R2-D2! BB-8! And Darth Maul’s probe droids!? On June 28, make the jump to lightspeed alongside some of the universe’s greatest mechanized companions with STAR WARS: DROIDS UNPLUGGED!

Written and illustrated by Chris Eliopoulos, this one-shot details three brand-new Star Wars stories—follow R2 on a crucial mission for Luke, witness BB-8 play matchmaker for a couple of Resistance soldiers, and see what Darth Maul’s probe droids did when they weren’t busy scouting for Qui-Gon Jinn!

To prepare for the book, we spoke with Eliopoulos, colorist Jordie Bellaire, and assistant editor Heather Antos about their favorite droids—and droid moments—in Star Wars history.

Marvel.com: There are so many incredibly-defined droids that act as main characters in the Star Wars universe—so, what’s your favorite droid that plays a central role in the Star Wars story? BB-8? Triple-Zero? Chopper?

Chris Eliopoulos: From the first time I saw “Star Wars” as a nine-year-old boy in the theater, I loved—loved—R2-D2. I currently have about 300 astromech droids in my studio. Really small ones to a giant R2 cooler. He’s the man—or droid. R2-D2 seemed to always know what was going on as well as being brave and snarky. It was something new for me. A machine that was cool.

Jordie Bellaire: I think my answer was always R2, he’s sassy and a bit bossy, but I think K-2SO has taken the love cake. He’s not only sassy and bossy, he’s pretty cynical—my kind of droid!

Heather Antos: Artoo, hands down, is the best Star Wars droid. Whereas all the other characters always seem to be getting into trouble…Artoo always seems to be the one to get his best pals out of trouble.

Marvel.com: Likewise, there are countless minor droids that the we might only see on the fringes of a Star Wars story. What’s your favorite background droid? Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru’s Gonk? IG-88? FLO the waitress?

Chris Eliopoulos: I love Treadwell, 2-1B and even the EV-9D9 droid that harmed my favorite, which is the Gonk droid. I have all these astromech droids in my office, but there is room for one Gonk droid.

A small nod has to go to RX-24 or Rex from the Star Tours ride. He was a lovable goofball.

Jordie Bellaire: I’ve always loved the design of an Imperial probe droid. Not to say I’m a baddie but you know, the baddies have some beautiful equipment to search out that rebel scum. Probably explains my K-2SO love as well!

Heather Antos: Gonk! I love Gonk so much—and I honestly can’t explain it. I think there’s an epic story with Gonk just waiting to be explored. I bet there’s so much of him that we just don’t know about yet.

Star Wars: Droids Unplugged cover by Chris Eliopoulos

Marvel.com: Time for some hard-hitters…What’s your favorite droid moment in a Star Wars comic book?

Chris Eliopoulos: I kinda have a perverse love of seeing Chewbacca ripping Triple Zero’s arm off and smacking him with it in STAR WARS #13. It follows the line that Wookiees tend to rip arms out of their sockets when they get angry line.

Jordie Bellaire: The psych out hologram of R2-D2 in PRINCESS LEIA #1!

Heather Antos: Any interaction between Triple-Zero and BT-1!

Marvel.com: And the toughest of all—what’s your favorite droid moment in a Star Wars movie?

Chris Eliopoulos: The scene in [“Empire Strikes Back”] where they are racing to get to Boba Fett to save Han and as they watch Slave-1 takes off, a blaster fight out breaks out on the platform and R2 seems to do donuts. In my young head, I thought he was being brave and blocking fire to protect his friends. A heroic moment.

Jordie Bellaire: The Ewok campfire scene, where 3PO is playing storyteller.

Heather Antos: One of Artoo’s most heroic acts by far was rolling into the arena on Geonosis to reassemble his best buddy, C-3PO. Artoo will stop at nothing to help his friends!

STAR WARS: DROIDS UNPLUGGED, written and illustrated by Chris Eliopoulos, goes on sale on June 28!

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Christopher Epps once called himself the "tallest hog at the trough," but he was cut down to size Wednesday when a judge sentenced Mississippi's former corrections commissioner to nearly 20 years in prison for crimes connected to more than $1.4 million in bribes.

Wakanda just can’t catch a break!

In BLACK PANTHER #15—out June 28—the African nation comes to understand that its ancient gods have left them to their own devices. While King T’Challa tries to figure out what’s going on, writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and artist Wilfredo Torres continue to throw challenges his way.

