Macross #1 from 1985. Issue #2 onward was titled Robotech: The Macross Saga.

As I’ve mentioned in some previous posts, I started “all in” collecting comics in 1986, which was not only a huge year for both DC and Marvel, but also pretty much the height of the Independent Black & White Boom. Was thirteen-years-old at the time, and while TMNT #1 (first print) was already way out of reach in the $200 range, most other hot indie first issues like Adventurers and Grips could be had for $20 to $50. Still pretty pricey for a teenager, but gettable.

Macross #1 from Comico fell right into that, and I definitely paid $20+ for it during the book’s height. This would be an example of the “getting caught up in the mania” mentality of a young collector: WHY did I want this book enough to pay over twenty bucks for it at the time? I wasn’t into Robotech, and don’t think I’d even seen the animated series (watched a ton of Voltron, though).

It was a case of I wanted it, because it was already an expensive back issue. Had that cache of being “behind the counter” at the comic shop…I was “told” by the collecting climate of the time, that it was something I should want. And hey, I didn’t regret the purchase then, and definitely don’t regret it now. It’s very much a part of the nostalgia of collecting comics during the Copper Age — remembering “what you were thinking” at the time — which is a lot of what this blog is all about. My copy of Macross #1 went right into a Mylite comic bag with a buffered acid-free backing board, which it’s still in to this day.

Anyway, this was the first and only issue named “Macross,” per Wikipedia:

Robotech comics first officially appeared in print in 1985, though Comico published the first issue of its license from Harmony Gold USA under the Macross name.

When Harmony Gold was releasing the first few episodes of its original Macross dub in 1984, it was discovered that Revell already had a Robotech Defenders line of scale model kits that included the transformable Macross mecha. The potential for brand confusion caused concern that Harmony Gold would have problems selling its own transformable Macross toys. Fortunately, Harmony Gold and Revell were able to come to a co-licensing agreement — when producer Carl Macek had the idea to combine Macross with Southern Cross and Mospeada to create an 85-episode television series, he chose to use Revell’s pre-existing Robotech name and logo to strengthen the title’s brand recognition.

Got that? You can read the full Robotech comic publication history right here!