Let's get this out in the open (UPDATED)
In the comments below, Darkwater points out that Comics Continuum has the actual honest-to-goodness cover and first three pages (with text/dialogue) of Prelude up. I'll get into it in detail later today, but first, the linkage, courtesy of Darkwater & Robotech.com's BlaqChaos ...
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0509/27/robotech1c.jpg - cover
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0509/27/robotech11.jpg - page 1 (what has gone before - new!)
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0509/27/robotech12.jpg - page 2 (preview page 1, examined here)
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0509/27/robotech13.jpg - page 3 (preview page 2, examined here and here)
My one remark about this so far is that the implication in the narration on page one is that the struggle on Tiresia was much longer than it was in the Sentinels story. Weird.
Update (12:35 p.m.)
Stole a few minutes to take a closer look, so here's what I see.
Issue #1 cover art Rick (sans UEEF logo on his chest, Photoshopped out badly, as Darkwater notes in the comments below) doesn't look as old as Issue #4 cover art Rick, but looks younger than interior pages Rick. That's interesting, and I think supports my theory that the five issues will take place over some time. (I think.)
There is no year mentioned, which is weird, since the other three WildStorm Robotech series were very explicit about years. Despite what it is explicitly said, I still think 2027 works best based on what I've seen so far. (Later pages will obviously have a major bearing on whether I stick with this. You'll probably see what I mean when the book's in your hands.) The narration says "decades of struggle," but you tack even one decade onto 2022 and suddenly Rick (who was 19 when he got into this whole mess to begin with, back on Macross Island) is forty-two. Tack another on, and suddenly he's fifty-two, and as a bonus we're knee-deep in the Third Robotech War. I don't think that's where we're at now. Obviously the opening narration is not very well written ...
Also noticed, they changed the color of the shoulder bits on Jean's uniform to better match her uniform colors. Red trim is reserved for people whose uniforms had that color, like Rick & Lisa. I don't remember Jean's uniform having purple on it, but it's a better match anyway.
Speaking of Lisa, not a word about her in the opening narration. Interesting, that. Hmm.
Rick notes that the uniform the dead man is wearing is that of a pilot from Edwards' Ghost Squadron. I wonder, if we see other soldiers under Edwards' command, will they be wearing classic Sentinels Expeditionary Force uniforms, too? Hm. (That also explains the monochromatic coloration, to a certain extent.)
Also, I guess that control panel is hooked up to the Invid Brain, since when Edwards pushes the button, the brain burbles. Maybe it's been hooked up to a new control panel aboard Edwards' ship? Though interfacing an alien technology with an Expditionary Force ship control panel ... hmm ... I think I'm overthinking this.
In any case, it's nice to see the good ol' SDF-3 again on the first page, even if it is obscured by really murky colors. Then again, it should be kind of a murky color, a sort of dark radish red as seen in the animation. (NOT those awful browns and greens that always appeared on the Sentinels covers.) I think that's what they used here. And I assume it'll be much easier to see on the printed page.
We don't make it to the two-page spread, so it's still fair game for tonight.
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0509/27/robotech1c.jpg - cover
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0509/27/robotech11.jpg - page 1 (what has gone before - new!)
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0509/27/robotech12.jpg - page 2 (preview page 1, examined here)
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0509/27/robotech13.jpg - page 3 (preview page 2, examined here and here)
My one remark about this so far is that the implication in the narration on page one is that the struggle on Tiresia was much longer than it was in the Sentinels story. Weird.
Update (12:35 p.m.)
Stole a few minutes to take a closer look, so here's what I see.
Issue #1 cover art Rick (sans UEEF logo on his chest, Photoshopped out badly, as Darkwater notes in the comments below) doesn't look as old as Issue #4 cover art Rick, but looks younger than interior pages Rick. That's interesting, and I think supports my theory that the five issues will take place over some time. (I think.)
There is no year mentioned, which is weird, since the other three WildStorm Robotech series were very explicit about years. Despite what it is explicitly said, I still think 2027 works best based on what I've seen so far. (Later pages will obviously have a major bearing on whether I stick with this. You'll probably see what I mean when the book's in your hands.) The narration says "decades of struggle," but you tack even one decade onto 2022 and suddenly Rick (who was 19 when he got into this whole mess to begin with, back on Macross Island) is forty-two. Tack another on, and suddenly he's fifty-two, and as a bonus we're knee-deep in the Third Robotech War. I don't think that's where we're at now. Obviously the opening narration is not very well written ...
Also noticed, they changed the color of the shoulder bits on Jean's uniform to better match her uniform colors. Red trim is reserved for people whose uniforms had that color, like Rick & Lisa. I don't remember Jean's uniform having purple on it, but it's a better match anyway.
Speaking of Lisa, not a word about her in the opening narration. Interesting, that. Hmm.