Torres took over for fellow artists Brian Stelfreeze and Chris Sprouse–who will return–with issue #13 and kicked off the new storyline “Avengers of the New World.” The arc dives into all kinds of beginning-of-time mythology that the artist gets to play with and develop. We talked with him about dreaming up some of these characters, putting his own spin on existing ones, and diving into the world of Wakanda.

Marvel.com: How was it coming up with the designs for the Simbi, Anansi and Teku-Masa? Did you look to ancient images for inspiration in developing them?

Wilfredo Torres: I tried to look at species native to Africa but ultimately I tried to not go too far down the rabbit hole and instead went with more of a traditional comics, movie monster feel.

Marvel.com: Wakanda has such a unique feel and history to it. How has it been getting familiar with that world?

Wilfredo Torres: It’s a fantastic setting with all the elements you could ask for; a beautiful natural environment, a technological marvel married to tradition. It’s really a wonderful backdrop for any storyteller.

Marvel.com: Black Panther himself has such a sleek, seemingly simple design. Is it difficult putting your own spin on that costume?

Wilfredo Torres: It’s deceptively simple really but Brian Stelfreeze had such a great approach to it so I just tried to follow in that same direction.

Marvel.com: How do you feel your collaborative relationship with Ta-Nehisi has evolved since you started working together?

Wilfredo Torres: Ta-Nehisi’s scripts play out like massive cinematic scenes and they also have these wonderful personal moments which I love working on. It’s been great to collaborate with him on this as well as [colorist] Laura Martin and the entire team.

BLACK PANTHER #15 by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Wilfredo Torres arrives on June 28.

This month, writers Jason Aaron and Kieron Gillen find themselves about halfway through their second intergalactic narrative crossing over STAR WARS and DOCTOR APHRA, and fans find themselves in the midst of a dinner party gone horribly wrong with the Queen of the Screaming Citadel deprived of her main course: Luke Skywalker! Not surprisingly, we see Doctor Aphra in the middle of it all as she and Luke attempt to escape the wrath of the planet’s monarch all the while seeking to unlock the mysteries of the Jedi crystal.

As we round the bend towards the mid-point of this event, we sat down with co-writer Kieron Gillen, to discuss what we’ve seen so far and what we can expect around the next corner.

Marvel.com: When we first spoke about “The Screaming Citadel,” we discussed the similarities to other pulpy horror adventures like “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.” Given where things left off with the second issue of the story, I’d say that comparison was a pretty good one given the scene at the breakfast table…

Kieron Gillen: Of course, the other comparison would be that Sana and Aphra clearly had some “Bad Dates.”

Marvel.com: Do you have any other similar surprises in store for readers?

Kieron Gillen: Nope. Nothing happens in the remaining three issues. I’m not sure what we were thinking. We’ve decided to move into a weirder slice of life direction, where Han and Leia sit down with 000 and BeeTee and experiment with crochet.

Marvel.com: We also discovered that Aphra intended to feed Luke to the Queen. How do you bounce back from that sort of discovery if you’re Luke?

Kieron Gillen: Luke and Aphra’s relationship certainly ricochets around across the story. You have to suspect that the latest experience does put a general downer on it. Luke has tended to idealize Aphra. It’s hard to hang onto that when someone’s tried to feed you to an alien queen.

This is all written from experience. I had a friend who tried to feed me to an alien queen. Our relationship was never the same, but we’re at least polite in public now.

Marvel.com: On the other hand, how do you suppose Aphra convinces the Queen to unlock the secrets of crystal now that she’s blown her dining room?

Kieron Gillen: With great difficulty.

That said, it’s a big house. The Queen’s probably got a lot of dining rooms. And we’ve seen in the first issue she prefers to eat while standing on a balcony. Kind of Al Fresco.

Doctor Aphra #8 cover by Marco Checchetto

Marvel.com: Of course, we also have the secondary story you’re developing in the background with Han, Leia, and Sana who are trying to catch up to Luke and Aphra. Why is it that Sana is so reluctant to fill Han in on her past with Aphra?

Kieron Gillen: Because it’s deeply embarrassing, for one. Maybe that’s the main one; Sana and Han have a complicated relationship, and letting Han know the details would make her never live it down.

Of course, Sana is the person who told Aphra where they were. If she hadn’t done that, Aphra would have never been able to convince Luke to go with her. The more that Han knows, the more likely they’ll piece it together.

