Jessie Robertson reviews Star Wars Special: C-3PO #1…
Follow everyone’s favorite protocol droid as he Journeys to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, in this special one-shot leading up to his appearance in the film! Just how did Threepio get a red arm, anyway? Find out here as the blockbuster creative team of James Robinson and Tony Harris of DC’s Starman reunite for the first time in nearly two decades! You may be fluent in over six million forms of communication…but this book is a must have in any language!
SEE ALSO: Check out a preview of Star Wars Special:C-3PO #1
Just as Star Wars as a whole as captivated people for more than 40 years, individual characters within that franchise have captured people’s attention on a personal basis: Don’t ask why but the droids, C-3PO and R2-D2, have always been favorites of mine. R2 for his courage, his spunk, and his resourcefulness but Threepio is always one where people looked at me like “Really?” So, when I saw he was getting his own series, I scooped it up. I think the thing about Threepio that always caught my interest was he was not a fighter, not particularly fast, and could be quite annoying, yet he formed these bonds with some of the most courageous people in the galaxy and stood side by side with them, through this grand history; he was always like the reporter covering a war to me.
First, the cover (and all the artwork) by Tony Harris is quite a brilliant showy Glamor Shot-type photo of Threepio but all the gold in it (even though his armor is gold), really pops as a single shot. I quite like it. The art is brutal desert landscapes and swamps but the emotions in our protagonists is really sparkling thanks to the art because there’s not much expression you can put into a droid.
So, let’s set the stage: Threepio and five other droids are marooned on a planet where The Resistance needs information from a First Order droid, who is one of the five. Omri, the First Order droid, has vital information on the whereabouts of Admiral Ackbar, who is being held prisoner by the First Order. I love the idea of these droids being on their own, each with different purposes but all battle tested – there’s a security droid, a medical droid and a building droid. It’s a classic Twelve Little Indians-type tale where droids are succumbing to the harsh area around them, with Spice Spiders and monsters from under the water taking them apart; all the while, Threepio and Omri, both protocol droids, discuss allegiances, memories and feelings. As she states, they were programmed to be more sentient, to perform their tasks better.
Sure, there is some bragadocious Threepio moments early on, but it’s a cool book to see a different side of him, trying to speak sense to another droid about loyalties and what side of wrong or right they should be on. As an added bonus, you find out why Threepio has a red arm instead of his token gold one, that was featured in a funny scene in the newest movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
This is definitely a book I recommend to Star Wars fans, and most defintely to fans of Threepio, like myself. Well-written, clever and really spot-on artwork.
Rating: 9/10
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Originally published April 19, 2016. Updated November 13, 2019.
