This was our first big break into comics. Getting to work on a comic book related to Robotech was a dream come true beyond our wildest expectations. It's probably the most fun we've had on any project we've ever worked on.
ROBOTECH II: The Sentinels was the comic book sequel to the popular Japanese animated television series ROBOTECH. It was published by Eternity Comics from 1988 to 1994 and Academy Comics from 1994 to 1996. In all, there were 75 issues of Sentinels related books over eight years making it Robotechs longest running comic book ever. And even though we didn't finish the series, ending prematurely with Book 4 #13, we are extremely proud of what we were able to accomplish. We express our thanks to all those involved in the production, and our gratitude to all the readers!
Robotech II: The Sentinels was originally planned to be a cartoon series on television, but that production was never fully realized. Harmony Gold, the owners of Robotech, decided to have The Sentinels produced as a comic book series instead. Eternity Comics, a division of Malibu Graphics, purchased the rights where it was adapted by Editor-in-Chief Chris Ulm and Creative Director Tom Mason.
The first issue of Book 1 was published in November 1988.
The cover coloring was done by Scott Bieser.
Robotech II: The Sentinels was divided into "Books", to follow the paperback novels from which the animated series scripts were derived and later adapted into comicbook form.
There were five Sentinels novels published by Del Rey Books. Each "Book" of the Sentinels comic corresponded to a novel in the paperback series.
This numbering system may have led to some confusion for new readers, but it made it easier for us to know where we were in the story as the series progressed.
The first issue of Book 2 was published in May 1990.
The cover was colored by Paul Mounts.
Robotech II: The Sentinels was dropped by Eternity Comics in April 1994 leaving Book 3 and the rest of the series in general unfinished.
The first issue of Book 3 was published in November 1993.
The cover was colored by Moose Baumann.
Robotech II: The Sentinels was picked up by Academy Comics in the summer of 1994. Publisher Jean Elane wanted to continue the series right where Eternity Comics had left off, so the first issue of Sentinels from Academy Comics would be Book 3 #9, published in September 1994. This is also when we started coloring the covers ourselves!
Robotech II: The Sentinels had a special issue between Books 3 and 4. Feeling that the series was getting long, and wanting to bring in new readers, Publisher Jean Elane wanted us to do a summary issue recapping the events in the Sentinels story from Book 1 to Book 3.
We suggested outlining the entire Robotech saga from beginning to end. That way, not only could the readers see where we had been, but also track the series through events we had not even covered yet, hopefully leading to great anticipation (and sales) of forthcoming issues.
Jean liked the idea, and thus The Illustrated Robotech TimeLine was published as Book 4 #0 in November 1995. The fully air-brush painted cover was done by Jason.
Book 4 #13 was the last issue of Robotech II: The Sentinels published by Academy Comics in December 1996. Due to falling sales and licensing issues with Harmony Gold, Jean Elane was forced to discontinue the series, leaving the story unfinished and the readers on a cliff-hanger ending.
We were truely saddened by this turn of events. We enjoyed working on Sentinels immensely, and perhaps have not had anywhere near the same level of creative freedom on any other project since, and we think of our time and associations on the book with great fondness to this day.
Well, there's not much else to tell about Robotech Sentinels, except perhaps that it would be another nine years before we would work on another Robotech book, when in early 2005 we were asked by Tommy Yune, Creative Director at Harmony Gold, to co-write (and contribute some art to) Robotech: Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles, a new 5 issue mini-series that would finish the story of the Sentinels and bridge the gap to the new incarnation of Robotech... the direct to DVD animated movie Robotech: Shadow Chronicles.
We enjoyed our return to Robotech and are pleased to see the saga continue in new hands. We express again our gratitude to Tommy Yune for including us in the project. That was very nice of him. We feel truely honored to have been a part of Robotech. Thank you all.
ROBOTECH SENTINELS ARTWORK IS NOW ON SALE!
After many years of keeping them in storage, we are proud to announce all the original pages used in the printing of the Robotech Sentinels comic book series are being put up for auction. Now you can own a piece of Robotech history!
Just go to www.ebay.com and type in Robotech Comic Art. We'll be posting pages every week, so get your bids in fast. Many pieces have already been sold, but there are plenty more. Stop by and take a look.
If you're interested in a specific page, just drop us an e-mail, let us know what you'd like to see, and we'll see if we still have it.
We've kept them long enough, now they can be yours!
Thanks for reading and good luck!
Titan Comics has acquired the rights to publish Robotech comics, and they asked us to do a little artwork for them when they made the big announcement!
Not only that, but they will be reprinting issues of Robotech II: The Sentinels in a collected volume available in February 2019! How about that. After all these years, our old artwork will be back on the stands.
