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.
Showing posts with label academy blues. Show all posts
Showing posts with label academy blues. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Academy Blues #1-2, Tempest #1, and Academy Blues #3
by Nathan Stout (of AccordingToWhim.Com)
Welcome back to my year long look into the world of Robotech! This post is going to start out with Academy Blues #1-2, then jump over to Tempest #1, and then back to Academy Blues #3. If you are wondering why I am splitting these up you just need to refer to my post about the reading order of Robotech for 2012. This format is chronological to the storyline and Tempest is set between the 2 issues of Academy Blues 2 and 3. Let's get going!
Academy Blues #1 (1995 Academy)
Sean Bishop is the artist again and this comic looks great. He really has a nice grasp on the look of Robotech. Many of the character art is DEAD ON to the cartoon. His skill is unsurpassed.
The first page has Lisa remembering the past and the type setter used cursive writing for those few thought bubbles and it was really hard to decipher.
The title art is a 2 page spread of the SDF-1 with Lisa looking down on it from atop a building (the academy possibly). It's a nice visual but the SDF-1 looks a little out of proportion.
In the grand scheme of things the early days of the Robotech Academy would have probably gone a lot like we see it here in the comic. Classes about a whole lot of useless information that will be be forgotten by the beginning of the next semester. After the reappearance of the aliens in 2009 I figure things would have changed dramatically. From the massive loss of life and the quickly reduced forces of the RDF, classes (post Pluto space fold) were probably few and far between. New recruits probably got fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants training and quickly thrown into battle. Long gone were the days of boring lectures and useless information.
Academy Blues #2 (Academy 1995)
Tavisha Wolfgarth takes over as artist in this next issue about Lisa and the Robotech Academy. I enjoyed his art. It certainly leans more towards traditional Japanese Manga in style.
Lisa and the rest of the crew of the bridge (sans Sammie who is too young for the academy at this point) continue through the Robotech Academy. Lisa writes Karl telling him about the trials and tribulations that she must face.
Lisa talks with someone called Rolf which I assume is Rolf Emerson again (as we have seen in previous issues) but the new artist draws him differently here.
The interview that we saw with Cark Macek back in Return To Macross is repeated here so there is nothing new to read.
Tempest #1 (Academy 1995)
This is the first (at least chronologically) comic drawn by a chick. Michelle Birchfield does a passable job but the characters don't look very anime'ish. This comic is a one shot of Roy Fokker.
The panels range from crude to quite beautiful. I couldn't say she was good at any one particular aspect (character vs. mecha) since the quality ranges around. Several of the pages actually have very little are on them at all! Take a gander at pages 10-11.
On page 22 a single shot from a gun somehow blows up a Veritech... really?
Before I could even blink the comic was over! Woman steals Veritech, Roy chases woman. Woman and Roy crash on island. Woman tries to kill Roy and for no real explained reason woman kills herself. That's all! I just don't know why they would bother releasing this. If I had the rights to release Robotech comics (or any comics for that matter) I'd do a lot of planning and make sure each comic I released was worth reading, buying, and worthy of the Robotech name.
Academy Blues #3 (Academy 1995)
Laz Berry takes over for this issue as artist. Ouch! I would have to say this is my least favorite artist. Infact I had a hard time figuring out characters here. The action doesn't come across well either.
Gibson's writing isn't as good as Spangler's either. This issue disappointed me after I got somewhat involved with the previous issues of Academy Blues.
One more bitch (sorry). The lettering here is good but the bubbles and placement in bubbles is really bad.
The story happens around some sort of spy device planted on the beach that (I think) Rolf discovers and a small firefight (I think) breaks out with some spys who were working as guards in that area. Like I said the action was really hard to follow. The rest of the issue was Lisa moaning on and on about it. What a whiner! :) I kid I kid!
Welcome back to my year long look into the world of Robotech! This post is going to start out with Academy Blues #1-2, then jump over to Tempest #1, and then back to Academy Blues #3. If you are wondering why I am splitting these up you just need to refer to my post about the reading order of Robotech for 2012. This format is chronological to the storyline and Tempest is set between the 2 issues of Academy Blues 2 and 3. Let's get going!
Academy Blues #1 (1995 Academy)
Sean Bishop is the artist again and this comic looks great. He really has a nice grasp on the look of Robotech. Many of the character art is DEAD ON to the cartoon. His skill is unsurpassed.
The first page has Lisa remembering the past and the type setter used cursive writing for those few thought bubbles and it was really hard to decipher.
The title art is a 2 page spread of the SDF-1 with Lisa looking down on it from atop a building (the academy possibly). It's a nice visual but the SDF-1 looks a little out of proportion.
In the grand scheme of things the early days of the Robotech Academy would have probably gone a lot like we see it here in the comic. Classes about a whole lot of useless information that will be be forgotten by the beginning of the next semester. After the reappearance of the aliens in 2009 I figure things would have changed dramatically. From the massive loss of life and the quickly reduced forces of the RDF, classes (post Pluto space fold) were probably few and far between. New recruits probably got fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants training and quickly thrown into battle. Long gone were the days of boring lectures and useless information.
Academy Blues #2 (Academy 1995)
Tavisha Wolfgarth takes over as artist in this next issue about Lisa and the Robotech Academy. I enjoyed his art. It certainly leans more towards traditional Japanese Manga in style.
Lisa and the rest of the crew of the bridge (sans Sammie who is too young for the academy at this point) continue through the Robotech Academy. Lisa writes Karl telling him about the trials and tribulations that she must face.
Lisa talks with someone called Rolf which I assume is Rolf Emerson again (as we have seen in previous issues) but the new artist draws him differently here.
The interview that we saw with Cark Macek back in Return To Macross is repeated here so there is nothing new to read.
Tempest #1 (Academy 1995)
This is the first (at least chronologically) comic drawn by a chick. Michelle Birchfield does a passable job but the characters don't look very anime'ish. This comic is a one shot of Roy Fokker.
The panels range from crude to quite beautiful. I couldn't say she was good at any one particular aspect (character vs. mecha) since the quality ranges around. Several of the pages actually have very little are on them at all! Take a gander at pages 10-11.
On page 22 a single shot from a gun somehow blows up a Veritech... really?
Before I could even blink the comic was over! Woman steals Veritech, Roy chases woman. Woman and Roy crash on island. Woman tries to kill Roy and for no real explained reason woman kills herself. That's all! I just don't know why they would bother releasing this. If I had the rights to release Robotech comics (or any comics for that matter) I'd do a lot of planning and make sure each comic I released was worth reading, buying, and worthy of the Robotech name.
Academy Blues #3 (Academy 1995)
Laz Berry takes over for this issue as artist. Ouch! I would have to say this is my least favorite artist. Infact I had a hard time figuring out characters here. The action doesn't come across well either.
Gibson's writing isn't as good as Spangler's either. This issue disappointed me after I got somewhat involved with the previous issues of Academy Blues.
One more bitch (sorry). The lettering here is good but the bubbles and placement in bubbles is really bad.
The story happens around some sort of spy device planted on the beach that (I think) Rolf discovers and a small firefight (I think) breaks out with some spys who were working as guards in that area. Like I said the action was really hard to follow. The rest of the issue was Lisa moaning on and on about it. What a whiner! :) I kid I kid!
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