A nice little comic treat for Kya from 'The Legend of Korra'.
Avatar or not - a child of the Avatar or not - trauma of all kinds is real, and felt by everyone affected by it from all sides, levels and layers, whether they consciously realise it or not. History, including all of its human travesties and pain, needs to be passed down, and shared openly and honestly - for learning, for healing, for progress, to begin earnestly, within and without. As a support group and community, for no one should suffer alone.
One of the lessons to take away from 'Kya and the Secret of the Sand'* is: Stop ongoing corruption and the aftereffects of war. Pick up the pieces, and heal as best you can, externally and internally. And uncover the truths deliberately left buried, figuratively and literally. It won't be easy - it never is - but your efforts will be worth it some day.
Just because a war is over in favour of the "good guys"'s side (for no one truly wins in war - it shouldn't have happened in the first place, and it only leaves behind mass death and devastation), it doesn't mean the work is done, and it's all happily-ever-after onwards. It's not that simple. Leave no stone (or dune) unturned; no trace of a fascist regime unchecked, and left to carry on and continue to make people suffer, in the hands and in the pockets of the rich and privileged.
I like this one. I like these 'Avatar' and 'Korra' comics that give the spotlight to female characters who were otherwise underutilised in their respective shows, such as Suki in 'Suki, Alone'.
Indeed, Kya is more than just the daughter of Aang and Katara, and the middle child of her family. In 'The Secret of the Sand', Kya is as great a young waterbending healer as she is an elderly waterbending master.
In a snippet of her past, she's a wide-eyed, optimistic healer and teacher - a doctor, professor and missionary, basically - wanting to help people in places unfamiliar to her - in this case, the deserts and outskirts of the Earth Kingdom, among the recruited and unfairly reviled and stigmatised sandbenders. Above all, she wants to find herself; her identity outside of being a child of Avatar Aang, who saved the world. (Also, she's moving on from her first heartbreak, possibly connected to her queer awakening).
I like that both the writing and the art don't make Kya into a clone of her mother. The comic makes sure that we know she is her own separate, independent character, and a likeable, loving, altruistic heroine worth rooting for, as she roots out (sorrynotsorry) just a part of the grand scale, systematic corruption at the Earth Kingdom that's been going on for generations. Slight spoiler, but it's to do with draught, and restricted water access - life source access - for people everywhere. It's about governments limiting resources for survival (or not), depending on class, of course.
Kya is a waterbender and master healer, so this task suits her in many ways. She will have to overcome inner, spiritual conflict and blockage (the story's use of metaphor is not lost on me) on this coming-of-age adventure. And she has other women by her side as comrades and friends, to face this man-made-and-led, rotten system head on.
There is more to the comic than that, crammed into its seventy pages. This lies at the problem of it being too short to show and explore everything its writer, Kiku Hughes, no doubt wanted to, and much further.
But for what it is, it's okay. It's cute.
One area it doesn't explore to its full potential is Kya's budding sexuality - that aspect of her character is not made explicit, only implied. It is subtle, with no words (none are needed?); specifically in her relationship with her female sandbending partner, named Tsetseg, a largely ostracised recluse who ends up teaching her so much, about the Earth Kingdom deserts, her people's forgotten history, and Kya's inner peace and limitless bending possibilities.
Tsetseg's family has suffered greatly, and not only during the hundred years war, but they survived. They always survive. She has brilliant lines such as: "[...] the Earth Kingdom think that strength only comes from immovability. They think that's what a mountain is. But we know that strength also comes from the ability to adapt. To become something new while remaining yourself. It's not easy to do." and "Stealing people's land, their water, their families--that's all any kingdom is."
I hope Kya and Tsetseg did meet again, at the very least.
There is also the moment where Kya is settling in in her camp base, her healing teacher's quarters, and she places her family picture on her desk... then she puts it back in her bag. This is never brought up again. Is it a sign of her independence? But she never wanted to cut herself off from her family, since despite growing up with a significant amount of pressure and expectation, she still loves them, so... why no coming back to that? It could have added more to her character development. It's yet another aspect to her that's left by the wayside - by the blocked waterslide.
Like nearly every 'Avatar' and 'Korra' comic, 'Kya and the Secret of the Sand' could have benefitted from being longer and more developed. Gimme more!
But I remain liking Kya and this little story, from when she was a young woman, finding and healing herself, and fully experiencing a queer awakening in the process. Just like Korra. (No Asami here either, sadly.)
Hooray for Kya, the lesbian waterbending master and healer!
Related is my review of 'Suki, Alone', which can be found here.
Final Score: 3.5/5