110. YODA: Do or do not
Yoda (896 BBY – 4 ABY) was a celebrated member of the Jedi, a group of warriors who protected the galaxy over a thousand generations. He served as Grand Master of the Jedi Order during the final years of the Galactic Republic. Despite being only 66cm tall, Yoda was a fearsome warrior who possessed exceptional lightsaber skills that almost matched his legendary wisdom. After the evil Sith overthrew the Galactic Republic with the aid of former Jedi and traitor Anakin Skywalker, Yoda went into hiding on the planet Dagobah where he led a hermitic life and continued to train under the ways of the Force. Before his death, Yoda helped train Anakin’s son, Luke, who would eventually lead the rebels to victory against the Empire and restore order to the Force.
Discussion (84) ¬
Nice one Gav. May the Force be with you.
Hmmmm – wouldn’t this Yoda quote have been more appropriate on 5/4/13 than April First?
Well this whole post was meant to be a little April Fools joke … I guess I was a bit too subtle 🙂 I’m glad readers are enjoying it – this quote gets submitted a lot but I normally don’t do quotes from fictional characters, so I thought I would have a bit of fun for April 1.
Also, this won’t be available for sale. Star Wars is owned by Lucasfilm/Disney – people can’t just start selling merchandise using their characters without a licensing agreement.
is that why you didn’t sign it?
Nooo! I read this (and loved it as always) and came here to comment that this needs to be a print NOW!
Ugh, Lucas Films -___-
This is so awesome!!
Awesome and a great work from Gav.
Great work Gav!
Yes great work from GAV
Gavin, This is so awesome!!
If there is only do or do not, I shall do the impossible, I will try.
Careful. Talking like that, you might soon find your way into one of these comics…
I so need this as a large format print!!
Totally agree, but there’s probably a copyright issue… I’d be all over this one.
oops i hit print 😛
Come to think of it, you are quite like Yoda, Gav! Keep spreading the wisdom!!
Superb!
That would make a great poster!
Superb and cool quote.
Lovely…. Epic this is!
this is awesome Gav… so true, yet so simple.
This has always been my single favourite quote in the entire series…with the possible exception of anything that comes out of a jawa’s mouth.
Khushiboo is right, however: This is a must have poster.
Poster! Poster! Poster!
at least DIN A0!!!
😀
Go Gav Go!
Awesome Gav. Simply Awesome. I am spellbound 🙂
I wish you had done the full quote – “Try not, do; Or do not. There is no try.
I’m so happy to see this quote here!
Love it! I’m a massive Star Wars fan, of both the films and the expanded universe. This is one of my favourite quotes ever but never though I’d get to see it on this fantastic site.
I know it’s only a film but this quote has helped me a lot during my training, it gives me the perseverance I need to reach my goals when I think they are impossible!
Thank you!
I love all your work, but I’m a bit disappointed by this comic. I noticed that you more and more depict the quotes literally. I prefer when you try to draw a parallel with another situation. “Lithany of fear” wouldn’t have been so good if you would have just drawn the scene from Dune. The way you drew the quote was much more powerful.
I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining, because I still love all the comics, even when you draw it literallly. I’m just telling that I feel the message to be much more powerful when you draw a different situation than the one everybody already knows.
He was responding to an oft-submitted quote request on April Fool’s Day.
You ARE complaining.
So much awesomeness! I dunno if a poster would be legal though.
Licensing issues and what not. The same problem that plagues JL8 by Yale Stewart :-/
If SW was still owned by Lucas, I’d say you could take a chance on a poster. But with The Mouse now holding the rights….better to not risk it.
Once again, brilliant! And that bio below the comic was the icing on the cake! Thanks 🙂
Awesome work!
this do or do not philosophy sounds to me a little chuck norris stuff… some other posts have gone in the direction the way is the answer more than the result or the end of the journey, blah blah… this week’s post is more like a winners and loosers thing… but works great in the picture though 🙂 (empire strikes back my favourite)
Awesome. But why can’t anyone seem to get the quote right? It’s, “Do. Or do not. There is no try.”
The only difference is punctuation. And since the comic has no punctuation, I don’t think punctuation is an issue.
“Try not; Do. Or Do not. There is no try.”
THAT’S the proper quote…
Only a Sith deals in absolutes.
Long overdue. It was about time Fozzy Bear, oops I mean Yoda, made an appearance here!
Good one Gavin!
Awesome! Great Work as always Gav!
Friends, Family and Colleagues find your work inspired!
An April Fool’s comic!
This is awesome.
Where’s the ‘buy’ button??
I really, really love your work. And this cheered me up as a closet Star Wars geek:) I’ve linked your site to my siblings and friends, in the hope they’ll enjoy it as much as I do!
That about sums it up, Gavin… Thanks.
