 1 out of 5]

>198 days until Avatar 2

Avatar: The Next Shadow is a pitiful addendum to James Cameron's masterwork and carries none of the qualities which make that film so wonderful to watch. The story is incredible basic, there's no new or interesting worldbuilding, nor does it prepare the reader for the new film coming out in December. The conflict between the clan and the humans who stayed behind is not fleshed at all nor is it compelling. The visuals are also lackluster. The original film is so beloved because of the imagination present in every frame, from the plant life, to the scenery, the Na'vi villages and the Humans' technology. There is no attempt to even mimic those inspired aspects of the movie. Every single drawing is boring and looks like same random basic jungle on Earth. There's none of the heart and passion that makes Avatar in this book.

Avatar fans are better off not wasting their time with this uninspired, boring piece of garbage. Incredibly unbased and unrobust. 1/5

[chey | bibliochey · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

i loved reading more about the in between of the first and second film, especially how jake dealt with his human death, regrets, and navi rebirth. a big fuck you to arvok's parents. mo'at is such a great character and i wish she was given a chance to shine more in the films. speaking of shining more, this needed wayyyyy more neytiri. anyways, jake's trip to the spirit world due to the poison was so insightful and i loved seeing other characters come back to either challenge or comfort him within his inner struggles.

[alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know that specific genre of epilogue fanfiction, wherein a dedicated fan author will tackle whatever loose threads (however small and unlikely to unravel the greater work they may be) they felt were left after the original conclusion, and tie them all up into a nice little bow?

This was like that.

Which was not to say it was bad - the characterisation was solid, the art serviceable (though it did feel a little generic, less Pandoran-rainforest and more Earth-jungle), and the story worked as a vehicle for character development, which is all it was really trying to do. The issue it covered in the most depth was Jake’s imposter syndrome after the events of the first movie: still feeling like an outcast or pretender, undeserving of the role of Olo’eyktan. These feelings were resolved nicely and in a satisfying, if ultimately unnecessary, way.

However, I don’t agree that Avatar: The Next Shadow bridges the gap between the first and second movies. I’d argue there wasn’t even a gap to be bridged; I’ve never watched a movie that succeeded so thoroughly at being its own fully resolved, satisfying, self-contained narrative, while also setting up the potential of future sequels, as Avatar 2009. In fact, these comics introduced some issues that, if anything, weaken the original ending, like the conflict between the Na’vi and the remaining humans.

Still, this was some nice supplementary material - not a must-read, but enjoyable for the more devoted fans!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

The action in this one-off graphic novel takes place just weeks after the conclusion of the first James Cameron Avatar movie. It chronicles Jake Sully's first foray into leadership as he tries to mend the rift between the Na'vi and the humans after the destruction of Home Tree. Some on both sides are willing to make a try at peace, but Tsu'tey's parents, angry about their son's death, don't accept Jake's presence. They coerce Tsu'tey's younger brother, Arvok, into challenging Jake for the position of olo'eyktan and arm him with a poisoned knife. Jake falls into a fever dream and confronts his own worries about how to lead not one but two people.

I liked dipping my toes back into the world of Avatar, even if The Next Shadow was just a little taste of what is to come. It was nice to see how the Sky People and Na'vi are getting along and the power vacuum left by the destruction of many of the Omaticaya clan, as well as some new faces on both sides. It was interesting to get a look into reconstruction where not just the Na'vi are struggling but the humans as well, forcing them both to work together. Jake's insecurities about being a leader drove the story, as well as his relationships with his clan and the Sky People. I wish this could have been longer, but enjoyed the quick read.

[DaanV · Rating 4 out of 5]

This interesting short story takes place two weeks after the end of the first Avatar film. It deals mostly with Jake Sully’s inner struggles. His Na’Vi Avatar body may be his new permanent physical base, the question is if he will ever truly belong, both in his own mind and in the eyes of his new people.
A threat also comes from within his ranks, as personal animosities heat up in the aftermath of the destruction of Hometree and the death of a beloved son, brother and friend.

In loving everything about the Avatar world, it wasn’t in any way difficult to enjoy this. Avatar lends itself greatly for story expansion and deepening of character arcs through a series of comics. The cinematic visual aspects also work on drawn pages and character likenesses are handled well.

I am very interested in how this series will progress.

