Robotech

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Lunar Ronin

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Titan Comics landed the license for a new Robotech comic book series. Instead of retelling the story, or expanding upon it, they're doing a full-on reboot. One of the stated goals is to make Lynn Minmei "less of a 'damsel in distress.'" Here's hoping they make her less annoying as well.

The first issue comes out tomorrow, both print and digital. A sneak preview of it can be found here.

I wonder if the comic book will sell well enough for Titan Comics to justify redoing the whole saga.
 
I read the first issue last night. It was okie. It basically retold the first episode, just with added references to e-mail and Lynn Minmei being more capable.
 
The second issue of the Robotech reboot comic book series lands this Wednesday, in both print and digital. A preview of the second issue can be found here.
 
So far, Minmei and Breetai look the most different compared to the original. Minmei is definitely more... aggressive. She blew away a Zentraedi warrior's right hand while with Rick in his Veritech fighter. A couple of minor other changes, but over all it was a retelling of the second episode. Accidental space fold to Pluto and all. Nice touch on having Captain Gloval call Pluto a "minor dwarf planet." :p
 
I fully realize that I'm talking to myself in this thread, but hey...

The fourth Robotech comic book issue, due out late next month, is slated to kill off a major character. Now who is the question. Roy Fokker would be a good bet considering he was killed off in the original, but not nearly this soon into the story. I would hope for Lynn Minmei, but Titan Comics seems intent on revamping her character this go around.
 
Only two issues are out thus far so it's a little early to say one way or another. The art is good IMO, and the first two issues are almost direct adaptations of the first two episodes, just with less Lynn Minmei being a whiny "damsel in distress" and anime goofiness, and more seriousness. Although with Titan Comics' announcement that they're going to kill off a major character in the fourth issue (way before the SDF-1 comes back to Earth), that's a fairly significant change from the original source so it won't continue to be a straight adaptation.

If you're not one for floppy comic books or small digital issues, Titan Comics already announced a trade paperback collection of the first several issues, releasing in February 2018.

If you've never watched the original Robotech series though, or never read the comic books nor novels, and like space opera with giant transformable mecha, I highly recommend it.

In my ranking of comic book, film, and television media, DC Comics and Star Trek are tied for first place. Second is Babylon 5. Robotech is third. It and Buck Rogers XXVc were my introduction to the world of tabletop role-playing games, and Robotech was a significant part of my teenage years and early 20s.
 
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Harmony Gold is apparently losing their license in 2021, so everybody better get their Robotech fix in before that curtain falls.

Also, the free media app Crackle has been streaming the original Robotech series.
 
Harmony Gold is apparently losing their license in 2021, so everybody better get their Robotech fix in before that curtain falls.

I've heard two different versions of that story. While it is true that Harmony Gold will lose their exclusive licenses of Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA (the three animes that were meshed together to form Robotech), in the west, some speculate that Robotech has become so different from the three original anime series that it is its own unique thing now (which is true), so that may protect Robotech itself. Harmony Gold losing the licenses would just mean that they could no longer stop the distribution of other Macross anime series.

I don't know if that's true or not (I'm not a lawyer after all), but that may explain why Harmony Gold and Titan Comics rebooted Robotech. As I said, the first two comic book issues are almost straight adaptations of the first two episodes, but the comic book series seems to plan on making some significant changes to the storyline starting with the fourth issue. They may be using that reboot to further differentiate Robotech from Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA.
 
So, Robotech issue #4 came out today.

R.I.P. Captain Gloval. A Macross City building inside the SDF-1 literally came down on top of him during the SDF-1's first modular transformation. Looks like Lisa Hayes is getting that promotion early. Also, Rick Hunter seems to have become a Destroid pilot instead of a Veritech pilot. The reboot is supposed to wildly diverge from the original this point on.
 
I am very cool with a Robotech reboot going in new directions.

Looking forward to checking it out when the graphic novel / collected version hits the shelves. I can't handle single issues. I even wait a year between reading web comics.
 
I prefer reading graphic novels as well, but I still buy single issues instead because unfortunately single issue sales determines whether a comic book series lives or dies. Graphic novel collections are just a nice little side bonus to comic book publishers, their sales don't really matter. Author Peter David lamented this fact a few years ago when Marvel canceled his X-Factor comic book series. Its trade paperback collections sold well, but people weren't buying the single issues so Marvel axed it.
 
Shame that X-Factor series was good. Course I only bought the TPB.
 
