Let’s bend the elements with Aang and his friends! Created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, Avatar: The Last Airbender is an animated television series that aired between 2005 and 2008 on Nickelodeon.
It is set in an Asian-inspired fantasy world divided into nations based around the elements of water, earth, fire, and air. Some people from each nation, called “benders”, have the ability to control the element on which their nation is based by using telekinesis. But only the ‘Avatar’ can bend all four elements and is responsible for maintaining balance in the world.
At the start of the series, twelve-year-old Aang is the current Avatar and the sole survivor of the Air Nomads, and his friends Katara, Sokka and Toph as they strive to end the war that the Fire Nation is waging against the other nations, and to defeat Fire Lord Ozai before he conquers the world.
Though the animated series naturally ended after three seasons, this wasn’t the end of the Avatar Universe, or for Aang and his friends. Since then, it has become a media franchise spanning several adaptations, sequels, video games, books and, of course, comic books!
More specifically, the Avatar: The Last Airbender comics, published by Dark Horse, are an official continuation of the original Nickelodeon animated TV series. They explore events that took place during and after the series. Today, we take a closer look at all of these comics to help you read and collect them!
Avatar: The Last Airbender, Recent Updates and Info
Don’t miss any changes and releases! Here’s the recent information about the Avatar comics:
- Complete overhaul of the reading guide!
- The first issue of Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Kyoshi Warriors arrives in comic shops on May 6, 2026.
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – Fire and Family Treasury Library Edition will be released on June 9, 2026.
- Avatar: The Last Airbender Chibi Vol. 2 – Sokka’s Boomerang Class will be released on July 21, 2026
- Avatar Legends: Masters of the Elements Volume 1 will be released on July 21, 2026
Avatar: The Last Airbender Comics Collection
Note: Avatar: The Last Airbender is part of the Avatar Legends franchise. This name was given to the franchise only in 2021, but is used retroactively. You’ll find it written in almost everything now! Click here to go to our Very Simple Avatar: The Last Airbender Comics Chronological Order.
Avatar: The Last Airbender Short Stories
The first Avatar short stories were published in Nickelodeon Magazine and the Avatar: The Last Airbender DVD collections between 2001 and 2005. Since 2011, new short stories have been released for Free Comic Book Day. Dark Horse has reprinted these stories in anthology volumes also containing all-new short comics.
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Lost Adventures
An anthology of comics collecting out-of-print comics previously published in Nickelodeon Magazine and with the Airbender DVDs, plus over seventy brand-new comics pages. That’s twenty-six stories set in Airbender continuity:- Stories set during Book One (Water): Bee Calm, Water War, Don’t Blow It!, Relics, Fruit-Stand Freestyle
- Stories set during Book Two (Earth): Sleepbending, Lessons, Sokka the Avatar, Dirty Is Only Skin Deep, Divided We Fall, Reach for the Toph, It’s Only Natural, Going Home Again, The Bridge.
- Stories set during Book Three (Fire): Private Fire, Night Animals, Boys’ Day Out, Ember Island Arcade, Monster Slayer, Combustion Man on a Train, Swordbending, No Benders Allowed, Love Is a Battlefield, Dragon Days, Game Time, Bumi vs. Toph, Round One
- Bonus Stories (Non-canon): New Recruits, Gym Time
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – Team Avatar Tales
One-shot anthology comics collecting stories depicting unseen events during and after the series, including The Substitute, Sokka’s Poem, Toph and The Boulder, Origami, The Scarecrow. Rebound, Shells, and Sisters were previously released for Free Comic Book Day. - Avatar Legends: Masters of the Elements Volume 1 [2026]
Collects short stories from beyond the confines of a single Avatar Cycle, including the previously published during FCBD Beach Wars, Team Toph: Lost and Found and Ramen Rumble. And more stories!
For the moment, the “Matcha Makers” story released in 2021 as part of Free Comic Book Day is still uncollected.
Library and Omnibus Edition!
The short stories have been reprinted in an oversized hardcover library edition
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Lost Adventures and Team Avatar Tales Library Edition
Collects short stories from The Lost Adventures and Team Avatar Tales, and includes the work of fan-favorite creators in a hardcover volume. - Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Lost Adventures and Team Avatar Tales Omnibus
- Collects short stories from The Lost Adventures and Team Avatar Tales, and includes the work of fan-favorite creators in a softcover volume.
Avatar: The Last Airbender Graphic Novel Trilogies
What happened to Aang and his friends after the Hundred Year War? Dark Horse explores the years after the conclusion of the television series with trilogies (and stand-alone – see below!) graphic novels!
