Comic Review: Avatar: Tsu’Tey’s Path #2

Avatar: Tsu’Tey’s Path #2

Dark Horse Comics

Writer: Sherri L. Smith

Artists: Jan Duursema and Wes Dzioba

With all the trends that have come and gone since the release of James Cameron’s Avatar, it’s not surprising that the decidedly average blockbuster has ceased to be relevant. Unfortunately, the Dark Horse comic Avatar: Tsu’Tey’s Path isn’t reviving interest in the property. At least for this reviewer. The 2^nd issue continues the adventures of the titular Na’Vi warrior. When he isn’t training up and coming hunters, he’s sulking about newcomer Jake Sully, or conversing with his dead lover. So far the comic has failed to offer any new insights on the events of Avatar or even develop Tsu’Tey in any real way.

Even two issues in, the comic’s story already feels repetitive. It’s wisely sparse when it comes to scenes taken directly from the film but the world building that dominates so much of the book isn’t really new. The comic has a chance to introduce some real substance to the barely developed world of Avatar. Instead, it opts for conversations around campfires and luminescent flora, the dry dialogue peppered with Na’Vi phrases. As I discussed in the last review, Avatar doesn’t exactly give this comic a whole lot to work with. Once you remove these plot elements from the context a multi-million dollar film production, their absurdity becomes more apparent. Scenes like the young Na’Vi hunters taming horse-like Pa’Li feels a little too much like a Masters of the Universe commercial.

Jan Duursema has a very unique, effective style but it doesn’t mesh well with Avatar’s admittedly limited aesthetic. The backgrounds, almost exclusively of Pandora’s sprawling jungles, look too flat. Additionally, the Na’Vi themselves don’t feel alien enough and are difficult to tell apart. The faces aren’t great either and they undermine the comic’s attempts at emotional moments. All of this rarely came up in the dozens of Star Wars comics Duursema drew or her more recent work. Wes Dzioba’s colors are also less than desirable and fail to capture the distinct, dizzying appearance Pandora’s jungles had in the movie. Avatar compensated for its lacking narrative with revolutionary visuals and that’s a trick Tsu’Tey’s Path has yet to repeat.

As harsh as I might be on the film and this comic, Avatar’s universe is far from empty. Tsu’Tey’s Path could have easily explored the other tribes of Na’Vi, their history, or their first contact with humanity. But maybe those themes have already been seized by James Cameron’s four planned sequels. Issue #2 of this comic failed to improve upon the dull narrative the first issue established. Considering it’s already halfway finished, it looks as though Tsu’Tey’s Path will meet an abrupt, inglorious end, similar to the warrior’s fate in the film.