‘Robotech #24’ Review (Titan Comics)
Written by Simon Furman | Art by Hendry Prasetya | Published by Titan Comics
I’m still mightily impressed that, 24 issues in, this book not only continues to please long term and casual fan alike, but that it also can still throw surprises at us. Virtually every issue also brings a payoff for a long term simmering subplot, some that I’ve even forgotten, and that’s some great writing right there. The book has always been as much about the personal interactions as it has been about the widescreen space battles, and the balance has always been just right. I would imagine not too many mainstream comics readers thought to pick this book up, outside of already established Robotech fans, which is a shame, as it deserves more praise than it receives. Still, those of us who do read it can keep it as our little secret.
Event Horizon, the big Robotech event, has been a great read so far and has huge ramifications. But we’ll get to that. I won’t go over all the buildup, I’ll assume that you know the whole Zentraedi/ Earth conflict and the role the SDF-1 and its crew played in that (spoiler alert, a huge part). Event Horizon concerns a new, even worse threat, as the Invid’s Regess is assaulting time and space, conquering multiple realities along the way. Dana Sterling, the grown up daughter of Max Sterling and Miriya, has come back in time from the future to try and help prevent the dark future that is coming. The SDF-1 know that their role is not to defend against the Invid, but to take the fight to the Regess herself.
After a brief glimpse of the past, which reveals a certain character’s future, we dive in to the present. Rick and Dana Sterling are on Optera ready to begin the assault, with Minmei, Breetai et al, while Captain Hayes on the SDF-1 struggles with the news that Roy is alive, not dead as everyone though, and there is a perfectly identical clone of Captain Gloval running round. Strange times. On the planet’s surface the strike team have been discovered, and are fighting for their lives as they try to find and take out the Over-Mind. They reach The Flower of Life, the reason the Regess is stripping realities of protoculture. All going well, right?
No. The SDF-1 has been running distraction and interference for the strike team, but is taking so much damage it cannot last much longer. What’s a lost cause though without the arrival of the cavalry, and Furman doesn’t disappoint. Azonia arrives in the nick of time, with the rest of the Zentraedi fleet, and dive in to support the SDF-1. Back to the strike team, and they have fought their way to the Regess herself. It all comes down to, as you would have probably guessed, Rick and Minmei, infused as they are with protoculture. Their solution is both unique, and effective. The right side win, and the mini epilogue will make you smile, a nice way to sign off.
Sign off? Yep. This is, it seems, the final issue in this run by Furman and Prasetya. 25 issues in total, the book has never been anything less than entertaining, and has consistently been one of my favourite monthly books, and I will miss it. I’ll miss the characters the most, as Brian Wood and Simon Furman have managed to give them so much personality, so much story to live in, they almost feel real. No mean feat in a science fiction/ fantasy series. My only niggle is that this all seemed to wrap up incredibly fast, and I suspect Simon Furman was given little notice that his tenure was ending. The main plot resolved very quickly, but some of the smaller plots fell by the wayside, which is a shame. The art this issue, and all through the run, has been excellent, nicely balanced to handle the big space opera stuff, and the more intimate character moments. It’s been fun.
For the run as a whole, I couldn’t give it any less than a…
***** 5/5
Robotech #24 is out today from Titan Comics.
