Friday, May 29, 2015

“Robotech Art 2: New Illustrations & Original Art from The Robotech Universe”, edited by Kay Reynolds


132 pages, Walsworth Publishing Co., ISBN-13: 978-0898654172

Before the days of online forums for fan art such as Deviantart and Reddit, books like this were a delight, especially for those of us who felt isolated in the Robotech and anime fan community. But Walsworth Publishing Co. was rather overwhelmed by the popularity of Robotech Art 1: The Official Guide to the Robotech Universe (see below), and so Robotech Art 2: New Illustrations & Original Art from The Robotech Universe was published almost as an afterthought in order to capture some more consumer dollars before the popularity of Robotech began to wane – which in a way is odd, for of all of the Robotech Art books, it is this one that has the most “art” within: Robotech Art 1 is an episodic overview of the original series, along with an introduction to the world of anime, while Robotech Art 3 is an overview of the failed Sentinels series along with a long, informative essay on the business-end of the Sentinels production. Robotech Art 2, however, concentrates on fan art, and the results (as might be expected) are highly varied – there are some excellent artists represented (many of whom are professionals in the comic book industry) along with many rather amateurish works. The book also contains reprints of various cells, background paintings, character sketches, and paintings by character designer Haruhiko Mikimoto, one of the top anime character designers of the 80s; however, most of this work is available elsewhere. Finally, there is a short essay on robots in Japanese culture by Frederik L. Schodt, an American translator, interpreter and writer which, while informative, seems out of place in this particular volume.


“Robotech Art 1: The Official Guide to the Robotech Universe”, by Kay Reynolds and Ardith Carlton



264 pages, Walsworth Publishing Co., ISBN-13: 978-0898654127

Ah, Robotech…my first youthful foray into the new, mysterious and perplexing universe of Japanimation – or Anime – or…whatever. This art form from across the Pacific was a new and exciting world in which giant, anthropomorphic machines were the norm, everyone’s eyes were HUGE, and their hair just slightly less exotic than an 80’s New Wave party. And, for me at least, Robotech led the way, and this book, Robotech Art 1: The Official Guide to the Robotech Universe, was a fantastic resource for me to be able to understand what I was watching then – and to remind myself how magical it all seemed now. There is an overview to each episode, character biographies, mecha designs, and a history about the development of the series. In case you didn’t know, the Robotech Saga is a combination of three unrelated anime series into one new story: The Super Dimension Fortress Macross (The Macross Saga); Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross (The Masters); and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA (The New Generation). The reason for this peculiar decision on the part of Harmony Gold, the television production and distribution company behind the series, was its decision to market the series for American weekday syndication television, which required a minimum of 65 episodes at the time (thirteen weeks at five episodes per week). Macross and the two other series each had fewer episodes than required, since they originally aired in Japan as weekly series. At last, the confusion I felt at seeing three Robotech series with mecha that looked nothing alike has been explained. The last section of the book chronicles the development not only of Robotech, but of the history and evolution of anime and manga itself, a supremely interesting topic that I wish had more substantial. Overall, a virtual treasure-trove of art and info for any Robotech geek.


Wednesday, May 20, 2015

“The Marlborough House Set”, by Anita Leslie


321 pages, Doubleday, ISBN-13: 978-0385014489

Upstairs, Downstairs; Jeeves and Wooster; Pride and Prejudice (the Colin Firth one); Aristocrats; Downton Abbey – for anyone and everyone who is enamored of these looks inside the British aristocracy, have I got a book for you: The Marlborough House Set by Anita Leslie – or should I call her Anita Theodosia Moira Leslie Rodzianko King? – tells the tale of the Prince and Princess of Wales (Albert Edward, “Bertie”, and Alexandra, “Alix”) and the intimates who dedicated themselves to keeping this amoral and peripatetic (and yet interesting) man amused. They were the “fast” set of their day as judged by Bertie’s mother, the oft unamused Queen Victoria, and anyone else who wasn’t blessed to be in it, and Anita Leslie will tell you why. And we could have asked for no better guide, either, as Leslie was perfectly placed to interview the subjects of which she writes: she was the eldest of three children born to Sir John Randolph Leslie, 3rd Baronet, a first cousin of Winston Churchill, and Marjorie Ide, the youngest daughter of Henry Clay Ide, the United States ambassador to Spain and Governor-General of The Philippines (bluer blood outside of the Royal family would be hard to find).

However, if you are expecting a book featuring an in-depth exploration of the people, the period, and their influence on their country and the world during this pivotal moment in history, this isn’t it; Leslie’s style is that of a gossipy great-aunt whose tale contains few logical transitions and spotty continuity, complete with some lovely old photos from the author’s collection or those of her parents’ friends. She will also tell you who, and how, and when, and while you come away from the book realizing that there was a lot more than grouse shooting and hands of rubber bridge happening at those house parties, you also wish you knew so much more. She focuses on several individual members (some of whom were actually members of “The Souls”, a group that was the antithesis of the “Set” in question), giving all the gossip, well-known and not-so-well-known. She tries to debunk several stories extant about the participants (e.g. how Lord Randolph became infected with syphilis, which we now suspect he wasn’t) using supposedly insider information, but her sources are almost all anonymous: not at all useful or usual in a book that is supposed to be historically accurate. Furthermore, her lack of actual citations, either in book or manuscript form, (she mentions books and people’s names but does not connect these to actual incidents) is contrary to proper writing practices.

At the end of this book, Anita Leslie quotes at length from the diaries of English poet and writer Wilfrid Scawen Blunt on the death of King Edward VII; the turn of phrase “pleasant little wickednesses” is used in reference to this monarch who gave his name to the era and about whom the major and minor personages in this book revolved – the sun to their planets and moons and asteroids. Leslie has written several books on the Edwardian Era and the people involved, and she seems to find their hypocrisy amusing; she’s entitled to her opinion, but it would make for better history if the author remained an observant reporter rather than an active participant.