Tansy Rayner Roberts's Blog, page 36

Friday Links Loves The Gallifreyan Shopping Network

20 years on (wow), the Mary Sue looks at some of the ways that Xena: Warrior Princess changed television. Also, a message from Lucy Lawless. Xena is the definitive best. Thank goodness for my DVD collection! She will never leave me.

A new Uncanny Magazine is out, and the article everyone’s talking about this week is Masculinity Is an Anxiety Disorder: Breaking Down the Nerd Box by David J Schwartz. There isn’t nearly enough intelligent discussion about toxic masculinity and its cultural influence, so this piece is definitely worth a look.

I’ve subscribed to Tremontaine, an upcoming fiction serial based in Ellen Kushner’s beautiful swashbuckling, queer-friendly Riverside, incorporating art by Kathleen Jennings and writing by Malinda Lo, Alaya Dawn Johnson and others. Come and join me, this is going to be fun! Here’s Kathleen talking about her artistic process.

My most popular post on Tumblr this week – Bobbi Morse stealing bullets out of Lance Hunter’s TARDIS teapot. I totally have that teapot.

Check out this week’s SF Mind Meld about what SF/Fantasy drew us into the genre. I’m in it, and Tehani, and Gail Carriger. Come read!

Felicia Day is wonderful.

Fiction Machine reviews Legally Blonde.

Also, this Hark! A Vagrant comic may now be my definitive version of Alice in Wonderland.

Issue #1 – 50 Years of SHIELD: Mockingbird

Title: Mockingbird: SHIELD 50th Anniversary #1

Writer: Chelsea Cain

Artist: Joelle Jones

The Buzz: SHIELD is 50 years old! To celebrate, Marvel have put out a series of lovely one-shot comics in honour of five iconic SHIELD agents, combining mythos from the Agents of SHIELD TV show and from the comics themselves. The characters in question are Mockingbird, Melinda May, Quake, Peggy Carter and Nick Fury – though there are also cameos and guest appearances from many others. Yes, Hawkeye and Black Widow are adorable, but they already have their own books in which to be great. A lot of the media enthusiasm about this mini-series came from the focus on female characters, many of whom have never helmed their own solo titles – and introducing some new female writers to the Marvel stable too, in this case Chelsea Cain, a New York Times bestselling thriller novelist. Her interview about how she got the gig is kind of amazing, especially when she laughs at the idea of coming into comics by traditional means and squees about the joy of getting to give Bobbi her own story.

All You Need To Know: In the comics, Barbara “Bobbi” Morse AKA Mockingbird AKA Agent 19 is a biochemist turned spy and occasional Avenger/Secret Avenger, known for her professional/personal partnership with ex-husband Clint Barton (Hawkeye), for fighting with a bo-staff (which separates into 2 batons) and for coming back from the dead – most recently, thanks to the Super Soldier Serum. In the Agents of SHIELD TV show, Bobbi Morse is a SHIELD agent who joined Coulson’s indie team in Season 2 after a long term undercover operation at the heart of Hydra. She is the ex-wife of British mercenary and SHIELD recruit Lance Hunter, presumably because they couldn’t afford to include Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye in the show. She’s played by Adrianne Palicki, and so far the show has not debunked my personal headcanon that Bobbi is the new identity that Tyra from Friday Night Lights constructed for herself after she graduated college.

Story: Bobbi Morse wakes up in bed with her latest mistake (AKA Lance Hunter), and her day only gets worse from there. This is a fun, action-packed one-shot with a sly sense of humour, placing Mockingbird as a witty, competent protagonist capable of solving a murder mystery and avenging one of her heroes, an older female scientist who also contributed a great deal to the SHIELD legacy. (Bonus points for Bobbi’s self-deprecating musings on what her life might have been like without SHIELD – as a biochemist in an academic career) A great introduction to a much under-utilised character who really could be leading her own team, or her own solo book. As a bonus, this issue also includes a mini comic introducing Red Widow, a teen hero spin off from Black Widow, who will be properly launched in a YA novel by Margaret Stohl. I really like that Marvel are bringing in more female writers by looking at the popular writers in general fiction, and cross-promoting via different media. The Red Widow/Black Widow comic (art by Nico Leon) is super cute, and a great taste of what to expect from the upcoming novel.

Art: I really like Joelle Jones’ style, which reminds me a lot of Annie Wu’s work on Hawkeye and Black Canary. I especially enjoy the in-jokes and references across the art – the bright colours and sometimes pop-art/70’s style hinting at Bobbi’s earlier comics appearances, the sunglasses that evoke her weird goggles costume, and the focus on her strength and competence in the field rather than her boobs. Not to mention that she drinks from a coffee mug featuring Skottie Young’s Lil Black Widow, and Lance keeps his special bullets in a TARDIS tea caddy!

The first page is especially clever – Bobbi awakes in the arms of Lance, whom she deems Mistake B (romantic smartasses with ties to shadowy goverment agencies & great abs – she has a type) and we get a David Aja style sketch to compare the salient features of Clint vs Lance including patriotic underwear and preferred weapons. The script is cute, but the I-can’t-believe-its-not-Hawkeye art on this page really sells the joke. Also, Lance’s appearances revolve around him being in his underwear, impressive abs on display, while Bobbi is fully clothed and often drawn in positions of power. Hooray for celebrating the female gaze in comics! Chelsea Cain said that Joelle Jones’ version is “the coolest Mockingbird that has ever been drawn” and I totally agree with her!

But What Did I Miss?: Not much! If you’ve followed Bobbi in the comics or in the show, then this story will have extra adorbs and resonance, but it works as a standalone.

Would Read Issue 2?: I would if it existed! I want this to be a real book. Chelsea Cain can write comics for me any time, and I am going to run, not walk to hunt down other work drawn by Joelle Jones.

