Yoda #1 - Comic Review

In the beginning we find Jedi-in-hiding Yoda in his house on Dagobah. A voice reaches out to him desperate to talk. As the conversation begins, the old Jedi is reminded of a series of events long passed, and Yoda #1 delves headlong into a battle on the lesser known planet Turrak. Here we find a young Scalvi known as Bree, who’s working on an old abandoned ship, and Litah. Shortly after meeting the two, a raid on their village begins. Knowing there’s no way the Scalvi can stop this raid, Bree runs into the ship, turns it on, and sends out a message asking for help. Shortly after, the message reaches the Jedi temple on Coruscant and Grandmaster Yoda deems this call for help important enough for him to go out and give aid.

Yoda #1 is the beginning of the first arc of this miniseries and written by Cavan Scott. Scott takes us all the way back to the High Republic era—getting to show off the kind of Jedi Yoda was back then. What’s most interesting about this issue is that it has a lot more focus on the natives of Turrak than one might expect in a first issue about Yoda, which is actually the strongest part of Scott’s writing here. He lets the story focus and build upon this small village and has Yoda play second fiddle to the overall tale at the moment. It’s a great way to get the reader to truly care about the events happening. He also does a fantastic job of making every single character on the page feel full of depth, even if they only have a line or two of dialogue.

The artistic team in charge of Yoda #1 is artist Nico Leon, color artist Dono Sánchez-Almara, and letterer VC’s Joe Caramagna. I feel like I’ve been saying this a lot lately in my reviews for Marvel’s Star Wars comics, but this issue’s strongest visual aspect is absolutely its colors. The comics from Marvel have been absolutely nailing it with the coloring, and Sánchez-Almara’s work in this issue is no exception. The juxtaposition between Yoda’s darker days on Dagobah in the first couple pages and the bright and vibrant world on Turrak is stunning. The colors surrounding this world and its inhabitants is possibly the prettiest Star Wars has ever looked.

The main cover for Yoda #1 was done by the always fantastic Phil Noto who shows off the titular character with his lightsaber out, mid battle, and soaring through the air. Giuseppe Camuncoli and Arif Prianto bring us the first variant cover that is a subtle piece depicting Yoda’s home on Dagobah with Yoda himself silhouetted in the doorway. The second variant comes from Kaare Andrews, showing off a gorgeous and intense Yoda who is staring right at the reader as if he’s truly seeing into their mind and soul. The final variant cover is a neat little Movie variant that takes a still from The Empire Strikes Back featuring Yoda and uses that as the cover.

Yoda #1 is a fun and exciting look at the adventures of Grandmaster Yoda during the time of the High Republic. It’s the beginning of a three act tale that delves into the history and life of one of the most revered Jedi to ever live. So fire up your Jedi Vectors and fly on down to your local comic shop to pick up a copy today!