Legendary Transformers scribe Simon Furman joins writer Brian Wood to chronicle the ongoing adventures of the SDF-1!

The second arc of the sell-out, fan favourite series!

By Matt Vroom

ROBOTECH #7 is the most recent installment of Titan Comics‘ comic book series revival. It was written by Brian Wood and Simon Furman (of Transformers fame) with art by Marc Turini. This is the third issue for the second arc of this ongoing epic.

Now, I know that I haven’t talked much about Robotech since the first arc ended last year. I thought the story was pretty good overall, and due to all of the sold-out issues, I would say that the general audience has approved of this new iteration of the 80’s cartoon.

I think that it has had a legendary run, and it deserves the praise that it has been given. However, now that we are on issue 7 of the series, I think it is time to get some answers.

As someone who has never watched the show, I am coming into this series with a fresh take on all of the characters. When I first started reading Robotech, I was thinking that it might be a mix of Transformers meets Gundam Wing. It’s been only recently that I am now starting to realize this isn’t the case.

I get that the two main protagonists are Rick Hunter and Roy Fokker. At least that has been my impression. There was some backstory between the two in the last arc, but I feel like this arc has spent less time on these characters and more time on the supporting cast.

I generally don’t mind this in storytelling. Character development (or lack thereof) is often a hot topic when Dave and the gang review movies and such on the main show. Yet, I feel like it is a little distracting, and I feel a little confused about what is going on in this part of the overall story.

Only read ahead if you don’t mind getting spoiled.

SPOILER WARNING FOR ISSUES 4 and 7.

At the conclusion of the first arc of Robotech, a.k.a. Robotech Vol. One: Countdown, Captain Henry Goval died. Apparently, it was due to the aftermath of the altercation the SDF-1 had with some alien baddies. His body was found under a pile of rubble from the trapped city that is chilling somewhere in the middle of the ship.

These past few issues have touched on this death, but only lightly. There is a conspiracy surrounding his death that included damning recorded evidence, but it is only briefly mentioned. It appears to be overshadowed by now another conspiracy involving the new acting Captain Lisa Hayes and her late husband.

These two conspiracies are only the tip of the iceberg. Something’s wrong with Rick’s vision, there is a big birthday party for Lynn, and I don’t understand the point of Roy’s character anymore. Don’t get me started about the aliens.

Robotech just introduced a pretty cool villain in Warlord Khyron. He is arrogant, brash, and a tactical genius. He has two opportunities to decimate the SDF-1. He first fails due to the fact that he didn’t calculate how crazy us Micronians are. Then the second time when he is about to win, his boss pulls the plug on his operation. Now he is chained up on the alien mothership a few issues short of full character realization. Why would they do that? What do the aliens want with the SDF-1?

I don’t mean to rail on Robotech right now. I am just hoping to see some resolutions in the next issue or two. I think I might be getting too invested in the story because I want to catch on to that magic that the 80’s fanboys (and girls) have had for this series.

A cool thing that Robotech has going for it is the action. The explosions and dogfights are some of the best that I have seen drawn in comics today. The spacecraft and robots are so detailed, and the technology in this book is really neat looking. Kudos to Marco Turini for the serious work that he puts into this series.

I’d give this issue a 7 out of 10 capes. The action in this book is solid and well drawn. It makes up for the dubious amounts of unanswered questions in the story. I am looking forward to the conclusion of this arc and still believe that this is one of Titan Comics best books in their line up.

If you have a comic that you would like me to review, then please feel free to email me at matt@superherospeak.com, or Dave at dave@superherospeak.com.

Matt Vroom – Content Creator and Comic Reviewer for SuperHeroSpeak.com.

Follow Matt on Twitter: @vroomatt

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