Avatar The Last Airbender -- Toph Beifong's Metalbending Academy Announced

The story of Avatar: The Last Airbender continues in the next graphic novel sequel from Dark Horse Comics. Avatar: The Last Airbender — Toph Beifong's Metalbending Academy will place the spotlight on fan-favorite Team Avatar character Toph Beifong, self-proclaimed greatest earthbender of all time and inventor of the art of metalbending, when it releases in February 2021. Since the end of the Hundred Year War, Toph has been headmaster of a school dedicated to teaching metalbending. The new graphic novel catches up with her as she begins to grow tired of her teacher's life, with Sokka and Suki arriving to liven things up with new adventure.

Avatar: The Last Airbender -- Toph Beifong's Metalbending Academy is written by Faith Erin Hicks (The Nameless City) in consultation with Tim Hedrick, who wrote for the original Avatar television series. Peter Wertman draws the book, with colors by Adele Matera. Here's the official synopsis:

"Things are looking bright at the Beifong Metalbending Academy! But after all the adventures Toph's had with Aang, Sokka, Zuko, and Katara, the whole thing feels a bit dull. Luckily, Sokka and Suki come to visit and reintroduce some familiar faces from their wandering days. And while out and about to celebrate, Toph discovers something that just might put the sparkle back in her eye…"

Dark Horse has published new Avatar: The Last Airbender stories, the official continuation of the television show's story, since 2012. Most of those stories were released a graphic novel trilogies about Avatar Aang's post-war efforts to restore balance to the world. Toph Beifong's Metalbending Academy is the second to break from that tradition, following Avatar: The Last Airbender -- Katara and the Pirate's Silver, from the same creative team, which releases in October. Both of these latest installments are standalone stories that shift the focus from Aang to his allies.

Avatar: The Last Airbender has seen a resurgence in popularity since coming to Netflix during the pandemic. That provided old fans the perfect opportunity to revisit the series and for newcomers to discover why it has had such a lasting impact. The Dark Horse Comics graphic novels continue the story of Team Avatar following the television series' conclusion, filling in some of the time between that show and its successor, The Legend of Korra, about which Dark Horse also publishes continuation comics. The Legend of Korra also lands on Netflix in August (and is available to stream now on CBS All Access).

Avatar will also receive the live-action television treatment via Netflix, with fans hoping it turns out better than M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender movie. Series creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko are executive producers on the live-action remake.

Are you excited about Avatar: The Last Airbender -- Toph Beifong's Metalbending Academy? Let us know in the comments. Avatar: The Last Airbender -- Toph Beifong's Metalbending Academy goes on sale February 16, 2021, and is available to pre-order now.