Read it if you Like: Hawkeye (Fraction & Aja), Agents of SHIELD (TV), Secret Avengers, Hawkeye & Mockingbird, New Avengers: The Reunion

Previously reviewed this year:

Thor #1 (2014)

Spider-Woman #1 (2014)

All-New Captain America #1 (2014)

Captain America & the Mighty Avengers #1 (2014)

S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 (2014)

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1 (2015)

Bitch Planet #1 (2014)

Secret Six #1 (2014)

Operation: S.I.N. #1

Spider-Gwen #1

Curb Stomp #1

Jem & the Holograms #1

Silk #1

Issue #1 – Convergence Special – Oracle, JLI, Batgirl

Issue #1 – Battleworld Special: Lady Kate, Ms America & Inferno

X-Men ’92 #1

Giant-Sized Little Marvels: AvX #1 (2015)

Runaways #1 (2015)

Loki, Agent of Asgard #1 (2014)

Fresh Romance #1

All-New Hawkeye #1

Black Canary #1

The Wicked and the Divine #1 (2014)

Bombshells #1

Captain Marvel & the Carol Corps #1

Issue #1 – Mockingbird: SHIELD 50th Anniversary

Title: Mockingbird: SHIELD 50th Anniversary #1

Writer: Chelsea Cain

Artist: Joelle Jones

The Buzz: SHIELD is 50 years old! To celebrate, Marvel have put out a series of lovely one-shot comics in honour of five iconic SHIELD agents, combining mythos from the Agents of SHIELD TV show and from the comics themselves. The characters in question are Mockingbird, Melinda May, Quake, Peggy Carter and Nick Fury – though there are also cameos and guest appearances from many others. Yes, Hawkeye and Black Widow are adorable, but they already have their own books in which to be great. A lot of the media enthusiasm about this mini-series came from the focus on female characters, many of whom have never helmed their own solo titles – and introducing some new female writers to the Marvel stable too, in this case Chelsea Cain, a New York Times bestselling thriller novelist. Her interview about how she got the gig is kind of amazing, especially when she laughs at the idea of coming into comics by traditional means and squees about the joy of getting to give Bobbi her own story.

All You Need To Know: In the comics, Barbara “Bobbi” Morse AKA Mockingbird AKA Agent 19 is a biochemist turned spy and occasional Avenger/Secret Avenger, known for her professional/personal partnership with ex-husband Clint Barton (Hawkeye), for fighting with a bo-staff (which separates into 2 batons) and for coming back from the dead – most recently, thanks to the Super Soldier Serum. In the Agents of SHIELD TV show, Bobbi Morse is a SHIELD agent who joined Coulson’s indie team in Season 2 after a long term undercover operation at the heart of Hydra. She is the ex-wife of British mercenary and SHIELD recruit Lance Hunter, presumably because they couldn’t afford to include Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye in the show. She’s played by Adrianne Palicki, and so far the show has not debunked my personal headcanon that Bobbi is the new identity that Tyra from Friday Night Lights constructed for herself after she graduated college.

Story: Bobbi Morse wakes up in bed with her latest mistake (AKA Lance Hunter), and her day only gets worse from there. This is a fun, action-packed one-shot with a sly sense of humour, placing Mockingbird as a witty, competent protagonist capable of solving a murder mystery and avenging one of her heroes, an older female scientist who also contributed a great deal to the SHIELD legacy. (Bonus points for Bobbi’s self-deprecating musings on what her life might have been like without SHIELD – as a biochemist in an academic career) A great introduction to a much under-utilised character who really could be leading her own team, or her own solo book. As a bonus, this issue also includes a mini comic introducing Red Widow, a teen hero spin off from Black Widow, who will be properly launched in a YA novel by Margaret Stohl. I really like that Marvel are bringing in more female writers by looking at the popular writers in general fiction, and cross-promoting via different media. The Red Widow/Black Widow comic (art by Nico Leon) is super cute, and a great taste of what to expect from the upcoming novel.

Art: I really like Joelle Jones’ style, which reminds me a lot of Annie Wu’s work on Hawkeye and Black Canary. I especially enjoy the in-jokes and references across the art – the bright colours and sometimes pop-art/70’s style hinting at Bobbi’s earlier comics appearances, the sunglasses that evoke her weird goggles costume, and the focus on her strength and competence in the field rather than her boobs. Not to mention that she drinks from a coffee mug featuring Skottie Young’s Lil Black Widow, and Lance keeps his special bullets in a TARDIS tea caddy!

The first page is especially clever – Bobbi awakes in the arms of Lance, whom she deems Mistake B (romantic smartasses with ties to shadowy goverment agencies & great abs – she has a type) and we get a David Aja style sketch to compare the salient features of Clint vs Lance including patriotic underwear and preferred weapons. The script is cute, but the I-can’t-believe-its-not-Hawkeye art on this page really sells the joke. Also, Lance’s appearances revolve around him being in his underwear, impressive abs on display, while Bobbi is fully clothed and often drawn in positions of power. Hooray for celebrating the female gaze in comics! Chelsea Cain said that Joelle Jones’ version is “the coolest Mockingbird that has ever been drawn” and I totally agree with her!

But What Did I Miss?: Not much! If you’ve followed Bobbi in the comics or in the show, then this story will have extra adorbs and resonance, but it works as a standalone.

Would Read Issue 2?: I would if it existed! I want this to be a real book. Chelsea Cain can write comics for me any time, and I am going to run, not walk to hunt down other work drawn by Joelle Jones.

Read it if you Like: Hawkeye (Fraction & Aja), Agents of SHIELD (TV), Secret Avengers, Hawkeye & Mockingbird, New Avengers: The Reunion

Previously reviewed this year:

Thor #1 (2014)

Spider-Woman #1 (2014)

All-New Captain America #1 (2014)

Captain America & the Mighty Avengers #1 (2014)

S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 (2014)

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1 (2015)

Bitch Planet #1 (2014)

Secret Six #1 (2014)

Operation: S.I.N. #1

Spider-Gwen #1

Curb Stomp #1

Jem & the Holograms #1

Silk #1

Issue #1 – Convergence Special – Oracle, JLI, Batgirl

Issue #1 – Battleworld Special: Lady Kate, Ms America & Inferno

X-Men ’92 #1

Giant-Sized Little Marvels: AvX #1 (2015)

Runaways #1 (2015)

Loki, Agent of Asgard #1 (2014)

Fresh Romance #1

All-New Hawkeye #1

Black Canary #1

The Wicked and the Divine #1 (2014)

Bombshells #1

Captain Marvel & the Carol Corps #1

7. C.L. Moore & “No Woman Born” [SF Women of the 20th Century]

Catherine Lucille (“C.L.”) Moore is one of the most prolific female writers of the pulp magazine era of science fiction – her most active period being from the 1930’s through to the late 50’s. She was married to Henry Kuttner, another active writer of the period, and the two often collaborated on their work which was published under a wide variety of male pseudonyms (including Lewis Padgett and Laurence O’Donnell in Astounding Science Fiction) as well as their own names. (Indeed, they first met after Kuttner wrote a fan letter to Moore in appreciation of her work – the ultimate writerly romance connection!)

