Robotech: Destroid & Excalibur I and II Comics

by Nathan Stout (of AccordingToWhim.com)

We take a small break from watching the cartoon series to partake of these one shots put out by

Academy comics.

Destroid (Academy 1994)

Wow, we get a goof and and an awesome picture in the first page of this comic. Lisa and Claudia are reversed... well apparently the whole image is reversed becasue Vanessa is in the wrong spot too... no biggie. The next shot is inspired! It is a look at the bridge in a way that we have only seen in Macross sequels. It's shown in all the concept sketch stuff but never in the original show. The bridge is more of a deck hanging in a much larger space. We see a side view of it here... this is cool!

The art work in this comic is top notch. I am really digging it! A lot of detail and the character portraits are well done. Nice work!

This comic illustrates the sad fact that Destroid are sitting ducks out there. They clomp out on deck and get their asses handed to them. Veritechs and zoom here and there and generally be on the move all the time while all other mecha just stand there like nicely painted targets.

On page 11 is the inside of a Desroid. There never was any sort of view like this in the show. I really like it.

On page 25 is the writer and artist (William Jang's) story oh how this comic book came together. It is an interesting read.

Excalibur (Academy 1995)

Excalibur is the continuation of Destroid with Ken Saton (the only survivor of the team in the Destroid comic).

Once again William Jang does a great job with some great art work. The opening page of the SDF-1 is great. Have I mentioned I like shots of the SDF-1 (only like a million times).

I like all the technical upgrade talk here. Jang took something that was just a background feature and enhanced it, bringing it up to the front for a bit. It's nice to see Destroids get some of the glory for once.

The Excaliburs are upside down. This is cool. It does pose an issue since there is supposed to be artificial gravity all about the SDF-1. Who knows, maybe that doesn't count on the 'arms'.

Excalibur II (Academy 1994)

This is a further continuation of the previous 'one shot' Excalibur. It takes place right after splashdown of the SDF-1 on Earth.

Nice opening shot of the SDF-1 there.

On page 7 there appears to be a model of the Enterprise from Star Trek on the desk in the corner of the office.

Page 8 seems to almost be a pre-art sketch. It's really rough and lacks the details of the rest of the comic. It seems like the page was forgotten about and this was done at the last moment or something...

On page 9 in the first frame we see a couple (from behind) who looks a lot like Claudia and Roy. Also the VT pilot coming through the door is wearing a Macross: Do You Remember Love uniform.

The story ends kinda weakly for me. I liked the art, the story was going well but it all ended rather quickly without much resolution. Perhaps he thought they would give him more. Over all I liked it.

Civil War Stories #1, Return to Macross #34-37, Breaking Point #1

by Nathan Stout (of AccordingToWhim.com)

Welcome to the next part of my 2012 Reading/Watching extravaganza of Robotech! I have now moved on to the one-shot by Academy 'Civil War Stories' and more of Return to Macross and finally Break Point then I am onto the show! Catch up on what I am doing here.

Civil War Stories #1 (Academy 1996)

D.S. Villalovos is our artist and the ever-story-producing Robert Gibson is the writer once again. This one-shot is a story about a battle that happened during the Gobal Civil War.

Villalovos' art looks like it would be better suited for something original, instead of trying to reflect the look of a set of particular characters.

On page 8 we once again see Henry Gloval's 'give-up' attitude. How in the world did this guy ever get so high up in the RDF?! lol.

No sure whats going on in the bottom frame of page 22. It looks like it's a 'fill in your own tobacco advert' featuring Henry Gloval. Here is mine...

"Have you dodged death today on the open seas? Then fill up with Newton's pipe tobacco and celebrate!"

Now the first page of this story says it was an account of one of the 'bloodiest battles' of the Global Civil Way'. Must have been a VERY tame war.

Return to Macross #34 (Academy 1996)

On page 10 there is the concert on the cruise ship and in the back of the crowd is none other than Tetsuo from Akira. He looks pretty pissed!

The cartoon look of these character portraits are somewhat distracting. Take a look at page 11 and you will see what I mean. Lisa looks kinda retarded in that bottom-left frame!

The art at the bottom of page 16 looks like a caricature. I am going to bet this artist worked at one of those caricature booths at Six Flags or something.

