Jason Waltrip, Origin of the First Robotech War

This page is special to me for a few reasons.

The Invid Regess looks into Zor’s memories through his clone. She learns and recounts the origin of the First Robotech War, the story depicted in episodes 1-36 of the 1980s Robotech cartoon. Her nonchalant mention of stealing “one of the Masters’ starships” of course refers to the incomparable SDF-1 and the kickoff of the series.

We also see how the Sentinels came to be. Robotech Master Zor seeds all of the group’s home planets with processed Flowers of Life and thereby alters the course of evolution on each. Yes, he’s playing God to make up for his earlier act of playing God that created the Invid. Some Masters never learn – although this second try did work out better.

Breetai has not yet suffered the injury that necessitated his iconic face plate.

And my favorite aspect of this page is that it shows the Protoculture Matrix. The Protoculture Matrix is probably the second biggest McGuffin in the series after the SDF-1, but I see it a lot less often.

Ink, gray markers, gouache, color pencil on 14 X 17 inch Bristol board. Robotech II: The Sentinels Book III # 20, page 16 (1995).