Yoda

        When it comes to the ancient and wise Master Yoda, what’s not to love? Whether he’s in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, the battlefield of Geonosis, or the swamps of Dagobah, Yoda warms the heart and anchors Star Wars fans young and old to an unflinching foundation of light. He serves as a guide to our heroes across the timeline, from pre-Episode I all the way to his recent appearances in Rebels and the Last Jedi. With his idiosyncratic speech pattern to his almost-menacing grin as seen in his introduction in The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda is just weird enough to keep us on our toes. We come to Yoda to be inspired, to be challenged, to be nurtured. Yoda is as iconic as Star Wars itself.

        Informed fans know that the magic that makes Yoda is a remarkable combination of the stars truly aligning. He is a product of George Lucas’s visionary mind, Ralph McQuarrie’s original sketches, Stuart Freeborn’s masterful molding (not to mention his face which was used for the sculpt!), Frank Oz’s legendary puppeteering and vocal performance, Mark Hamill’s spectacular ability to commit to the performance on the Dagobah stage that made us all truly believe that Yoda lived, and last but not least the love and imagination of millions of fans and creators across almost four decades that have made the character endure the test of time. Yoda is complex in the most wonderful ways. Clone Wars explored his leadership, fallibility, and darker corners. And still now there is so much we don’t know about his origins! He has been remarkably underutilized in Star Wars publishing, which leads us to believe that the future is bright for Yoda fans. The films barely scratch the surface with such a rich character. Here are some of his highlights across the publishing landscape, showing off his commitment to his Jedi students, his mischievous side seen only briefly in Empire, and, of course, many wonderful inspiring words of wisdom.

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