«The Avatar Television Franchise: Storytelling, Identity, Trauma, Fandom and Reception provides an exceptionally eclectic collection of essays, approaching the series with a wide range of innovative methodological approaches. The result is a fascinating dive into varied thematic content across storytelling, identity, trauma, and fandom from multifaceted perspectives including feminism to posthumanism and beyond. A must read for those interested in mining the many different ways this series can be interpreted and what it might tell us about the world.»

Caroline Ruddell, Reader in Film and TV Divisional Lead for Production and Performance, Brunel Unive

«It is always cause for celebration when new academic scholarship on animated media announces its arrival, and even more so when the final outcome is of this quality and scope. The international and interdisciplinary range of scholars assembled here takes the reader confidently through the metaphors, myths, and meanings of Nickelodeon's successful media franchise, exploring how and why each series has garnered such critical and commercial acclaim via impressive examinations of individual episodes, narrative arcs, character relations, and key themes. This collection will undoubtedly become a central text not just for the sustained focus that it affords its primary case studies, but for the effective conclusions drawn throughout that hold wide-ranging implications for the study of popular animation, contemporary U.S. television, on-demand and streaming platforms, fan communities, and children's media culture more broadly.»

Christopher Holliday, Lecturer in Liberal Arts and Visual Cultures Education, King's College London,

«Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra are 2 of the most beloved contemporary animated television programs, with multifaceted characters, intricate storylines and a beautifully-rendered and morally complex world. It is only fitting that they deserve a scholarly treatment worthy of their complexity. The Avatar Television Franchise: Storytelling, Identity, Trauma and Fandom is that volume. The essays constitute a remarkable and thorough investigation into the franchise as situated across multiple disciplines. This book is highly recommended as a comprehensive resource for students, researchers and fans alike.»

Amy Ratelle, Strategic Research Development, Jackman Humanities Institute, University of Toronto, Ca