In the Academy Mailbag section they tell us that Sean Bishop got a job working at Disney. I guess he went on to do comics for them. I wouldn't doubt it, he is pretty good.

Return to Macross #35 (Academy 1996)

Dusty Griffin continues his work with this comic with Bill Spangler doing the writing.

Looks like Admiral Hayes has been kidnapped by some thugs so Lisa isn't in so much danger anymore since they have the big fish now.

The bad guys also take control of one of the RDF's ocean platforms. They get some of the Radar X Destroids and make their demands. The Destroids look really strange.

The quality of the art in this comic is actually very good. It appears Dusty Griffin had more time or he just does a better job with action than alot of people sitting around talking.

Return to Macross #36 (Academy 1996)

The bad guys were headed up to the Achilles space ship with Admiral Hayes hostage. Roy (having his usual run of bad luck) had to put back down.

On page 4 Claudia asks Roy how he feel for the first time in this whole run of comics! She had dissed him so much all during Return to Macross I was beginning to feel sorry for him.

The double page art on page 12 looks great! It's Armor 1 doing something other than getting whupped on by the Zentraedi.
The designer of the Achilles shut off all power to everything... except the gravity. He must have forgot to shut that system off.

I found this comic to be a very easy read. It was well laid out and had coherent action, bravo!

Return to Macross #37 (Academy 1996)

Roy is in pursuit of Smythe and did he just try to commit murder on page 8? Shouldn't he be just trying to disable the shuttle?

On page 16 the Robotech Military Police sure look alot like the terrorist that invaded the Achilles. There's that strange looking Destroid again.

Mayor Lunan sure looks fit and trim! I wonder what happened to him?

That's some real dodgy art on page 21. I think he was in a rush that day.

And POOF! on page 24 everything is all right between Roy and Claudia... really? sheesh...

And that's it! The curtain closes on Return to Macross. It was a bumpy ride but I had fun. On to the next comic!

Breaking Point: Lisa Hayes #1 (Academy 1996)

All the women in this comic look the same (with the exception of Claudia). I was having trouble keeping people straight.

On page 13 the killer lady appears to be walking away from the guy then all the sudden we see him falling in the ocean. I guess she threw the knife? Not sure, the direction wasn't too clear.

Well... well... I can't say I saw the ending coming. I guess they felt the need to wrap of that particular character and leave her pre-launch. Ouch.

THAT'S ALL! I have completed the time line in the Robotech universe right up to the series. In my next post I will be going over the first Robotech book and the show itself. The reading list doesn't cover the comico stuff for some reason but I will be reading those as well.

Until next time!

Return To Macross #26, Academy Blues #4, Romance #1, and Academy Blues #5

by Nathan Stout (of AccordingToWhim.com)

So Spring is just around the corner and by looking at the reading/watching order list I am not doing so well. I think that once I get into the shows things will speed up a lot so never fear!

For those of you who don't know what the heck I am talking about check out my first blog post about my 2012 'total Robotech experience' and feel free to join in.

You will probably notice (if you haven't already) that I do alot of griping about the comics. Don't get me wrong, I love Robotech! There are places you can go on the net and see synopsis about the comics and such and I didn't want to do that. I wanted to throw my perspective about the comics and not just retell them to you in boring blog format. I might whine about art or bad lettering but I am enjoying the experience so just accept it! Let's roll out!

Return To Macross #26 (Academy 1995)

Michelle Birchfield is back as artist. Like I said before she isn't bad, at times she draws beautifully and some of her characters look great but they aren't very anime-like. At some points he art is a little 'iffy.

On page 7 Brian Bernard looks a little retarded. Derp!

Macross city seems VERY futuristic in Ms. Birchfield's panels. A little too futuristic at times!

Many of the drawings in the middle of the comic of Brian are very '80's' looking... like some thing out of an A-ha video! I like them.

Page 20... wtf...

On page 25 they talk about Robocon 10 which happened the month before.

Academy Blues # 4 (Academy 1995)

The artist for this issue is Frances Birchfield. I am not sure if Frances and Michelle are the same person or sisters or something. A quick look on the net resulted in no extra info. Michelle did attend Robocon 10 but no mention of Frances.