Moore’s first story “Shambleau,” is a vampire planetary romance set on Mars published in Weird Tales (1933). Its protagonist, the hero Northwest Smith, was a central figure of many of her stories. Perhaps her most iconic work, the Jirel of Joiry stories, helped to shape the sword-and-sorcery subgenre and are credited as the first fantasy series with a female hero as protagonist.

In 1944, Moore’s story “No Woman Born” was published in Astounding. Often cited as the first cyborg story, it has a great deal to say about perceptions of beauty and femininity which are still all too relevant today.

Deirdre, a beautiful and successful performer, dies tragically in a theatre fire and is brought back within an exquisite body of golden metal by a robotics specialist, Maltzer, at the behest her manager, Harris. These two men obsess over Deirdre’s body and her existence in minute detail, greatly concerned that she intends to relaunch her career as an actress, dancer and singer.

The first impression that [Harris’] eyes and mind took from sight of her was shocked and incredulous, for his brain said to him unbelievingly, “This is Deirdre! She hasn’t changed at all!”

Then the shift of perspective took over, and even more shockingly, eye and brain said, “No, not Deirdre—not human. Nothing but metal coils. Not Deirdre at all—” And that was the worst. It was like walking from a dream of someone beloved and lost, and facing anew, after that heartbreaking reassurance of sleep, the inflexible fact that noth-ing can bring the lost to life again. Deirdre was gone, and this was only machinery heaped in a flowered chair.

The writing is vivid and emotional, showing how Deirdre has to relearn how to be (or perhaps to mimic) human, and in particular, how to perform femininity to a level of precision that will place her above reproach from a presumed fickle audience.

The role of the two men in Deirdre’s recovery – and their fears that she will fail to replicate her former success in this new body – evoke Pygmalion far more than Frankenstein (a comparison made within the text), though Deirdre herself is allowed a greater internal life and a sense of personal awareness than either Frankenstein’s monster, or George Bernard Shaw’s flower-seller. The narrative gives Deirdre’s perspective priority over that of the male characters, who see themselves as her saviours and creators – and are most concerned with Deirdre’s outward appearance and behaviour. Indeed, the story is full of Deirdre’s voice – Maltzer and Harris both see her as Malzer’s creation, but it is she who demonstrates her new body and her mastery over it to Harris, explaining it soothingly to him in a series of thoughtful, powerful speeches before she goes on to enact her professional triumph.

“It’s—odd,” she said, “being here in this . . . this – instead of a body. But not as odd or as alien as you might think. I’ve thought about it a lot—I’ve had plenty of time to think—and I’ve begun to realize what a tremendous force the human ego really is. I’m not sure I want to suggest it has any mystical power it can impress on mechanical things, but it does seem to have a power of some sort. It does instill its own force into inanimate objects, and they take on a personality of their own. People do impress their personalities on the houses they live in, you know. I’ve noticed that often. Even empty rooms. And it happens with other things too, especially, I think, with inanimate things that men depend on for their lives.

Ships, for instance—they always have personalities of their own. “And planes—in wars you always hear of planes crippled too badly to fly, but struggling back anyhow with their crews. Even guns acquire a sort of ego. Ships and guns and planes are ‘she’ to the men who operate them and depend on them for their lives. It’s as if machinery with complicated moving parts almost simulates life, and does acquire from the men who used it—well, not exactly life, of course—but a personality. I don’t know what. Maybe it absorbs some of the actual electrical impulses their brains throw off, especially in times of stress.

“Well, after awhile I began to accept the idea that this new body of mine could behave at least as responsively as a ship or a plane. Quite apart from the fact that my own brain controls its ‘muscles.’ I believe there’s an affinity between men and the machines they make. They make them out of their own brains, really, a sort of mental conception and gestation, and the result responds to the minds that created them, and to all human minds that understand and manipulate them.”

She stirred uneasily and smoothed a flexible hand along her mesh-robed metal thigh. “So this is myself,” she said. “Metal—but me. And it grows more and more myself the longer I live in it. It’s my house and the machine my life depends on, but much more intimately in each case than any real house or machine ever was before to any other human. And you know, I wonder if in time I’ll forget what flesh felt like—my own flesh, when I touched it like this—and the metal against the metal will be so much the same I’ll never even notice?”

I first came across this 70-year-old story in the Women of Wonder anthologies edited by Pamela Sargent, and it’s always stayed with me as a powerful, important piece of fiction which explores the ramifications of artificial intelligence from the inside perspective, rather than as a threat to be overcome. The story also has so much to say about gender, and the perceptions of famous women and their physical beauty – you can imagine it being adapted to be about Marilyn Monroe, or a modern day Hollywood celebrity, without having to change much at all. “No Woman Born” has been reprinted across at least 10 anthologies, and as Kristine Kathryn Rusch says, deserves its status as a classic in the field.

SF WOMEN OF THE 20TH CENTURY is brought to you by Tansy’s supporters at Patreon. Patrons of the blog can earn great rewards and help the campaign reach exciting milestones to unlock more content.

1. Raccoona Sheldon & “The Screwfly Solution”

2. Diane Marchant & Kirk/Spock

3. Connie Willis & To Say Nothing of the Dog

4. Clare Winger Harris & “The Fate of the Poseidonia”

5. Octavia E. Butler & Dawn

6. Wendy Froud & Yoda

The Epic Robotech Rewatch!

It’s finally finished! 85 episodes, 67 posts of mecha world-ending alien romancey goodness. The Zentraedi, the Robotech Masters, the Invid, oh my! Come and re-experience the cheesy glee of Minmei’s music, Rick’s failtastic lovelife, Max and Miriya’s crazy courtship, Admiral Gloval’s accent, Dana Sterling’s hovertank, and a whole mess of dirtbikes.

