Star Wars Omnibus: Droids

Star Wars Omnibus #6

by Ryder Windham, Dan Thorsland, Jan Strnad

Before the fateful day Luke Skywalker met Artoo and Threepio for the first time, those two troublesome droids had some amazing adventures all their own! Entangled with pirates, bounty hunters, rock monsters, and the notorious space criminal Olag Greck, they do their best to stick together in a dangerous galaxy where anything can happen

Genres: Star Wars, Comics, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

430 pages, Paperback

First published June 18, 2008

About the author

Ryder Windham is an American sci-fi author who has written over sixty Star Wars books, including novels, comics, reference books, and so on. He has also written junior novelizations for Indiana Jones movies. Since 1993, he has been working on Star Wars projects either by himself or with other authors. His reference book Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide had been on the New York Times Best Seller list for three weeks in 2005. Although he has written lots of books, accepted interviews, and appeared at several fan-conventions, little is known about his personal life.

Reviews

[Tony Romine · Rating 1 out of 5]

The STAR WARS: DROIDS OMNIBUS collects the entire DROIDS Dark Horse series that was published from 1994-1995 and the one-shot Droids special from 1997. There are 3 distinct storylines in the series along with 3 one-shots that all tie together and feature some of the same characters. Rather than delve into the individual stories, I'll just review the series as a whole.

The storyline is really about C-3PO and R2-D2 being sold or transferred between various masters and getting into precarious situations and adventures as a result. There's a lot of political turmoil that happens, run ins with space pirates and a ton of droids that they help along the way.

All of that sounds interesting enough, but really the series itself is very bland and boring. The writing in particular is quite bad, the plots are way too convoluted and dialogue heavy for a series about one droid that can speak and another that just makes beeping noises. They introduce new characters and species we've never even seen before and none of them are interesting at all. Interestingly enough, the multiple incidents of extremely bland, boring political intrigue seem like foreshadowing for the Prequels that would come 5 years later.

I guess in his heart, the creator of this series had a deep appreciation for the original DROIDS series from the mid-80s and thought he was capturing that spirit here (he mentions it in the introduction). Well first off, nothing in this series feels like that and nothing in this series feels like something out of the Star Wars universe. If 3PO and R2 weren't involved, you would be hard pressed to go "oh this feels like Star Wars". Secondly, while I appreciate the 80s DROIDS comics and TV show for what they are, I'm not sure it's something that should have been repeated.

There are so many ways this series could have been better. Maybe including just one or two Star Wars characters we've seen before, perhaps using the series to establish how they ended up working with the Rebellion. Maybe not letting Anthony Daniels (the actor who played C-3PO) act as co-writer for the final one-shot (it reads terribly, C-3PO has so much dialogue in it....mountains of it....that it's pretty clear the other writer didn't want to touch any of Daniels contribution). Maybe not dedicate a series to C-3PO and R2-D2 and try to make it so serious. Either way I say you could safely pass on this, even hardcore Star Wars fan won't miss anything by not reading it.

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of zany adventures that are clearly aimed at a young audience, so it's unsurprising that I didn't have a lot of patience for some of these hijinks. Still, they're not bad stories. And at times...perhaps even fun.

[Jaime K · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was better than I thought it would be, even the 2nd time around.
All the events take place before ANH. the art and colours were pretty great. 3PO takes charge of his own accord and even lies at times. It's so weird. The reason why I can get on board with some things is that "The Protocol Offensive" was written by Daniels. If Anthony Daniels thinks this is 3PO, then I can get on board with him.

Droids Special
R2 and 3PO are on Hosk to be auctioned off by Olag. Ig-88 attacks, causing R2 & 3PO to escape in a life pod and land on Kalarba where a Baron's family takes them in.

The Kalarba Adventures
This is a mish-mosh of some of the Droids comics. The stories go together but are also separate.
- Hosk Station looks like the Death Star
- Baron Pitafreeze beleives honor is greater than money. His grandson Nak learns this the hart way.
- The droids and Nak are taken by pirates with ties to Olag...but they just want good food. It was a goofy segment.
- Nak says "Dweezer" way too often.
- Olag makes me feel like this is a mixture of "Scooby Doo" and Wile E. Coyote chasing the Road Runner time & time again.
- R2 and 3PO take a job with a new pirate (Forno) and R2 goes near berserk when 3PO is left behind.
- There are WEIRD antique droids, QE and 2E (missing UE) that end up in a situation that shows how the Baron and the community care for droids.

Artoo's Day Out
Artoo is left alone to guard the ship and is stolen. When he mischievously makes his way back, he and 3PO offer themselves as a "sacrifice" so that refugees can leave the station. It was a great show of how heavy droids are.
The two droids end up becoming deputies through Hosk Station to catch Olag.

