Morgan (Airspeed Prime) here again to cover another Avatar  news panel. As ever I am not at the show, just covering it from home. That said both Kelly and Greg from the podcast are at NYCC this year, so at some point we will have some in-depth information about what went down at the panel.

Most of this post will be updates that I find online as the panel is happening, it will be updated in the days following the panel to make sure all of the information is accurate. NYCC 2016 Dark Horse Avatar Panel -First things first before the panel begins, what do we know will be covered vs what should be covered. We know that Korra comics will get a mention, though we do not know if we will get much more info on them than has already been revealed. People at the con have been told by the Dark Horse booth that Korra comics will get a mention. The panel description mentions ATLA and Avatar and doesn't mention Korra so I suspect that means we will get some update on where Avatar comics are going, which is needed as many people are worried North and South will be the last ATLA comic. The other issue heading in is that we really have no idea who is going to be on the panel outside of a Dark Horse Panel Moderator. Korra artist Irene Koh will not be there, Gene Yang won't, Mike is promoting his Rebel Genius book, but has not said if he will be there or not. Bryan has not said either way. I would guess that Bryan and maybe Mike will be surprise guests, but outside of that I am very unsure and because of this I am not really sure what to expect from the panel. There has to be news, but who is delivering that news? Here are 3 things I think should be addressed in the panel - Show off some of Irene Koh's art, outside of a small image she posted on twitter, we don't really have an idea for how the interior art will look since Heather Campbell did the cover image we have seen. I would want some character designs or maybe a sample panel or two, they need to get people excited about the new artist. I don't think they need to touch on the  plot much more than has been already, we are still 8 or so months out from release. -Talk about the plan for ATLA comics going forward. As I said above people are thinking North and South may be the last, they need to address what the plan is going forward. Is the next series focused on Azula, or are we getting that rumoured comic time-skip to spice things up going forward. -Talk about any other products/books coming. As of now the only Dark Horse Avatar/Korra books yet to be released are North and South Part 2 and 3 and Korra Turf Wars Part 1, 2 and 3. Are there more poster collections, colouring books, art books etc coming? Are they making any new statues/figurines or plushes? Avatar/Korra has become a very popular and successful license for Dark Horse I would assume they want to continue the trend of releasing more products than just the story content. Enough pre panel thoughts, everything from here on in the post will be live updates in order of what is happening at the panel.

Live Updates

-1 hour to go until the panel starts (5:15 PM EST). Only news so far is that it seems like Janet Varney (Voice of Korra) will be on the panel. Cool, but having seen so many interviews from her I am not massively confident in what she will add to this panel, I just hope her being there is not just to fill in time by asking her questions about the show she has been asked hundreds of times in post Book 4 interviews. -Ok so Dark Horse are now beginning to mention the panel on twitter. They say "We're talking Avatar: The Last Airbender AND The Legend of Korra w/ our friends @NickAnimation during Dark Horse Classified 5:15 (Room 1A18)" Very much highlighting the fact that none of the writers/artists are present. -Reminder as ever with these, only refresh this page every few minutes so as to not overload the site. The news rarely comes out super fast, there will be breaks as people upload images and type up what is happening. -30 minutes to go. Any predictions? -5 minutes until start time! -Kelly just confirmed that Janet Varney is at the panel, taking selfies apparently. -Lots of people missing out on a spot in the panel room it seems, guess ATLA/Korra still has all the hype. -Panel is Janet and 2 Dark Horse staff. Janet says she is there as a fan. Still no idea what to expect news-wise from this one. -They confirm straight off the bat that there will be new stuff never seen before later on in the panel. -A few more PR style comments about North and South Part 1 making the New York Times Bestseller list and about Nick working with Dark Horse as a family to make Avatar comics. -First pic in from Greg

-Going over the release dates for North and South Part 2 and 3 which we already know. January 25th and April 26th.

-According to Kelly they also added that North and South was nearly called Oil and Water, but was changed to North and South. this name fact gives us more hints about what is to come in Part 2 and 3 since Toph is arriving in the south on behalf of her father's company.

-They are currently talking about the Korra poster collection and ATLA colouring book. They are already out, I guess some people in the room may be unaware.

-Korra Colouring Book confirmed for July 2017, art by Jedd Henry who did the ATLA one.

-And here comes the pr speak non-answer about the Korra comics delays. "We needed to get it right. All of us feel passionately about this world". I am probably being a it harsh here, but it is not like they are going to mention what happened with Brittney Williams and the lack of communication for a year.

-Some Irene Koh art from the comic, looks like a double page spread, very nice

- More art

-Korra comic will have a new villain, all that was said is that it is a woman.

-Seems like Janet is trying to force the other panel members to reveal the name of the new villain, but they are not saying.

-Looks like we are into audience questions. First one is "Are Korra and Asami going to kiss?" the answer is "I think we can do that."

-Dark Horse just tweeted saying they are taking fan suggestions for future Korra comic stories. Not sure if this is going to lead to anything, if it is just at the panel or an online thing also.

-That seems to be it, the hour is up, no updates in a good few minutes. I suspect a few more little notes of info will come out once people come out of the panel and get their thoughts together.

-My initial impressions are that it was a pretty average panel. Korra colouring book announced, 3 pages of Irene Koh art and 2 slight hints at character plot stuff from the book. Probably the best we could have hoped for with this thrown together panel featuring none of the creative team members from either the ATLA or Korra books. Most disappointing aspect seems to be no reference at all to ATLA comics after North and South, meaning there was no ATLA announcement at the panel. -Some extra little bits. Korra comic will feature some Zhu Li and Varrick action and the Human/Spirit conflict mentioned previously seems to get the point of being a war over the Republic City portal, that is the big plot point for me.