Review: The Legend of Korra: Turf Wars, Part 1

By P. Kristen Enos

The Legend of Korra: Turf Wars, Part 1

Written by Michael Dante DiMartino and Illustrated by Irene Koh

Summary

This is the first continuation graphic novel for the Nickelodeon cartoon that ended in December 2014.  For those of you who do not know about this show, watch the series.  It’s worth it if you enjoy a show featuring a diverse, complex cast of characters, this time featuring a strong female fighter though the queer element isn’t overtly shown until the end (more on that in the Queer Analysis section.)

In an alternate world of martial arts fantasy with steampunk elements, a young woman named Korra is the next incarnation of The Avatar, a being that can weld all aspect of “bending” powers of the natural elements (earth, air, fire, water).  The rest of the world has citizens who can master only one element, or none at all.  Asami, the beautiful daughter of a wealthy industrialist, started as Korra’s love-rival over the male lead Mako.  An engineer and worthy fighter in her own right, Asami eventually becomes Korra’s friends, a relationship that deepens on its own throughout the series.

This comic picks up where the cartoon series ends:  After the traumatic events of the war with the Kuvira’s Earth Empire, Korra and Asami go off to enjoy a well-deserved two-week vacation in the Spirit World.  They come back and find out that the aftermath of the war has continuing repercussions in in their home of Republic City and the rest of the world.

General Review

Enough time had passed that I did not feel comfortable reading the graphic novel without doing a binge watch of the entire animation series, and since I really liked the show, it wasn’t a burden to do so.  If you really are a hardcore fan and want to enjoy the graphic novel in full context, I would recommend a rebinge, unless you have the impeccable memory that my brain doesn’t have.

The fantastic part of this graphic novel is that it’s written by the show creator and writer Michael Dante DiMartino (with input from the other series creator Bryan Konietzko), so continuity for characters and world-building is maintained.

Even though we are now missing the voices and visual movement, the characters and stories feel to be a solid continuation of the original series.  This is a worthwhile pickup if you loved the cartoon series, and especially the ship “Korrasami.”

The only BAD thing about this is that after two and a half years, there are only 72 actual story-pages.  And the next installment is already listed for being released in January 2018.  Unless the story-arcs are shorter or the pacing picks up, it could be years before coming to a storyline conclusion.  Not that I’m really complaining about having years more of Korra (and Asami) related stories, but more pages and/or increased frequency in release dates would be much nicer, especially with such a rich world and cast of characters to touch upon.

 

Queer Analysis (Big Ol’ Spoilers)

Korrasami

I was introduced to The Legend Of Korra when I had moderated the panels “Queer Imagery In Animation” for both WonderCon and San Diego Comic-Con in 2015 because I had to do research on shows that were known for LGBTQ+ content.  Since the WC panel was only a couple of months after the ending of the show, internet buzz about the series was still at its height.  And the next thing I knew, I binge-watched several YouTube reaction videos to the end of the show, witnessing moment after moment of shocked and amazed fans that the series would end with the strong possibility of the two female lead characters ending up together.

Now, I’m very aware that many people (both queer and non-queer) thought the ending was too vague, with the two women holding hands as they walk off into their literal happy ending.  But many used the ending to hold the series as an example of a positive portrayal of two women or color being in a relationship, with content of their growing relationship planted throughout the lasts three (of the four total) seasons of the show.  Personally, I was more than comfortable with viewing them as a couple, but many people were upset that Korra and Asami didn’t end with a viewable kiss (instead of just facing each other with glowing light and swelling music).

This lack of a kiss was usually viewed as being excusable since Nickelodeon is the parent sponsor of this cartoon, known for its target audience of kids and teens.  However, I also saw rant videos from queer-deniers claiming that this lack of a kiss wasn’t conclusive proof that either Korra or Asami were bisexual.

And even though there was an online statement by the creators that confirmed the relationship, many still had issues with its portrayal and validity.

In this graphic novel, any doubts about their lesbian relationship is very firmly erased as there are several moments of them exploring their budding relationship.  This includes having several discussions about the idea of coming out to family and friends as well as to the public as they are both famous individuals.

And yes, we finally get that kiss.

 

Kya, Daughter of Avatar Ang

I’m always automatically curious about characters who don’t have the usual flags of having an opposite sex partner.  (Yes, yes, I know bisexual people in heterosexual relationships are harder to identify.)  But characters who have relative importance to a body of work but don’t have the standard heterosexual clues make me pay more attention than usual.  Kya, the older sister of Korra’s mentor Tenzin, has been one of them, and since she was just a supporting character, the lack of clarity about her was easy to overlook.  But I always thought she would be a great queer rep if she was one of us.

This graphic novel gives her a story-appropriate moment to come out, as someone who figured out Korra and Asami’s romantic relationship, and offers herself as a role model and source of advice for the future.  Her accurate assessment of their relationships shows the universal need of queer people for society savviness and detective skills to identify each other, especially without the Internet and pride festivals.

 

Water Tribe Culture & This World’s LGBTQ+ History 

Korra and Asami’s first attempt at coming out is to Korra’s parents, who are now leaders of the Water Tribe.  While her parents do profess support and acceptance, they do express concerns about making such private matters public, which triggers Korra’s typical bull-headed outrage.

This scene was an interesting read for me as it showed DiMartino’s attempt to address obvious and subtle points about the queer lifestyle.  Embracing your identity is never simple, especially when it comes to involving family, friends, neighbors and coworkers.  The idea that queer matters should be “private matters” is very familiar to anyone who have been faced with a situation where other people can blissfully talk about their opposite gender significant others but you are not.

When Kya comes out to Korra and Asami, DiMartino uses this moment to educate them (and the readers) about elements of LGBTQ+ moments in their world’s history.  This is a valid discussion to have when one considers that this cartoon series (including the first show “Avatar The Last Airbender”) takes place in a world that is rich with history and customs.

 

Wenyan, campaign manager for President Raiko

This man is a new character to the graphic novel.  One could view him as being morally dubious or just very good at his job, or both.

The reason why I’m including him in this write-up is that he is clearly an effeminate man with a shady aura.  I am personally triggered by such characters when there isn’t a balanced representation in the cast.  And no, two bisexual women in my mind does not qualify when there is a substantially higher percentage of effeminate male villains in many forms of art.  One can say “well, he’s not identified as gay” but social assumptions being what they are, I’m sure many people will default to that.

Now, to be fair, this is a show with a very large and diverse cast, with several instances of butch heterosexual women.  And not only that, the creators have done an excellent job in the animation series to take characters with sketchy beginnings grow and mature, and even become noble or good by the end.

So at this point, I’m giving the character a status of “I’m suspicious but I’m willing to wait and see.”

 

Target Audience

Apart from the short number of pages, my other logistical concern about this graphic novel is that it officially lists its target audience as being ages “9 – 12.”  This is a little frustrating when one considers that these are characters now in their early twenties.  I know the Nickelodeon brand is very much part of this series (even if the graphic novel is being printed by Dark Horse.)

If all it really means is that DiMartino won’t include moments of explicit sex and violence, thus maintaining a PG rating, I’m fine with that if he continues to portray Korra and Asami’s relationship with a frank equality as he has others.  If the official age range means skirting around or sanitizing valid LGBTQ+ topics in the story, then it’s going to feel a little unsatisfying, but there would still be a lot of value in presenting such material, regardless of the age of the reader.

As far as what is contained in this first book, I have to admit it has met my fan expectations and more so.  I definitely look forward to the next installment.

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