Rebellion
The droids follow Olag to Nal Hutta and are caught by Forno. They plan on going back to Kalarba...but on a memory wipe barge. R2 escapes but 3PO saves the day through an odd reprogramming that he's eventually fixed of. It was weird.

Seasons of Revolt
- Smilers are people on a happy drug created by Zorneth, an Ithorian.
- 3PO lies and Zorneth holds a gun - it's WEIRD.
- Ther is a secret forest of savorium (the drug) that was originally for dangerous criminals but now Zorneth wants "peace" for the galaxy.

The Protocol Offensive
- The art is realistic. The story is...different
- The two droids are on Nimondro to help with negotiations between the Hobors and Troobs. Other languages are used, which was nice to see.
- The end was a surprise.

[Bryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories tend to mature as they go along. The initial outings where the droids are owned by the Pitareeze family are a bit childish, although there is an amusing cameo from IG88 and the introduction of C3PO's bad-ass double 3PX. Robots in this world seem to be much like the ones in 2000 AD's Dredd, clearly expressing emotions despite supposedly not having any. Written for a younger audience I was expecting a lot of daft plots but they really weren't too bad - The pinnacle of silliness in the book is probably the story of the unemployed chefs who have turned to a life of space piracy. There is plenty of action throughout, but the best story is probably that of their master Zorneth, who wants to save the universe by drugging all aggressors into a state of bliss. The most serious story and artwork can be found in the book's coda, which sees the droids dealing with a tricky negotiation and a murder. These stories may not be the Star Wars you're looking for, but for younger readers it's a great introduction into the expanded universe.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed most of the Star Wars omnimbuses, but I liked how this one was pretty unique because it was only about two characters, R2-D2 and C-3P0.

[DC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the art was cartoonier than I prefer, and most of the stories bored me. I did enjoy the last 2 stories, however. So I give the volume a C overall.

[Jared · Rating 2 out of 5]

Star Wars Legends Project #201

Background: Droids, released in June of 2008, collected the entire 17-issue run of the same title. This is a review of the stories not collected elsewhere. I will link to the other reviews below.

Droids Special (1 issue, January 1995) was written by Dan Thorsland with art pencilled by Bill Hughes. Both contributed heavily to the Droids run.

The Protocol Offensive (1 issue, September 1997) was written by Anthony Daniels and Ryder Windham with art by Igor Kordey. Windham has an extensive Star Wars bibliography, and Daniels, of course, is C-3PO himself. Kordey's most recognizable other Star Wars work is the excellent Tales of the Jedi: Redemption.

Droids also contains a throwaway 8-pager called Artoo's Day Out that takes place in-between two of the other issues. It is not notable in any way.

Droids Special is set about 5.5 years before the Battle of Yavin, and is an immediate prequel to The Kalarba Adventures. Most of the major characters from that storyline appear in it. The Protocol Offensive is set after all of the other Droids stories, but it is dated around the same time. The only returning characters in it are Artoo and Threepio.

The Kalarba Adventures (my review)

Star Wars: Droids - Rebellion (my review)

Star Wars: Droids - Season of Revolt (my review)

Summary: In Droids Special, Artoo and Threepio arrive on Hosk Station and immediately stumble into the midst of a feud between the Pitareeze family and the evil Olag Greck.

In The Protocol Offensive, Threepio finds himself an essential player in very delicate negotiations between the Tion Hegemony and two rival factions from the planet Tahlboor. But someone in the group seems determined to see the deal fail, with deadly consequences.

Review: Droids Special was apparently published after the entire run of The Kalarba Adventures, which truly makes it the prequel that no one could possibly have wanted. I am baffled that this exists. Is it possible that there was anyone who read the execrable stories that this precedes and was like, "How about a pointless bit of nothing that shows the totally lame set-up for these equally pointless nothing stories?" This is like a Jar Jar origin story. It serves no purpose at all and there can't possibly have been an audience for it.

The Protocol Offensive is such a step up from any of the other Droids stories your ears will pop from the altitude change. I can only assume that the key ingredient here is the involvement of Anthony Daniels. I was prepared for that to be a failed gimmick, but (surprise surprise) he really gets Threepio and knows how to actually use him in a story. This is the first of this series (and one of shockingly few Star Wars stories in general) where Threepio actually plays the role of "protocol droid." There is a pretty well-developed cast of characters, and several surprising narrative developments. The story kept me guessing and I wasn't bored. The art is really different, too, and I really liked it. Since this doesn't require reading any of the other Droids, it's worth checking out on its own merits.