[srisrisri · Rating 3 out of 5]

read as a direct continuation after the first movie. added no real value to bigger conversations that stemmed from the movie. it was okay,, im obsessed and frothing at the mouth for any and all avatar content rn so i enjoyed it well enough. introduces more minor characters (humans and na’vi). shows more of the leadership struggle/dissatisfaction that existed w the omatikaya that was missing from the movies. felt similar to fanfiction i read whose plot picked up after the end of the first movie.

[Nathaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. My only complaint is that it’s hard to read as an ebook. Even zoomed in, the words are hard to read. However, the art is gorgeous and the story is so good.

[Zeta9991 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ecco, QUESTO mi è piaciuto. Scritto molto bene, molte battute memorabili e un bell'approfondimento sui sentimenti di Jake e sul suo essere sempre in equilibrio fra due mondi: Omaticaya e umani.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 4.2

[Johanna Pou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jake is too good for this world..

[Sarali · Rating 4 out of 5]

OMG! This has a strong begin.

The story begins 14 days after the first movie. Jake is dealing with the fact that his human form died. I absolutely loved his internal struggle. We tend to forget how bizarre this “passing through the eye of Eywa” can be.

At the same time, he is dealing with a broken clan, and a broken human base, with different interests, but the same goal of survival.

They reused a character introduced in Tsu’tey’s Path, Ka’ani, and I loved him here. Seeing him grow from an incompetent hunter in training under Tsu’tey wing to the loyal warrior next to Jakesully is beautiful.

I also liked Katherine Hale (even if her part was short), we need more good humans.

What was a surprise here was Arvok, in Tsu’tey’s Path, Tsu’tey mentioned Arvok is just a child. And it’s implied he hasn’t bond with a direhorse yet, however, here, the first time we see him (like 3 months and 14 days after Tsu’tey called him a child) he is a warrior, he is using a cummerbund, implying he has been through the Dream Hunt. Details like this make you wonder how much thought and research are put in this comics.

Anyway, Arvok, is a pure soul and needs protection away from his parents, like seriously, this duo Artsut (mom) and Ateyo (dad) are shady as hell, no to mention they are terrible parents! How Tsu’tey became so noble? (Yes, he was at the beginning cautious about Jakesully, the alien, but after Jake proved his value, he was so loyal to him.) I guess it is because he was constantly under the ward of Eytukan and Mo’at.

I was so sad when Arvok accepted to walk the path his parents set for him. All Tsu’tey effors to protect him where in vain. Also, I didn’t understand why he killed a Ikran, just for the blood? and he wasted the rest, this do not align with the Na’vi ways, or maybe it was HIS ikran? Like he is renouncing what he was before?

A parenthesis here just to tell how much I love Norm for refusing to “blow off some steam” by shooting idiotically at the machinery. I mean, he was just 14 days ago in a big kind of life and death situation between open fire. He understands guns are not to play around with.

And back again with Tsu’tey’s terrible parents and a pain in the ass for Jake. He is around trying to do his best, helping in the healing of the CHILDREN affected by the war, feeling the consequence of his decisions, and here comes Artsut to screw him up. How hypocritical of her to say they don’t follow Eywa when she is the one who has plotted to kill the Olo'eyktan - ditching tradition (he was pointed leader by Tsu’tey, the former Olo’eyktan) and Eywa’s will (Eywa has saved Jake so many times, hasn't she seen the signs? NO!). She is full of jealousy toward Mo’at, maybe she is grieving the death of a son, but above all, I think she is power-hungry. She wants his mate to be Olo’eyktan, not his younger son, so she can be Tsahik.

I loved Mo’at here for stand up for his son-in-law (when he is clearly clueless XD)

And cocky Jake Sully in his full glory is back, and I love it. He is struggling with this leadership thing, but one good fight, THAT he can do. It’s also good he has Norm and Ka’ani to keep him focused on the important.

Of course Jake wins (and he mentions his marine background, I love it when people remember it because that’s so Jake, that part of his human side is so engraved in his DNA), and he is so chill that the worst punishment for the kid that he can come with is trash duty. Come on! How can you not love Jake Sully!

In a tantrum and last resource to not disappoint his parents, Arvok throws the dagger, that happens to be poisoned by his parents who did not tell him. Artsut declares Ateyo the new Olo’eyktan, and chaos and confusion breaks loose among the clan. Arvok is thrown under the bus by his parents, blaming him for Jake’s death, so he runs away. Meanwhile Artsut wants to condemn Mo’at for leading the clan to their doom.

