What a pleasant read. I know people in the Avatar fandom community have been screaming for a Suki comic, and we finally got one. If you watched Avatar: The Last Airbender, in the heartbreaking episode about Appa's lost days, Suki and the Kyoshi Warriors found him around the same time Azula ambushed the camp. There was a short scene where Azula and Suki went head to head in a fight. Several episodes later, Suki is a prisoner at the Boiling Rock, Fire Nation's comparable Alcatraz. This story takes place during her time there.
"Suki is captured by the Fire Nation and brought to the Boiling Rock, a grim prison in the middle of a dormant volcano. Separated from Team Avatar and her Kyoshi Warrior sisters, she decides to build her own community among other prisoners. But it's going to take more than an encouraging word to build trust among so many frightened people. Suki will need to draw on all her resources to do it, and even that might not be enough."
I have been dying to learn more about Suki. It always seemed like the show and comics would brush up on her origins, but they never did it. Suki, Alone still doesn't touch her origin story, but we do see where her philosophies take root with flashbacks. While she wants to follow the Kyoshi traditions, she struggles to keep her "community" together. She means well, but I think she's a little naïve to think everyone will be on board with her plans to better the world. I think she suffers from an accurate life quote, "I sometimes forget people don't think like me."
I like that imprisoned Suki never gave up hope. She stuck to her mantras and shared resources with other inmates hoping to make them more robust for the bigger fight. She never forgot the cause. When Suki started to lose hope, her guardian angel came and reminded her that she was not alone. I also absolutely loved the ending. But I won't spoil it.
[Sidebar spoiler alert] - It would have been a nice touch to see her frenemy's face once she realized Suki ended up breaking out of the prison later on in the Avatar episodes, but a girl could dream.
Overall I gave this comic a 5-star rating. The ATLA comic ratings have been all over the place for me since The Search, but this one deserved it. I think Suki, Alone fits and flows nicely into the story. Not bad for a backstory!
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