I love giant robots. Transformers, Pacific Rim, even Megas XLR … show me a massive machine pounding monsters, or other massive machines, and I’m sold! Yet I never checked out the Robotech saga. Theoretically, it had elements of everything I’d ever loved: giant robots that turned into planes, a battle against an invading force from space, and a cast of well-rounded characters.
Writer Brandon Easton, alongside artist Simone Ragazzoni, is aiming to change that with Robotech: Rick Hunter #1. The book follows Rick as he “encounters old friends and new enemies, all while recounting the moments of his life that shaped [the] most epic moments in the Robotech universe.”
I spoke with Easton at San Diego Comic Con about how he got into the book as well as his longtime Robotech fandom, among other topics.
Robotech: Rick Hunter #1 goes on sale August 2 from Titan Comics.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
AIPT: Tell us a little about the book.
Brandon Easton: This takes place between the end of the Macross Saga from the original Robotech and the beginning of Robotech II: The Sentinels. Now the problem is that Sentinels may or may not be canon still…but the overall events are major bullet points. So it’s the destruction of the SDF-1 and 2 and the launch of the SDF-3 ten years prior.
AIPT: Were you a Robotech fan prior to writing the book?
I was a fan since 1985! I watched the first time it ever came on, I got hooked and I’m still a fan now. It’s crazy to be able to actually write a Robotech book. I have this whole joke about an Infinity Gauntlet of properties I’d like to write and so far I’ve done most of them and Robotech was one of the ones I’d never gotten to touch. I’m still pinching myself – I’m still sitting here, looking at this, here at San Diego Comic Con 2023 and thinking “My name is on a Robotech book!” I’m just speechless thinking about it.
Main cover by In-Hyuk Lee. Courtesy of Titan Comics.
AIPT: You’ve previously written Kamen Rider: Zero-One, which takes a similar approach. How do you craft a story that takes place in an established property?
I’ve written for a lot of pre-established franchises…I’ve worked in the Marvel Universe, I’ve done Transformers comics and a show for Netflix, I actually just finished showrunning an animated series that I can’t talk about because we’re on strike. The trick is…when you approach these type of things, you have to make sure you follow the instructions of the license holder. In this case you have Harmony Gold, which is Robotech, and you have Titan who are the publishers. And everyone has their things, their guidelines and requirements that you have to meet.
Then you get this opportunity to add in things from your own fandom. It really helps to be a fan. Sometimes it’s hard to get the person who’s a fan and a writer, and I understand that. I became a fan of Kamen Rider…I went out and brought the Zero-One box set, I went on YouTube and looked up the history of Kamen Rider just so I would have a better understanding. With that kind of thing, you just want to make sure you don’t go fanboy or fangirl too much but also put your heart and passion into it. You need to have a foundation of knowledge.
AIPT: What made Rick Hunter the ideal choice for this book?
My original pitch had nothing to do with Rick Hunter. (laughs) They wanted to do something with Rick after Macross. So then I already had 75,000 ideas for that and I had to narrow it down to what made sense for the story I wanted to tell. That was the best compromise. It was like “OK I have to make sure I don’t go crazy!” Tommy Yune from Harmony Gold…my original pitch went to him and my editors. They said, “your original pitch was fine but we’re not going in that direction.” And I was like “Oh ok sure!” Luckily we were all synced up, we just needed to come up with some bullet points.
Variant cover by Derrick Chew. Courtesy of Titan Comics.
AIPT: Do you have a favorite Robotech character?
Oh man, it’s hard because I like so many of them. It’s so difficult for me to think of one. You know, Commander Breetai…he’s another fantastic character who had an amazing arc. You only saw a little bit of his arc in the original series, but in the original novels and Sentinels he was very well developed. And if you look at how they developed him in that context, he had the best arc in terms of character change out of everyone.
AIPT: How would you pitch this book to longtime Robotech fans as well as newcomers to the franchise?
Ooh that’s a great question. I would say that if you want a basic entryway…it’s like watching Empire Strikes Back first. You can get what’s going on, but you do need a little bit of background to understand why these folks are the way they are. My best bet would be if you like high adventure, if you like mecha action and you don’t really need to know too much about the lore you can hop in because everything is explained to you.
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