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Which comic do you think has the best writing of Mai and which comic do you think has the worst writing of her?

Here's our competitors:

Going Home Again

The Ember Island Arcade

The Promise, Parts 1/2

Rebound

Smoke & Shadow, Parts 1-3

Ashes of the Academy

That's not a lot (despite the Maiko Breakup Subplot going on for 14 years at this point), so we can discuss them individually and even rank them if we want.

Going Home Again is a solid depiction of Mai, as expected by something made by the actual show creators. It's a very nice showcase of how she starts her relationship with Zuko, capturing her personality and showing us a fun side with the encounter with Jin. It also solidifies her lack of jealousy, something implied by 'The Beach' but easy to miss given how passive a character she usually is. However, I do have one complaint: there's a line of dialogue that says Mai used to throw mud at Zuko as an expression of her crush. That feels stereotypical and out of character for Mai, at least to me, who is at her most expressive in the entire franchise when getting the heebie-jeebies at the sight of Ty Lee jumping into slurry. But it's a minor point.

The Ember Island Arcade barely has any Mai in it, but the depiction is fine. Her snark is a highlight of this thing.

The Promise isn't actually a bad depiction of her. In fact, she might be the best, most in-character player in the entire trilogy. Sadly, she doesn't get a lot to do here. She worries about Zuko when he's looking unhealthy and gets upset when she learns that he's hiding his entire life from her, both perfectly reasonable reactions to how badly Zuko is being written. She solves the security problem with the help of her Kyoshi Warrior friends in what might be the most triumphant moment of the entire trilogy (and yes, I'm including when the stupid war is stupidly averted in the stupid final comic and stupid Aang and Zuko become stupid friends again). Then she leaves when she finds out that Zuko is still being written stupidly (which is very different than being written as stupid) in an excellent display of self-respect. Mai is effectively the only character being written with a brain, so of course she has to barely appear or she might solve all the problems in the first comic.

Rebound is also a pretty good depiction. The plotline with her father is very rushed and feels like there's a piece of the story missing as a result, but it does a good job at capturing how she believes in what Zuko is doing as Fire Lord apart from their romance. It also has Kei Lo falling in love with her after a single date, so there's a clear understanding from the storytellers that Mai is canonically the character with the most rizz in the entire franchise.

Smoke & Shadow, unfortunately, is where things fall apart. Mai is a starring player, so she can't be depicted as in-character or she'll ruin Gene Yang's latest contrived, under-baked plot. I do not buy the irrationality she displays at Tom-Tom's kidnapping, especially compared to her depiction in 'Return to Omashu', and 'Rebound' makes it seem unlikely that she would have any regard for her father. They put another girl in a Mai wig for this comic and forced her to slander the real Mai.

Ashes of the Academy is, despite its under-baked plot, a great depiction of Mai. I admit, I hadn't seen her as a bug-lover before this, as bugs are found outside and so is mud, but she keeps her bugs in a terrarium in this so there's no attempt to claim she's the outdoorsy type. I have my issues with the depiction of Mai's father here (I think, given what Mai said in 'The Beach,' that he's less likely to tell her to befriend Azula and more likely to tell her to keep her head down and not draw attention to herself), but Lil'Mai make sense as an extrapolation from her older self and what we saw in 'Zuko Alone,' and the adult Mai builds on what we depicted in 'Rebound' to show that she believes in the Fire Nation being built by Zuko, and the comic even successfully connects that to her experiences as a kid. I know there's some quibbling about how Mai doesn't bring her knives to school and whether that's in-character, but I can see her wanting so much to be a good teacher that she eschews her knives despite not being comfortable with it. It's not her getting soft, it's her overcompensating for the difficulties she had with the academy.

So here's our ranking:

Ashes of the Academy

Rebound

The Promise, Parts 1/2

Going Home Again

The Ember Island Arcade

Smoke & Shadow, Parts 1-3

Let the controversy begin!

#zuko-always-lies #mai #maiko #gene luen yang #gene yang

What do you think about GLY's Zuko's becoming like Ozai storyline? I think he pulled it out of his ass.

It's exactly what I'd expect from someone who is desperate to rehash Zuko's arc from the cartoon but didn't understand a word of it.

I've seen it bandied about that, statistically, most children of abusive parents grow up to become abusive parents themselves. I can't speak to whether that's an accurate assessment, but the people who use it as an excuse for Gene's agenda can never seem to articulate why anyone would want to read a lesser echo of a character arc we already experienced.

And then there's the trap of all bad sequels: if you undo the finality of the original story, you either have to address the nature of cycles -- to the point of coming up with a way to break the cycle if you want a happy ending -- or else there will never be a sense of finality for the audience. Perhaps Gene felt like he could rely on LoK to assure us that Zuko does eventually raise a child without lighting their face on fire, but I don't think that really helps anything in 'The Promise' or 'Smoke & Shadow' since we still have plenty of time to imagine Zuko wasting our time with the same cycle before he eventually straightens out or just gets tired of the grind.

