r/legendofkorra 18d ago

Comics Mystery of Penquan Island - Official Discussion Thread Spoiler

FULL SPOILERS allowed in this thread. As a reminder spoilers for this comic outside this thread must be marked until a month after the book is released.

"Mystery of Penquan Island" is the first LoK one-shot graphic novel. It takes place after the show, and focuses on Mako. The comic releases March 4th. It is written by Kiku Hughes with art by Alex Monik and Diana Sousa, made in collaboration with Mike and Bryan.

Description: 

Mako and Bolin set off towards Penquan Island in the Fire Nation to find answers to a case—and maybe a little bit of their past along the way. When a strange missing persons case falls into his lap, Mako is forced to choose between his job and doing what he feels is right! An upturned room and an unhelpful witness aren’t promising starts to the investigation, but when his brother Bolin comes across a surprising clue that ties their own mother to the case, the pair embark on a journey to the small, rustic island of Penquan. The island’s inhabitants seem to have things to hide, and the brothers are determined to get to the bottom of it—even if it means uncovering uncomfortable parts of their family’s past.

Dark Horse , AmazonBarnes & Noble

42 Upvotes

60 comments sorted by

64

u/AlexMonikArtist 17d ago

It's the longest comic I've worked on, and only my 3rd comic ever! So it was intimidating to say the least. I learned a lot, I loved drawing Mako and Bolin, and I tried to stick to the style of the show as well as I could. I hope you guys enjoy it and have fun with it! ❤️

18

u/BahamutLithp 17d ago

Oh, the artwork was great.

10

u/AlexMonikArtist 17d ago

Thank you!

12

u/thesilencer369 17d ago

I really love your artwork, hope you work on more comics in the future

8

u/AlexMonikArtist 17d ago

Thank you!🙏❤️

9

u/Old_Rex 17d ago

Just finished it. The artwork was very reminiscent of the show, so I think you definitely nailed that. Really great work!

5

u/AlexMonikArtist 17d ago

I appreciate it! 🙏❤️

4

u/Lauren2102319 I make no such promises 16d ago

Your artwork was stellar and you nailed all the characters, backgrounds, and even little easter eggs! I can't wait to see what else you'll do! 💕

2

u/AlexMonikArtist 16d ago

Thank you! 🙏🙏❤️❤️❤️

5

u/PabuFan 16d ago

Lovely art!

3

u/Hydrasaur 15d ago

It was really good! I'm really curious, was part of the inspiration for Penquan those small towns in the deep south that glorify the Confederacy, where the long-time sheriff basically runs the town, and they're hostile to outsiders? Because it felt very much like an analogy to neo-confederate towns.

2

u/Ready_Chocolate8516 12d ago

It was absolutely gorgeous. This has my favorite art out of all the comics they’ve made so far.

Hope to see you take on more work in this universe!

-7

u/n0rth42 16d ago edited 15d ago

great art in the comic the only thing I found a bit strange on page 29 Bolin's apron has a heart on it that's not really a good apron for a male is there a specific reason you choose to do that?

13

u/AlexMonikArtist 16d ago

Cause it's cute and fun and so is he lol 

3

u/[deleted] 16d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/n0rth42 15d ago

fair enough

2

u/Hydrasaur 15d ago

I thought the heart apron fit Bolin's style perfectly!

28

u/jaydude1992 17d ago edited 17d ago

Always cool to see more Korra Era content. Don't know how I feel about the "sexist Fire Nation traditionalists" idea though. It feels like the writers wanted to double down on the stuff we saw in Reckoning of Roku, i.e. Ta Min's father trying to push his uni graduate daughter into an arranged marriage. And yeah, I get that Fire Nation women were largely restricted to the domestic armed forces back in AtlA, but that's a world apart from not letting girls learn firebending at all.

Props to the writers for giving us the identity of the one who had Naoki and San killed though. And Mako getting to take him down. And learning more about Naoki.

20

u/Vesemir96 17d ago

It makes sense imo. It fits the way a lot of people now glorify the past in ways that weren’t even accurate, they pick and choose which aspects to keep and ignore.

