Macross #1
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeMacross #1 (December 1984, Comico) holds the distinction of being the first Robotech comic ever published and one of the earliest American comic-book adaptations of a Japanese anime property. It introduced Rick Hunter, Roy Fokker, Lynn Minmei, Lisa Hayes, Captain Gloval, Claudia Grant, the Zentraedi commanders Breetai and Exedore, and the rest of the core cast to American comics readers, months before the Robotech television series even aired. The issue exists at a unique inflection point in publishing history: it was released under the 'Macross' title because, between issues one and two, Harmony Gold's plans changed and the property was rebranded as Robotech, meaning this single issue is the only one in the entire Comico run to carry the 'Macross' banner. Its publication helped establish Comico as a serious independent publisher and proved that anime-derived material could sustain an ongoing American comic series, opening a door that dozens of later manga and anime adaptations would follow.
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Carl Macek — Robotech's story editor and producer at Harmony Gold, and the architect of the American Macross localization — personally arranged the Comico deal as the very first licensing step he took to bring Macross to the U.S. market. The script and editing were Macek's own work, with pencils by his wife Svea Stauch, and inks, colors, and production handled by Phil Lasorda, Gerry Giovinco, Vince Argondezzi, and Dotty Linberg. Comico was a young independent publisher headquartered in Norristown, Pennsylvania, and the Robotech license was a pivotal acquisition that transformed the company's output — it subsequently released all three Robotech series concurrently at a pace of one new issue every two weeks. The book was rushed into production to align with Harmony Gold's initial home-video release of the Macross dub, which is likely why the visual style, drawn from animation tapes rather than original layouts, reads as rougher than later issues in the series.
Trivia · 7 facts
- Published December 1984 by Comico The Comic Company; the sole issue of the series to appear under the 'Macross' title before the book was renamed Robotech: The Macross Saga beginning with issue #2.
- First comic-book appearances of Rick Hunter, Roy Fokker, Lynn Minmei, Lisa Hayes, Captain Henry J. Gloval, Claudia Grant, Breetai, Exedore, Senator Russo, Tommy Luan, Kim Young, Sammie Porter, Vanessa Leeds, and Lynn Jason (referred to in the catalog as Lynn Minmei's brother).
- Recognized as the very first Robotech comic ever published, predating the American Robotech television broadcast (which did not begin until March 1985).
- Script and editing by Carl Macek (Robotech's producer and story editor); pencils by Svea Stauch (Macek's wife); inks, colors, and production by Phil Lasorda, Gerry Giovinco, Vince Argondezzi, and Dotty Linberg.
- Adapts the story 'Booby Trap' — the first episode of the source anime Super Dimension Fortress Macross (originally aired in Japan on October 3, 1982) — in 28 pages, featuring the SDF-1's maiden flight and the arrival of the Zentraedi fleet.
- The first 25 issues of the subsequent Macross Saga series (which this issue directly precedes) were reprinted in four WildStorm trade paperback collections in 2002–2003, though this #1 'Macross' issue was also included in a separate later omnibus collection.
- The 'Boobytrap' episode has been adapted for comics more times than any other single Robotech episode, with later versions produced by Comico (3-D format, 1987) and Academy Comics (1996), each citing the original Comico Macross #1 as the first adaptation.
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