This rewatch was brought to you by many generous Patreon supporters. If you enjoyed the Robotech Rewatch and want to support my future online writing, consider becoming a Patron of the Blog!

ROBOTECH REWATCH

1 – So Much For World Peace

2 – Who Put Pluto There?

3 – To Be In Love

4 – Welcome to the First Chinese Restaurant in Space

5 – Saturn Ahoy!

6 – Death by Flashback

7 – Dating in Deep Space

8 – Beauty Queens & Battloids

9 – It’s Not Easy Being Vermilion

10 – Even Educated Fleas Do It

11 – Single Sex Spaceships are for Girls Too

12 – Earth Sweet Earth

13 – Can’t I Smoke Anywhere?

14 – The Pacifist’s Fighting Feet

15 – Electric Dreams (in Outer Space)

16 – Don’t Make Dinner Plans

17 – Don’t Make Dinner Plans II Revenge of the Steak

18 – Popaganda

19 – Make Movies, Not War

20 – Old Songs For New

21 – Breaking into the Asylum

22 – Video Game Romance

23 – Fastest Wedding Plot Twist Ever

24 – Provocative Pairing Rituals

25 – Ships Fall, Everyone Dies

26 – Whole New World

27 – Who the Hell are the Robotech Masters?

28 – Love is a Weapon

29 – Azonia is a Sex Kitten Now

30 – Dating Tips for the Apocalypse

31 – Christmas is Sadness and Snow

32 – It’s the End But the Moment Has Been Prepared For

33 – Team Hovertank!

34 – Death by Ditzy Teenager

35 – Field Promotion is for Girls

36 – Ground Troops in Outer Space

37 – Prince Charming in a Red Bioroid

38 – I’ll Patrol the Discos!

39 – Romancing the Clone

40 – Who Are the Invid?

41 – Spies Make Terrible Boyfriends

42 – The Great Hospital Caper

43 – “Debriefing” the Dreamboat

44 – Three’s Probably Relevant

45 – Clone Emotion

46 – Drunken Weepy Jeep Song

47 – Your Humanitarian Ethics Are Spoiling My War

48 – Spy Hijinks Among the Clones

49 – Weepfleeing Justice

50 – Damn it, Zor



ROBOTECH REWATCH INTERLUDE: Dana’s Confusingly Vague Super Dimensional (Non-)Ending.

51 – Cool Rider

52 – You’ve Run Out Of Protoculture

53 – Rook Vs. The Red Snakes

54 – Lost in Translation

55 – All Roads Lead to Jonathan Wolff

56 – I WAS NOT EXPECTING DINOSAURS

57 – Aliens Cloned My Girlfriend

58 – True Snowmance

59 – Cactus in My Pants

60 – A Couple of Vines and a Coconut

61 – Underground Dirtbike Break Up Song

62 – Awkward Shirtless Holiday Camp

63 – Rick Hunter’s Sure Spunky

64 – Chill City

65 – Legwarmers of Liberty

66 – The Great Reflex Point Conspiracy

67 – Where in the Universe is Admiral Hunter?

6. Wendy Froud & Yoda [SF Women of the 20th Century]

Wendy Froud is a celebrated dollmaker, puppeteer and artist. She’s primarily known and recognised for her fantasy work, including puppetry created for several Henson productions, including The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. Her work has been featured in several books by Terri Windling, and her solo book The Art of Wendy Froud was published by Imaginosis in 2006.

Wendy came to mind when I first thought about writing these posts, because she’s an artist who works in three dimensions, and also because being married to a famous artist, Brian Froud, often means that she gets mentioned in the field as an ‘and’ instead of as a creator in her own right.

Hmm, I thought, I’d love to write about her work in Labyrinth, but that’s fantasy. Should I include her anyway, given that I’ve just been listening to a podcast talking about how women who write fantasy get excluded from conversations about science fiction, and men who write fantasy don’t?

Sure, or I could do a bit of research and see if she’s contributed to any science fictional art project…

OH LOOK SHE BUILT YODA.

As Wendy said in an interview about her work, she didn’t design the famous puppet, nor was she the only person who worked on it – she was part of a small team. But she did most of the sculpting for the Yoda puppet to be used in The Empire Strikes Back, and also did some of the puppeteering.

If you search for ‘wendy froud’ and ‘yoda,’ however, one of the first hits that comes up is a forum which dissects Wendy’s claim on her website with what can only be described as extreme antagonism. I find it fascinating that so many complete strangers felt the need to minimise and challenge her contribution.

When Stuart Freeborn, the designer of Yoda, died in 2013, several articles suggested that he made and built Yoda, rather than acknowledging that an entire team was involved in building what has to be one of the most iconic piece of puppetry in 20th Century Science Fiction – and many fans have defended his legacy so aggressively as to render his co-workers invisible.

Nick Maley, one of the team who worked on the animatronics for the Star Wars puppets, provides more of a breakdown of who built what, citing Wendy’s work as predominantly on the limbs and body using Muppet technology. On a website entirely designed to answer the question of who did which bit of Yoda, Wendy is also listed as a Yoda puppeteer (along with others including Kathryn Mullen and Frank Oz, who was the main credited Yoda puppeteer, Wendy and Kathryn working in support) and also “liason between Stu and the Muppets” which brings up a delightful image of intergalactic interspecies diplomacy. Was Yoda as highly strung as Kermit on the set? Was he a diva like Miss Piggy? We shall never know.

In any case, Wendy’s official job title for The Empire Strikes Back is ‘Yoda Fabricator’ which, I think we can all agree, would look pretty damned cool on a business card.

“We had no idea that he was going to turn into such an icon. Those of us who worked on him had no idea; he was just another character in the story. Also, he was an experiment because until that point no one had really mixed puppets and people in that way and used puppets so extensively. This was before we did Dark Crystal.”

Wendy Froud.

SF WOMEN OF THE 20TH CENTURY is brought to you by Tansy’s supporters at Patreon. Patrons of the blog can earn great rewards and help the campaign reach exciting milestones to unlock more content.

1. Raccoona Sheldon & “The Screwfly Solution”

2. Diane Marchant & Kirk/Spock

3. Connie Willis & To Say Nothing of the Dog

4. Clare Winger Harris & “The Fate of the Poseidonia”

5. Octavia E. Butler & Dawn

Robotech Rewatch 67: Where In The Universe Is Admiral Hunter?

