Is it just me or does the Zentraedi look jealous of Rick right now?
Robotech: Covert Ops #1
Antarctic Press (August, 1998)
“Covert Operations”
WRITER/ARTIST: Gregory Lane
COVER COLORIST: Nathan Lumm
EDITOR/TYPESETTING/PROOFREADING: Doug Dlin
I messed up the location in my collection’s timeline as this takes place just before the SDF-1 gets to Saturn. A scout ship is sent to check the area out and they’re captured by a Zentraedi unit who have a base on the moon of Pandora. Unaware that the crew is alive, Captain Gloval wants to send a team out to destroy the base before the ship reaches it, a plan of Lisa’s. Of course Roy volunteers and Claudia takes it out on Lisa, going a bit too far when she mentions Karl. Roy’s team includes Rick, as well as a certain blue-haired wonder pilot we’ll be meeting soon enough. Rick tries to spend some time with Minmei but when their not-date is cut short Rick runs into Lisa and they have their first non-confrontational encounter as Lisa is still hurting from Claudia’s comments. The next day the covert strike team head for the Zentraedi base while base commander Buran learns he’s going to be testing a new weapon courtesy of Khyron, who we’ll see has earned the nickname “backstabber” for a reason. Needless to say Buran isn’t happy about this order.
What they got right: Lane takes advantage of wording to give Rick a mission before his first combat mission. We get some good character moments in keeping with their personalities and relationships in the show at this point in time in the story. The black and white art actually works, and Antarctic Press was always pretty good in imitating the traditional Japanese art style, and real manga style artwork wouldn’t be a normal part of American artists for years yet. Now finding someone in the West who can draw at least one of the various manga/art styles is pretty easy but it was still just gaining a foothold in the drawing and comics world at this point.
What they got wrong: There is one continuity error, in that Rick may not be teaming with Max but the two never met at all until a few episodes after this takes place, when Rick was made a group leader. Instead Lane really wanted to have our favorite best pilot so I kind of understand but I had to mention it. It also sounds like Minmei is a serial dater according to her uncle, which just makes her look worse.
Recommendation: This issue is starting off on the right foot. If the rest of the miniseries continues along this path it will be easy to recommend.
BW Media Spotlight 
Robotech’s Event Horizon will start up on Free Comics Day with a free comic book issue. From here on out, Robotech will truly never be the same. Robotech Event Horizon is supposed to be an even more radical retelling of the Robotech story in comic book format. Also, Simon Furman is departing from Titan’s Robotech comic series. He won’t be involved in the new Event Horizon storyline at all. Simon Furman joined up with Titan’s Robotech starting in issue #5. It was definitely at that point, that the Robotech Macross story began to become increasingly changed from it had been in the past. Sometime, I do wonder though what it would have been like if the original writer (from issues #1 through 4) had stayed on with the series instead of Furman coming on board.
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Oh, I also need to mention that there is finally going to be a live action Robotech movie!!!! Looking forward to that!
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They’ve been announcing that about as long as they have a live-action Voltron and another Masters Of The Universe movie. I’ll believe it when I see it. Not that I need to because I’m fine with animation.
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You’re correct in that these types of announcements have been going on for years in terms of live action movies: Robotech, Voltron, Masters of the Universe, and even Thundercats. But this time with the current popularity of Robotech role playing games and table top games, the current Titan Comics’ run of Robotech that is quite revolutionary, and Titan’s reprinting of Comico’s and Eternity’s Robotech comics in trade paperback form, it seems more likely this time that the live action Robotech movie will really happen within the next couple of years.
Needless to say, I will actually be at Free Comics Day this year at my local comic shop (haven’t gone to Free Comics Day since 2016) in order to pick up that free copy of the beginning of the brand new and “revolutionary” Robotech Event Horizon. So Robotech #20 that comes out May 1st is the last of that line. Robotech Event Horizon starts on Free Comics Day. Then the actual comic series that one must pay for of Robotech Event Horizon kicks in some point in the summer of 2019.
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