Gene Yang is like some kind of evil mirror of Steven Spielberg: obsessed with dysfunctional families/parents and the cycles they engender, but pessimistic about it and also terrible at telling the story.

#anonymous #gene luen yang #gene yang #zuko #steven spielberg

How would you rank the comics, from favorite to least favorite, if you had to rank them? For your convenience, here's a list:

The Promise

The Search

The Rift

Smoke and Shadow

North and South

Imbalance

Katara and the Pirate's Silver

Toph Beifong's Metalbending Academy

Suki, Alone

Azula in the Spirit Temple

The Bounty Hunter and the Tea Brewer

Ashes of the Academy

Free comic book day ones, if you wish to rank them:

Rebound

Shells

Sisters

Matcha Makers

Lost and Found

Ramen Rumble

There are also the ones created during the show, but I'm not going to list them, there are like 50 of them.

Thank you for the convenience! I ranked the graphic novels separately from the FCBD shorts, as there's really no comparing them. Although, if I did have to provide a single ranking, Ramen Rumble would be above all of Gene Yang's stuff and most of the Faith Erin Hicks run. I have a lot of respect for stories that are confidently silly and don't stumble, even if they have absolutely no weight.

(But then, I would, wouldn't I?)

#zuko-always-lies #gene yang #atla comics #faith erin hicks #comic ranking

If DC were brave, Taylor would be the last Super Star and Yang or Al Ewing would write a full multi-year Action Comics ongoing. I really need DC to take a big swing, and I'm wary of them taking the easy out, Tom Taylor choice for either Superman or AC

Ridley was gone for a year and then he came back, it’s not impossible Yang could do the same. Course Yang has his lucrative and critically beloved creator owned work to occupy his time, so maybe he simply isn’t interested. Would kill to have him back regardless. Ewing I dunno, he’s said his favorite Superman was the Triangle Era, which means he might not be all that different from Williamson. He’d probably use Steel heavily which would be a winning move in my book.

You know who DC should ask? Scott Snyder. Only Snyder comes close to being able to generate the excitement and interest that Hickman does these days. He’d probably say no but I’d be curious to find out what a proper Superman run from him would be like. I’ve enjoyed most of the times he’s written Clark, and I do think that he could be an all time Superman writer based on how he’s used Supes in LKOE, JL, and Unchained.

#superman #scott snyder #gene yang #al ewing

Gene Yang previously said that Mai and Zuko would get back together after 3 years in-universe. Do you think this new comic is 3 years after the events of “Smoke and Shadow”?

I'll be honest: I cannot keep track of the timeline of the comics. They're so insubstantial that they feel like they could all take place within a single month and no one looks older than they were in the AtLA finale, but somehow years have passed? I just let the wiki tell me when things happen and I don't ask my usual questions about their nonexistent sources.

But according to them, yeah, it looks like 3 years have passed.

That said, I'm not convinced Gene Yang was saying what people claim he was saying. I think he was making an off-the-cuff and inaccurate reference to Zuko and Mai seeing each other again in Smoke'n'Shadow.

But he's not working on the Avatar comics anymore, so his opinion is irrelevant. :P

#anonymous #gene yang

This tweet is chock full of bad-faith disinformation for the sole purpose of blaming a critically-acclaimed, Asian author for the shortcomings and flaws of the Avatar comics, which were spearheaded by the white creators of the series, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.

Gene Luen Yang is an extremely talented Asian American author who wrote the first graphic novel that was nominated for a National Book Award. He is of Chinese and Taiwanese heritage & one of the only— if not THE only— Asian writers for ATLA, despite the show being Asian-inspired.

To go after the only Asian person who has ever written for ATLA, when the franchise takes & profits from those cultures extensively, feels very targeted and uncomfortable to me. This is especially so when you entirely exclude criticizing the two white men who wrote the comics.

The comics likely only exist because Bryke pitched the idea of making a TV movie to explain what happened to Zuko's mom, but Nickelodeon rejected it, since LoK was already in the budget. So, The Promise was likely a "test run" of the format before they dived into The Search.

So to act as though the creative control of the overarching plots, such as major themes like Mai & Zuko's relationship status, was in the hands of Yang is absurd. Yang was there bc he is a professional graphic novelist. He was translating Bryke's stories to comic format for them.

Yang is also the person who recommended Hicks for the job when he *voluntarily* stepped down from his role. I don't think the two writers had some clash in how they viewed the stories. They're friends & fans of one another.

Bryke steers the storylines & are likely responding to fan criticism over the years of the comics when giving direction. It's absurd to blame Yang for all the problems when Bryke has final creative and storyboard say. All the issues with the comics are common themes Bryke has already made as well. Their other solo project (meaning the key head writers from the OG ATLA series didn't partake) LoK has all the same issues: over-dramatized relationship conflicts, OOC choices for the gaang (re: Katara's entire plot, Aang being a shit dad, Toph being a cop deadbeat) & a Western lens for political views with no Gene Yang in sight.