Okay everybody up. Robotech is back! (one last time)

Chapter 84: Dark Finale

The penultimate episode of classic Robotech presents the shadow fighters of the Robotech Expeditionary Force, preparing to launch an attack on Reflex Point. But the really exciting thing is that everyone has totally been telegraphing the imminent return of Rick Hunter. Any minute now.

“Any sign of Admiral Hunter yet?”

“No sir, no indication at all.”

It turns out that Admiral Hunter’s group failed to come through space fold in time, so they’re going to launch the invasion without him. Oh no! They must be saving his cameo until the very final episode, to maximise its impact.

Back on Earth, Scott and the rest of his ragtag crew have joined up with a bunch of real soldiers, the ground forces of the REF I guess? (to be honest, they could be random cosplayers, there is no explanation given). Scott, Lunk and Lancer are allowed to play with the Cyclone battalion, but the others (Rand, Rook and Annie) are dropped like hot potatoes because they’re not official military personnel.

Lancer gives his civilian buddies fond farewells, Lunk is happily back in the forces with a new jeep under him, and Scott salutes, confident that his three least qualified friends will survive the battle.

That’s assuming rather a lot.

Rand cracks at the last moment and indulges in a little creative insubordination, riding off into battle. Rook gets mad and chases him down, leaving Annie alone at the edge of a forest.

Annie promptly takes off and steals Lunk’s jeep from under him, driving him into battle.

Has… she ever driven a car before? Asking for a friend.

Prince Corg is about to fly into battle when Marlene turns up, trying desperately to stop the Invid from attacking humans. When Corg laughs in her face, she turns to Sera and works on her, trying to tell her that they have much to learn from humans.

It feels like we’ve missed a few episodes! Everything’s happening so fast. Marlene is extremely confident in her status as a human-Invid diplomat, even if her results leave much to be desired.

In the midst of battle, Rand confesses his feelings to Rook – that he’s fond of her. Yes, that’s as deep as he gets. But their mecha totally hold hands after that. Sweet!

A holographic image of a vapour cloud appears to our heroes, luring them away from the battle. When Scott looks closer he recognises Marlene. Lancer does the same, and promptly gets himself shot. Sera is devastated as Lancer falls out of the sky, a montage of Yellow Dancer images keeping him company in order to trick us into thinking he’s about to die. Sera catches him, knowing that the Invid are not going to be okay with this.

As predicted, Corg and the Regis are super judgy about Sera joining Team Human.

Marlene, in her floaty Ariel form, leads her friends into Reflex Point itself, while assuring them that the Invid were only looking for a home, not to wipe out a species. (That was a bonus) She also claims that she is a new species – part Invid, part human – which I guess makes her the closest thing they have to a neutral arbiter.

Inside, they discover the Invid hive and a very angry Regis who throws a bunch of holograms and operatic speeches at them. She makes it pretty clear that the Invid life force is more important than the survival of the human race, and starting again anywhere else would require far too much effort, so there.

Ariel argues with her mother that the humans have their own life force, and the two species should share the planet.

Scott sulks, and Lunk insists that the Invid have no right over the Earth. As representatives of Team Human, they would rather fight than compromise.

Back on the moon, REF Command (2 dudes) discuss the continuing lack of Admiral Hunter, who has apparently “given them permission” to blow up the Earth if they can’t win.

OH RICK I am so disappointed in you. Mind you, this guy you put in charge might just be saying you agreed to that because you DIDN’T TURN UP TO THE WAR.

The Regis taunts Marlene, pointing out the fear and suspicion on the faces of her friends, but Rand disagrees. They were a bit surprised Marlene was an alien, but she’s still their friend, and they’re completely supportive of her different cultural background. The Regis zaps him.

Sera is on Team Lancer. What did the Regis do to deserve this?

Corg is so over this bullshit, a loyal Invid no matter what. Why is everyone talking about feelings, ugh. He and Scott decide to express their feelings via beating the crap out of each other in mecha suits.

As everyone else stands around awkwardly, the Expeditionary Force emerges from the moon base and attacks the Earth.

“Well,” sighs Lancer, “that’s probably the end of a peaceful solution, then.”

Yep.

Episode 85: Symphony of Light

The excitable narrator promises us a climactic battle. Corg and Scott are throwing down, mecha-style. Which means a lot of colourful explosions and slow-mo shooting.

Corg, you are not as batshit nuts as your predecessors, Khyron and Zor. No one really cares if you get blown up or not. But it is nice to see that the Robotech tradition of pretty/crazy blue-haired villains is being honoured.

So the two command dudes in charge of everything are The General and his pal Sparks. The General is all for a scorched Earth policy. Sparks clutches his pearls. “Sir!”

So many explosions.

Lancer points out to the Regis that the shadow fighters of the REF are going to wipe them out – they are outnumbered and can’t fight what they can’t see.

The Regis digs her heels in because they already had to leave 2 planets and that’s her limit.

Lancer and Sera argue for terraforming ALMOST ANY OTHER PLANET but this is the one with Protoculture, so the Regis isn’t budging.

As Scott lies bruised after being shot out of the sky, Marlene patches his wounds and tries to convince him that smooches might be nicer than war. He informs her that he is good for only one thing and runs back to the battle, leaving her crying.

Rook and Rand, on the other hand, confess their love to each other with a hint of sarcasm while fighting the enemy. Multitasking! You don’t have to choose between love and war! Also, slightly sarcastic professions of love are my favourite kind.

Corg and Rook get into a duel, while Rand yells helpful advice to her from the sidelines. Scott swings by to steal Corg away before he kills the only two people with a functional romantic relationship in this show.

After a short battle, Scott beats Corg. Later, Rand and Rook bully Scott into being less sucky to Marlene and to get over himself. Rand points out that blaming the Invid for Original Marlene’s death is stupid because they were in the military, and humans have had all kinds of wars regardless of alien invaders. His fiance could have been killed by literally anyone, so why even get stressed out about it?

I love that Rand and Rook took literally 30 seconds between resolving their own relationship, and starting to advise everyone else about theirs. They are so Smug Marrieds.

Still, they were correct in that Scott is being a tool.

