In the mid-1980s, one of the seminal anime series to ever cross over to American television was watched by children across the country. Combining mecha with a love story and an intergalactic war, Robotech was a sweeping saga that makes it one of the most memorable series of the decade. For this episode, I sit down with Donovan Morgan Grant (The Batman Universe, The Next Dimension, Questions No Answers) to talk about The Macross Saga, and then I come back and take a brief look at the Masters and New Generation sagas.
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Here’s some bonus stuff for you to check out.
First, my 2010 blog post about the Jack McKinney novels, “Mecha, Minmei, and a Decade-Long Fight for the Future.”
The original (1980s) intro to the cartoon, featuring images from all three series:
The Toonami intro (h/t to Donovan for sending me the link):
The current intro to The Macross Saga (as seen on Netflix):
The current intro to the New Generation (as seen on Netflix):
Kraven’s Last Hunt enters its second half as Spidey crawls out of the grave (quite literally) in Web of Spider-Man #32. Plus, I talk about why G.I. Joe Yearbook #3 is so important to me as a comics reader.
“Kraven’s Last Hunt” continues as he heads into the sewers and takes down Vermin. Then, we hop across the pond to read the first part of “Man of Iron.” It’s Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #131 and The Transformers #33.
We know who’s behind Cobra Commander’s armor, but do the Baroness and Serpentor? One of them is going to find out in G.I. Joe #64. Then, we’re going to find out what’s going in the entire Marvel Universe (and the New Universe) in Marvel Age #55.
I go headlong into the Marvel mainstream as Kraven’s Last Hunt continues in The Amazing Spider-Man #293 and Frank Castle takes on a white supremacist militia in The Punisher #3. Plus, since my copy of the Punisher’s book is an actual physical comic book, I get to look at letters and ads! Oh the fun we have!
In 1977, one of the biggest phenomenons of the decade was released, a movie that so encapsulated that moment in time that it’s been preserved for being culturally relevant. That movie? Saturday Night Fever. I take a ride to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn 40 years ago to hang out with Tony Manero and his friends as they escape their directionless lives for the dance floor of their favorite disco. I’ll talk about the movie, its place as one of the great post-adolescent films, and the multi-platinum-selling definitive disco soundtrack.
After looking at another issue of G.I. Joe Special Missions where a few Joes pull off a perfect A-Team-esque caper, I begin what I consider one of the highlights of the summer of 1987 and that’s “Kraven’s Last Hunt,” which starts in Web of Spider-Man #31.
Buster Witwicky fights off Ratbat in the Car Wash of Doom and The Punisher takes down a drug cartel in Bolivia! It’s the latest episode of Origin Story where I have a two-fer of Marvel Comics from 1987, starting with The Transformers #31 and ending with The Punisher #2.
Stalker, Quick-Kick, and Snow Job are in the gulag; Outback returns to Joe headquarters; Billy enters the ninja; and I talk about Trivial Pursuit. It’s all here in the latest episode of Origin Story, where I cover G.I. Joe #62.
The “Joes captured behind the Iron Curtain” storyline continues as Outback, the one who got away, escapes and fights his way across the border in G.I. Joe Special Missions #6. As always, I take a look at the comic and give it a review. Then, I spend time talking about the Stephen King novels published in 1987, especially his fantasy story The Eyes of the Dragon.
