There is so much background and landscape art in the LOK art books, which is probably my favorite thing about them. The artists have such a great grasp of color and lighting, and it really shines through in their landscape panels. Just beautiful.

The other thing that is so fascinating about these books, to me, is getting to see all the minuscule details that are so important and/or pretty, but all too often go unnoticed in the show. I also love re-watching the shows after reading the Art books and noting all the things I had missed before.

My one complaint is that I actually wish there was a little more text than there is in this series. It's about 2% text and info, which could probably be upped to at least 5%. I applaud them for making the book mostly about the art, but I like to read about some of the inspiration, inside stories, and making of.

The spirits were so whimsical and cute, when they weren't dark and creepy beyond all belief. I especially love the radish and grumpy carrot spirits!

**Yes, this is almost exactly the same review for this volume as for The Legend of Korra: The Art of the Animated Series Book Three: Change, as I had virtually the same thoughts about both of them.**

There is so much background and landscape art in the LOK art books, which is probably my favorite thing about them. The artists have such a great grasp of color and lighting, and it really shines through in their landscape panels. Just beautiful.

The other thing that is so fascinating about these books, to me, is getting to see all the minuscule details that are so important and/or pretty, but all too often go unnoticed in the show. I also love re-watching the shows after reading the Art books and noting all the things I had missed before.

My one complaint is that I actually wish there was a little more text than there is in this series. It's about 2% text and info, which could probably be upped to at least 5%. I applaud them for making the book mostly about the art, but I like to read about some of the inspiration, inside stories, and making of.

The spirits were so cute in this volume!!! And then there was this:

"What the world needed was to see what a hedgehog crossed with a tropical fruit might look like. Now we can all sleep a little easier at night."

Yes. Yes, we can.

First of all, it's not so much that I cheat on books with television, movies, and games. It's more like I'm in some kind of weird polyamorous relationship in which I love books, television, movies, and games equally. ...well, maybe not equally.

Anyway, here are some of the media I love beyond games.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe

As far as films go, I'm not the biggest fan. It's not that I don't like movies, it's that I prefer to see movies in the theater, but can't afford to do so very often. So while I keep up with franchises that I know I enjoy (Paranormal Activity, The Hunger Games, The Hobbit), I rarely take a chance on a new movie and just have to wait until I can get the DVD from the library or Redbox.

But when it comes to the MCU, I'm hooked. I don't feel the need to see every MCU movie in the theaters, but there are definitely some that I won't miss.

Above is a timeline of Phase 3 of the MCU. I know I'll be seeing Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1, and Avengers: Infinity War Part 2 in the theater (along with Avengers: Age of Ultron, which is part of Phase 2). But I can't say for sure yet whether I'm going to want to see Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, or Inhumans in the theaters. It depends on how convincing I find the trailers and fan/critic response. If I'm not head-over-heels in love with what I see, I'll just wait for the DVDs.

So what about you? What films, shows, and games do you enjoy when you're not reading? Or are you a strict reader with little interest in other media? Let me know in the comments below!

A few months ago, I finally sat down to watch Avatar: The Last Airbender, and in spite of my usual disappointment with media that gets a lot of hype, I was fairly impressed with the series. After finishing, I debated whether or not to go on to Korra right away or postpone it until after the series ended, as I prefer to watch shows in a single whole-series binge rather than joining one in-progress. But I was bored the other day and wanted something to watch... so why not give it a go?

I watched the entire first series in a single night, and after seeing all twelve episodes in back-to-back succession, I have to say that Air doesn't quite live up to The Last Airbender... but it's still pretty damn awesome. I think the biggest flaw is the switch to twelve episodes instead of twenty. Honestly, I feel like they didn't have enough time to flesh everything out because of the shortened season (it was originally intended to be a miniseries, apparently), so certain aspects ended up feeling rushed and/or too convenient, especially toward the end.

For example, we got to see Amon's start of darkness in the penultimate episode... but it only explained part of who he ultimately became. It completely failed to address how he went from an angry and overpowered teenager to a revolutionary so batshit insane as to consider metaphysical mutilation of the innocent--including  toddlers--as necessary "for the greater good".

As for Korra herself, she is an awesome character. Not only am I utterly thrilled to see a muscular tomboy character being treated as just as attractive as her beautiful and much more feminine romantic rival and friend, she's also a seriously strong personality with flaws that the writers aren't afraid of acknowledging. She's nearly a complete 180 from her previous incarnation, but she's just as interesting and capable.

I am surprised, however, to find myself not shipping her with any of her fellow characters. None at all. After seeing the first season, I've found--much to my surprise--that I prefer Mako/Asami. Even the prospect of a Mako/Korra/Bolin OT3 isn't working for me, and I have an absurd fondness for OT3s. I'm definitely interested to see where they take her romantic plotline in future seasons; I'd like to see her relationship with Mako end, but I also don't want to see her end the series without a love interest, given how much she subverts the typical idea of a female action hero. Were Korra more like Asami--slight build, beautiful face, sweet personality--I wouldn't mind her ending the series unattached; hell, I'd probably advocate it. But with Korra being the kind of character who, in many other series, would end up alone--No Guy Wants an Amazon, after all--I really want to see her get a long-term love interest outside of the already introduced love triangle.

On another note, I a bit disappointed by the genre shift between The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra. The swift industrialization of the Avatar 'verse honestly makes me sad, though it's an interesting and completely logical progression. I just vastly prefer high fantasy to urban fantasy, and if there are any sequels to come after Korra, I hardly think they're going to somehow de-industrialize. Then there's the main villain. Amon was seriously fucked up, and I was a bit surprised by just how dark they went. His entire modus operandi revolves around physically subduing his opponents so he can remove their magical abilities. It's like a mystical version of Harrison Bergeron, and it's unbelievably disturbing and vaguely genocidal, since his entire plan is to utterly rid the world of bending (by depowering the benders instead of killing them, but I'd argue that completely and utterly destroying a person's identity out of hatred is worse than simply letting them die as themselves). Then, of course, there's his early fight scene with Korra, which has the same kind of rapey undertones as Slade's fight with Raven in Birthmark. On the other hand, it being a rather mature plotline for an Nickelodeon show permitted them to deliver a super dark fate to both Amon and Tarrlok, and I was totally impressed.

So I'm really looking forward to the next three seasons and will be starting Spirits asap. I just have one final note to end this review...

How the fuck did this happen?

I think it's appropriate for me to start this review by saying that I'm a huge fan of "Avatar the Last Airbender", as well as its subsequent spin off series, "The Legend of Korra." So earlier this year when I was accepted to read a galley containing this very rare look at the behind the scenes of the show and collective art development, I jumped for joy. This is a stunning collection of reflections, backdrops, character designs and examinations of the art behind the first season of the show. I loved the full color pages as well as the progressive development and design of each of the characters. It gave a more intimate view of what went on behind the creation of the series, and it was nice to know the creator's intentions and reflections delving into this series, from beginning to the end of the subsequent season.

A must have for any collector who loves animation and especially for those who love Avatar and the Legend of Korra.

Overall score: 5/5 stars

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher.