Yondu: My Two Yondus

Yondu #1-5

by Lonnie Nadler, Zac Thompson, John McCrea (Artist)

Yondu, lone Ravager and all-around scoundrel is about to hit the biggest pay day of his life when he stumbles upon a dangerous new weapon! But when this artifact turns out to be deadlier than he bargained for, will the reward outweigh the risk as Yondu finds himself targeted by a mysterious mercenary? Plus, when an unexpected visitor from the future turns up to stop Yondu, it begs the question: exactly how bad did he screw up?! COLLECTING: YONDU (2019) 1-5

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels

112 pages, Paperback

First published April 22, 2020

About the author

Lonnie Nadler is a writer from Vancouver, BC.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m really not a fan of Marvel shoe-horning their movie characters into the comicbooks, particularly when there’s already a perfectly good version of the character already in the comicbooks that the movie version was (in this case very loosely) based on. As such, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this book.

Much to my surprise, however, I had an absolute blast reading it. The artwork was excellent; suiting the tone of the story perfectly. The two versions of Yondu actually ended up having a great relationship and the plot itself never felt forced or contrived. It was actually very funny and even quite moving at times.

The only problem I had with the story was with the ending. I don’t see why Marvel felt they had to kill off the original Yondu. He could just as easily have returned to his own time period and the two Yondus could have continued on their respective adventures 1000 years apart, never needing to meet again.

Yet another case of Marvel trying desperately to pander to the fly-by-night fans of the movies at the expense of the long-term fans of the comicbooks. Guess which group of fans is still going to be reading the comics in ten, twenty, thirty years, Marvel? Hint: it’s not the fans of the movies. The fans of the movies are already complaining about how ‘dated’ the first MCU movies now seem and most of them have never and will never pick up a comicbook. Think about it.

[Tiag⊗ the Mutant · Rating 2 out of 5]

Marvel decided to bring movie Yondu into the comic universe, problem is, there's already a Yondu in the comic universe, and they have absolutely nothing in common, the solution? Creating two different versions of themselves, the Yondu of the 31st century, who travels back in time to meet the Yondu of the 21st century, who is written as someone who's been around all along, even though he wasn't.

This book was pretty average and kinda pointless, I love movie Yondu as much as everyone else, but in this book he comes out a bit flat, just your regular fuck-all space pirate dude with a gigantic chip on his shoulder, something was missing, and nobody has used him on any storyline after this, so this was basically pointless, but I like reading it, it was ok.

About that cover art, ouch! A real contender for the worst Marvel covers of all time.

[RG · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've never read anything on Yondu. My first knowledge of him was in the films. He seemed like a cool space pirate. This just didnt work at all

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

I recently read the first issues of the original Guardians of the Galaxy by Jim Valentino, where a character named Yondu Udonta was first introduced. Lonnie Nadler and Zac Thompson do a good work of integrating that sanctimonious Yondu with the version that the MCU has given us, making the original Yondu a great-great-great-grandson of the 21st-century Yondu we've come to know and love through the two Guardians films directed by James Gunn. That, alongside John McCrea's art, are the best part of My Two Yondus. The premise sounds interesting - ex-Ravager Yondu finds a powerful McGuffin that he wants to sell to the highest bidder, but 31st-century hero Yondu goes back in time to prevent this and turn Yondu's life around. It should be fun and action-packed, but somehow it ends up being just a bit bland. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing especially good either. Recommended only for Yondu fans, and even then you might want to give this a pass.

[SarahKat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only read this for a challenge fulfillment, but it was pretty fun! I don't read Marvel really, just because I've never started and it's really hard to get into it without reading 50 years of comics to figure out who everyone is. I do like the Yondu from the movies though and this was pretty on-brand for him.

[Cody Wilson]

I'm a fan of cosmic Marvel and enjoy Yondu in the MCU. I can't say why I skipped this comic when it first came out but it's a fun time for sure. I credit most of my enjoyment to artist John McCrea, whose cartoony but gritty work sets a tone fitting for the lead character. He clearly enjoys illustrating the aliens and strange environments that Yondu encounters. The book is loaded with fun visual gags and unique page designs. Mike Spicer's vibrant colors work well with the linework. My one art criticism is that McCrea tends to overuse silhouettes as a crutch.

The story itself threads the needle of marrying MCU and comics continuity. Most readers will know Yondu from the movies so he stars in this series. But the creators also include the older version of Yondu from the comics, who was a member of the original Guardians of the Galaxy. I appreciate that the older version of Yondu isn't forced to adopt the mannerisms of his MCU counterpart (unlike the comics versions of Starlord or Drax, for instance). I enjoyed the dynamic between the shamelessly gross mercenary Yondu and his more noble counterpart. I also appreciate that although the MCU-adjacent Yondu goes through an arc in this miniseries, he is still a scoundrel by its end.

With that said, I wasn't overall enamored with the writing in this miniseries. I started to feel like a lot happens in the plot while the story doesn't really move forward, especially in the middle. Certain emotional beats - like Yondu's relationship with Zhala - needed deeper exploration to make sense. I appreciate that Zac Thompson and Lonnie Nadler contextualize this story in Marvel continuity, but I felt like I was missing crucial background in some places. Who are the M'kraan here? I remember the M'kraan Crystal from X-Men - how was it destroyed? The editors should have encouraged the writers to slow down and explain more. However, I also felt like the scripting was too verbose - some prudent editing could have gone a long way.

Overall, Yondu is a solid (but far from perfect) series and an easy recommendation for fans of MCU Yondu (and the three fans who like him from the original Guardians comics).

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, first off I'm normally a fan of John McCrea's art but his less grounded work, like here for instance, is a step down. I didn't enjoy his art here. The story was also bland. It was a very by the numbers book that didn't do much for the character. Nothing here couldn't have been guessed or assumed. Yondu obviously became popular in the MCU but this didn't help him at all. Overall, a lackluster look into Yondu's life.

[Donna Lombardo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked some of the art in this, but the story was full of holes. The McGuffin kept disappearing and reappearing, so that was rather annoying. and "young" Yondu, well, he appeated to die twice. No explanation or acknowledgement for the first one, but at least "old" Yondu acknowledged the second death. not the worst read ever, but definitely not the best.

[Brandon Telg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m just here for the Spaceknights

[Stephen Adkison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun space romp, and a fitting tribute to classic Yondu and the new one. I like the arc he goes through, it was very believable. I don’t know how much of the mythos is new to this, but I enjoyed it.

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s too stylized for me with me not caring about one Yondu and kind of frustrated with the other!

[Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very funny book