Cobra Kai #2: Risin’ Up, Back on the Street

I was going to say “I love books like this”, but then I had to sit and think for a while and I couldn’t think of another book like this one. So, I can honestly say this is the first book of its kind that I’ve read. Now, continuing the story from the last issue, it’s the original Karate Kid movie, only told from the villain of the film Johnny Lawrence’s, point of view. And it’s a very interesting point of view. While millions saw Johnny as an arrogant prick, this book gives us a peek behind the curtain at what Johnny was doing when he wasn’t onscreen. To put it bluntly, it’s not too pretty. Yes, he’s still a prick, but wait ’til you find out why he is.

Author Denton J. Tipton crafts a great book that’s a great companion piece to the movie. When the series is complete, I’m probably going to rewatch the movie and in certain places hit pause, then read the comic. That’s how carefully this is scripted. It also meshes perfectly with the excellent Cobra Kai series on YouTube, naturally. Tipton is not afraid to take chances, either. Some of the situations he puts the characters in are very adult, and wouldn’t fly for a 1980’s audience, but are very real. The portrayal of ’80’s high school is a lot more real and modernized than it was portrayed 35 years ago, but the few scenes from the films that are shown in the book are woven in seamlessly.

Master artist Kagan McLeod turns in great work, as usual. The man has built a career on drawing likenesses on magazine covers, books covers, you name it and here’s no different. Everyone looks exactly the way they did in the 1984 movie. What the majority of people that see his work probably don’t know is that he’s great at sequential storytelling. The action (and drama) flows from panel to panel so naturally, and when there are scene changes, they aren’t quite as jarring as in some comics. The book just has a really great flow to it. It’s easy to see why IDW picked him, I’m just glad he accepted!