The Regis has had some time to think about it, and decides to just nick all the Protoculture from the planet and ascend to a higher plane. Ok…ay. Obviously she got the memo that this is the last episode, because otherwise this is a very suspicious change of heart.

Lancer joins Sera to do some shooting in unison, to keep the Regis safe while she prepares to leave. They get in some flirting at the same time. Scott, EVERYONE else can combine love and war, you should pay attention to your friends and their mad skillz.

Sparks and his General, meanwhile, are about to nuke the Earth, because there is no decent communication in this man’s army. (this plotline is never followed through on)

Sera and Lancer are in trouble, but Scott turns up to help them out. Does anyone even know who they are fighting any more? Let’s shoot into the air because it’s poetic and the splosions are pretty!

The Regis lists all of the work she did to repair this planet from all the wear and tear caused by previous Robotech wars (including, let’s not forget, mysteriously repairing New York City), judges everybody, and drops her mic. She takes the rest of the Invid with her, to continue their evolutionary development somewhere less sucky. Regis out!

Time for Team Human to celebrate with a ‘we got our planet back’ concert. Looks like the REF didn’t blow the planet after all, that’s awesome.

Scott, who can never be happy, is leaving Earth on a quest to find Admiral Hunter who is off lost in space somewhere, and/or possibly retired somewhere to a love shack with Lisa Hayes, minding his own business.

Lunk wants a farm.

Rand wants to retire and write a memoir, and Rook mocks him:

“You’re cute but you’re dumb.” At least she knows what she’s getting into.

Yellow Dancer, at the end of her concert, reveals herself to be a muscled dude called Lancer in one of the most baffling quick-change scenes of all time. The audience are all mildly freaked out. Lancer dedicates a song to Scott, and the audience decide they can cope with an occasionally genderqueer hot boy pop star after all. Phew.

A spotlight picks out Sera in the crowd, despite it being daytime. Lancer is singing the song to her. Yeah, dedicated to “Scott,” sure.

Rook and Rand cylone off together. Marlene, Annie and Lunk jeep off together. Scott flies into space to find Admiral Hunter in the vastness of space, despite having no clues whatsoever. Is he – planning to check all of space? Does he have a system?

In the final moments of the final episode, the excitable narrator tells us that next week… we get to start ALL OVER AGAIN from the beginning. Noooooo, excitable narrator, how can you do this to us?

Though, I totally could. Rick, Minmei and Lisa, I’ve missed you so much!

This weekly rewatch of classic animated space opera Robotech is brought to you as bonus content for the Musketeer Space project.

Thanks to everyone who has linked, commented, or sponsored me.

You can support the blog at Patreon.

Robotech Rewatch 66: Where In The Universe Is Admiral Hunter?

Okay everybody up. Robotech is back! (one last time)

Chapter 84: Dark Finale

The penultimate episode of classic Robotech presents the shadow fighters of the Robotech Expeditionary Force, preparing to launch an attack on Reflex Point. But the really exciting thing is that everyone has totally been telegraphing the imminent return of Rick Hunter. Any minute now.

“Any sign of Admiral Hunter yet?”

“No sir, no indication at all.”

It turns out that Admiral Hunter’s group failed to come through space fold in time, so they’re going to launch the invasion without him. Oh no! They must be saving his cameo until the very final episode, to maximise its impact.

Back on Earth, Scott and the rest of his ragtag crew have joined up with a bunch of real soldiers, the ground forces of the REF I guess? (to be honest, they could be random cosplayers, there is no explanation given). Scott, Lunk and Lancer are allowed to play with the Cyclone battalion, but the others (Rand, Rook and Annie) are dropped like hot potatoes because they’re not official military personnel.

Lancer gives his civilian buddies fond farewells, Lunk is happily back in the forces with a new jeep under him, and Scott salutes, confident that his three least qualified friends will survive the battle.

That’s assuming rather a lot.

Rand cracks at the last moment and indulges in a little creative insubordination, riding off into battle. Rook gets mad and chases him down, leaving Annie alone at the edge of a forest.

Annie promptly takes off and steals Lunk’s jeep from under him, driving him into battle.

Has… she ever driven a car before? Asking for a friend.

Prince Corg is about to fly into battle when Marlene turns up, trying desperately to stop the Invid from attacking humans. When Corg laughs in her face, she turns to Sera and works on her, trying to tell her that they have much to learn from humans.

It feels like we’ve missed a few episodes! Everything’s happening so fast. Marlene is extremely confident in her status as a human-Invid diplomat, even if her results leave much to be desired.

In the midst of battle, Rand confesses his feelings to Rook – that he’s fond of her. Yes, that’s as deep as he gets. But their mecha totally hold hands after that. Sweet!

A holographic image of a vapour cloud appears to our heroes, luring them away from the battle. When Scott looks closer he recognises Marlene. Lancer does the same, and promptly gets himself shot. Sera is devastated as Lancer falls out of the sky, a montage of Yellow Dancer images keeping him company in order to trick us into thinking he’s about to die. Sera catches him, knowing that the Invid are not going to be okay with this.

As predicted, Corg and the Regis are super judgy about Sera joining Team Human.

Marlene, in her floaty Ariel form, leads her friends into Reflex Point itself, while assuring them that the Invid were only looking for a home, not to wipe out a species. (That was a bonus) She also claims that she is a new species – part Invid, part human – which I guess makes her the closest thing they have to a neutral arbiter.

Inside, they discover the Invid hive and a very angry Regis who throws a bunch of holograms and operatic speeches at them. She makes it pretty clear that the Invid life force is more important than the survival of the human race, and starting again anywhere else would require far too much effort, so there.

Ariel argues with her mother that the humans have their own life force, and the two species should share the planet.

Scott sulks, and Lunk insists that the Invid have no right over the Earth. As representatives of Team Human, they would rather fight than compromise.

Back on the moon, REF Command (2 dudes) discuss the continuing lack of Admiral Hunter, who has apparently “given them permission” to blow up the Earth if they can’t win.

OH RICK I am so disappointed in you. Mind you, this guy you put in charge might just be saying you agreed to that because you DIDN’T TURN UP TO THE WAR.

The Regis taunts Marlene, pointing out the fear and suspicion on the faces of her friends, but Rand disagrees. They were a bit surprised Marlene was an alien, but she’s still their friend, and they’re completely supportive of her different cultural background. The Regis zaps him.

