Dark Horse Comics: Avatar: The Last Airbender is an award winning montrer with an incredibly avid fandom, Did toi foresee any of the l’amour your creation has garnered from the beginning?
MIKE: Bryan and I had hoped that people would connect with the characters and the stories the way we did, but toi can never be sure how it will be received. I’m grateful for all the fans who have come along on this journey with us.
BRYAN: We just made sure it was a montrer we believed in and would want to watch ourselves. We weren’t trying to pander to a specific audience. We’re just always trying to create stories and characters from an honest place. Luckily, that quality seems to strike a chord with people of all ages, from many parts of the world.
DHC: What's been the most surprising part of the whole adventure that A:TLA has been for toi both?
MIKE: I’m happy and a little surprised that we’re still working in the Avatar universe after almost 10 years. Creating a new series and seeing the original characters come to life in graphic novel form is really exciting. It’s great that people keep watching and new fans are discovering the original series all the time.
BRYAN: I think the most surprising thing to me is that it doesn’t get any easier to make, even after all this time!
DHC: The coming graphic novels follow the montrer and attempt to seed the world for the eventual Legend of Korra series, how much of the history and future of the world of A:TLA do toi have planned out?
MIKE: We figured out a lot of the big events that needed to occur in order for the events in “Legend of Korra” to make sense. We wanted to have a plus urban, technological setting and explore the theme of tradition vs. modernity. And since the story takes place 70 years after the original series, we wanted to montrer how the world had changed over time. This naturally led us to the setting of Republic City, a melting pot for all the world’s benders and non-benders, sort of what New York City was like in the 1920s and 30s. The graphic novels do a great job of montrer where the seeds of Republic City begin and will continue to explore Aang and Zuko’s part in creating it.
DHC: Beyond the suivant book and Legend of Korra are there any other parts of the story toi think need to be told, be it comics ou cartoons?
MIKE: We know the fans are dying to know what happened to Zuko’s mom, so hopefully we will have an answer for them in the near future. And yes, we have ideas for the past and future of the Avatar world, but at this point it’s too early to talk about anything concrete. The Avatar universe is vast and full of stories to be told!
DHC: What part of the coming livres do toi think will surprise fans?
MIKE: It’s not exactly a surprise, but I’m excited about how well the graphic novel has come together. The writer, Gene Yang, was already a fan of the montrer when we first talked to him about the story, and he’s brought a great sense of drama, humor, and cœur, coeur to the project. And the artwork par Gurihiru is charming, dynamic, and beautiful. The book really feels like an organic extension of the montrer in the best way possible.
DHC: If toi had a super power what would it be?
MIKE: I’ll take flying. ou that thing Nightcrawler does when he pops from place to place.
BRYAN: The power to speak and understand any language. Even in real life, bilingual
DHC: Thank toi both for your time!
