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Cobra Kai Issue 1 Comic Book Review

Issue 1 of “Cobra Kai” is a fine companion piece to “The Karate Kid” franchise.

In the first issue of the new IDW “Cobra Kai” comic book series from writer Denton J. Tipton, the story jumps around in time from 1979 to 2018. In 2018, Johnny Lawrence (who is now a Sensei) is teaching Diaz, Aisha, Hawk and company and telling them about stories from the past. He also reminisces on the past (and past mistakes). In the past, we learn about events from Johnny’s life prior to what we see in “The Karate Kid” as well as events eventually leading into and through the first film in the franchise. To say anything more would be entering spoiler territory, but one thing I will say is that we start to get Johnny’s side of “The Karate Kid” story.

While we all wait for the third season of the surprisingly excellent YouTube series “Cobra Kai,” a new tie-in comic book series has been created to tide us over. If the debut issue is any indication, fans are sure to be pleased by the final product as this comic series fills in gaps and adds further characterization. Speaking of the fans, this is very much designed for them. If anyone who wasn’t a devoted “The Karate Kid” or “Cobra Kai” fan picked this issue up, they might feel a bit lost with all the specific time jumps. The fans, however, will eat this up as we get to see a pre-Cobra Kai Johnny as well as Johnny’s prime years in Cobra Kai in the early 80s. Again, it’s nice to see gaps filled in.

The art by Kagan McLeod (with coloring work by Luis Antonio Delgado and lettering by Neil Uyetake) is unique and stylized, but the characters always resemble their movie counterparts.

The comic also contains a cover art gallery and IDW comic ads

October 14, 2019 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Comic Book Review | Cobra Kai Comic Book, Cobra Kai Issue 1 Comic Book Review, Cobra Kai Series, IDW, Johnny Lawrence, The Karate Kid