Avatar:The Bounty Hunter and the Tea Brewer

"The world is different now. Everything has changed, including the people in it. But I'm starting to see that isn't a bad thing. Former Fire Nation generals can become tea shop owners. Spies can reinvent themselves as the head of a powerful tea cartel. And bounty hunters... And bounty hunters can find a place they call home, with people they call family."

— June to Keung.

<infobox theme-source="nation"> <image source="image" /> <title source="name"><default>The Bounty Hunter and the Tea Brewer</default></title> <group> <header>Creative</header> <label>Story by</label> <label>Art by</label> <label>Coloring by</label> <label>Lettering by</label> </group> <group> <header>Publication</header> <label>Issue</label> <label>Publisher</label> <label>Date of publication</label> <label>ISBN</label> <label>Series</label> <label>Pages</label> <label>Last comic</label> <label>Next comic</label> </group> <navigation></navigation> <header>Image gallery (3)</header> </infobox> The Bounty Hunter and the Tea Brewer is a standalone graphic novel set in the Avatar universe, centered on June and Iroh. In consultation with Avatar Studios, the book was written by Faith Erin Hicks, drawn by Peter Wartman, and colored by Adele Matera. Initially planned for release on May 15, 2024, it was repeatedly delayed until release on August 20, 2024.

Overview

Deliveries to Uncle Iroh's tea house, the Jasmine Dragon, have dried up! Further complicating Iroh's life, a familiar face – the bounty hunter June – has captured him in hopes of a payday large enough to set her and Nyla up for life. Who hired June, and what do they want with the former Dragon of the West? In an epic trek across the Earth Kingdom, Iroh must confront a part of his past while June considers her future, but however things go...someone's got to free the tea!

Synopsis

Within the Jasmine Dragon tea shop in Ba Sing Se, owner Iroh and waitress Feng greet a pair of travelers who enter the establishment. After being served, the travelers admit that besides wanting tea, they had also come to the tea shop to meet Iroh, knowing him as one of the people who helped Avatar Aang end the Hundred Year War. They ask him to tell them about his past, but Iroh politely declines with the claim that the part of his life they speak of is long over, before the conversation is interrupted by the sound of a protestor complaining about Iroh's presence in the city outside of the tea shop. Iroh attempts to reason with the protestor, but the man expresses outrage that Iroh should be allowed to live in Ba Sing Se after he once tried to destroy it. The travelers, Feng and other citizens back Iroh, stating that the War is over and that Iroh has made amends for his past, and the protestor runs away. A hooded woman watches the scene from around the corner of a nearby building.

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Feng warns Iroh about their tea supplies.

After the Jasmine Dragon closes for the day, Feng warns Iroh that their tea supplies are running low, and that the deliveries from their merchants have been irregular over the past few weeks. She adds that other tea shops in the city have been experiencing the same issues, and Iroh states that he will investigate the matter, not wanting his customers to be denied their tea. After Feng leaves however, Iroh is attacked by the hooded woman from earlier; the woman reveals herself to be June, and states she has come to collect a large bounty on Iroh's head. The two briefly fight, before June subdues Iroh by blowing powdered shirshu venom into his face, rendering him unconscious.

When Iroh awakens, he finds himself lying on the back of June's shirshu mount Nyla with his hands bound, with the three of them moving through the wilderness surrounding Ba Sing Se. Reasoning that the two of them are traveling companions, Iroh asks June about her client and destination, but June refuses to answer his questions. In response, Iroh starts loudly singing a love song, irritating June and Nyla enough that she agrees to answer one question in exchange for his silence. Iroh again asks for their destination, and June answers that it is Daxia Harbor, a former Fire Nation colony and one of the few remaining places a bounty hunter can make a decent living. Iroh recognizes the location, noting it has a reputation for black market dealings, and is also supposedly a place where some of the rarest tea leaves in the world can be found. He asks June who in Daxia put a bounty on him, but June reminds him she only agreed to answer one question.

Voicing a guess that June's client is a figure from his past, Iroh states that he is prepared to face them. He then apologizes to June for taking advantage of her accidental paralysis to snuggle up to her when the two of them were helping Zuko hunt Aang; June hesitantly replies that she will consider accepting his apology, before the three of them find themselves intercepted by a group of four men. June identifies the quartet as Yuze and the Viper-Bats, former bounty hunters who began capturing other bounty hunters for the Earth Kingdom following the end of the Hundred Year War. She denounces the group as traitors, but Yuze and the Viper-Bats reply that they need to make a living, and that bounty hunting is no longer as profitable as it used to be. Yuze then offers to let June join his gang, but she refuses.

