Robotech Archives: Sentinels Vol. 1

Robotech Archives #4

by Tom Mason, Chris Ulm, Jason Waltrip (Illustrator)

"Rick Hunter, hero of the first Robotech war with the Zentraedi, returns to face a new enemy – one dedicated to destroying all life in pursuit of its vengeful vendetta. Ten years have passed since the end of the first Robotech war which almost destroyed Earth. Now General Rick Hunter is heading out in the new flagship SDF-3 on the most important mission of his life... Together with his intrepid crew, including alien warrior Breetai, fiancée Admiral Lisa Hayes, and ex-girlfriend Lynn Minmei, Hunter must travel to Tirol, the homeworld of the legendary Robotech Masters, and attempt to open up diplomatic relations. There he finds a world devastated by a far more deadly threat, the Invid, a ruthless alien race hellbent on seizing the secret of Protoculture, the power source behind all the Robotechnology... Collecting together the complete Robotech The Sentinels Book One (#1-16, plus the two wedding specials), originally fro 1988-90. This volume includes never-before-seen sketches and a new foreword written by John and Jason Waltrip. "A treasure especially for space opera connoisseurs, making long out-of-print comics affordable and accessible at last. An absolute 'must-have'. Highly recommended." – Midwest Book Review"

Genres: Comics

460 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 5, 2019

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Reviews

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up watching Robotech in the '80s, and though there was a certain weird disconnect between the three parts of the show, I nonetheless believed that they were one story, and never would have guessed the show was drawn from three different animes. That was the power of Carl Macek's plotting and writing.

Nonetheless, Robotech: Sentinels is a revelation, as the story that actually connects the three arcs all together in an ironclad way. It truly makes sense of them all and creates a strong chronology underlying the whole Robotech line. Unfortunately, Harmony Gold sucked at making their own cartoons, something they failed at time and time again, so we never got this as a cartoon (other than a few episodes). But we do have Sentinels in book form and (mostly) in comics. This is the start.

And the comic itself is also quite good. It feels like Robotech, with its strong characters, its exciting action, and its fast-moving story. To a certain extent, this volume is just the setup, but every issue reads quickly (and enjoyably). Oh, and we also get art that though it's B&W, feels very Robotech too.

The Sentinels comic does fail to mirror two major Robotech elements: the space fights just aren't nearly as exciting as what you'd see on the screen, and the singing even less so. That might be solely a limitation of the comic media, but I'm hoping the authors figure out how to deal with these elements better in V2, which I definitely want to read.

[Hugh Pfabe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one more than I expected.

I read it years back, but did not remember most of it. In particular, I didn't remember the amount, at this point in the run, of trying to work in elements from the Sentinels scripts and the McKinney novels that was going on here.

It's not perfect, but for the time, for the genre, and for the resources, they did a pretty decent job.

A lot of this is a nostalgia trip, but it's a solid 90s smaller press comic book on its own, and it really is a fun, if slightly corny, space opera, too.

Looking forward to the next volume, and figuring out the best reading order with some of the uncollected side series.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gotta love Robotech

Love Robotech but Rick is incredibly whiny! He’s presented as a whiny child anxious to get his way! Edwards is clearly evil by any standard.