Marvel.com: Once the two groups reunite, we’re going to see Sana and Aphra come back together again. While Sana seems to be finding a place for herself in the Rebellion, Aphra doesn’t appear to be slowing down any. Do we get any idea of what happens next for them as the series continues?

Kieron Gillen: Oh, it’s certainly a heart-warming moment when they meet up. Possibly literally, in terms of having a blaster bolt setting Aphra’s heart on fire.

Marvel.com: Now, let’s pretend there’s a “happy ending” for this Star Wars horror story and Luke gets to learn a little more about being a Jedi after the secrets of the crystal are unlocked. But up to this point, Aphra hasn’t tipped her hand yet. What does she get out of all of this?

Kieron Gillen: The most messed up thing in all of this is Aphra’s been relatively clean on her aims. She wants to reactivate the Rur crystal. Where she hasn’t been honest is her main motivation, which is to sell it for enormous amounts of cash.

Marvel.com: Last question: What’s the deal with the Wookie allergies on this planet?

Kieron Gillen: It’s less of an allergy, and more of an intolerance. More next issue, shall we say?

“The Screaming Citadel” winds its way into DOCTOR APHRA #7 on May 31, then on to STAR WARS #32 on June 14, and finally back to DOCTOR APHRA #8 on June 28!

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Wednesday passed a Republican-backed measure reversing an Environmental Protection Agency requirement that those spraying pesticides on or near rivers and lakes file for a permit.

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., spoke to Yahoo News and Finance Anchor Bianna Golodryga about his new book, "The Vanishing American Adult: Our Coming-of-Age Crisis and How to Rebuild a Culture of Self-Reliance." She also asked about Michael Flynn, who is at the center of the Russia investigation. Sasse called the ousted national security adviser’s hiring "really, really troubling" and said that he should respond to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence's subpoenas.

Service dogs deserve recognition for the great deeds they perform daily. To them, they aren't even great deeds. They are just ... deeds. Andrew "AJ" Schalk, a 16-year-old junior at Stafford High School in Virginia, certainly wanted to give his service dog, Alpha, the respect that was deserved for someone who has saved his life several times. So he asked his school if they'd be willing to give his dog a spot in the yearbook, and the result is adorable.  That's a GOOD dog if I've ever seen one. SEE ALSO: Inspirational golden retriever perfectly demonstrates how to get swole for the summer Just a boy and his (service) dog pic.twitter.com/uM5f9P9X3V — AJ (@t1dfighter_aj) May 18, 2017 Schalk was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2009. "The decision to get a service dog came about just to have greater control over my blood sugar and A1C, and Alpha has even saved my life on multiple occasions," Schalk said. As Schalk's service dog, Alpha's job is to alert Schalk if his blood sugar is getting too low or too high by sniffing his breath. If undetected, Schalk could be in danger. But with Alpha on the case, he has peace of mind. Andrew Schalk and his good boy, Alpha.Image: Andrew SchalkAlpha joined Schalk's family when he was four months old, and has now been with Schalk for three and a half years. Halfway through the previous school year, Schalk started bringing Alpha with him to school. "I started by bringing him once a week, then twice, and so on and so forth until he was fully acclimated," Schalk explained. Alpha is now a consistent presence at Stafford High, attending classes with Schalk every day. Image: andrew schalk"Alpha is not a distraction at all!" Schalk said. "He lays under my desk during class, and even though everyone knows he is there, everyone still pays attention to class and loves having him there." Who wouldn't love knowing that there is a dog nearby at all times? We sure wouldn't mind. Alpha is so beloved at the school, in fact, that when Schalk asked if he could be in the yearbook the request was happily granted. "I talked to a friend of mine in the yearbook club and asked of we could get Alpha into the yearbook," Schalk said. "She took it to the teacher in charge and all the teachers and administration were 100% supportive." Good boy Alpha also got himself an official student ID. Alpha clearly dressed up for picture day.Image: andrew schalk"All my classmates loved seeing Alpha in the yearbook," Schalk said. "And people that I didn't know loved the surprise of having a service dog in the yearbook." Schalk, a junior, has one more year of high school left, and that means Alpha gets to make another yearbook cameo.  "I for sure plan on having him in the yearbook next year as well," Schalk confirmed. WATCH: These worms may solve the plastic waste problem