Ka’ani interferes, he is the voice of reason and speaks about traditions, but guess what? Now Artsut (when best fit her) says traditions are not laws… but then Jake is breathing! He is not dead, something in his human DNA saves him from Artsut’s poison. So Ka’ami makes a clear stand: meanwhile Jake is still alive, Jake is still Olo’eyktan, and he will protect him.

They need to plug in Jake to Eywa, but Artsut opposes saying the poison will infect everything around it (of course she will know, she brewed it!), and she dares Jake and his supporter that if he is really the chosen one by Eywa, he will save himself.

Now, it happens that Mo’at knows an antidote, but the main ingredient is located in a sacred cave where no adult Na’vi (because of their size) or children (because of the danger) can enter. So they call the humans and Katherine Hale. Artsut loses when the human crew enters the Tree of Souls (you know, that sacred place no outsides were allowed? LOL) and it’s just so funny to watch this awful woman and her husband lose.

Ka’ani acts as deputy Olo'eyktan sending everyone home, Ateyo opposes his orders, but Ka’ani put him in his place. He is SO done with the Rongloa family’s shit.

Artsut finds Arvok and tries to manipulate him to trust her again, but he finally sees beyond that and defends himself. He prefers to live in exile than return with her. Now, Artsut implies heavily that no Na’vi can’t survive alone (I think it’s an interesting statement for future plots in the movies, maybe?), and she mentions a clan in the ashes (like, hello! Movie 3!) that will not judge him, and accept him even with his “crimes”.

Meanwhile, Jake is dreaming vividly, and Eywa reaches her branches to protect him (by the way, he doesn't poison anything around him, so Artsut was wrong).

Guilt for his silence about the RDA’s plan is burning within him. We see him admit to himself he was selfish, he wanted a functional body (even if it wasn’t his, it was Tommy’s avatar in the first place), he wanted a life with Neytiri, and Tsu’tey’s place (I think he means be Neytiri’s mate and be a praised warrior, not literally being Tsu’tey himself). Now there are people, his people, who are paying for his silence, for his decisions. He doesn’t feel worthy to be their leader, he've been gnawed by guilt. He thinks he deserved to die by Quarith’s hand. He feels so defeated, so human, corrupted, and a poison to the Na’vi.

Then Eytukan and Tsu’tey come to his rescue. They literally help him to stand up, and after a heart-to-heart conversation, they help him to accept his worth; what he has won for himself, and that it was not taken; to accept himself as one of the Na'vi people, to see around and see the people who love him.

And it’s beautiful, and I promise you I'm not crying. ;_;

We see a little bit more of Tsu’tey and Jake bonding, and how pure Tsu’tey’s soul is. He believes there is no malice in his parents (protect him Eywa!) and although he knows repercussions have to be made, he reminds Jake that there can also be mercy.

They say their goodbyes and then Jake wakes up in the iconic close-up of his eyes. (I need this sequence on the big screen, or in an animated series, in something!, bring back Tsu’tey!)

With Olo'eyktan safe and sound, the Omaticaya try to bring the Rongloa family (they have found Arvok at this point) to justice and Jake honoring Tsu’tey’s memory tries to act with mercy, but Artsut spits the word “Demon” when addressing to Jake. Arvok states the obvious and exiles himself and his family.

Jakes humbly asks the Omaticaya clan to trust him and teach him. They accept his leadership.

On the other hand, in exile, Artsut thinks the Mangkwan Clan will receive them (I wonder if this is the Ash clan?), but Arvok rejects to follow his parent’s path again and decides to leave on his own. (Good for him!)

Finally, Jakes finds himself under the tree that he was at the beginning, he makes peace with his dead human body, and he embraces his full Na'vi identity.

Wow! What a ride! and I liked it!

At first, I thought Artsut's behavior was so against the Na’vi ways, but now, knowing by James Cameron himself that in Avatar3 we’re going to see the bad side of the Na’vi in the Ash Clan, I think it makes sense. Also, I think they are trying to put the seed for the future plot.

I liked to dislike Artsut. I would like to see her and Arvok again in future comics.

Finally, but not least important, I absolutely loved Jake's journey here.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wonder if this will be considered official canon in light of the new movies. The story takes place after the first movie, and deals with Jakesully dealing with conflict between the remaining humans and the Navi. A tradition goes awry, and a family takes their revenge, and Jake gets to go on a vision ques. The story is serviceable and the art works well enough, although it doesn't really capture the majesty of the world. The story is pretty small in scope, but decent enough.

[Lucsbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Avatar: The Next Shadow" is set right after the ending of the movie when two very different people are forced to coexist under a divided and conflicted leader.

General Impressions

Avatar came out in 2009 and since then...crickets. Yes, I was starved for content and I screamed when I saw this graphic novel was part of the canon.

I did enjoy this graphic novel but my reading experience suffered because I read it digitally. I liked the art and the characters and enjoyed the overall themes of the story.

My absolute favourite part was Jake Sully's struggle not only with feeling like a worthy leader but with his guilt for everything that was lost, that he helped destroy, which I feel is a seldom discussed theme when it comes to current imperialistic societies like the one in which the Avatar universe is based on.

Thank you to Edelweiss+ and Dark Horse Studios for this DRC.

Rating: 3.5/5

[Alexandra Hyde · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot was better than The High Ground, but only minimally. Not engaging, at times takes a weirdly philosophical approach.

Sully didn’t take much seriously. He was condescending and selfish. I don’t think he makes a good leader of the people; he doesn’t know their traditions nor seem interested in learning them, unless a fight is involved. When a fight does break out, he drags it out and then insults the loser, all while asking to let bygones be bygones.

I don’t understand why Sully chose to even temporarily resettle the Omatikaya near Hell’s Gate. After all the years of strife and the recent murder that came out of that place, I doubt anyone feels safe living next to it.

[Tyler Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the idea of having a story that takes place 2 weeks after the end of the first Avatar movie. It shows the clans of Pandora in turmoil as the humans leave and those who stay struggle to find balance with the Na’vi. And the Omatikaya are now in need of a new home after the destruction of Hometree. Bringing up the question of Jake’s leadership in the midst of an assassination attempt makes for a decent story. Definitely worth a read if you’re into the world of Avatar and what happens in the years between the two movies.

[Josh 谢翊杰 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giving it 3.5 stars

I really liked the illustrations, great artwork! The short story was plausible in relation to the movie and it was not bad. I just felt like for an epic franchise that did big with the 1st film and trying to match the hype for the upcoming 2nd film, this story isn't ambitious enough for my tastes. I wonder if the other graphic novels are on par with this one, or take it further.

[Gretchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short graphic novel following the events of the Avatar film. Jake Sully is now the leader of the Omatikaya Na'vi tribe. He must find them a new place to live and keep the peace between them and the humans who chose to stay behind. Jake is challenged as leader and poisoned as a result. His friends, both Omatikaya and human, must work together to save his life.

[Olive · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading all the little side stories in this universe, it really fleshes out the movies and gives more background than those ten minute montages could ever do. Also like learning more about the cultures and traditions as well as Jake's growing pains as he rose to leader of the people. Super cool.

[Precompute · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was meh. The entire plot was telegraphed very plainly at the beginning, and then everything gets deus ex machina'd. The art was fine. The implication that the Na'vi are potentially so very twisted does not fit with the overall lore and their connection with the world around them. If the insider threat had instead been external, the book would've been more believable.

[Aaron Harvey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

While not perfect, as someone who is middling on the movie franchise, this short quick comic was INFINITELY better than either of the movies. Stuff like this is what I wanted the franchise to be.

[Rae Rivers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Art kinda sucks, again.
However the concepts explored here are far more interesting than the bad art. The mind breaking you’d have from a body transplant is a unique idea.
Also I like the lore build-up on other clan members.

[Minna · Rating 4 out of 5]

es interesante ver un poco sobre lo que pasó después de la guerra y cómo están sobreviviendo todavía a ella, sobre todo la fricción que aún existe entre humanos y Na'vi, me gustó cómo se manejó aquí.

me encantó ver más allá de Jake: su lucha interna y el peso de los dos mundos que lleva encima

[Kevin Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic character study showing the turmoils of Jake Sully and his new role as leader! Exactly what I want from a movie tie in. It moved the story forward well and expanded upon the characters and world.

[Sam Nicholson · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10

[Jet · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

oml is it just this comic like i swear it’s just so fast and it’s just like flip a few pages and finished. I mean i still enjoyed it but i swear it just needs to be…longer?

[Patrick Frazier · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great tie-in to explain what happened between 2009's "Avatar" and its long-awaited sequel.

[A.R.]

Was this necessary? No. Not the best but still great to read as a fan.