Avatar: The Last Airbender Arrives on WEBTOON

2024 is a great year for Avatar: The Last Airbender fans.

WEBTOON surprised everyone when they revealed they had licensed the webcomic version of Avatar: The Last Airbender comics. The comics are published by Dark Horse Comics but has been “newly formatted” to fit the webcomic vertical format. Three episodes have been released so far as of this article’s publishing.

Created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, Avatar: The Last Airbender premiered on Nickeloden on Feb. 21, 2005 for three seasons until Sept. 21, 2007. The story is set in a world where a selected number of people are able to control each of the four elements — air, water, earth, and fire. Only one person called the Avatar is able to control all four elements and must maintain peace and harmony in the world. The Avatar also serves as the link to the spiritual and physical world. The Last Airbender focuses on Aang, the twelve-year-old Avatar who is the last airbender after the Fire Nation massacred all the Air Nomads. Aang has to learn and master water, earth, and fire before Fire Lord Ozai rules the world.

Avatar: The Last Airbender has earned universal critical acclaim for its excellent storytelling, character journey and development, as well as the show’s portrayal of diverse characters. Despite ending in 2007, it continues to have a large impact and continues to be lauded as one of the best television shows to be aired.

Avatar: The Last Airbender received its first live-action adaptation in 2010 with M. Night Shyamalan as the director. However, the film has been largely criticized for its poor writing, acting, and for whitewashing the cast.

The series received a Netflix television remake with the creators initially signed on. However, DiMartino and Konietzko soon left due to “creative differences” in 2020 with Albert Kim replacing the duo as the showrunner, writer, and executive producer. The live-action television series aired the first season comprised of eight episodes on Feb. 22, 2024. The series received generally positive reviews and was watched by 21.2 million viewers in its first week. The show was renewed for two more seasons.

DiMartino and Konietzko wrote the sequel The Legend of Korra which stars the next Avatar after Aang, a hotheaded seventeen-year-old waterbender named Korra. Set in Republic City, Korra has mastered nearly all of the elements save for airbending. As she learns how to connect to her spiritual side, she must contend with antagonists like Amon, Unalaq, the Red Lotus, and Kuvira. The series aired on April 14, 2012 for 52 episodes and concluded on Dec. 19, 2014.

The duo set up Avatar Studios to continue to expand the world of ATLA and announced that there would be three animated projects, including a film starring a grown-up Gaang, a television show about the new Avatar, an earthbender, and a Zuko-centered film. The film revolving around an adult Gaang is slated for an October 10, 2025 release.

Although Avatar: The Last Airbender concluded in 2007, the stories continued in a series of graphic novels, beginning with The Promise which follows directly after the end of the ATLA. The next graphic novel series, The Bounty Hunter and the Tea Brewer is slated to release on Aug. 6, 2024.

The webcomic version of Avatar: The Last Airbender comics is available to read on WEBTOON and updates every Saturday.

Source: X, formerly known as Twitter