Cobra Kai Comic Series Announced by IDW

Back in May, YouTube renewed its popular Karate Kid sequel series Cobra Kai for a third season following a record-setting Season 2 premiere and now the story will be getting the comic book treatment as well. IDW Publishing has announced that they will be publishing a new comic book series set in the show’s continuity, Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the comic series will start with a four part story that re-tells the events of the original 1984 Karate Kid movie, this time the point of view of the film’s villain Johnny Lawrence. The story, entitled “Johnny’s Story” will be written by Denton J. Tipton with art by Infinite Kung-Fu‘s Kagan McLeod.

“I saw The Karate Kid for the first time during a lock-in at the Y [and] the skeleton costumes captured my attention, while the Miyagi-isms pulled me into the story,” Tipton said in a statement. “And like everyone else at the time, I caught Karate Kid fever. Fast-forward 35 years and being just a small part of the franchise has made me feel young and inspired all over again.”

YouTube’s Cobra Kai debuted in 2018 and picks up decades after the original film and showcases a new chapter of the iconic rivalry between John Kreese (Martin Kove) and Daniel (Ralph Macchio). When a new rivalry between opposing dojos is born in the aftermath of Cobra Kai’s controversial win at the All Valley Championships, Daniel realizes his next countermove is to open his own karate training school called Miyagi-Do, in honor of his mentor Mr. Miyagi.

“While Cobra Kai does have the same nuances that the Karate Kid had, it’s a very new story that brings everything that you loved about the original movie without being a rehash,” series star Xolo Maridueña told ComicBook.com ahead of Season 1. “In many ways, I think there are a good chunk of people who can relate to the Johnny storyline as much as they can with Daniel San’s. I love that Cobra Kai is the flip side.”

“I have watched the original movies, and I watched the re-telling with Jaden, but for me, talking to Ralph and Billy was so much more helpful than watching the movie,” Maridueña added. “By watching the movie, everything is up to my interpretation but by actually asking Ralph and Billy, ‘hey during this scene, what were you feeling? what were you thinking?’ I’ve found that those answers are more helpful. Can you imagine being able to speak to those guys and ask them what the room felt like in the final tournament scene?! They are both so gracious and welcoming that it really allowed me to absorb information that I can use to help create my own character.”

The series quickly became a sensation following its debut, earning over 55 million views on YouTube. The series is showrun by Josh Heald (Hot Tub Time Machine), and John Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg (Harold and Kumar, Blockers). Macchio, Zabka, and Susan Ekins also serve as executive producers.

IDW’s Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues will arrive in comic book stores this fall.