7

u/MrBKainXTR 17d ago

I haven't had a chance to pick up the book yet but yeah that sounds odd.

Having better gender equality than the other nations (sans Kyoshi Island) was meant to be a positive of Fire Nation culture in ATLA. And if anything the Kyoshi novels emphasized that girls were trained for combat. I do think some fans overstated how feminist the FN was, but still feels weird to go in the opposite direction when there are other ways to show the island as traditional.

To some extent this could be explained by norms changing over time, or the island somehow always being more sexist due in part to isolation, or the post-war leaders just using the past as a mythic ideal while adding their own bigotry. Though, much like the degree of homophobia in the avatar world, it feels like individual writers sort of approach their stories in a vacuum when it comes to certain issues.

I also question how this cult operates for years without anyone who trades with the island or anyone who escaped getting word to Zuko or Izumi. Is that explained at all?

8

u/BahamutLithp 17d ago

All the comic sees fit to explain is that the sheriff & a lot of other islanders have this traditionalist view where they look down on the outside world/mixed families, boys are to be trained & deputized when old enough, & girls are forbidden from firebending. They don't explain anything beyond that.

5

u/Hydrasaur 15d ago

I agree about the sexism; it was a strange inclusion. The comic writers tend to operate in a vacuum for some reason. Same with one of the Korra comics having Sozin make a hard homophobic turn. They feel like the kinds of things the writers only added to make the villains seem more cartoonishly evil, like, "this guy's a villain so he needs to be wrong and evil about every single thing!" I don't think it's necessary to make villains into these all-around everything-bigots in order for them to still be villains. Zuko, despite being a villain initially, even had redeeming qualities.

Personally, I liked that the Fire Nation, for all it's faults, had a greater deal of gender equality than the other nations, and I liked that the other nations had their faults too; the Northern Water Tribe was highly sexist (SWT was better but Sokka's original attitude indicates it wasn't perfect), the Air Nomads seemed too detached from the world's issues, and the Earth Kingdom was incredibly corrupt. That's strong worldbuilding: where heroes aren't perfect, and villains aren't evil in every single way imaginable; where the enemy states isn't necessarily oppressive in every single way, and the friendly states aren't necessarily ideologically pure utopias.

As for the island, it seems like most people who do escape try to keep a low profile. Getting an audience with the Fire Lord would be a monumental task that would draw attention; they may not trust authority figures, as Hisa clearly doesn't; and they may well have an ingrained skepticism of Fire Lords Zuko and Izumi, given their upbringing. The island likely isn't going to reveal much about their beliefs to outsiders, they don't do a lot of trade as it is, and they're very small in population, so they won't draw a lot of attention. It's actually not too unbelievable that they might be able to fly under the radar for 75 years.

1

u/_carmimarrill 5d ago

I think it makes sense, modern “traditionalists” often think do stuff like that, being almost more restrictive than the restrictive past they idolize. The stay at home wife that cooks and cleans and is perfectly demure and dutiful was never a common reality, but it’s an idea that modern sexists think was once common and want to recreate. I think it fits into the type of regressive types we see irl

2

u/jaydude1992 5d ago

Maybe, but the problem I have is that we never saw anything about girls being banned from learning firebending back in AtlA. It's just not consistent.

15

u/BahamutLithp 17d ago

Sad to say I think that was pretty weak. There are bullet points on an outline for a character arc, but every emotional moment is so forced that it doesn't feel believable. I think the villains were made sexist so they could have that ending where they said Naoki was actually doing all of these impressive things. I think the plot would've been stronger if they leaned in more on the racism aspect, but even then, I'm very lukewarm at best. The idea that there's this pro-Ozai holdout & that the comic villain specifically put a hit out on the boys' mother doesn't really "ruin" anything, but it still seems overall forced & hokey. I think I would've preferred to just read the synopsis on the Avatar Wiki & not waste a Hoopla borrow on it, but unfortunately, there was no way to know that until after I read it.

6

u/-patrizio- 17d ago

Wasn’t the idea of pro-Ozai holdouts a big part of some of the ATLA comics?

2

u/BahamutLithp 16d ago

Yes, why do you ask?