Droids Special: F
The Protocol Offensive: B-

[B.A.G. Studios · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an Omnibus that just got better with each page. Overall this is just okay, it is a series of harmless adventure stories starring your favorite odd couple from a galaxy far, far away — Threepio and Artoo. As Ryder Wyndham says in his foreword, who knows how they got here from the Tantivive IV, perhaps Captain Antilles sent them deep undercover and we just never get to see how they make it back. But the stories themselves are very fun.
I did not anticipate it being one overarching story, however. That was extremely surprising. I expected these to be anthology tales of misadventure, not unlike a Mater’s Tall Tales type of setup. Threepio could be telling stories around the Ewok village all through the night, regaling Wicket with all sorts of fanciful adventures spread across the galaxy. Well, no, actually we just follow them from one owner to the next and each one sticks around for a few issues a piece. Quite surprising. I wonder if the animated show of the same name is structured the same way or if it follows my idea more. Nevertheless, it works fine enough for what it’s attempting to be.
The best issue is by far the last one, which I was sure was borrowing a Star Trek reference with “The Protocol Directive”. It is actually “The Protocol Offensive”, but this does make for a good Prime Directive type of story. The art is by far the best (though, albeit in a very different style, the art in #1 of the ‘95 series is also very good), and I like the story the best. Looking back, I can tell Anthony Daniels wrote the speech Threepio gives, but I’m on board for it haha. I’ll give it a pass on being maybe a trifle corny. It is Droids, after all.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's weird that I find this to be the omnibus I like the best of the ones I've read so far, considering it's intended for a younger audience. It might be that, due to that audience, the stories don't take themselves too seriously, and can just be a little fun. They clearly don't have the same kind of depth that the previous volumes had, but sometimes fun can trump deep.

Interestingly, Ryder Windham mentions in the foreword that they were trying to draw inspiration from Carl Barks's Scrooge McDuck, and looking back, I can see that. They're mini-adventures, and since they're removed from the over-arching Star Wars storyline, they can be taken individually. There's not a lot in the Expanded Universe that can say the same.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished this out camping. It was enjoyable and easy to read. Artoo and C-3p0 are always getting into shenanigans. Fun for starwars comincs fans. I havent read any of the other omnibus comics and this is my first starwars comic and it was easy to get into.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Additional adventures of my favorite Star Wars characters-what's not to like?

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing and art were uneven but I can't be mad because it was bananas from start to finish.

[Nightwing’s Thiccness · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably one of the first comics I’ve ever read. The art is beautifully gritty. Some stories are a bit ridiculous, but others hold up to be great adventure tales.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really dug these stories. Definitely better than the Droids TV series. The art was best in the final story.

[Jeff Mayo · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a collection of the "Droids" comic book series. Since the prequels, none of this is canon. The artwork is just okay. The stories are aimed at pre-teen readers.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was actually pretty surprised with this collection. I expected a series of disconnected one-offs like the Droids and Ewoks omnibus but this is actually, for the most part, a coherently connected story. The ways in which the two droids engage in each story continue to be somewhat formulaic for their characters but I did think some of the larger stories were pretty decent and included enough twists and turns to keep you interested. I liked that, for the most part, there were characters that kept coming up and that things weren't always as they seemed previously. That's enough Star Wars comics for me for now and while they are not nearly as good as some of the other graphic novels I've read recently, I must admit to being pleasantly surprised with how much I did enjoy them.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories were fun if not dramatic. Bearing in mind I've only watched the movies and read none of the books, here are a couple things I enjoyed:

A deeper look at the personalities of R2 and C3PO and their relationship. C3PO actually acknowledges his close friendship with R2D2! I get it now, they are like Bert and Ernie or Felix and Oscar.

The different art styles. The first couple stories are drawn with a really terse style with solid coloring. The last one seems like it's colored using pencil or some style of painting to produce a wash effect.

The backstory in general. I'm not sure if it's canon, but I enjoy seeing that characters I am familiar with have had lives outside of the "main" story, like Wide Sargasso Sea or Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.

[Michael Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading these comics when they were first coming out, quite some time ago. They were fun to read back then, and still are. It's basically the adventures of C-3PO and R2-D2. There are many self contained adventures, but there are also recurring characters that tie everything together. It feels very much like it could have been a Saturday morning cartoon. It doesn't exactly fit in with the canon of the universe, but still good anyway.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before Star Wars, R2-D2 and C-3PO get up to some hijinks and in typical sassy droid fashion end up in some pretty awful places dealing with unsavory characters as only the prissy C-3PO and plucky R2-D2 can. Good fun and the Romeo and Juliet-esque Protocol Offensive issue was really quite pretty.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are fun stories for children that do not effect the larger continuity of the expanded universe, but who would pay the RRP of £ 19.99 for this collection?

[Alexandre · Rating 1 out of 5]

That was Ewok movie good !

[Alexia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Would have been a great book for a younger age group