So whenever Bryke removes the core team of writers who were integral to making Avatar shine… it dulls. That's Korra's problem and that's the comics' problem too. Bryke does good worldbuilding, but not relationships or fleshing out characters. This is why they needed help from a team of writers for ATLA. They wanted Toph and Azula to be boys. They originally wanted Iroh to betray Zuko at the end of the series. They wanted boy Toph to be in a love triangle with Katara and Aang, like Mako/Korra/Asami in Book 1 of LoK. They LOVE that stuff.

So blaming Yang is absolutely absurd to me and comes across as borderline "glass cliff-ing" the lone Asian ATLA writer in favor of three white writers— for a franchise that takes the majority of its inspiration and storytelling from Asian cultures! You guys are giving me major ick with this!

Yang also talked ad nauseam about Bryke's overall decision-making, final say, and direction with plots. It's evident that he had room to express himself, but it was still Bryke's overall story and was always approved by Bryke and Nickelodeon.

Here is a video of when Yang first signed onto the project and he discusses here how Bryke were the directors of the projects and he was the one bringing it to life for them.

Gene Yang casually mentioned he liked Zutara in the first interview for The Promise before its release. He was stunned by the amount of hate he got in his inbox for something so simple. It's totally unsurprising to me, considering the vitriol antis hold towards anyone who likes Zutara in the slightest. It's a… concerning trend that the bulk of this hate is going towards Asian people (Yang, Dante Basco) and women of color (the bulk of the fandom). I remember distinctly Yang saying that he *also* shipped Kataang & thought it spoke very highly of the show that either ship [meaning ZK or KA] could have been endgame, and it would still be good. I cannot find this interview anywhere and I'm going crazy over it, but several people have told me they recall it as well. I think it was on Livejournal in 2012 and got scrubbed, sadly.

It's also highly likely that as the comics went on for 10+ years, Bryke, Nickelodeon, and Dark Horse saw the fan criticism online. They moved to adjust accordingly, hence the switchup in portrayals in more recent works. (Which still have a myriad of problems themselves.)

But it's egregious and offensive to suggest that this Asian author who was so mad about the M. Night movie's casting he made a comic about how terrible it was, was intentionally soiling aspects of a franchise he connected with on a personal level due to his lived experiences.

These antis are spreading slander (w no proof) ab this man simply because they hate ZK and cannot fathom the idea of criticizing the almighty bryke because they are canon "purists" who hold disdain for anything outside what is explicitly expressed in the text, stamped by Bryke.

The fact that it is a daily ship blog doing this too is even more crazy. Ofc, anyone can run their blog however they want, but it's… a choice… to use a blog like that to spread hate towards others and not uplift positive creativity within your shipping community.

Also, another tangential thing I wanted to add is that when I was a silly 10 year old as The Promise was coming out, I would email Yang, as he left his email box open. I was saddened that the gaang was trying to hurt Zuko, as Zuko was my fave character growing up, and I really connected with the found family he gained and was heartwarmed by it. I was too young to get into shipping (personally) at all, but adored their story of friendship. When I emailed Yang, obviously a yapping, upset, annoying-ass child… he answered me every. single. time. and spoke to me in every response like I was just as important as a media contact. He was kind and answered me for years, thanking me in every response for reading and supporting the book. The emails are lost to my childhood inbox, but I always remembered that. He's a very nice person!

I'm sure he isn't blameless in the comics being really fucking bad, but to blame him in totality and make up some nonsense about it being because he likes Zutara is absolutely bonkers and a complete conspiracy theorist lie spurred by obsessive hatred for a fictional pairing.

#avatar comics #atla comics #gene luen yang #gene yang #bryke #bryke critical #avatar comics critical #meta #the promise #the search #dark horse comics #faith hicks #avatar #atla #avatar the last airbender #zutara #kataan g

please… I'm dying… someone help me find this gene yang interview where he says both kataang and zutara would work I know it's out there… I'm………… decaying

#gene luen yang #avatar comics #kataang #zutara #gene yang #the promise #the search #the rift #smoke and shadow #im losing my MIND

I know this interview exists, but I'm struggling to find it, if anyone else has insight.

It's old, probably from when The Promise came out.

Gene Yang mentioned he shipped Zutara, and I think this was a follow up to that first "confession". He said something along the lines of "I think Kataang and Zutara both work well and it's a testament to how great the series is that both can be satisfying endings" or somehting like that.

Does anyone else remember this? I'm trying to find the source for a thread I'm making disbunking this ridiculous (and what I believe to be racially charged…) claim on twitter.

Thank you, guys!

#zutara #atla comics #the promise #gene yang #gene luen yang

Here is a video of when Yang first signed onto the project and he discusses here how Bryke were the directors of the projects and he was the one bringing it to life for them.

#gene yang

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