With the amazing success of retro/revival comic series like Dreamwave's Transformers, Top Cow's Battle of the Planets, and Wildstorm's Thunder Cats, it was only a matter of time before Robotech, that other fan favorite science fiction animated series of the 1980s, got its chance at a new comic book incarnation.  Created by American anime pioneer Carl Macek from three different Macross anime series, Robotech was light years ahead of its animated competition on American TV in terms of complexity of storyline, depth of characterization, and coolness of the robots.  A 1980s comic series from Comico basically provided comic book versions of the Robotech episodes, but the new Wildstorm comic will feature all new stories set in the period right before the action in the Robotech anime begins and additional storylines that fill in the gaps in the complicated Robotech/Macross continuity.  Jay (Noble Causes) Faerber will write the new comic series, while Tommy (Speed Racer) Yune will contribute covers as well as Robotech expertise.

 

It's no secret among comic publishers that, given the success of retro titles so far and the potential of the Robotech property, the competition for the Robotech comic book title was intense.  Dreamwave Productions, whose Transformers titles are the most popular of all the retro titles so far, made a strong pitch for the Robotech comic book license.  Harmony Gold, which holds the international rights to Macross/Robotech outside of Japan, finally decided on Wildstorm largely because of the studio's connection to DC Comics.  It was DC's international reach that was the deciding factor for Harmony Gold, which sees Robotech as a property with true international appeal.

 

A Robotech comic series is good news for pop culture retailers because there is so much Robotech merchandise available, including DVDs from AD Vision, toys from Toynami (see 'Robotech Leads Toynami Line'), video games, posters and wall scrolls.