Katara and Sokka travel back home for the first time since they left the South Pole to help Aang save the world. It has been quite some time since they’ve been home, and they are shocked to see that the small little village they grew up in has been transformed to a thriving metropolis that looks very similar to the North Pole. The South Pole has been modernized, but not everyone is happy about it. Threats of mutiny and rebellion are growing. Katara, Sokka, and the rest of the Aang gang must work together to stabilize the South as they strike a balance between tradition and progress, isolationism and globalism, stagnation and change. They are similar themes prevalent in other Avatar graphic novels, but they still feel fresh and lively in this one.
Y’all, this one is so good. Everything that makes the Avatar universe so loved is present in this graphic novel. The themes again are these wildly universal and grand themes that the team does such a great job of parsing down to this one group of people. The themes are accessible for any age of reader, yet no one, even adults, will feel talked down to or condescended while reading. Each side of each argument is given respect within the story. No side is made out to be a caricature or straw-man.
North and South also did a wonderful job of laying a lot of groundwork for the Legend of Korra TV series without making this story feel like filler. North and South had its own story to tell and the writers accomplished that, but woven into this story were little nuggets of foreshadowing for what was to come in Korra.