Sera is on Team Lancer. What did the Regis do to deserve this?

Corg is so over this bullshit, a loyal Invid no matter what. Why is everyone talking about feelings, ugh. He and Scott decide to express their feelings via beating the crap out of each other in mecha suits.

As everyone else stands around awkwardly, the Expeditionary Force emerges from the moon base and attacks the Earth.

“Well,” sighs Lancer, “that’s probably the end of a peaceful solution, then.”

Yep.

Episode 85: Symphony of Light

The excitable narrator promises us a climactic battle. Corg and Scott are throwing down, mecha-style. Which means a lot of colourful explosions and slow-mo shooting.

Corg, you are not as batshit nuts as your predecessors, Khyron and Zor. No one really cares if you get blown up or not. But it is nice to see that the Robotech tradition of pretty/crazy blue-haired villains is being honoured.

So the two command dudes in charge of everything are The General and his pal Sparks. The General is all for a scorched Earth policy. Sparks clutches his pearls. “Sir!”

So many explosions.

Lancer points out to the Regis that the shadow fighters of the REF are going to wipe them out – they are outnumbered and can’t fight what they can’t see.

The Regis digs her heels in because they already had to leave 2 planets and that’s her limit.

Lancer and Sera argue for terraforming ALMOST ANY OTHER PLANET but this is the one with Protoculture, so the Regis isn’t budging.

As Scott lies bruised after being shot out of the sky, Marlene patches his wounds and tries to convince him that smooches might be nicer than war. He informs her that he is good for only one thing and runs back to the battle, leaving her crying.

Rook and Rand, on the other hand, confess their love to each other with a hint of sarcasm while fighting the enemy. Multitasking! You don’t have to choose between love and war! Also, slightly sarcastic professions of love are my favourite kind.

Corg and Rook get into a duel, while Rand yells helpful advice to her from the sidelines. Scott swings by to steal Corg away before he kills the only two people with a functional romantic relationship in this show.

After a short battle, Scott beats Corg. Later, Rand and Rook bully Scott into being less sucky to Marlene and to get over himself. Rand points out that blaming the Invid for Original Marlene’s death is stupid because they were in the military, and humans have had all kinds of wars regardless of alien invaders. His fiance could have been killed by literally anyone, so why even get stressed out about it?

I love that Rand and Rook took literally 30 seconds between resolving their own relationship, and starting to advise everyone else about theirs. They are so Smug Marrieds.

Still, they were correct in that Scott is being a tool.

The Regis has had some time to think about it, and decides to just nick all the Protoculture from the planet and ascend to a higher plane. Ok…ay. Obviously she got the memo that this is the last episode, because otherwise this is a very suspicious change of heart.

Lancer joins Sera to do some shooting in unison, to keep the Regis safe while she prepares to leave. They get in some flirting at the same time. Scott, EVERYONE else can combine love and war, you should pay attention to your friends and their mad skillz.

Sparks and his General, meanwhile, are about to nuke the Earth, because there is no decent communication in this man’s army. (this plotline is never followed through on)

Sera and Lancer are in trouble, but Scott turns up to help them out. Does anyone even know who they are fighting any more? Let’s shoot into the air because it’s poetic and the splosions are pretty!

The Regis lists all of the work she did to repair this planet from all the wear and tear caused by previous Robotech wars (including, let’s not forget, mysteriously repairing New York City), judges everybody, and drops her mic. She takes the rest of the Invid with her, to continue their evolutionary development somewhere less sucky. Regis out!

Time for Team Human to celebrate with a ‘we got our planet back’ concert. Looks like the REF didn’t blow the planet after all, that’s awesome.

Scott, who can never be happy, is leaving Earth on a quest to find Admiral Hunter who is off lost in space somewhere, and/or possibly retired somewhere to a love shack with Lisa Hayes, minding his own business.

Lunk wants a farm.

Rand wants to retire and write a memoir, and Rook mocks him:

“You’re cute but you’re dumb.” At least she knows what she’s getting into.

Yellow Dancer, at the end of her concert, reveals herself to be a muscled dude called Lancer in one of the most baffling quick-change scenes of all time. The audience are all mildly freaked out. Lancer dedicates a song to Scott, and the audience decide they can cope with an occasionally genderqueer hot boy pop star after all. Phew.

A spotlight picks out Sera in the crowd, despite it being daytime. Lancer is singing the song to her. Yeah, dedicated to “Scott,” sure.

Rook and Rand cylone off together. Marlene, Annie and Lunk jeep off together. Scott flies into space to find Admiral Hunter in the vastness of space, despite having no clues whatsoever. Is he – planning to check all of space? Does he have a system?

In the final moments of the final episode, the excitable narrator tells us that next week… we get to start ALL OVER AGAIN from the beginning. Noooooo, excitable narrator, how can you do this to us?

Though, I totally could. Rick, Minmei and Lisa, I’ve missed you so much!

This weekly rewatch of classic animated space opera Robotech is brought to you as bonus content for the Musketeer Space project.

Thanks to everyone who has linked, commented, or sponsored me.

You can support the blog at Patreon.

Issue #1: Captain Marvel & the Carol Corps

Title: Captain Marvel & the Carol Corps #1

Writer: Kelly Sue Deconnick & Kelly Thompson

Artist: David Lopez

The Buzz: This was one of the Secret War/Battleworld original comics that I saw most excitement about, largely because of the massive cultural mileage that Kelly Sue Deconnick and Captain Marvel have with the comics-reading community right now. We were promised 1940’s retro shenanigans, and a diverse, all-female flying squad! Co-writer Kelly Thompson brings her own cool cred thanks to the general amazingness of Jem and the Holograms.

All You Need To Know: Ugh, Battleworld. You know the drill by now. All the Marvel universes have been destroyed, only Battleworld remains, each barony represents a fragment of the multi-verse, Doom is in charge of everything and oh yes, it’s all policed by the Thors.