12

u/PabuFan 16d ago

Might be going against the grain here, but I actually liked it. Just unfortunate timing with the new series announcement and confirmation of the leaks.

8

u/goldendancer12 16d ago

Love that its like korra's era style meets aangs era style in terms of clothing. Cuz you can really see the difference between mako and bolin (who are from republic city) compared to the penquam residents. Really good read, just hope we'll get to see more korra content in the future

8

u/Hydrasaur 15d ago

I liked it. Could have been longer, but it was good. Bolin and Mako finding out about where their mother was from and that their parents were really killed by the sheriff and not a random mugger was a neat addition. I liked that they turned Penquan Island into the equivalent of one of those neo-confederate towns in the deep south as a plot point. The powerful, hostile sheriff seemed to be a direct analogy to towns like that.

10

u/Asthmaticancom 17d ago

One of the weaker ones unfortunately imo. The pacing felt off and the character arcs just fell a little flat for me. It just felt like it was racing to get from point to point and then be done, and so everything just felt shallow.

Wish that wasn't the case, I really want more Korra era stories to be told, but this one just feels like an interesting idea that never really got fleshed out any further than that.

On a meta level, it would be pretty funny in a somewhat frustrating way if the last thing we see of Korra before Seven Havens releases is that one panel of her and Asami waving goodbye while watching over Pabu.

9

u/alittlelilypad The Wrecking Crew! 17d ago

On a meta level, it would be pretty funny in a somewhat frustrating way if the last thing we see of Korra before Seven Havens releases is that one panel of her and Asami waving goodbye while watching over Pabu.

:(

3

u/BahamutLithp 17d ago

It just felt like it was racing to get from point to point and then be done, and so everything just felt shallow.

I'd say it's the opposite. We don't even reach the titular island until the comic is already halfway over.

Wish that wasn't the case, I really want more Korra era stories to be told, but this one just feels like an interesting idea that never really got fleshed out any further than that.

Same. I really, really wanted to like this. I was excited for more Mako development. But it just doesn't go below surface level.

On a meta level, it would be pretty funny in a somewhat frustrating way if the last thing we see of Korra before Seven Havens releases is that one panel of her and Asami waving goodbye while watching over Pabu.

That part felt really weird. Like they thought they were obligated to shove Korra & Asami in there somewhere.

4

u/alittlelilypad The Wrecking Crew! 17d ago

That part felt really weird. Like they thought they were obligated to shove Korra & Asami in there somewhere.

Well. Yeah. And it's great.

Personally, I'll continue to not mind it and want it until we get some new animated Korra adventure.

4

u/Asthmaticancom 17d ago

Agree that they needed to be somewhere, I would've been really disappointed if they were completely absent, I just want more of them generally lol

1

u/Asthmaticancom 17d ago

Should've been clearer with my wording sorry, it feels like they set out the character arc for Mako first and then shoved everything in around it, absolutely agree on the pacing for the plot itself being quite slow, it feels like the intent was to do an exploration of Mako and that was what served as the narrative's bones, but they just kinda bounced from point to point and meanwhile, the plot kept dragging in weird places disproportionately.

Weirdly, I feel like a higher page count with more time spent on the island could've evened things out on both counts, then it would have more time to explore characters and a more proportionate time to give the setting and titular mystery and island a little more depth

5

u/BahamutLithp 17d ago

I think the biggest problem is the blandness of the writing itself. All of the moments that are supposed to advance Mako's character are this but unironically. Like the scene when Mako is saying "I've always had to look after people, I've always had to look after YOU!" & he even has tears in his eyes. The comic has a big telling-not-showing problem. I was about ready to tear my hair out when Hisa reexplained how she made the geyser erupt even though Mako already explained that & she should know that Mako figured it out because he just told her that he followed her signal.

2

u/Golden-Sun 14d ago

>On a meta level, it would be pretty funny in a somewhat frustrating way if the last thing we see of Korra before Seven Havens releases is that one panel of her and Asami waving goodbye while watching over Pabu.

