Does the series live up to The Last Airbender in story? Probably not. But in art? Definitely so.

Creative Staff:
Editor: Dave Marshall
Creators/Commentary: Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Joaquim Dos Santos

What They Say:
Step into the vibrant and richly detailed world of “The Legend of Korra Book Three: Change” by famed creators Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, and Joaquim Dos Santos! The creative process behind the series is revealed! Discover beautiful artwork, creator commentary, and never-before-seen content that gives you a unique insider look at the third season of one of television’s most cherished series!

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Joaquim Dos Santos love their jobs. Throughout this art book, their captions of concepts, storyboards, and backgrounds illustrate that the three have a great love for their work–and perhaps this can account for why their work succeeds so well. Of course, ever since Legend of Korra’s first airing of Book 1, fans have reacted with polarizing opinions: many love it, and many others hate it for its deviance from what made The Last Airbender such an outstanding story. Regardless of whether LoK succeeds in terms of its story, you can’t deny the richness of its design and animation; where LoK has always succeeded is in its detailed universe full of vibrant characters and locations. The result is a visual aesthetic that both the hardcore LoK fan and the lukewarm viewer can appreciate.

The art book itself is arranged by chapters, with each chapter mirroring each episode within the series. Of course, introductions by the creators and a few extra art pieces frame the main content, but otherwise, not much attention is given to the series or to Book 3 from a holistic perspective. This makes sense, in that a Book 4 art book will no doubt release in the near future, in which the creators may have space to reflect upon the entire series, but more commentary from a broader Book 3 vantage point would have helped to cement the content fully. Furthermore, the book lacks in “never-before-seen content”: most of what you see here is already mentioned in the episodes themselves.

Still, these complaints feel slight in lieu of the amount of effort expended to make this art book an excellent viewing experience. Once more, I am impressed with LoK visually. From up-close, the artwork showcases its finesse: I was particularly taken aback by the storyboards, which show a superb knowledge of the animation craft. Furthermore, the creators’ comments reveal the talents of the various people involved. I knew from my first LoK viewing experience that the artists put a great deal of thought into small details of the show, but until I read through this art book, I never knew just in what ways. A good example is a series of pages depicting background characters–citizens of Ba Sing Se from the lower class, middle class, and upper class rings. Not only does each background character look individualistic in design and full of personality, but the artists put a great deal of consideration into what makes a lower-class character look and feel different from an upper-class character. Socio-economic differences don’t even play a too-large role in Book 3, and yet these considerations give the LoK world an engrossing realism. As such, the appeal of these artists’ world-building is undeniable: their creativity and enthusiasm bursts out from the page again and again.

In Summary:
The art of Book 3 will impress and entertain anyone, even those familiar with Legend of Korra but far behind in watching the series (although careful of those stray spoilers, particularly around the last episode/chapter). While the book focuses upon LoK’s art and design episode by episode, a broader perspective of art/design decisions is lacking–perhaps on purpose, given that a Book 4 art book is in the making and may take said perspective. Despite this, the book delivers on its promise of an insider’s look at beautiful artwork, and as such, I highly recommend it to all Avatar and animation fans alike.

Grade: A-

Age Rating: All Audiences
Released By: Dark Horse
Release Date: January 27th, 2015
MSRP: $34.99