Just FYI, the first Robotech reboot collection comes out this week. Although Google Play Books released it two weeks early. It has a foreword by Greg Finley, the voice actor of Captain Henry Gloval in the '80s cartoon.
 
I don't really need someone to "improve" an old cartoon for me. I'd rather see them create their own. This endless "reboot" routine speaks to a woeful dearth of creativity and aversion to risk.
 
I don't really need someone to "improve" an old cartoon for me. I'd rather see them create their own. This endless "reboot" routine speaks to a woeful dearth of creativity and aversion to risk.

Depends. Some reboots are for the better IMO, like the Legion of Super-Heroes reboot in 1994. Most are for the worse. In this particular case, it's too early to tell. Honestly, as mentioned above, this reboot is most likely because Harmony Gold (the "creators" of Robotech), are going to lose the license to the three underlying anime series that comprised Robotech in a couple of years. They're hoping that with this reboot, Robotech will become sufficiently different enough from the source material that they can continue to make new Robotech product past 2021. That's my guess anyway. IANAL and all that.
 
Depends. Some reboots are for the better IMO, like the Legion of Super-Heroes reboot in 1994. Most are for the worse. In this particular case, it's too early to tell. Honestly, as mentioned above, this reboot is most likely because Harmony Gold (the "creators" of Robotech), are going to lose the license to the three underlying anime series that comprised Robotech in a couple of years. They're hoping that with this reboot, Robotech will become sufficiently different enough from the source material that they can continue to make new Robotech product past 2021. That's my guess anyway. IANAL and all that.

1994 Legion of Super Heroes is not a good example if you're in favor of reboots...:crap:
 
We'll just have to agree to disagree then. :smile:
 
A video has been released to coincide with the release of the first collection.



Also, Simon Furman, the writer for most of the Transformers comics, will take over writing the reboot comic book.
 
A video has been released to coincide with the release of the first collection.



Also, Simon Furman, the writer for most of the Transformers comics, will take over writing the reboot comic book.

Art looks nice in that freeze frame.
 
The second collection of the Robotech reboot comic books came out this week, and it's... interesting. The introduction to the first issue mentioned that the 2009 Star Trek reboot film was an inspiration, and it seems that was more literal than I first thought.

Turns out that in addition to everything else Protoculture can do, Dr. Lang discovers that Protoculture can enable time travel. It's not explicitly stated, but it's very strongly implied that the SDF-1 that crashed down on Macross Island and got the whole ball rolling is from the future, and the original SDF-1 survey team (Admiral Hunter, Captain Gloval, and Roy Fokker), found a transcription of future events inside the SDF-1, including the promotion of Rick Hunter to at least Lieutenant, thus changing the timeline from the original animated series.

We also find out that Captain Gloval didn't die from the building collapse, but that he was strangled to death. And video footage shows that it was Roy Fokker. However, at the same time the footage is found, T.R. Edwards is found aboard the SDF-1 and tells Captain Lisa Hayes that he knows everything, and the ship receives a communique from Earth that the ship's security has been compromised.
 
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The second collection of the Robotech reboot comic books came out this week, and it's... interesting. The introduction to the first issue mentioned that the 2009 Star Trek reboot film was an inspiration, and it seems that was more literal than I first thought.

Turns out that in addition to everything else Protoculture can do, Dr. Lang discovers that Protoculture can enable time travel. It's not explicitly stated, but it's very strongly implied that the SDF-1 that crashed down on Macross Island and got the whole ball rolling is from the future, and the original SDF-1 survey team (Admiral Hunter, Captain Gloval, and Roy Fokker), found a transcription of future events inside the SDF-1, including the promotion of Rick Hunter to at least Lieutenant, thus changing the timeline from the original animated series.

We also find out that Captain Gloval didn't die from the building collapse, but that he was strangled to death. And video footage shows that it was Roy Fokker. However, at the same time the footage is found, T.R. Edwards is found aboard the SDF-1 and tells Captain Lisa Hayes that he knows everything, and the ship receives a communique from Earth that the ship's security has been compromised.
If I recall correctly, I think the novels had the same or similar premise.
 
If I recall correctly, I think the novels had the same or similar premise.
The concept sounds familiar to me as well. I can't recall where I learned it, but I did read the novels.
 
It was in The End of the Circle novel. When the SDF-1 jumped from above Macross City to Pluto at the beginning of the saga, the fold engines disappeared. It was a mystery as to what happened to the fold drive. In The End of the Circle, the SDF-3's fold engine was destroyed and the Protoculture-enhanced children of the SDF-3 crew were instructed to look for a compatible fold engine across space... only to have the SDF-1's fold engines materialize.