The Promise — Set mainly one year after the conclusion of the original series, the Promise trilogy recounts the adventures of Avatar Aang and his friends in the aftermath of the Hundred Year War.
- Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise, Part 1
- Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise, Part 2
- Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise, Part 3
The Search — What happened to Fire Lord Zuko’s mother? Finding a clue at last, Zuko enlists the aid of Team Avatar—and the most unlikely ally of all—to help uncover the biggest secret of his life.
- Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Search, Part 1
- Avatar: The Last Airbender; The Search, Part 2
- Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Search, Part 3
The Rift — Avatar Aang and friends honor an Air Nomad holiday that hasn’t been celebrated in over one hundred years. But when cryptic visits from the spirit of Avatar Yangchen lead Aang to a refinery operating on land sacred to the Airbenders, they soon find themselves in peril as a dangerously powerful ancient spirit awakens with vengeance and destruction on its mind!
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Rift, Part 1
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Rift, Part 2
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Rift, Part 3
Smoke and Shadow — The Fire Nation is threatened by a prophecy told by the Kemurikage, mysterious figures thought only to exist in legend: remove Zuko from the throne, or the country will perish!
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – Smoke and Shadow, Part 1
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – Smoke and Shadow, Part 2
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – Smoke and Shadow, Part 3
North and South — When Katara and Sokka return home to the Southern Water Tribe, they are shocked to find that it has gone from a small village to a bustling city! Malina, a Northerner, is behind the change and plans to unify the Water Tribes, but Gilak, a Southerner, leads a fierce rebellion to stop her. In the face of these two opposing tribes, Katara will have to make peace with her nostalgia and mistrust to save the home she loves from being permanently torn apart.
- Avatar: The Last Airbender–North and South, Part 1
- Avatar: The Last Airbender–North and South, Part 2
- Avatar: The Last Airbender–North and South, Part 3
Imbalance — When Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph return to Earthen Fire Industries – the factory owned by Toph’s father – Aang is surprised when their arrival is met with a cold shoulder. As soon as the team is asked for help at a business council meeting, the reason for the slight becomes clear: a massive bender-versus-non-bender conflict has gripped the town and is threatening to turn violent.
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – Imbalance, Part 1
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – Imbalance, Part 2
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – Imbalance, Part 3
Library and Omnibus Edition!
All of those stories have been reprinted in the Library Edition, a comic book series from Dark Horse Comics that brings together three parts of a story in one book. The books are hardbacks with page-by-page sidebar commentary by Gene Yang and the Gurihiru team, which is exclusive to this edition as far as I know.
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Promise Library Edition
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Search Library Edition
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Rift Library Edition
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – Smoke and Shadow Library Edition
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – North and South Library Edition
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – Imbalance Library Edition
For a lower price, the Omnibus edition also collects the three parts of a story in one book, but with a softcover (a cover that can bend).
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Promise Omnibus
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Search Omnibus
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Rift Omnibus
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – Smoke and Shadow Omnibus
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – North and South Omnibus
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – Imbalance Omnibus
A box set of omnibuses consisting of the complete stories written by Gene Luen Yang and with art by Gurihiru, created in collaboration with series creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, was released in 2025:
- Avatar: The Last Airbender Omnibus Boxed Set
Collects The Promise, The Search, The Rift, Smoke and Shadow, and North and South
Avatar: The Last Airbender Standalone graphic novels
Avatar: The Last Airbender continues to expand, but with those standalone graphic novels that explore unseen events during and after the series.
- Katara and the Pirate’s Silver
The story follows Katara as she gets separated from the rest of Team Avatar during the events of Book Two: Earth. - Suki, Alone
The story Suki as a prisoner in the Boiling Rock prison during the events of Book Three: Fire. - Toph Beifong’s Metalbending Academy
Toph discovers something that just might put the sparkle back in her eye. Set after the events of The Rift - Avatar: The Last Airbender—Azula in the Spirit Temple
Azula continues her destabilizing campaign against the Fire Nation and her brother, Fire Lord Zuko. Set after Smoke and Shadow. - The Bounty Hunter and the Tea Brewer
Standalone graphic novel centered on June and Iroh, set after the short story “Matcha Makers.” - Avatar: The Last Airbender – Ashes of the Academy
Kiyi, half-sister to Fire Lord Zuko, enrolls at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls! Set before Imbalance. - Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Kyoshi Warriors [2026]
A brand-new tale of the Kyoshi Warriors told across three monthly single-issue comics. The size of the story seems to be close to a standalone graphic novel, with the difference of being release in three issues and not directly into a trade paperback.
Library Edition!