Frances' art is rough at times. Character's heads are way too big for their bodies and there are times I think I might have drawn a particular panel better (and that's saying something). I realize Academy didn't have big bucks to hire mega stars of the art world.

On page 8 is an advertisement for the 'swimsuit issue'. I have never liked that. Sure I am a guy and all but Minmei in those kinds of bathing suits... sheesh. She would be FAR too prudish to wear any of that!

On page 9 Roy has a super mullet... wait a second! Oh man... I just noticed that their 'pages' don't match up. The story line is numbered but the pages in between (the ads) are not. When I tell you guys to check out the ad on page 8 (or 9, or whatever) I am looking at the last numbered page and adding whatever number onto it. Well, just try to keep up. I'll just continue to do it that way...

On page 14 Simon Lebon makes an appearance... wait that's Roy.

When Claudia leaves the UEG building Roy follows and tells himself she went down 'Gibson Street'... is that a little nod to himself (the writer of the comic)?

So the guy that was following Lisa confronts Roy outside the UEG building which on a few pages back was guarded by armor-clad troops. Roy and this guy fight right out there but conveniently the guards are gone.

Romance #1 (Academy 1995)

Question answered! Both Michelle and Frances Birchfield are drawing this issue so they ARE separate people. You may all breath normally again.

Romance is an comic of shorter comics. A one shot of one shots if you will. With Gibson, the Birchfield Sisters and Seripo Calm (who is a first here) come together to write and draw 'the more romantic side' of Roboteh.

The fist segment presents itself as one of Lisa's old roomate's songs and is simple artwork with accompanying lyrics to various scenes in Lisa's love life.

Why o why was Karl Rieber in the military? What a puss, always wining about war and crap but still joining up!

Two Beers with a Skirt Chaser is the next tale and it's about Roy (of course). The art from Calm is... very.. Disney XD. It looks like Disney redesigned Robotech for their weekday Clubhouse Disney or something, very cartoony.

Roy drinks his way to near un-coherentness in this little tale. Rolf Emerson tries to talk some sense into the lush but nothing is working. Roy is hung up over Claudia and finds his woes are lessened in some cheap booze.

The final story is 'When the Going Gets Tough' by Gibson as well. It's about someone named Georgia (you may remeber that she works at the Academy with the simulators. Apparently she needs to seriously get laid (I kid I kid)!

She is having some very strange dreams about Rolf Emerson and the 'Bridge Bunnies' before they were actually bridge bunnies. I think Georgia just needs to NOT eat at least four hours before bed... that will stop those freaky dreams. Either way I am even more confused when at the end of the dream it's Sammie who is dreaming (and was at the beginning of the comic).

One page 7 is a STUNNING announcement from Academy. They write to everyone that they will no longer be doing Robotech comics in the coming year. After December of 2006 they will no longer be publishing or selling back issues. Oh the horror!

Academy Blues #5 (Academy 1996)

I can certainly see the differences between Michelles and Frances' art. Michelle uses softer edges while Frances' art has more straight lines.

Sammie is bummed because she is having to earn a living and Vanessa and Kim are free to be perverts.

We also see more simulator hijinks at the Robotech Academy with Georgia and the man she hankers for (Tom, who just don't look right). Lisa is barking at the other cadets (what's new) and life goes on.

We get a bookend to this issue with the explanation as to how someone so young (Lisa) could have become a Lieutenant in the RDF. She along with Rolf Emerson are promoted in the Academy and will graduate with those positions.

Academy Blues #0 and Return To Macross: Issues 21-25

by Nathan Stout of (AccordingToWhim.com)

Academy Blues #0 (Academy 1995)
This is a whopping 40+ page comic which revolves around Lisa Hayes' days at the Robotech Academy. This type of storyline is the kind of thing I like. It gets more involved with the characters. When you have a nice mixture of the action and character's lives it really makes for interesting reading.

Roy Fokker shows up to lecture at one of her classes and on page 9 the students throw some funny questions at him.

Rolf Emerson is brought into continuity here as well. Claudia is smitten with him.

The comic only lasts the first 24 pages and then we are given an interview with the writer of the Academy Blues series: Robert Gibson. After that there is another interview, this time with artist Sean Bishop.

