A review by alexandr1ne
Avatar: The High Ground, Volume 1 by Sherri L. Smith
4.0
I think I really only started enjoying comics and graphic novels when, like anime, I realised that the inherent ridiculousness is part of their charm - and embraced that aspect, rather than expecting comic tie-ins to be tonal extensions of their parent media.
Because Avatar: The High Ground is ridiculous. It’s over the top, and even implausible at times. Not impossible - it’s reworked from an original James Cameron script, or script idea - but definitely implausible. But that doesn’t make it bad.
This is the first instalment in a three-part series which follows Jake, Neytiri, and their biological and adopted children immediately prior to the events of the second film. The Sky People have returned, and Jake Sully, as Olo’eyktan of the Omatikaya and as Toruk Makto, wants as many Na’vi clans as possible to unite and bring the fight to them. To the black world.
Yeah. Na’vi in space. It sounds cool, but there’s a reason this idea was cut and reformed into the sequel we got with Avatar: The Way of Water. It really stretches your suspension of disbelief in a way that doesn’t mesh with James Cameron’s total immersion philosophy, something that has always been at the core of this franchise, even before it was a franchise.
But that’s exactly why the graphic novel is the perfect medium to explore ideas like this. It’s perfect, low-stakes, over-the-top AU fun. In addition, the art was gorgeous, though it wasn’t always easy to tell the children apart; they didn’t resemble their film counterparts as closely as their parents did, but that was my only gripe. The landscapes, flora and fauna were all distinctly and recognisably Pandoran, and the dialogue was fine, though not as tight, natural, and imbued with character as James Cameron’s is.
Still, a solid 4 stars, and I’m excited to read instalments two and three!
Because Avatar: The High Ground is ridiculous. It’s over the top, and even implausible at times. Not impossible - it’s reworked from an original James Cameron script, or script idea - but definitely implausible. But that doesn’t make it bad.
This is the first instalment in a three-part series which follows Jake, Neytiri, and their biological and adopted children immediately prior to the events of the second film. The Sky People have returned, and Jake Sully, as Olo’eyktan of the Omatikaya and as Toruk Makto, wants as many Na’vi clans as possible to unite and bring the fight to them. To the black world.
Yeah. Na’vi in space. It sounds cool, but there’s a reason this idea was cut and reformed into the sequel we got with Avatar: The Way of Water. It really stretches your suspension of disbelief in a way that doesn’t mesh with James Cameron’s total immersion philosophy, something that has always been at the core of this franchise, even before it was a franchise.
But that’s exactly why the graphic novel is the perfect medium to explore ideas like this. It’s perfect, low-stakes, over-the-top AU fun. In addition, the art was gorgeous, though it wasn’t always easy to tell the children apart; they didn’t resemble their film counterparts as closely as their parents did, but that was my only gripe. The landscapes, flora and fauna were all distinctly and recognisably Pandoran, and the dialogue was fine, though not as tight, natural, and imbued with character as James Cameron’s is.
Still, a solid 4 stars, and I’m excited to read instalments two and three!