Published: February 22, 2023
Rating: Rated T
Writer: Jody Houser
Artist: Luke Ross
Colourist: Nolan Woodard
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Designer: Carlos Lao
Cover Artist: Phil Noto
The synopsis;
• Years before the Clone Wars, Yoda asks an old friend to come teach the next generation of Jedi alongside him – Master Dooku.
• And with mysterious visions haunting one of his students, Master Yoda will need all the help he can get…
The review;
Yoda, quite simply, it has been a delight. Cavan Scott has done a wonderful job of setting the stage with a story that seemed, well, almost mundane but housed a huge amount of deep thinking and questioning that really was worthy of the diminutive Jedi Master. The intricacies, the insights, the way the Jedi operating all made it essential reading and some of the best stories we’ve seen entered around Yoda. So now it’s time for a new arc with the helm been taken over by Jody Houser – no pressure or anything! Scott has set an incredibly high standard for Houser to live up to. Thankfully, she’s no stranger to a galaxy far, far away and has also written some incredible stories for Stranger Things (because who doesn’t like that franchise!). She is reunited with artist Luke Ross, who she worked with on the Thrawn comic and I’m very excited to see where the duo takes this next arc. If the cover of the issue is anything to go by (a wonderful piece by Phil Noto), with Yoda standing next to Dooku, then this could meet Scott’s standard.
The opening panel instantly lets readers know that they are going to be reading something special. The story opens on Dagobah with a voice calling for Yoda. Intriguing, presumably Qui-Gon (although we don’t know) but it isn’t this that shows us just how incredible this issue is. It’s the jaw-dropping artwork by Ross. We know Dagobah from the movies, and it has never looked better here. The dark lighting, the imagery, it captures the planet and the Jedi Master so perfectly that you cannot be anything but enthralled. As the story moves to the past, the artwork is equally impressive, but shifting to a brighter palette that shows what a more hopeful future the past was. Ross captures it all and for this alone, we are brought under the spell of the comic.
Of course, a comic isn’t just artwork but also writing. As soon as the comic shifts to the present, to show us Dooku and Yoda, we immediately hear the true voices of these characters. Houser captures them perfectly. You can’t help but hear Frank Oz and Christoper Lee when you’re reading Houser’s words. The formal tones and beats of Dooku’s voice really are there. How on earth she is able to do that is beyond me but it’s there. Couple if with the artwork from Ross and you have a wonderfully immersive experience without any thought of story! The pair draw you in and don’t stop until they are absolutely sure you’re in!
Dooku is the real highlight here, rather than Yoda, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Scott showed us in the previous arc that having your focus away from Yoda is one of the best things in order to tell a Yoda story. I get the same feeling here, that when this arc is finished, it will say more about Yoda than it does about Dooku. Yoda really appreciates Dooku, partly because Dooku’s perspective is so different to that of other Jedi. We have seen that Yoda gets frustrated with the Jedi being, for want of a better word, normal, that he likes those who think out of the box. I imagine for Yoda it is stimulating to have someone that can help him think differently and question his own understanding. We see something like that in this issue after Dooku gives him so advice.
But what really comes through again and again in this issue is the references to Attack of the Clones, the comic is littered with them. Yoda understands that Dooku keeps focusing on his past, that it’s a bit of a barrier for him, even though he sits on the council. It begs the question is this why Yoda was so reluctant to have Anakin trained? He had seen how Dooku’s past had prevented him from letting go, did he worry Anakin would be the same? There is also a contrast between Dooku and Sifo-Dyas (which I love Houser brings him into all of this), who has visions of the future and is controlled by them. Close friends, one controlled by the past, one by the future. Perfectly balanced until one of them is lost. I’m sure we’ll hear a lot more about this in the coming issues.
Houser than shows us why Yoda needs Dooku, to help train the padawans. Again, something we see in Attack of the Clones and then throw in a duel between Dooku and Yoda and you know Houser is purposely doing all this. She’s showing us how close these two were, that even when fighting their paths are not so different. Dooku still has differing thoughts, ones outside of the box, he even asks Obi-Wan to join him in order to destroy the Sith (and whether he is being truthful is a whole other debate for another time). Yoda and he are still duelling, even if only for training purposes. Everything is an echo of the film – although perhaps that should be the other way around given the timeline. It’s enjoyable to see these links and these echoes. Though the echoes don’t stop there, for Dooku, even at this time, is sowing the seeds of discontent. There are things that even he believes need to be kept from the Jedi. It’s Houser raising another question – Did the Jedi fall through their own self-belief, or because those within it did not stay true to the order? Will questions like this be answered in this story? Who knows, and part of me doesn’t. Houser is pointing them out, making us think on them, to make us relook at the films with these questions in our mind to give us a deeper understanding of what is happening.
A tall order to follow Cavan Scott, yet Houser does it effortlessly. This is a different sort of story yet from the very first few pages, you can’t be anything but sucked into the well-crafted words and the incredible artwork. The fact there’s a very deep, questioning story following all of that almost feels like an added bonus! But an incredible story there promises to be. We have never seen much of Dooku, particularly while he’s with the Jedi. To see how Yoda views him, how they interact is intriguing and I’m sure will draw refiners to how Yoda is with Obi-Wan. It’s almost the timeline that could have been, which makes it all the more interesting. I can’t wait to read the next issue and see what direction Houser wants to take us, equally I can’t wait to see more of Ross’ incredible artwork. This series is really showing the bets of the best.
Availability;
Yoda is a 10-part mini series published by Marvel comics. This issue retails at $3.99 and is available via the Marvel App, ComiXology and all good comic book stores.