Return To Macross #21 (Academy 1995)

Bill Spangler and Wes Abbot are back on the case as we swing back to the Return to Macross series. We pick back up with the trouble with the 'Faithful' group on Macross Island.

Roy and Lang mosey on down to a special submarine that is kept on standby to safe all Lang's research away in the event something goes down on Macross. The sub takes off by itself and Roy has to takes steps to figure out what's going on and who is doing it.

On page 18 (after Roy has gotten ahold of a ridiculously large missile launcher) Lang dumps his research to distract the probe. It is a box of... floppy discs... come on! Even in 95 there were CDs...

Return To Macross #22 (Academy 1995)

This issue opens with Lang's sister Nina talking about how the SDF-1 is a timebomb then we cut to Roy and Lang talking at the Robotech HQ. I for one would like to know how the HECK they got out of the fix they were in during the last issue! They seems to have just dropped that storyline. Roy and Lang were prisoners inside that sub that was being remotely controlled then... nothing. I figured they would still be on it but I guess when they destroyed that probe thingy it released control (although nothing was ever mentioned).

On page 9 I could see the outline of a T.A.C. solider and sure enough on the next page there is the Southern Cross armor. Once again I like the fact that they are mixing that stuff in but it doesn't fit into the cartoon at all. If we are seeing it now I would assume we would have seen it in Macross City on the SDF-1... just sayin'.

On page 17 they are egging the Spartan Destroid... nice.

Return To Macross #23 (Academy 1995)

Charles Wilbur is back on Macross Island. You will remember that he was the once leader of the faithful but left after seeing that Robotechnology wasn't all that bad. He returns to the island to denounce the new violence that the 'Faithful' has started up.

Wilbur is shot and POOF! Roy just happens to have a brand spanking new plot device motorcycle to give chase to the killers.

On page 25 there is a short article about the upcoming Robocon 10 convention! I'm sure you all know about me and Robocon 10... check the last paragraph.

Return To Macross #24 (Academy 1995)

The 'Faithful' faction that is all for causing real turbulence is planning something big and Nina (who is on the less-extreme side of the argument) is getting caught in the middle.

I can't be sure but it looks like he drew the Gladiator backwards on page 15. It could be going the other direction but the hands look like they are facing the wrong way for it to be walking away from the viewer.

On page 16 we are watching the MBS news but there is a shot of a person being interviewed and an MBS TV camera guy is in the shot... filming the guy. I guess MBS (Macross Broadcasting System) wants multiple angles for some really high quality news reporting.

On page 24 there is a Playstation on the floor.

After the comic there is an interview with Carl Macek. He comments that he wishes everyone would just forget about Robotech: The Movie... lol. He also talks about his total plan for Robotech (one he would never get) as well as a tidbit about the Soundtrack Perfect Collection set that came out around that time.

Return To Macross #25 (Academy 1995)

This issue concludes the 'War of the Belivers' storyline from the last few issues. Nina was kidnapped in the last issue and it's up to Roy to save her.

So while they (Roy and Lang) are trying to find Nina, Roy just blasts a major piece of communications equipment to play a hunch... really Roy?

Everything is wrapped up neatly and Lang introduces Nina to Brian Bernard... yes, that Bernard. I don't think it was ever mentioned later but I am guessing this is supposed to wind up being Scott's future mother and father.

Metal Swarm: Issue 1 and Return to Macross: Issues 16-18, 20

by Nathan Stout (of AccordingToWhim.com)

Onward and upward. I have been following this reading list for the complete Robotech saga and we are now up to Metal Swarm and continuing Return to Macross. The year got off to a quick start but slowed in the last 2 weeks. Work has been crazy and so my free time at home has been shorter than usual so the progress on Robotech for 2012 has slowed a little. Not to fear, we are doing well, it's only February so no panicking... yet.

Metal Swarm #1 (Academy 1995)

The artist for this comic draws in a very 'deco' design. It looks more like individual artwork than a comic. I am not sure if I like or don't like.

The story in here is a one-off job. I am not sure how academy was doing things but it is a bit confusing. I am guessing that they were going to continue the series since on the last page it said: Next Time: Family Ties. I did a search though the comics I had and I don't see anything titled Family Ties so I guess the sales sucked enough for them to ditch the line.

