There’ll always be malcontents.
Creative Staff:
Story: Brandon Easton
Art: Simone Ragazzoni
Colors: Bryan Valenza
Letterer: Andworld’s Deron Bennett
What They Say:
After the devastating events of the Macross saga, Rick Hunter must face an all new threat, along with the ghosts of his past – when a Zentraedi splinter group attacks Yokohama, Rick is called to investigate! Piloting the new prototype YF-4 Veritech, Rick encounters old friends and new enemies, all while recounting the moments of his life that shaped the most epic moments in the Robotech universe!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Robotech continues to be one of the defining if little referenced properties of being an anime fan for me as it was where I cut my teeth as a teenager getting into anime during its original broadcast run in the US. I’m a huge fan of the show, the original works, and of the Sentinels novels. But I’ve grown very wary of comic adaptations over the years for a host of reasons. This new series looks to play in the space between the original series and the Sentinels so that gives them plenty of room to operate in. Brandon Easton covers things well here and a first issue has to do a lot of things, from a lot of action to keep that side of fandom happy to flashbacks to make aspects accessible to newer readers. It’s a solid opening but one that doesn’t really get to breathe in a lot of ways. Thankfully, Simone Ragazzoni and Bryan Valenza do a solid job on the artwork to capture a flavor of the characters and make it work while going through the action, updating some of the technology, and playing with such familiar designs. It all works and it doesn’t try to lean on a manga style which helps it from feeling too weird.
The starting point for this is that we’re in a transition phase as Rick is being promoted to major general in order to lead the expeditionary forces and spend the next few years working through that. The pilots are all watching as the Veritech’s are being decommissioned as the new models are starting to come online so there’s a sense of change and uncertainty to it all. Rick, for his part, is struggling with those changes as you’d expect and doing so without Lisa as she’s on the factory in deep space where Max and others are. So he’s spending time with Claudia’s brother Vince and there’s some good exchanges about ghosts of the past, the kind of loss that people experience in war, and how it impacts their ability to fight. It’s good stuff but it’s a lot of different pieces across the issue and a good chunk of it is done while in-flight after a combat loss which is just kind of awkward.
What’s shaking things up for the survivors on Earth is that it looks like a new group of Zentraedi malcontents with a real plan is starting to take shape and we see a tough assault on Yokohama first. That draws in one of the more frustrating characters with General Anatole Leonard of the Southern Cross as she sets Rick to a mission to Australia to help out. He technically outranks him in the souther hemisphere but has no control over Australia, hence finding this solution. Leonard comes across just as you’d expect and the heavy xenophobia is certain there, and while not good, it’s something you can understand a lot of people feeling after the invasion and destruction of so much of humanity. He’s got no love of Rick Hunter either and his views of how to manage things and it’s a good nod to some of the ways the United Earth Government is changing as more voices from this faction are gaining space in it. It sets things up for what’s happening in Australia well enough with what’s to come.
In Summary:
I’ve read so many comics for Robotech over the years that a lot has blended together and I’ve actively avoided reading any for quite a long time now. I ended up trying this one after seeing some of the artwork and enjoying the look of it and that carried through to enjoying the book. I do think there’s a lot of space where a modern written continuation to fill in the gap years can explore a lot of neat things and I think Easton is at least providing a nod toward them and I hope it gets looked at with more nuance as it progresses. With a fully active war in the real world to draw on for how things operate in the modern day, there’s a lot that can be done in making an engaging and illuminating story here while still playing to what makes Robotech what it is. I’m curious to see if they’ll keep things at arm’s length or not but it’s at least off to a good start in pointing out things such as how Anatole Leonard is and the precarious position that the UEG is in as more voices from that quarter gain power.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Titan Comics
Release Date: August 2nd, 2023
MSRP: $3.99
This review was done with a review copy provided by the publisher. We are grateful for their continued support.