Sitting on Nyla, Iroh unleashes a breath of flame to repel Yuze and his mercenaries to save June.

June's refusal prompts Yuze and his men to attack her. June dismounts from Nyla to fight them, but is soon overpowered; she is saved when Iroh and Nyla come to her aid, Iroh scaring off the treacherous bounty hunters with a great breath of flame. June acknowledges Iroh's help, but insists on collecting his bounty regardless, and Iroh agrees to travel with her if she tells him who her client is. Agreeing, June explains that she was hired by the leader of the Wuyi Tea Cartel, a group that operates out of Daxia and controls a large part of the Earth Kingdom's tea trade, to the extent that Iroh may have been unknowingly buying the Jasmine Dragon's tea supplies through them. Hearing this, Iroh comments that they could be responsible for his supply issues, and that traveling to Daxia could allow him to both solve that problem and resolve matters between himself and June's client. After listening to this and confirming that Iroh will not run off on her, June undoes his shackles and allows him to travel unbound.

As the two of them travel on Nyla, Iroh asks June if life for bounty hunters has really become hard enough to cause them to turn on each other, to which June replies that the War's end and reforms initiated by Earth King Kuei have led to many of her past clients dropping her. She remarks that the world has become more civilized and less fun to her, before stating that she will never sell out other bounty hunters, even the Viper-Bats. Iroh questions whether she would consider retirement, but June scoffs at the idea of staying in one place and seeing the same people every day, explaining that her father was a bounty hunter himself, and the two of them traveled the world together.

June's mother stays behind so that her lover and daughter can flee.

Iroh remarks that June must have had an exciting childhood, causing the bounty hunter to recall a memory from her youth. In the memory, a young June asks her parents to tell her her favorite story, which turns out to be the story of how the couple met. As the parents explain, June's mother was a thief who stole from rich Earth Kingdom nobles and gave away most of her takings to the poor, seeing it as a way of making things a little more equal. In time, she was captured by a group of elite Earth Kingdom soldiers sent by the nobles, one of whom was June's father. This man, judging what happened to the thief to be an injustice, freed her from her imprisonment, and the two of them fell in love afterwards. After June's father concludes the story, the soldiers who once hunted June's mother arrive at the door to the family's home and announce their presence. June's mother tells the father to escape with June while she remains behind to distract the soldiers; the father protests, but June's mother explains that because of his betrayal, they will treat him more harshly than her should they capture him. She urges him to go and make sure that June grows up free; he does just that, fleeing over the rooftops with June on his back.

As the memory concludes, June remarks to Iroh that her childhood was indeed "very exciting", before explaining that as per her father's principles, the two of them refused to do jobs for government authorities and owed allegiance to no-one. Iroh asks if the two of them really had no place they called home, but June dismisses the idea of home as simply being stuck in one place. Iroh agrees that having a home can make life more routine, but counters that it can also allow a person to develop relationships, make friends and find family. In reply, June states that Nyla is all the family she needs, something Iroh is happy to hear.

Daxia Harbor in the Hu Xin Provinces, located by a small bay.

After a few days of travel, June and Iroh arrive at Daxia Harbor. They are forced to leave Nyla in a stable on the city's outskirts before heading into the city proper, whereupon Iroh notices a group of criminal types nearby and comments that elements of the Hundred Year War still remain. June replies that the majority of the city's residents are criminals, but they have little use for bounty hunters, and pay too little to interest her on the occasions they do need one. The two then travel on towards a market area, June explaining that independent suppliers sell their own tea blends there despite the Wuyi Cartel's near monopoly. The mention of tea blends causes Iroh to become distracted and rush off to the stalls, much to June's exasperation.

As June tries to draw Iroh's attention back to the task at hand, the two of them are approached by an old acquaintance of June's named Fan, who explains that she is in the city to sell her farm's produce. Recalling Fan to be a bounty hunter, June asks what happened to her crew - Cat-Owl Kinmei, Shifty Shu-Hui and Wicked Wei - who Fan reveals to be working alongside her and co-owners of the farm, much to June's bemusement. Seeing June's reaction, Fan teases her over her apparent surprise at "the toughest bounty hunters in the Earth Kingdom" working as farmers, before admitting that it took the group a couple of years to adjust to their new way of living. She gives June and Iroh some of her farm's product as a gift, and encourages June to pay a visit to the farm later on.