Plus, at the end of the book, Rem (Zor's clone), and a pregnant Lynn Minmei were trapped outside of space and time, and Rem was sure that Minmei was pregnant with Zor himself, closing the circle.

It's been about fifteen years since I last read the book so I may have some details wrong though.
 
I don't really need someone to "improve" an old cartoon for me. I'd rather see them create their own. This endless "reboot" routine speaks to a woeful dearth of creativity and aversion to risk.

Agreed. I am FAR more interested in a new idea than a rehashed one. Even if its just taking a book or comic and doing its first movie. The only time I'm okay with a reboot is if the original movie was painfully dreadful, or made in ancient times.

But I understand the corporate reasoning. Kids don't watch old stuff (especially today where new content is flying at them daily) so if a producer liked a movie 20 years ago, its effectively "new" to the current movie going audience.

Remaking stuff from the 80s today isn't different than when 80s filmmakers remade stuff from the 50s. It's also the nostalgia cycle. The 80s had 50s nostalgia and today has 80s nostalgia.
 
But I understand the corporate reasoning. Kids don't watch old stuff (especially today where new content is flying at them daily) so if a producer liked a movie 20 years ago, its effectively "new" to the current movie going audience.

Remaking stuff from the 80s today isn't different than when 80s filmmakers remade stuff from the 50s. It's also the nostalgia cycle. The 80s had 50s nostalgia and today has 80s nostalgia.

Yeah. I've noticed that the few kids I know all think that movies and television shows made before 1990 is ancient, and for the most part not worth bothering with. I can't blame them, because with a couple of exceptions, I thought the same thing of movies and television shows made before color TV when I was a wee lad. Now they even have far greater choice between much better video games and YouTube videos.
 
Robotech was a series I tried my best to catch as a kid and never was able to. A few years ago I finally had a chance to watch all of the show as an adult. Ho boy, the way it was mashed together caused a massive disconnect between narration and what was on screen at times. Beyond that, much of it was a muddled mess with the worst offender being Southern Cross. Still, it was entertaining. I posted about it on another site.

Curious how the comic stacks up, so far I am finding the story to be more coherent and less slapped together than the show. The art is a bit rough and uneven, and artist clearly loves drawing teeth. Not a deal breaker though. I'm enjoying the read and looking forward to it continuing.

It's funny how things will still seep into your life. As a kid I had what I just though of as a robot crab monster I used to combat my GI Joes with. Turns out it was an Invid trooper, though it was decades after I no longer had it before I found out. And I knew enough about the series to be fascinated with it. I had the Palladium system Robotech books and we used it in the RIFTS game I was running at the time. I've also got a super deformed Veritech sitting on my desk right now.
 
Southern Cross isn't liked by most. There's a couple of characters I like from it, like Louie Nichols, and I really like Hover Tanks. But other than that, I kind of wish that they skipped right from Macross Saga to the New Generation. It would have made more sense, IMO. C'est la vie. Perhaps the new Robotech reboot comic book will do just that.

Now see, the story of the comic book I actually find uneven. It really shortened the period of rebuilding Macross City inside the SDF-1 itself, just briefly mentioning it, and completely skipped over the battle with the Zentraedi at Saturn. It seems... rushed. I don't know if it was a story choice, or perhaps Harmony Gold and Titan Comics feels rushed in order to finish the comics before the license expires. In either case, I found it a bit jarring.
 
The third graphic novel came out a couple of months ago. It's difficult to talk about without spoilers, but it's made some pretty significant departures from the original series at this point. I actually like some of it, but some of it also has me worried that it can seriously jump the shark.

Rick Hunter is now blind as a Lieutenant, but he can see and control Protoculture. How, it isn't explained. It's seriously entering Star Wars' Jedi territory. Also, someone disguised as Roy Fokker murders the real Roy Fokker. Presumably, this person disguised as Roy Fokker is the one that murdered Captain Gloval.
 
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So, it's been a year. And a heck of a year. Some very significant changes have been made in the past three graphic novels. Spoilers from here on out:


It turns out that the Robotech reality in this comic book series isn't only a result of time travel, but it's also in an alternate dimension separate from the original animated series and the novels. So there's at least three dimensions in play (the original animated series, the novels, and this comic book series). In other words, much like the 2009 Star Trek, they're trying to have their cake and eat it too.