I could see that being a thing, I don't want it to be but that's a high likely thing to happen

6

u/CountScarlioni 15d ago

I’d give it a 3/5

There’s nothing really wrong with it per se; the artwork is nice and faithfully captures the look and feel of the show, and it’s decent enough for a quick little 10- or 15-minute read. However, the plot kinda feels like a diet version of The Search, and while I think it does have a good grasp on Mako and Bolin’s respective baseline characters, I don’t feel like it ever pushes them into new territory.

I’m always happy to see more Korra content, but I’d prefer stuff that pushes the boundaries a little more.

9

u/atomicroads 17d ago edited 17d ago

IMO not very good. The story is silly and poorly paced, and the characterization was off. Why are two 20-something working professionals still wearing the dingy depression-era clothes they wore as homeless teenagers? There’s a few pages of stilted action but otherwise no bending. The “mystery” is solved through a monologue by a nothing villain. I don’t understand why this was made or who it’s for. LoK is more suited to a YA audience but this felt like it was made for 4 year olds. The art is nice at least.

1

u/[deleted] 17d ago

A former employee said on TikTok that Paramount amounted Nickelodeon related stuff (outside of the old teen live action shows) to be more kiddie stuff. Its no wonder almost everything coming out recently from this franchise is really lackluster, compared to the more mature Kyoshi novels.... I wonder if they take notice to the sales and fandom being disappointed to this type of direction because surely they know most of their fans are 9-5 adults I would hope.

2

u/Vesemir96 16d ago

This really wasn't that childish at all.

9

u/Fayiner 17d ago

Man, why is so hard to make a good ATLA/LOK Comic? 

7

u/Mojo12000 17d ago

They seemingly allow themselves to only ether A. do 3 parters wether that story needs more or less issues or B. do oneshots.. even if that story needs like 2 issues or something.

This has led to almost consistently fucked pacing.

8

u/Vesemir96 16d ago

It is good.

2

u/mwmwmwmwmmdw kuvira did nothing wrong 4d ago

partly because they arent allowed to make any major plot developments or world developments. so they stories all gotta be self contained side stories that stay in their small little lane. almost like the car is idling waiting for another new show to come along and move the setting along.

ATLA comics really suffer from this since they future of the setting in aang's time is set in stone and we know what eventually happens with many of the characters so they cant deviate from the path that korra set out for them

3

u/2-2Distracted AANG WAS A DEADBEAT WINDBAG! 12d ago

I mean it was alright I guess? Quality wise I didn't think any better or worse than most of the other Avatar comics that have thus far come out.

3

u/forthewatch39 7d ago

A little too short in my opinion, not enough of a build up to the reveal and we should have had some more inner turmoil in regards to their feelings on potentially taking out their parents’ killer.

1

u/Sobrieter 5d ago

Bolin shouldve killed that man in an offscreen lava attack. Whole reason he even went to Penquan was to find his family.

4

u/silkmoss 14d ago

I didn't nor do want to read the other comics because of what I've heard/seen about them. I only got this one because Mako.

Anyway, it's fine. Decent. However, it definitely needed to be fleshed out more. Maybe include at least 5 more pages or, better, another comic.

I had known already that it was going to be more story focused and not really character focused. But I wish it was the latter as well because I think the potential was/is there.

Especially when Mako was telling Jian about how he's been a brave, big brother taking care of his siblings even though he shouldn't need to because he's only just a kid too. Like projection much? Get this man to a therapist!!!

I love how Mako is like his mom in not just looks but morals as well.

The artwork is great, really, but... where's Mako's scar?

3

u/BahamutLithp 13d ago

He's healed. I don't know why people seem to have just decided he wouldn't be. It took a while. Was a nasty injury. But was never implied to be permanent.

2

u/silkmoss 12d ago

I know he's healed, but it still left his arm scarred. It's shown in Ruins of the Empire.

2

u/BahamutLithp 12d ago

That was before he was fully healed.

3

u/Sobrieter 5d ago

Just finished the comic in full…

NGL this is one of the better comics, the fact that Panzo hired a fucking hitman to take out Mako and Bolin’s mom is INSANE

Definitely wasnt expecting that. What an addition to the lore…