Return to Macross #16 (Academy 1994)

We have jumped back across the universe and are picking up the story with Roy Fokker back on Macross Island (pre SDF-1 launch). We are back with the story line of Roy's old war buddy who is having flashbacks of the Global Civil war.

On page 3 the credits at the bottom of the page look like they are literally those old label makers you click and the letters are pressed though the label. I forgot all about those!

Roy's friend gets killed and Roy gets in trouble... ooooooo. I'm soooo scared for him. Not really.

Return to Macross #17 (Academy 1995)

We open with a wide shot of Macross Island... ahhhh. I love shots of Macross Island.

In this issue we see some of the future leader of the Southern Cross Army: Anatole Leonard. Apparently he is dabbling with the extremist group: 'The Faithful'.

On page 21 there is a semi-closeup of the SFD-1 while Roy is flying away from it. This is the first scene like this I have seen in any of the comics. No one has drawn the SDF-1 at that distance yet, it is interesting.

Return to Macross #18 (Academy 1995)

Is the singer at the first of this issue singing Abba or The Bangles? By the way, the cover of this issue could have been better...

The singer is Nina Lang, Dr. Lang's sister that we met back in some earlier Return To Macross issues. The Faithful are wanting her to be the voice of the anti-robotech movement. She seems cool with it.

What is Roy doing with his hand on page 26 (second frame)?! Why is he sniffing his hand 3 frames later!? lol. Just bad positioning I guess...

Return to Macross #20 (Academy 1995)

In this issue we see some of Lisa's childhood and her father (Admiral Hayes) is given a first name. I don't remember if he was ever given a name in any of the books and I know he wasn't named in the show.

On page 14 there is a shot of Lisa in the shower that looks exactly like the shot of Minmei in the shower (from the original Macross). Here is the original Minmei shot.

As Lisa is remembering Karl Rieber he seems to be wearing something VERY similar to Rick's launch day jumpsuit complete with trendy early 80's cravat.

The story as a whole is Lisa recalling her youth caught up in the middle of the Global Civil War. She is doing all this recalling because she is about to move out of her childhood friend's place and in with Claudia Grant. There is a bit of a back story here with this childhood friend and it actually made me want to see more of this storyline. I guess this issue was an attempt to see if the storyline performed well enough to warrant its own series since the story begins and ends right there. This seemed to be less 'action and adventure' storyline and more 'relationship and situation' storyline. I think the series Academy Blues takes this slant so I might fulfill that need with it.

Robotech: Warriors: Issues 0-3

by Nathan Stout (of AccordingToWhim.com)

We are up to Robotech: Warriors at this point in our year-long look into Robotech. Issue #0 is actually apart of Return to Macross #15. The other issues were a separate title from Academy. Let's begin, shall we?

Robotech: Warriors #0 (Academy 1995)

In this very short issue we are presented with the artwork of Byron Peneranda and an all new story of Zentraedi before they reach Earth (possibly much earlier, not sure at this point). Peneranda's art looks very sketchy but I like it. It looks more like art than just cartoons. He did a good job on character appearances. I am digging this artwork.

A Zentraedi warrior is dead and Breetai and Exedore are looking into the reasons. They quickly discover that their ultimate enemies; the Invid are behind it. I guess that now I think about it, Exedore was assigned to Breetai after Zor's death so I assume this series takes place during Breetai's tracking of the SDF-1... or I could have just read the paragraph at the front of the issue and cleared this up quickly... lol.

Robotech: Warriors #1 (Academy 1995)

On page 14 there is a little grammatical error that I am sure Chris already picked up on, see if you can find it too...

So somehow Breetai is captured by these little people on this planet he was investigating for Invid infestation. This is a Gulliver's Travels type situation. Soon some of the Invid's pet creatures attack the city and Breetai convince the little people to allow him to fight them. He does and gets his ass handed to him and the Invid take off with an unconscious Breetai in tow.

At the end of this book Bill Spangler has a Zentraedi dictionary that he had been working on for years. He felt the need to come up with some words he could use in the various comics that the Zentraedi would use and this list grew into quite the document. He put them out there for everyone who is interested to see.