Dark Horse Comics brought together those stand alone story in two oversized hardcover books, as part of the Library Edition.
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – Team Avatar Treasury Library Edition
Collects the standalone comics stories Katara and the Pirate’s Silver, Toph’s Metalbending Academy and Suki, Alone in one oversized hardcover and includes exclusive commentary from the creators! - Avatar: The Last Airbender – Fire and Family Treasury Library Edition [2026]
collects the standalone comics stories Azula in the Spirit Temple, The Bounty Hunter and the Tea Brewer, and Ashes of the Academy. Featuring cover art from Peter Wartman as well as a bonus sketchbook section.
More Avatar: The Last Airbender Comics
Chibi — Avatar adventures for little fans! The following comics are chibi, or stories specifically for very young readers.
- Avatar: The Last Airbender Chibi Vol. 1 – Aang’s Unfreezing Day
Aang doesn’t know his own birthday date. Luckily, his friends Katara, Toph, Sokka, and Zuko have a plan to surprise him with a new special day to celebrate. But they’ll have to be careful while they prepare–it’s a surprise! A preview for the graphic novel was released in Free Comic Book Day 2022: Avatar The Last Airbender/The Legend Of Korra. - Avatar: The Last Airbender Chibi Vol. 2 – Sokka’s Boomerang Class [2026]
Sokka gets teased sometimes for being the only non-bender on Team Avatar. But he has his own special talent: throwing a boomerang! With some prodding, Aang, Katara, Toph, and Zuko join Sokka for a day of “Boomerang School” that’s full of surprises!
Zuko’s Story — Graphic novel prequel focuses on Zuko, detailing the years between his banishment and the reappearance of the Avatar.It has been released as a tie-in for the 2010 movie, but it still fits pretty well inside the canon (thanks to Somebody in the comments!)
Screen Comix — Comics retelling the original series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, with full-color images and dialogue from the series, published by Random House.
- Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 1: Water Volume 1
- Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 1: Water Volume 2
- Zuko Finds His Way
- The Power of Toph
Avatar: The Last Airbender Novels
Chronicles of the Avatars – a series of novels chronicling the lives of previous Avatars.
- The Dawn of Yangchen
- The Legacy of Yangchen
- The Rise of Kyoshi
- The Shadow of Kyoshi
- The Reckoning of Roku
- The Awakening of Roku
Bending Academy – a new series of children’s books set in the world of Avatar Legends
- Light It Up! (Avatar Legends Bending Academy: Fire #1)
Covers the exploits of a group of children who take part in a bending tournament during the era of Szeto.
Avatar Legends series – A new series launched this year. No details beyond the first book.
- Avatar Legends: City of Echoes (Volume 1) [2026]
Focusing on the life of Jin during the Hundred Year War
Avatar: The Last Airbender, a Simple Comics Chronological Order
This is not an exhaustive chronological order, but a simplified one that offers a beginner-friendly comics reading order with minimal interruption. Rather than providing a detailed timeline for the placement of each short story, it provides information on where the trilogies, stand-alones, and anthologies fit. This part of the guide does not include the books, as most of them are prequels that new readers can read at any time once they are a little bit familiar with the universe.
The Avatar: Last Airbender. A few stand-alone stories and short stories are set during the television series (a season is referred as a book). Here’s a simple order with those stories as a companion to the animated series.
- The Avatar: The Last Airbender Book One.
- The Avatar: The Last Airbender Book Two.
- Katara and the Pirate’s Silver — Stand-alone graphic novel set between “Bitter Work” (2.09) and “The Library” (2.10).
- The Avatar: The Last Airbender Book Three.
- Suki, Alone — Stand-alone graphic novel set from “Appa’s Lost Days” (2.16) to “The Boiling Rock” (3.14).
- The Lost Adventures — Anthology comics of stories set during the television series.
After the television series…
- The Promise — A graphic novel trilogy.
- The Search — A graphic novel trilogy.
- The Rift — A graphic novel trilogy.
- Toph Beifong’s Metalbending Academy — stand-alone graphic novel set after The Rift.
- Smoke and Shadow — A graphic novel trilogy.
- North and South — A graphic novel trilogy.
- Azula in the Spirit Temple — stand-alone graphic novel set after Smoke and Shadow.
- Toph Beifong’s Metalbending Academy — stand-alone graphic novel set after the events of The Rift.
- The Bounty Hunter and the Tea Brewer— stand-alone graphic novel.
- Ashes of the Academy — stand-alone graphic novel.
- Imbalance — A graphic novel trilogy.
- Team Avatar Tales — Anthology comics of stories set at various points up to Imbalance.
