Carl Macek Robotech creator dead at 58

[MBoyd]

:( This news today saddened me, and struck a chord.

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/44714

Whether you agree with the concept (it's well-documented, I won't go into it) behind Robotech or not, it's influence on the anime scene was immense.

I'd followed Star Blazers and Battle Of The Planets previously as a youngster. But, in the spring of 1985, when I was 14 years old, I first saw Robotech. I began religiously watching it every morning before school on the Dallas area's Channel 11. Star Wars was winding down and this is what I started to geek out on. I guess I wasn't alone because the DFW area seemed to be a hotbed for this show. Lone Star Comics would routinely have packed Robotech days with posters, model contests, tapes of the show running and just a place for fans to get together and chat about the show.

At some point DFW was chosen as a test market for a 2-3 week run of Robotech: The Movie. A few days before release in the summer of 1986, Carl Macek came out to Lone Star Comics to autograph posters and books for about 20 young fans, including me. We got to spend about an 2 hours chatting with him about Robotech and the upcoming projects. Was he ever a patient guy. Thinking back, we probably bordered on pestering this poor guy out of his mind. But our excitement was probably matched with his! He gave hints about the Sentinals, the RPG, talked about the movie, the comics, the upcoming Matchbox toys. He was so optimistic about the licensing happening, although he conceded it was hard, because of all the Japanese Macross rights tied up. Which is why Matchbox couldn't release a transforming Veritech . . .

Unfortunately, after the original 85 episode Robotech show, what came later was kind of a failure in my eyes. I moved away to southeast GA soon after the DFW only movie release and nobody there liked anime and no affiliate carried Robotech.

So RIP Mr. Macek. Thank you for that great afternoon answering all our questions that day back in 1986! And for 85 entertaining episodes of a show that was the complete opposite of what was on TV at the time. It was a blast!

[Groucho]

Yeah, say what you like about Robotech but for many Americans it was their introduction to Anime.

I still remember watching the first series in my dorm room, only to have my next-door neighbor come knocking in the middle of the night: "Can you please turn Lynn Minmei down?"

[wishbone]

I had followed BotP as a youngster too and caught a few shows like Tōshō Daimos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C5%8Dsh%C5%8D_Daimos) on cable. The animated mecha and character style intrigued me so I was hooked from the first episode of Robotech in 1985.

Access to the internet in the mid '90s told me the story of Carl Macek and how he utilized existing shows (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_West_Advertising) to create the Robotech story arc but I still appreciate his efforts to bring these shows to the mainstream in the US.

http://i40.tinypic.com/4s1jeh.jpg

:rip: Carl Macek

[milo bloom]

Another Robotech-into-other-anime person here, my wife even more so.

[RayChuang]

We can all have our qualms about what Macek did with ROBOTECH but his work with Streamline Pictures brought over a lot of really famous anime movies during the late 1980's to early 1990's. The original dubbed versions of Akira and My Neighbor Totoro were all his work.

A true pioneer in getting Americans to appreciate anime is now gone. :(

[Setzer]

RIP, Carl. :(

Robotech was and still is my favorite animated TV series. I was 13 when Robotech first hit TV and I was instantly hooked. I didn't know anything about Anime until Robotech and I have him to thank for that. You'll be missed, Carl!

[mnementh]

Don't forget he co-founded Spumco which led to Ren and Stimpy.

[Setzer]

At some point DFW was chosen as a test market for a 2-3 week run of Robotech: The Movie.

I was about your age around that time and was highly anticipating the release of the movie. I would go with some friends to the local comic book shop every week to pick up the latest issue of Robotech by Comico comics. On the inside of the issues they had full page advertisements of the movie and the upcoming Sentinels series. Unfortunately, the movie never came out in my area and the Sentinels series never made it to TV.

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/6504/robotechh.jpg

[MBoyd]

Yeah I was so into the comics too. Weird because after seeing every episode a couple of times over, I knew what was going to happen! I think distribution got pretty sketchy towards the end of the series. I don't recall being able to find them in my town after 1987.

[buckee1]

This was really sad news. I met him @ a comic book convention in the 80's and he was just the coolest guy to talk to. I too loved Robotech/Macross, Battle of the Planets, Starblazers and just about every other Japanese imported anime of the day. Still watching them but only now, my sons are getting to share in the experience and they are loving it just as much as I did when I was their age! :rip: Carl.

[OutRun2]

This was really sad news.

That's all I came in here to say. Shocked is an understatement.

RIP Mr. Macek

[Darknite39]

Add one more :( to the pile.

[fleggett]

And another.

I watched the entire Macross run recently (subbed) and actually thought Macek's treatment of "The Macross Saga" was superior in some ways (as heretical as that might sound).

I also saw several of Streamline's theatrical prints at our local art-house cinema, The Enzian. It was an AMAZING experience to see titles like Lensman, Laputa, and especially Akira on a movie screen. The dubbing wasn't the best, but on the whole serviceable.

A heart-attack at 58. Far, far too young. Really awful news. RIP.

[JDeazy]

R.I.P.

From another Robotech convert.