Before June can reply to the request, Fan notices thugs hired by the Wuyi Cartel extorting the merchants for protection money, with June and Iroh expressing disdain at this. Fan assures June that the Wuyi Cartel is not her problem, before insisting that the bounty hunter visit her at the farm before leaving the city. June half-heartedly agrees to do so, before she and Iroh continue on. As the two of them continue through the streets, Iroh remarks to June that seeing Fan and her old crew reminded him of how much his own life had changed, recalling how he used to be a patriotic Fire Nation general when he was young, but then found joy in becoming the owner of the Jasmine Dragon. He adds that the change allowed him to share in the community of Ba Sing Se, and even allowed him to find a girlfriend in Li-Mei, before concluding that good things can come from being rooted to a single place.

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The Wuyi Tea Cartel is operated from a large walled compound, with guards stationed at the entrance.

Following this conversation, Iroh and June arrive at a walled compound that serves as the Wuyi Cartel's headquarters. As the two of them are escorted to the compound's main building by the cartel's guards, June warns Iroh that the Wuyi Cartel are dangerous people, before admitting that his earlier guess about her client being a figure from his past was right; the cartel's leader has a grudge against the former general. Iroh comments on how he will at least be able to solve the mystery that has brought him to Daxia, and the guards open the door to the main building. By now, June has gained a degree of reluctance in regards to her contract, but she quietly reminds herself that she needs the money from it, and she and Iroh enter the building. They find themselves in a tea storage area, where they are greeted by June's client and the head of the Wuyi Cartel, a grey-haired man wearing a red jacket and a Fire Nation topknot. Iroh recognizes the man as Keung, a man he had assumed to be dead, and Keung explains to June that he was once a member of the Fire Nation Army and a subordinate of Iroh's. The cartel head comments on Iroh's new life, asking him if his customers know the full story of who he once was, Iroh replying that he does not try to hide his past, and that he has done his best to live an honorable existence following the Hundred Year War.

Keung leads Iroh and June to a part of the building dedicated to manufacturing various tea blends, before inviting Iroh to try a sample of one, recalling the other man's love of tea during his days as a general. Iroh expresses doubt that Keung hired June to bring him to Daxia for the sake of enjoying tea with him, prompting Keung to start explaining things. He tells June that he once commanded a unit of military spies who would operate in the shadows and use disguises to get close to their targets, a role he compares to his current one as head of the Wuyi Cartel. During the Siege of Ba Sing Se, he and his unit infiltrated the city, but found themselves trapped behind the Earth Kingdom lines after Iroh ordered his forces to retreat following the death of Lu Ten, with all of them bar Keung being killed. Keung claims Iroh abandoned him and his fellow spies, but Iroh replies that there was no guarantee the Fire Nation could have taken Ba Sing Se in the face of the Earth Kingdom's resistance even after managing to breach the city's walls, and that following the loss of his son, he came to see the Hundred Year War as no more than a source of needless death over attempts at meaningless conquest, leading to him losing the will to keep fighting it. He adds also that he tried to get a message to Keung and his unit when he made his retreat, before claiming responsibility for the message never reaching him.

Iroh kneels before Keung, seeking for forgiveness for failing to deliver the retreat orders to him during the siege.

Iroh concludes that he lost his son, and was unable to go on knowing that victory over the Earth Kingdom would not bring him back, but Keung asks whether or not the soldiers under his command were his sons too. In reply, Iroh prostrates himself before Keung and apologizes for the other man's losses, before asking what he can do to be forgiven. Keung tells him he can die, and his guards move to surround Iroh, but the former general refuses to pay such a price, claiming it wrong to continue taking lives for the sake of national honor, and that his life is still worth living. Keung dismisses such claims and orders his guards to subdue the other man, before June speaks up and tells Keung that there is no need to kill Iroh. Keung replies that he intends to make Iroh suffer before killing him, but June insists that Iroh is just a tea shop owner, and that the man Keung seeks revenge on no longer exists. Keung is not swayed, and orders June to take her payment for finding Iroh and leave; the bounty hunter reluctantly agrees, leaving Iroh to his fate.

Leaving Daxia and retrieving Nyla, June rides to the farm owned by Fan's crew, whereupon Fan greets her and shows her around. While leading June through a field, the former bounty hunter tells her that being able to own and use their produce as they see fit makes running a farm satisfying despite the hard work, and June admits that it seems like a nice life. The two women sit down at a table together, and Fan asks about Iroh, remarking that he seemed like a nice person. June replies that Iroh did terrible things in his past, to which Fan replies that the same could be said for her; when she was a bounty hunter, she often took jobs from clients she knew to be bad people, and gained a reputation of being heartless enough to turn in her own mother for a bounty. She states that while she believes people can change and atone for their past mistakes, the people in question have to want to change, and doing so herself was the hardest thing she has ever done in her life. Her words sway June, and she tosses the payment she got from Keung onto the table, asking if she can hire Fan and her crew to help rescue Iroh.