First, let me say that I love many of the quotes you have chosen and the stories you have told about them with quotes. However I have to say that I always find this quote quite misleading: the distance between “do not” and “do” is spanned by many “try” and thus saying that “there is no try” sends the wrong message. I think what Yoda is actually saying is that in order for the “try” to take you from the “do not” to the “do” you need to believe in the “do” and not be satisfied with the “try.” Another way to put it “try” is a tool, not a goal, “do” is the goal.
Thank you. Do does not truly exist without try.
THANK YOU! I have always taken issue with this quote, but you made it awesome.
I always figured that Yoda was saying, either you think you can do it, or you think you can’t. I you think you can do it, then you will do it, but if you think you can’t it doesn’t matter I you try, because you won’t be able to do it.
Excellent, truly excellent! got a great laugh from this and loved the artwork.
good work gavin!
Gav, I randomly entered today to zenpencils.com (I´m a regular reader) hoping to find a quote for my girlfriend that could help her through tough times… You just made it reality! Thanks really! I´m a big fan of Star Wars, and this was my little moment of win of the weekend!!
It’s the little bio that really makes it.
Also that really is a wonderful picture. A joke, but still inspiring. Well done.
All those people, including Gav, saying you can’t sell it, must not go to geek conventions. Artist do prints of all sorts of trademarked characters and sell them with no licenses or anything.
I could easily tell that it was an April’s Fool. Though, I have to admit, The quote was well chosen!
This has to be the most epic thing I have seen all week. Yoda certainly empowers the short ones of the galaxy! Did you get permission from George Lucas and all?
Gav! Would love to purchase this one! Please let me know how I can purchase it. Thank you
Aww shucks.. just read the comments above. But good stuff nonetheless!
Hey Gav! I’ve been looking forward to your comics every week for almost a year now like they were my favorite show. Just wanted to pop in finally and say thanks for all the awesome work. As a side note,just so you know, I’ve been setting aside my allowance and lunch money (code words for what i call my paychecks), so I can purchase your first Dragonslayer – Monk crossover print which I’m guessing is in the works hint hint. 😉 Looking forward to it!
This quote is really silly. It’s like this: “Drunk or sober — there is no drinking.”
It seems Yoda did miss something. Between Do Not and Do there is a Try, the try is a transition however do and do not are final states. Yeah automata.
Also awesome April Fool’s comic, sad that this will not be for sale, maybe Disney/Lucas would put it up for sale somewhere…
A lot of things get sold at conventions illegally. Conventions come and go quickly. It’s an entirely different matter to sell something copyrighted to a big corporation like Disney, on an established website where they can and will spend time searching for infringers and suing them. Gav does not need a lawsuit. The decision not to sell this has to stand, with Disney holding the rights. Case in point:
http://thedisneyblog.com/2008/07/10/disney-files-1000000-lawsuit-against-family-party-business-for-use-of-pooh-characters/
Great work Gav! I come to know about your wonderful art quite lately. Its full of inspiration and magnificent. I hope one day I will leave my humdrum job just to do what I love. . .
The end of the sixth episode shows another Death Star nearing completion, potentially hinting at the indomitable “corporation” of the Empire. So technically, they didn’t defeat the Empire.
Hey Gav! Another great comic! Just want you to know that I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed every one of your comics. Classic quotes by the world’s greats are of course deep and inspirational, and your renditions are up to par! Keep it up!
Also, to you and all other Star Wars buffs out there, this is something interesting to check out!
http://autotelic.com/my_star_wars_rant
While this is a great quote, what I love more is “Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter.” -Yoda
THAT I would like to see in a zen pencils original illustration.
Nice – simple and powerful. But IMO, an even better Yoda quote is the following exchange from the same scene:
Luke: I don’t believe it.
Yoda: That is why you fail.
imho, I think this idea could be in Yoda`s mind:
“Your experiences imprison you”
Kudos, from a distant planet Earth…
BOOM! simple, effective and TRUE!
Want a poster of this soooooo badly
The point is in the doing. What ever you do, succeed or fail, the point is in the doing. You do, and do some more.
There is no undo button in life, nothing that we can go back on, no trial version that we can erase or redo.
You do and fail, and you do and succeed. There are only things we have done and things we will do. There is no try.
Is this one a poster? My husband would love it as it is his favorite quote.
Want a poster of this soooooo badly
Technically if there is not try how can one either do or do not?
Careful. Talking like that, you might soon find your way into one of these comics…
wonderful info
Two things you discover when you’re older and wiser — you’re not actually any wiser, and behind the wrinkles, you’re not any older, either.
The flower offered of itself
And eloquently spoke
Of Gods
In languages of rainbows
Perfumes
And secret silence…
This is so cool man!
Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off. Colin Powell
I am a big time star wars fan and i love this. Please post more pictures like this. This is so good. Thankyou so much.