Robotech: Warriors #2 (Academy 1995)

We start this issue with a '5th class' Invid scientist. He looks pretty cool for being a slug. He is using a Genesis Pit to experiment on the planet Breetai was captured on.

The Inorganics make an appearance wrapping The Sentinels mythos neatly into Macross and New Generation mythos. I never gave two hoots about Inorganics. I always thought it was Harmony Gold's attempt to add 'something new' to keep Robotech fresh. I don't know if I ever said so but I never cared for The Sentinels too much.

In the 2nd half of this comic is a mini story involving Miriya Parino drawn by Jonard Sirano. I'm not too sure why they felt the need to do this unless there just wasn't enough material for all the Warriors issues.

Robotech: Warriors #3 (Academy 1995)

In this final issue (but I don't this it was meant to be the final one) Breetai has joined with the inhabitants of a planet to stop the monsters the an Invid scientist released on the population.

I don't think this was meant to be the final of the Warriors issues since on page 7 there is an advertisement of the very series you are currently reading. I guess Academy was in need of something to fill the pages with.

On page 8 is and advertisement for the Robotech Role Playing game... ahhh the memories.

In the 2nd half the story of Miriya finishes up. Not sure what that was all about...

Chris mentioned to me that he felt that the Warriors title was simply an excuse to draw Robotech action, not do much in the way of a storyline. After reading it myself I tend to agree. The stories are so short that there wasn't any sort of emotional involvement by the reader. I feel that Academy should have really thought out their titles and given them more depth, etc. I guess when you are trying to survive month to month as a comic book maker you tend to make smaller pieces that might keep new readers coming in.

Next in my list of reading material is Metal Swarm and some more Return to Macross. Join me, won't you?

Return To Macross: Issues 19, 14-15

by Nathan Stout (of AccordingToWhim.com)

In this post I will be covering Academy's Return to Macross comic books (issues 19, 14-15). If you don't know this is my year long Robotech Adventure! I am reading/watching the entire epic in order throughout all of 2012. You can read all about my plans in this blog. Feel free to join in and comment where necessary.

Return to Macross #19 (Academy 1995)
Sean Bishop is our Artist on this issue. He seems to have stuck to the more Anime look which is nice.

This comic takes place in 2005 and involves Rick Hunter visiting Macross... uh... really? Now from my memory Rick was 16 when he arrived on Macross island in 2009 so that would make him 12 here... So you are telling me he made the flight halfway around the globe to visit Roy? Oh well, I'll let it ride.

On page 6 there are some signs and one is interesting. It says Avatar... Academy could see into the future!

The first half of the comic is Rick running around Macross with all other Macross players just out of range (their parts come later). We see Lisa and Claudia walking down the hall. The Bridge Bunnies and Claudia leaving a movie (with Lisa running out before that).

The artist has a real grasp on the characters' appearance. He did a really good job portraying all of them.

On Page 21 Gloval's pipe is HUGE!

On Page 22 there is a poster on the wall with the Yamato that says 'now playing'. This goes along with the 'now playing' sign that Rick passed earlier. Little did they know there would be a live action Yamato movie in the year 2011.

Return to Macross #14 (Academy 1994)

We take a jump back in time a bit and head to issue 14 which takes place chronologically after issue 19. Our artist is Wes Abbot who does a pretty good job with the Anime look.

We are dealing with the micronized Zentraedi that was running loose a few issues back. He is in a type of suspended animation since the 'Knight of Knives' stabbed him.

On page 5 there is a club called Bamboo 7. I guess this ties into the Bamboo Disco seen in the series...

Apparently someone is out to get the secrets from Lang but who is the question...

Return to Macross #15 (Academy 1994)

This take centers around one of Roy's old buddies that is having some mental issues in regards to his past.

On page 12 there is an ad for Protoculture Addicts. I wrote a blog post in 2010 about my enjoyment of that particular magazine (at least the first 10 issues of it). Go here and read it. As a side note, I plan to read and review those as well in this Blog.

Alright, that's all for now. This issue is split (that's why it's so short). The other half is Robotech: Warriors. In my reading schedule that is the next title so my next post will start with this 'half issue' and then the rest of the Warriors series (only 3 issues). Later!