At first, it looked like Roy Fokker was a murderer. They had evidence that he murdered Captain Gloval and T.R. Edwards, among others. But nope. The Roy Fokker that murdered Captain Gloval and T.R. Edwards was an evil clone, engineered by Dr. Lazlo Zand. The real Roy Fokker was held captive in a pocket dimension by Dr. Zand, along with a clone of Captain Gloval.

Ontario got nuked by the Zentraedi like the television show, but it didn't seem to be as bad. In fact, the whole Earth didn't seem to get as badly hit by Dolza's armada as the original show and novels. It may have been, but from the art and talk among the crew, the impression that I got that while millions were indeed killed and many cities ruined, much of Earth and humanity survived.

Dr. Lazlo Zand was one of the big bads throughout the whole series. Using future knowledge gleaned from the original survey of the SDF-1, he was already well aware of the Zentraedi and the Invid. So, he created a pocket dimension where he housed a lab, cloned Roy Fokker and Henry Gloval, and began work on developing Shadow technology. He decided to try to save humanity by antagonizing the Zentraedi and the Invid so they would go after and obliterate one another, except it back fired. Breetai, Exedore, Miriya, and several other Zentraedi defected like in the original series, much of Dolza's armada was destroyed, and what was left fled to the far reaches of the galaxy, (including Azonia and Khyron). So Dr. Zand intended to instigate things by provoking the Invid Regess. It didn't work out as planned, as the Regess attacked Dr. Zand's lab in the pocket dimension, stealing his Shadow technology. The clone of Henry Gloval and the original Roy Fokker managed to escape in the chaos of the attack.

Something must have happened in the background with Harmony Gold and/or Titan Comics because at this point, the series became seriously rushed. It turns out that, along with the knowledge of the future contained in the SDF-1, they found a cryogenic pod containing a woman. After all these years, the U.N. Spacy decides to wake her up... only for it to be Dana Sterling from the future, the future that sent the SDF-1 back in time. She is under orders by Admiral Rick Hunter to try to avert their fate, but she realizes that she is too late. This thread seems to go nowhere.

In the meantime, Lieutenant Commander Rick Hunter and Lynn Minmei have both developed super powers. Due to their exposure to Protoculture, Rick Hunter can now directly see Protoculture and see possible futures and alternate dimensions, (including the other Robotech timelines). Lynn Minmei developed the power to control people through her voice.

Since the SDF-1 was attacked by the Invid Regess (while she was stealing Shadow technology from Dr. Zand's pocket dimension inside the SDF-1), they decide to return the favor. Captain Lisa Hayes orders a direct attack on Optera. The SDF-1 along with Breetai's forces directly assault Optera, and are quickly joined by Khyron and Azonia's forces. It turns out that the Invid Regess has been using the newly acquired Shadow technology to enter various alternate dimensions and realities, take and amass the Flower of Life, and destroy anyone who stands in her way. With all of the Flower of Life from various realities, she has now amassed a huge amount of power.

Super-powered Rick Hunter and Lynn Minmei along with a few others directly confront the Invid Regess, and use their combined powers to summon a bunch of characters from the various alternate dimensions and realities into the Hive, (you can see some people from the original series and people from the Waltrops comic books). All of these troops from dozens of different of realities are just too much for the Invid.

The Invid are defeated from the combined forces of all the realities. Lynn Minmei uses her Protoculture-powered voice to command the remaining Invid to leave to an empty alternate dimension and to do no more harm. Lisa Hayes and Rick Hunter marry. Roy Fokker and Claudia Grant marry. There's a clone of Henry Gloval running around. Some of the people from the alternate realities decide to stay. The end. Like I said, it seemed very rushed at the end.
 
It turns out that the Robotech reality in this comic book series isn't only a result of time travel, but it's also in an alternate dimension separate from the original animated series and the novels. So there's at least three dimensions in play (the original animated series, the novels, and this comic book series). In other words, much like the 2009 Star Trek, they're trying to have their cake and eat it too.

At first, it looked like Roy Fokker was a murderer. They had evidence that he murdered Captain Gloval and T.R. Edwards, among others. But nope. The Roy Fokker that murdered Captain Gloval and T.R. Edwards was an evil clone, engineered by Dr. Lazlo Zand. The real Roy Fokker was held captive in a pocket dimension by Dr. Zand, along with a clone of Captain Gloval.

Ontario got nuked by the Zentraedi like the television show, but it didn't seem to be as bad. In fact, the whole Earth didn't seem to get as badly hit by Dolza's armada as the original show and novels. It may have been, but from the art and talk among the crew, the impression that I got that while millions were indeed killed and many cities ruined, much of Earth and humanity survived.

