Robotech: Invasion #1
Originally Presented at Comixtreme.com on January 7, 2004
Quick Rating: Good
Title: Invasion Part One & Mars Base One Part One
A battle fleet hoping to liberate Earth from an alien invader is in for the battle of the ages.
Writer: Tommy Yune & Jay Faerber
Art: Takeshi Miyazawa & Omar Dogan
Colors: Studio XD
Letters: Phil Balsman
Editor: Ben Abernathy & Alex Sinclair
Cover Art: Cully Hamner
Publisher: DC Comics/Wildstorm
Review: Not being a reader or a longtime fan of the Robotech franchise, I can’t tell you where - or even if - this comic book fits into the timeline that fans are used to. What I can say, to this title’s credit, is that it makes itself extremely accessible to new readers. The story opens with a simple two-page prologue that tells you everything you need to know to catch up: early in the 21st century, humankind discovered an alien technology called Robotech. Earth was subsequently invaded by aliens attempting to reclaim the technology. Finally, in 2031, a race called the Invid succeeded. This book is the story of a fleet of humans from Mars coming to Earth seven years after that to liberate their homeworld.
This book, unfortunately, doesn’t get to show off too much the neat toys that Robotech is famous for - the middle action sequence is fairly brief. Aerial fighter jet battles are never easy to do in comic books in any way that seems exciting, and Miyazawa and Dogan do the best they can. The artwork is pretty solid throughout, though.
The most interesting bit of this title is the implications of what seven years of occupation could have done to the people on Earth. How would they react to liberators? Would they even want liberation? It’s a good way to mix in a psychological story into what is, on the surface, your typical sci-fi action tale.
We also get a brief back-up story in this issue, “Mars Base One,” which I presume will ultimately tell us the story of how the base was formed in the first place. The story is slightly jarring, however, since it’s told in a flashback to the year 2001 - now three years behind us, but still having considerably neater technology than we have in the real world. Clearly this is set in the Robotech universe that was established in the 80s, but it’s still a little distracting.
This is a decent issue that doesn’t exclude anyone. If you’re a longtime Robotech fan, add a point to the overall rating and give this issue a shot.
Rating: 7/10
Quick Rating: Good
Title: Invasion Part One & Mars Base One Part One
A battle fleet hoping to liberate Earth from an alien invader is in for the battle of the ages.
Writer: Tommy Yune & Jay Faerber
Art: Takeshi Miyazawa & Omar Dogan
Colors: Studio XD
Letters: Phil Balsman
Editor: Ben Abernathy & Alex Sinclair
Cover Art: Cully Hamner
Publisher: DC Comics/Wildstorm
Review: Not being a reader or a longtime fan of the Robotech franchise, I can’t tell you where - or even if - this comic book fits into the timeline that fans are used to. What I can say, to this title’s credit, is that it makes itself extremely accessible to new readers. The story opens with a simple two-page prologue that tells you everything you need to know to catch up: early in the 21st century, humankind discovered an alien technology called Robotech. Earth was subsequently invaded by aliens attempting to reclaim the technology. Finally, in 2031, a race called the Invid succeeded. This book is the story of a fleet of humans from Mars coming to Earth seven years after that to liberate their homeworld.
This book, unfortunately, doesn’t get to show off too much the neat toys that Robotech is famous for - the middle action sequence is fairly brief. Aerial fighter jet battles are never easy to do in comic books in any way that seems exciting, and Miyazawa and Dogan do the best they can. The artwork is pretty solid throughout, though.
The most interesting bit of this title is the implications of what seven years of occupation could have done to the people on Earth. How would they react to liberators? Would they even want liberation? It’s a good way to mix in a psychological story into what is, on the surface, your typical sci-fi action tale.
We also get a brief back-up story in this issue, “Mars Base One,” which I presume will ultimately tell us the story of how the base was formed in the first place. The story is slightly jarring, however, since it’s told in a flashback to the year 2001 - now three years behind us, but still having considerably neater technology than we have in the real world. Clearly this is set in the Robotech universe that was established in the 80s, but it’s still a little distracting.
This is a decent issue that doesn’t exclude anyone. If you’re a longtime Robotech fan, add a point to the overall rating and give this issue a shot.
Rating: 7/10