Apart from the rather good Obi-Wan & Anakin, the force has not been too strong with recent Star Wars comics. From the complete disaster that Darth Vader has become in recent issues to the mediocre stagnation that prevails in the main series, not too much effort has gone into the stories from a galaxy far far away once the The Force Awakens hype had died down a little. So naturally the C-3PO one-shot has not been hugely anticipated among fans, especially since the droid is not one of the fan favorites.
But to quote Yoda's "judge me by my size, do you?", one should definitely not underestimate this comic, as it is, in fact, the best Star Wars comic released so far after last year's reboot. Tony Harris' art is either gritty and dark when depicting the hostile planet the group of droids are stranded on, or warm and detailed when showing the buckets of bolts up and close. Paired with James Robinson's clever writing, each one of them is given a distinct personality that creates some joyously awkward conversations and an overall great dynamic for the comic. For Star Wars fans it's also quite revealing and fun to actually see a broader selection of droids with their unique strengths and purposes.
However, the highlight of the comic is its clever and deep treatment of such philosophical matters as agency, loyalty, history and memory. Prompted by Omri, a droid serving the empire who is held captive by the others, C-3PO comes to question the rightfulness and randomness with which they are merely assigned a role in the wars of humanoids. Omri, who is almost complex too a fault considering his assumed mechanical binarity, urges the other droids to rise above the resentments forced upon them by their masters and decide for themselves what matters.
The second big issue raised is history and memory, where the constant deletion of a droid's memories is metaphorized as a phantom limb, leaving them with fragmented memories that are felt to be there, but can hardly be accessed. The ensuing memories C-3PO's forces out of his subconsciousness are fantastically drawn and illustrate the fragmented nature of a droid's memories .
But most of all, Star Wars: C-3PO is a moving story about friendship, a great sacrifice and the possibilities and powers one can have if they act with agency and true conviction. By the way, they reveal how C-3PO got his red arm; and Poe and BB-8 are in it, who'll star in their own comic series next month. But that all doesn't matter. The rest here is what matters.
10/10
However, the highlight of the comic is its clever and deep treatment of such philosophical matters as agency, loyalty, history and memory. Prompted by Omri, a droid serving the empire who is held captive by the others, C-3PO comes to question the rightfulness and randomness with which they are merely assigned a role in the wars of humanoids. Omri, who is almost complex too a fault considering his assumed mechanical binarity, urges the other droids to rise above the resentments forced upon them by their masters and decide for themselves what matters.
The second big issue raised is history and memory, where the constant deletion of a droid's memories is metaphorized as a phantom limb, leaving them with fragmented memories that are felt to be there, but can hardly be accessed. The ensuing memories C-3PO's forces out of his subconsciousness are fantastically drawn and illustrate the fragmented nature of a droid's memories .
But most of all, Star Wars: C-3PO is a moving story about friendship, a great sacrifice and the possibilities and powers one can have if they act with agency and true conviction. By the way, they reveal how C-3PO got his red arm; and Poe and BB-8 are in it, who'll star in their own comic series next month. But that all doesn't matter. The rest here is what matters.
10/10
