Robotech Continuity/Timeline Pages
ROBOTECH VIDEO/COMICS
CONTINUITY
INTRODUCTION
BY MECHA 8
About the Video/Comics Continuity Lists
Both lists in this category were made for different needs. The plainly titled Robotech Video/Comics Continuity is a strict chronological listing, while The More Readable Version is not as strict but certainly makes enjoying the series easier.
Are the comics necessary to enjoy and understand the animated series? No. But a number of comics have filled in gaps of the
Robotech history in an enduring fashion. For newcomers, I encourage you to check out the videos first since they are the source material from which both the comics and novels have drawn. And the novels are not only easier to collect than the comics, but they also develop the story further than either the animation or comics, to date.
While organizing the material, I found the order for many entries very apparent, due to the dates given for events featured within certain animated episodes and comic issues, although hardly any dates are included on the lists because of an attempt to not give anything away to new viewers/readers. The only dates listed are corrections to erroneous ones found in certain material.
There are a few entries (specifically a number of the Robotech Worlds comics, e.g. Invid World, Smith World) that defy knowing the precise order in relation to others occupying roughly the same period, but plausible placements can be made. All the entries are in the most plausible order that I can put them while presenting them in a highly coherent manner.
Glancing at the first list I specified, you'll see a number of comics "spliced" with others. Those areas are where much of the continuity is the tightest, and opposed to some entries that have plausible placements at best, the chronology for them is the least in question. Unfortunately, reading the epic in this manner proves hardly feasible. Therefore, if sanity is something you treasure, use The More Readable Version. But you may want to look at the first list now and then to receive a better understanding of how events fit together. You might notice quite a number of comics are excluded. Many are TV series adaptations published by the old Comico company. By the way, any entry listed as a video, except The Sentinels video, is from the TV series. Other comics not featured are stories that take place in alternate timelines (e.g., Eternity's Hohsq’s Story). Speaking of alternate timelines, The Shadow Chronicles video is excluded because it presents a continuity that differs from the novels. Likewise for the Prelude to The Shadow Chronicles comic.
Although including The Sentinels video along with the first several Sentinels comics that covered the same material may seem, at first, as redundant as putting the Comico adaptations on the list, I decided to make an exception. The Sentinels series was never finished in animated form, so by watching the video we get a taste of what might have been. And since the video isn't long, there won't be much delay before proceeding to the comic.
If you're reading the comics and watching the animation but haven't touched The Sentinels novels, you should be made aware of what would happen if you pick up The Sentinels Book IV #0 too early. Produced in the format of a comic but not necessarily one, it is an illustrated timeline of virtually every major event in Robotech history, including events that have yet to happen in the comics. Even though it's not listed, I decided to give fair warning if you are thinking of reading it. And if you plan to read The Sentinels novels or any of the novels, then I suggest checking out the continuity lists made exclusively for them.
Of Antarctic Press's comics titles, the ones on the continuity lists are the Vermilion miniseries, Robotech Annual, Final Fire, and Class Reunion. Some of Antarctic's titles are excluded mainly due to significant continuity conflicts with material from other sources. Just about the rest of the comics listed had been published by Eternity and Academy. The first Comico company had published Robotech: The Graphic Novel, which should not be confused with any of the trade-paperback reprints that other publishers promoted as graphic novels. Comics that Eternity published include The Sentinels and Return to Macross. Eventually, Academy took the reins for those titles. Eternity had also published The Malcontent Uprisings and Cyberpirates. If you're looking for back issues of Uprisings and Cyberpirates, though, be aware that the words "Robotech II: The Sentinels" were placed in significantly bigger letters than the real titles on the covers even though neither series has a lot to do with The Sentinels. Eternity wasn't allowed to use just "Robotech." However, the policy changed by the time Eternity printed Genesis, Firewalkers, and Invid War. As for just about the rest of the comics on the lists, Academy published them.
When I had put my work on the Internet the first time, I'd routinely update the Video/Comics lists with the release of each new comic (with the exception of the occasional title taking place outside the continuity as established by preexisting material on my Video/Comics and Novels lists). Antarctic Press was the last publisher whose comics I incorporated on my lists. But during the interim between then and now, more Robotech comics have been released by other publishers, and these comics are supposedly part of Harmony Gold's so-called "canon" (although how at least one of the titles is supposedly "canon" boggles the mind); the company "canon" is a joke, a bad one. Combining that development with Harmony Gold's increasingly bad policy toward material that I favor (see the "Getting the Novels" section at the Introduction to Robotechnuity for the Novel Series), I have dismissed all of those newer Robotech comics. Those comics have no relevance.
Getting Videos and Comics
Trade paperbacks (which are not listed because they're reprints and I've had my hands full just organizing first-run material) can save you some time and money while you search for other comics that haven't been reprinted. Eternity and Academy, long defunct, used to have a back-issue service. Antarctic, though, has advertised back-issue orders within its books. I advise visiting comic stores and conventions to widen the search. And ads or listings on the Internet can prove to be of additional use. In fact, you might as well start looking on Amazon.com. Everyone else does.
The animation is on dvd. The only dvd collections that I endorse are the Robotech Legacy collections released by ADV Films years ago; they have great extras, and more important, these collections present the series as it originally aired—with the original sound effects. Just make sure the collections say "Legacy." You might be able to find a number of the discs at Amazon.com if you can't get them elsewhere. If you're buying the animated series in parts, keep in mind that it's comprised of three main parts—The Macross Saga, Robotech Masters, and The New Generation—as well as the Robotech II: The Sentinels video. The original Robotech II: The Sentinels video is in the Macross portion of the Legacy collections.
You got all that, right? Good. Behold—the Video/Comics Continuity lists!
Robotech Timeline for the Animation, Novels, and Comics – References Version
Introduction to the Robotech Timeline for the Animation, Novels, and Comics
Robotech Continuity – Main Page
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