“Yesterday’s” Comic> Voltron v2 #2 (Devil’s Due)

“What do you mean ‘extra for the oil change’?”

Voltron: Defender Of The Universe vol 2 #2

Devil’s Due (February, 2004)

“Paradise Lost” ch. 2: “Recovery”

WRITER: Dan Jolley & Marie Croall

LAYOUTS: Mike Norton

PENCILERS: E.J. Su & Clink Hilinski

INKER: Clayton Brown

COLORIST: Ben Hunzeker

LETTERING: Dreamer Design

While Sven stays behind in case the Drules attack again, the other pilots and Allura travel to Earth to reclaim the Lions. Lotor follows and watches while Colonel Hawkins is demoted to Commander by the very admiral that ordered the Lions taken. The Voltron Force sneak into the research facility holding the lions, also finding 15 vehicles…and an informal introduction to their pilots!

What they got right: This one has all the fanservice stuff (the geeky kind, not the naughty bits), but it’s used perfectly so that you don’t have to be a fan to follow the story, just to get the jokes. First of all, our heroes are finally in their uniforms, referred to as pressure suits, and there’s a nod to Sven’s suit being black (as much as I would like to see him wearing it, that wouldn’t match his character arc…at least on an early cover would have been nice though) as well as a decent explanation for the colors not matching the Lions. (I think Toei was going for the sentai aesthetic.) We also get a nod to the Gladiator Voltron, although I don’t know if they knew the history and was probably just referencing the Matchbox toy. Still, it’s a nice reference, even if they were kind of mean to it.

What they got wrong: Why do they get Galaxy Garrison right but call the Galaxy Alliance the “Galaxy Union”? And at this point in my life I’m tired of seeing heroes fight each other. The last time the two Voltrons met up it was Fleet Of Doom and they were allies.

Recommendation: I still love this series. You really need to track it down, but go for the omnibus if you can so you can see the final story.