Dr. Lazlo Zand was one of the big bads throughout the whole series. Using future knowledge gleaned from the original survey of the SDF-1, he was already well aware of the Zentraedi and the Invid. So, he created a pocket dimension where he housed a lab, cloned Roy Fokker and Henry Gloval, and began work on developing Shadow technology. He decided to try to save humanity by antagonizing the Zentraedi and the Invid so they would go after and obliterate one another, except it back fired. Breetai, Exedore, Miriya, and several other Zentraedi defected like in the original series, much of Dolza's armada was destroyed, and what was left fled to the far reaches of the galaxy, (including Azonia and Khyron). So Dr. Zand intended to instigate things by provoking the Invid Regess. It didn't work out as planned, as the Regess attacked Dr. Zand's lab in the pocket dimension, stealing his Shadow technology. The clone of Henry Gloval and the original Roy Fokker managed to escape in the chaos of the attack.

Something must have happened in the background with Harmony Gold and/or Titan Comics because at this point, the series became seriously rushed. It turns out that, along with the knowledge of the future contained in the SDF-1, they found a cryogenic pod containing a woman. After all these years, the U.N. Spacy decides to wake her up... only for it to be Dana Sterling from the future, the future that sent the SDF-1 back in time. She is under orders by Admiral Rick Hunter to try to avert their fate, but she realizes that she is too late. This thread seems to go nowhere.

In the meantime, Lieutenant Commander Rick Hunter and Lynn Minmei have both developed super powers. Due to their exposure to Protoculture, Rick Hunter can now directly see Protoculture and see possible futures and alternate dimensions, (including the other Robotech timelines). Lynn Minmei developed the power to control people through her voice.

Since the SDF-1 was attacked by the Invid Regess (while she was stealing Shadow technology from Dr. Zand's pocket dimension inside the SDF-1), they decide to return the favor. Captain Lisa Hayes orders a direct attack on Optera. The SDF-1 along with Breetai's forces directly assault Optera, and are quickly joined by Khyron and Azonia's forces. It turns out that the Invid Regess has been using the newly acquired Shadow technology to enter various alternate dimensions and realities, take and amass the Flower of Life, and destroy anyone who stands in her way. With all of the Flower of Life from various realities, she has now amassed a huge amount of power.

Super-powered Rick Hunter and Lynn Minmei along with a few others directly confront the Invid Regess, and use their combined powers to summon a bunch of characters from the various alternate dimensions and realities into the Hive, (you can see some people from the original series and people from the Waltrops comic books). All of these troops from dozens of different of realities are just too much for the Invid.

The Invid are defeated from the combined forces of all the realities. Lynn Minmei uses her Protoculture-powered voice to command the remaining Invid to leave to an empty alternate dimension and to do no more harm. Lisa Hayes and Rick Hunter marry. Roy Fokker and Claudia Grant marry. There's a clone of Henry Gloval running around. Some of the people from the alternate realities decide to stay. The end. Like I said, it seemed very rushed at the end.
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Ontario got nuked by the Zentraedi like the television show,

Correction, the SDF-1 nuked Ontario in the television show. Yeah, it probably wasn't in good shape with all those Zent battlecruisers spraying beam death, but the SDF-1 and the omni barrier is what turned it literally into a miles wide smouldering crater.

A Macross forum I lurk on had been commenting on the issues as they released. They're pretty militantly anti-Robotech, especially one guy. Anyway, I can't say I really liked what they were showing off and commenting on. The only thing I was ever interested in was that special Minmei cover on the first issue.

They're on Remix now. That one looks quite a bit better. But I think it's about to wrap up.
 
Correction, the SDF-1 nuked Ontario in the television show. Yeah, it probably wasn't in good shape with all those Zent battlecruisers spraying beam death, but the SDF-1 and the omni barrier is what turned it literally into a miles wide smouldering crater.

A Macross forum I lurk on had been commenting on the issues as they released. They're pretty militantly anti-Robotech, especially one guy. Anyway, I can't say I really liked what they were showing off and commenting on. The only thing I was ever interested in was that special Minmei cover on the first issue.

They're on Remix now. That one looks quite a bit better. But I think it's about to wrap up.

Ah, that's right.

In the comic books, Dr. Lazlo Zand did some techno-mumbo jumbo to secretly re-direct the power from the explosion that should have occurred directly to Optera, flattening the Invid Regess and everything around her, seriously honking her off. That was his method to try to instigate an Invid invasion twenty-some years early.
 
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