“Yesterday’s” Comic> Robotech: Return To Macross #20

I never thought of Lisa as “fragile”.

Robotech: Return To Macross #20

Academy Comics Ltd (April, 1995)

“Love In A Memory”

WRITER: Robert W. Gibson

ARTIST/LETTERER: Sean Bishop

Taking place around the same time as the end of last issue we see what Lisa was doing just before Claudia picked her up. As she packs up her stuff to move to the Robotech Academy she flashes back to the day her home was gassed from above, taking her mother, and to the day her school was blown up. We learn a bit more about her friend Lori and see some time with Lisa and Karl, who were still dating in high school. Now she’s ready to leave to begin the next phase of her life, as we’ll see in Academy Blues.

What they got right: I liked seeing little Lisa and her father, and older Lisa and Karl (who actually spotlights that little heart shape Lisa always has in her hair), the two most important men in her life at the time. We’re also introduced to Lori, who was created for the comic as far as I know and will be part of the main cast of Academy Blues as Lisa’s best friend at the time.

What they got wrong: I kind of feel that this should have focused a bit more on introducing Lori and Lisa’s relationship with Karl. The latter is the driving force for her joining the RDF in the first place,  in the hopes that she’ll be assigned to Mars Base where Karl is stationed. (Although we all know how that ends up.) Plus Lori is a new character and showing more of her would help sell Academy Blues a bit more.

Recommendation: Overall it is a good story and preview of Academy Blues, the spinoff from Return To Macross as we see Gibson will be taking a different angle to events in the pre-Saga days. Bill Spangler returns I believe next issue. This issue though is worth checking out.