Robotech comics for December ...

Yoinked from Comic Book Resources.

So, was the preview art miscolored? Or is the series (perhaps just the first issue, even) set over a number of years, and by this point the Expeditionary Force's fearless leader is all old and gray? Because seriously, I swear the guy with the brown hair in the preview over at the DC Comics website (see here) is Rick, but on the other hand, the fellow front and center (and armored up on the front lines here, in a shot that brings to mind many a Robotech II: The Sentinels cover, like this one and to a certain extent, this one) has to be Rick as well. I mean, his uniform and armor are color-coded red and white, for crying out loud ...

My question now is, when do we get to see the cover for the first issue without the stupid question mark over it? I know I've said it before (though perhaps not here), but that first issue question mark reminds me of the script of the first episode of the Robotech II: The Sentinels TV series, where the inner circle of the REF is all having this discussion on the shuttle headed to the Zentraedi Factory Satellite, and it's written so that Rick is looking away and has his face in shadow until he has this dramatic turn-around. Rick "Whiny-Boy" Hunter doesn't deserve a dramatic reveal! I remember the day I was explaining the synopsis of The New Generation to a friend of mine who was just getting into Robotech. When I spoke the words "Admiral Rick Hunter" her jaw dropped open, and a second later she was laughing. Then again, I think she'd only watched the first twelve or so episodes of The Macross Saga at that point, so I guess her disbelief makes sense.

Then again, go back and rewatch "Broken Heart," Macross Saga #32 of 36, and tell me that guy deserves to be an admiral. Go ahead. Do it. "Hm, reheated emotions, duty, reheated emotions, duty ... hm, which to go with ..." Idiot.

Once again, the solicitation information reads like a new issue of the old Sentinels comic series, which to me is a good thing:

An audacious invasion gains the upper hand for the Robotech Expedition. But with mysterious Invid technology still in General Edwards's grasp, will the clash explode into an outright civil war? Secrets that have driven a wedge between Rick Hunter and Edwards for an entire generation are finally revealed!

Will we see the scene from the novels of Rick leaving Edwards behind at Alaska Base, or have Tommy & the Waltrips come up with something better? I guess we'll just have to wait 'til December 21st to find out.

My only question at this point ... if we're still dealing with Edwards in issue #4, is that what the series is really all about? Is this all about the final fate of T.R. Edwards, acting as both companion piece to "From The Stars" (where he was reintroduced) and capper to The Sentinels (where he was the ever-present "nyah hah hah!" overplayed traitor-villain, a cross between Skeletor and Starscream)? Hmm, reminds me of how back in the Eternity days you had The Malcontent Uprisings and Invid War bookending Jonathan Wolff's career, only this isn't quite of that caliber, and those books were both written by the same exceedingly talented author, Bill Spangler. I do so wonder what ever happened to him. Of course, as Tommy Yune pointed out to me a few months back, it's not like you can make a good living as a comic book writer anymore, unless you're Brian Michael Bendis, Greg Rucka, Frank Miller, etc. -- that is, someone who either writes twenty different books or has so big a name that they don't HAVE to write twenty different books.

I think that's all I've got on that subject. Your thoughts and conjectures?