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June subdues Keung using a fire resistant llamapaca wool scarf, temporarily disabling his firebending, and seized the key to rescue Iroh.

Fan accepts the offer, and rallies the rest of her crew behind them, stating that for all their power, the Wuyi Cartel has made many enemies in Daxia over the years, and they have an opportunity to end the cartel's control of both the city and the tea trade. Following this, the crew attack the cartel's compound and soon start to overpower the guards, while June uses the distraction to search for Iroh. She soon finds him in a dungeon within the compound, but is confronted by Keung moments later. The cartel head remarks that he will not make use of June's services again, but June replies that her days as a bounty hunter are numbered anyway. Iroh asks if she plans to retire, but Keung attacks June with firebending before she can answer; June dodges his attacks, and subdues him with a scarf of flame resistant llamapaca wool from among the gifts Fan gave her. Unlocking Iroh's cell with a key taken from Keung, June flees the dungeon with Iroh behind her, and the two of them reunite with Fan and her crew, who have taken control of the compound in their absence.

As June thanks Fan for her help, Keung emerges from the dungeon, having managed to free himself. He accuses June of betraying "her people", claiming she was once part of a world of people who answered to no one, but is now standing with a Fire Nation general who would see an end to that world and everything else she values. June replies that while the world and its people have changed, she is less inclined to see that as a bad thing now, pointing out that Iroh and Keung have been able to change with the times, while Fan and her crew have shown that bounty hunters can find a place they and those they consider family can call home. She tells Keung to abandon his quest for vengeance against Iroh, but he refuses, and the two of them ultimately fight and defeat him.

Fan gladly accepts Iroh's request for her to take over the Wuyi Tea Cartel.

Iroh thanks June for allowing him to help her against Keung, and June admits that she has warmed up to him in spite of his bad first impression. She comments on the destruction caused within the compound as a result of the fight, before Iroh suggests that such a thing could be an opportunity. He proposes that the Wuyi Cartel be reformed into a legitimate business that trades fairly and makes no attempt to control the market, and that Fan be in charge of the enterprise. Fan protests that she is just a farmer, but Iroh convinces her to accept by reminding her that she has a loyal crew of smart businesspeople, before telling her that she has an opportunity to make something great in Daxia.

June brings up Keung, pointing out that he will come after Iroh again if allowed to go free. Iroh suggests that June could earn a large bounty by turning him over to the Earth Kingdom, but June replies that she is no longer a bounty hunter, and that she needs to start taking steps towards a different life. In reply, Iroh suggests that the reward money be invested into the Jasmine Dragon so that it can offer better tea to its customers, before hinting that he is looking to hire some outside help, June asking what he is up to.

Six months later, Iroh is continuing to manage the Jasmine Dragon when he sees June - now a friend of his and the official tea discoverer for the establishment - enter the building. They greet each other amicably, and Iroh remarks that the rare teas he has on offer are drawing in customers from all over the world as the two of them sit down at a table together. At the mention of rare teas, June presents Iroh with a box of tea samples she obtained after climbing a mountain and dodging a leopard caribou, much to his pleasure. He offers to use the samples to make some tea for June; when June points out that Iroh could instead sell them for large amounts of money, Iroh replies that she should be allowed to enjoy the tea she put herself at risk to obtain. June remarks that she has experienced more travel and action in her six months of working for Iroh than she did in five years of being a bounty hunter, before stating that she would not have it any other way, and that retirement suits her, Iroh replies that he is glad to hear such things.

Production notes

Transcript

Main article: Transcript:The Bounty Hunter and the Tea Brewer

Series continuity

• Iroh mentions his first encounter with June in "Bato of the Water Tribe", where he failed to show her the respect she deserved and took advantage of her when she was unexpectedly incapacitated. This marks the first time Iroh expresses remorse over it.
• Iroh mentions his first meeting with Li-Mei, an encounter that was previously shown in "Matcha Makers".

Trivia

• A Boxed Set collecting it, Azula in the Spirit Temple, and Ashes of the Academy was released on September 16, 2025 under the name of Fire and Family Treasury.

See also

• List of Avatar: The Last Airbender comics