Rick notes that the uniform the dead man is wearing is that of a pilot from Edwards' Ghost Squadron. I wonder, if we see other soldiers under Edwards' command, will they be wearing classic Sentinels Expeditionary Force uniforms, too? Hm. (That also explains the monochromatic coloration, to a certain extent.)
Also, I guess that control panel is hooked up to the Invid Brain, since when Edwards pushes the button, the brain burbles. Maybe it's been hooked up to a new control panel aboard Edwards' ship? Though interfacing an alien technology with an Expditionary Force ship control panel ... hmm ... I think I'm overthinking this.
In any case, it's nice to see the good ol' SDF-3 again on the first page, even if it is obscured by really murky colors. Then again, it should be kind of a murky color, a sort of dark radish red as seen in the animation. (NOT those awful browns and greens that always appeared on the Sentinels covers.) I think that's what they used here. And I assume it'll be much easier to see on the printed page.
We don't make it to the two-page spread, so it's still fair game for tonight.
posted by Captain JLS at
11:47
5 Comments:
And notice how they poorly covered Rick's chest emblem in the final cover release. They just cover it with a blue box approximately the same color as the artwork, but its still visible.
hmmm... I wonder if HG found out they didn't have the copyright to the logo or something. That would be (slightly) amusing.
By
Anonymous, at 28 September, 2005 12:01
Yeah, but it's still on T.R. Edwards' right shoulder inside the book (pg. 3) -- and for that matter, behind the logo. That's really weird.
By
Captain JLS, at 28 September, 2005 12:17
Here's a question -
Notice how there's no Macross characters in the movie besides Rick (that we know of)? And Rick (totally redesigned) is the only Macross character we've seen so far in Prelude?
What I'm wondering is, would it be possible to "cap off" the Sentinels series with Rick being the only returning Macross character? I don't know if that's going to be the case, but would it be possible?
That would mean no more Minmei, Max, Miriya, Breetai or Exedore (I think that's all who were in Sentinels).
I haven't read Rubicon, but could we finish the series without those characters?
By
Anonymous, at 28 September, 2005 16:34
(Sorry for the double comment, but i posted this below and it might slip between the cracks...so here goes...again!)
Jonathan (and anyone else, for that matter)-
I'm a big fan of your Robotech Comic info (from your site to the blog, it's all good stuff!).
At any rate, I was able to get a good look at the new comic at my local shop. While I didn't get to read the whole thing, I skimmed for major plot points and character appearances.
If you want any spoilers, (major or minor) let me know. Trust me when I say there are a few big events in this book.
If you want to wait or if you have access at your shop, that's cool too.
Anyway- keep up the good work. I certainly appreciate all the Robotech critique and criticism you post!
I also want to echo what b4bobb said. It's great having a Waltrip Sentinels comic out again. Too bad they didn't draw it- I think they could have done a great job. And who knows just how much of it they actually wrote? Still, it's kind of an exciting time to be a fan!
-shane
By
Anonymous, at 28 September, 2005 19:37
Darkwater:
Rubicon is a big fight story. Breetai is killed off in battle against the Regent, the Sentinels attack Edwards-controlled Optera, and Rick and Lisa confront Edwards and save Minmei. If I remember right, the novel had Janice carrying Edwards into the burning Genesis Pits and sacrificing herself. No chance of that this time, given Janice's role in Shadow Chronicles. Probably get a more apt death at Rick's hands, or maybe Vince's.
Max and Miriya's absence is fine. I don't remember them returning to battle after the birth of their second daughter; I'm pretty sure they stay on Haydon IV. Lisa's absence would be noteworthy, but it doesn't really affect anything plotwise, though it does deny Rick his closest confidant, sounding board, and emotional tether. If he can deal with it, we can deal with it. ^_^ Exedore is an exposition machine, nothing more. Cabell could easily show up and pick up his slack. Breetai was the one who killed the Regent with his sacrifice, after impregnating his "mate." That subplot can easily be dropped and the Regent killed by someone a little more apt with a little greater connection, like say, Edwards upon his arrival on Optera -- or, ooh, maybe the Invid scientist Tesla!
But ... Minmei. You can't show Minmei on page two and not have her turn up again. Not after what she's been through. Not after the death of her beloved cousin in her arms and her torture at the hands of that villainous bastard T.R. Edwards. In fact, this is the only reason for Lisa to hang around -- to keep Rick's head in the right place, to remind us that while he has to rescue Minmei one last time, it's like a band playing their greatest hits on tour years later. He's grown since those days, and his marriage with Lisa is a big part of that. Maybe she's not as disposable as I thought ...
Shane:
Go ahead and spoil me. E-mail it, though, if you would. I'm dying to find out who's here, who's not, and how the puzzle pieces all fit together. Certainly with the book in my hands next week, I'll get a better feel for what's been kept and what's been dumped, but an overview right now would be useful. (And of course major things are going to happen in this issue -- when you've got five issues to radically rejigger the status quo of the Sentinels-era Robotech cast, every issue counts!)
By
Captain JLS, at 28 September, 2005 20:48
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