Comic of the Day 8/5: "Star Wars: Droids" #1

Celebrating "Star Wars Day" 2016, Marvel has reprinted this 1986 inaugural issue of the relatively short-lived "Droids", based on the relatively short-lived TV show of the same name. Although not overly convincing, as it proves that writers and artists often confuse "for children" with "less effort needed", it certainly does its job as a children's comic or a 1980's nostalgia trip it.

Written by Dave Manak and somewhat surprisingly drawn by industry legend John Romita, many things about it look and feel like a generic 80's cartoon, bearing only occasionally resemblance to the Star Wars universe with your odd blaster or spaceship. Its innocent slapstick humor is largely based on C-3PO and R2-D2 constantly falling over each other; but at least both sound true to their movie counterparts.

But it was "Star Wars Day", and I don't want to go too hard on a comic that might not have a lot of pure quality, but definitely some charm and joy going for it. For younger readers, it can still serve as an ideal entry into the larger Star Wars universe.

5/10

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"Star Wars: C-3PO" #1

Comic of the Day 24/4: "Star Wars: C-3PO"

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