Story: This reads like really great Captain Marvel fanfic! The team are a fun bunch, the language and dialogue comes off well, and Carol is at the heart of it all, solving the mystery and kicking the butt. As with A-Force, I can’t help feeling wistful that this doesn’t get to be a fully original not-tied-to-weird-continuity story (like the old DC Elseworlds which were completely independent alternate worlds), but I like the questions that the characters are asking about the whole Battleworld scenario. The tie-in with Thors is particularly intriguing, with little Kit, Carol’s fangirl from the original series, all grown up and Thorred. I hope very much that some of these characters are integrated back into whatever we get when Battleworld is over!

Art: I like the retro style, the humour, the faces, and the diverse body types among the women. The colours feel a little washed out – I always crave bright primaries in a Carol comic – but the focus on planes and flying comes across in a dynamic way. Good stuff.

But What Did I Miss?: All the Battleworld bullshit, I guess? If that’s something you care about? I wouldn’t recommend this particular title as an intro to Captain Marvel (for that I’d rec the trades Higher, Faster, Further, More or In Pursuit of Flight, but if you’re already sold on the character, why not come along for the ride?

Would Read Issue 2?: Sure, but I think I’ll wait for the trade on this one, I want the whole story at once.

Read it if you Like: Captain Marvel, A-Force

Previously reviewed this year:

Thor #1 (2014)

Spider-Woman #1 (2014)

All-New Captain America #1 (2014)

Captain America & the Mighty Avengers #1 (2014)

S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 (2014)

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1 (2015)

Bitch Planet #1 (2014)

Secret Six #1 (2014)

Operation: S.I.N. #1

Spider-Gwen #1

Curb Stomp #1

Jem & the Holograms #1

Silk #1

Issue #1 – Convergence Special – Oracle, JLI, Batgirl

Issue #1 – Battleworld Special: Lady Kate, Ms America & Inferno

X-Men ’92 #1

Giant-Sized Little Marvels: AvX #1 (2015)

Runaways #1 (2015)

Loki, Agent of Asgard #1 (2014)

Fresh Romance #1

All-New Hawkeye #1

Black Canary #1

The Wicked and the Divine #1 (2014)

Bombshells #1

Robotech Rewatch 66: The Great Reflex Point Conspiracy

Keep your scanner tuned to this station. Robotech is back!

Chapter 83: Reflex Point

This is exciting! Reflex Point! The whole story has been heading towards this point for so long! My expectations are very high.

The Regis muses on irony, and how protoculture allows the Invid to change into any form they like, but their extensive research has concluded that HUMANS, HUMANS ARE THE BEST DESIGN.

“We are Invid, we cannot fail, I will not allow it.”

A group of troublemakers, AKA our heroes, are startled by an explosion nearby. Hoping it might be that spunky Rick Hunter, they head towards it only to find some damaged mecha in a smoking crater.

Scott carefully surveys the damaged mecha and pronounces that there are no survivors.

“Nobody said war was pretty.” The narrator, setting the tone as always.

Proving that Scott is an idiot, a survivor promptly turns up – an intelligence agent called Sue Graham, who looks a lot like Marie Crystal but isn’t. Her assignment is to record the mission for Admiral Hunter and send him information.

Scott is furious to find out that Sue filmed the deaths of her colleagues instead of joining in the battle and getting killed alongside them. He and Lancer get aggressive and judgy at her.

Hundreds of Invid are approaching. Sue tells them all to deactivate their protoculture cells and abandon the mecha so the Invid think everyone is dead, but they are so busy not trusting her that they leave it to the last minute and only just make it into the woods.

Their Cyclones have a near miss, but the jeep and the Beta are both knocked into a ravine by the stompy Invid. Aww, ships, no. (Don’t worry, they’re fine later)

Sue has some good news, at least: there is a force of Admiral Hunter’s fleet, called shadow fighters, hanging around the dark side of the moon, ready to launch an assault against the Invid when “the time is right”. Scott repeatedly challenges her about doing her job (passing information to the local fighters to give them hope, and collecting data to send back to the fleet) rather than going rogue freedom fighter like him, which is the Only Correct Moral Choice.

Scott needs to not be in charge any more.

#TeamSue

The crew all have adorable space sleeping bags that make them look like caterpillars. Scott is angsting about Marlene Mark I, and Marlene Mark II suggests that he’s never going to be over her. She has a good point considering that he NAMED HER AFTER HIS DEAD GIRLFRIEND.

Scott and the crew are reluctantly going on a mission to collect a magic special space cannon that Sue told them about. Scott suspects that Sue has set them up so she can get some amazing footage of them getting “creamed” by the Invid.

I’m confused by their lack of distinction between a spy collecting necessary war intelligence, and a paparazzo-style media bunny. Mind you, Sue doesn’t help the situation by saying things like “Admiral Hunter’s going to love this footage” which implies she is creating entertainment for the poor bored Admiral instead of, you know, helping the war effort.

On the other hand, maybe Rick is just super bored. It’s not easy at the top.

Even the narrator complains that Sue is shooting nothing but film footage, when the Invid attack. Annie isn’t shooting anyone either! Because it’s NOT HER JOB OR HER SKILLSET.

I can’t help noticing that this episode called Reflex Point does not seem to actually have anything to do with Reflex Point. Surely they’ll get there soon, right? Right?

The leader of this particular Invid battalion is a glam rock style blond who bleeds green when he is killed. Sue is delighted to have proof that the Invid are turning themselves into humans – but Marlene is less than delighted, because she is bleeding green from a scratch on her arm.

YOU GUYS I THINK MARLENE IS AN INVID!

Marlene flees in horror, and Scott is surprisingly calm and forgiving about the whole thing, thinking more about how upset she must be than worrying about whether she was spying on them. It’s his one moment of being pretty awesome in an episode that is mostly all about him being a dick.

Sue drops dead from, I don’t know, irony, I guess, and Scott gives a grave speech about how she was the most dedicated professional he ever met in the REF, which goes to show that even when he’s being nice, he’s also a massive hypocrite.

As the episode closes without any sign of Reflex Point, the narrator works harder to get up our hopes that Admiral Hunter will be turning up any minute.

I… don’t think he can be trusted…

But they wouldn’t keep mentioning Admiral Hunter this much if he wasn’t going to turn up in the final episode, right? RIGHT?

This weekly rewatch of classic animated space opera Robotech is brought to you as bonus content for the Musketeer Space project.

Thanks to everyone who has linked, commented, or sponsored me.

You can support the blog at Patreon.