Zeonic|Scanlations

[COMMISSION] SIDESTORY OF ZETA (Prologue)

Added 2024-06-29 16:00:13 +0000 UTC

I'm sidestepping just a bit to work on a commission piece for someone for July!

This is a "what if" take on the main Zeta Gundam story. After the One Year War, Char Aznable, a Zeon captain, finds himself working for the Titans against his will. They're holding his sister Artesia hostage, leaving him no choice. His job? Hunting down what's left of Zeon. In response, the remnants of Zeon band together to form the AEUG, an anti-Earth Federation group. They've got backing from various colony companies, too. Meanwhile, Char reluctantly reunites with a demoralized and confined Amuro...

BACKGROUND

Sidestory of Gundam Zeta is a comic by Kazuhisa Kondo that ran in Making Journal and B-CLUB magazines from 1987 to 1988. It takes the world of the Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam anime and cranks up the drama and realism. The story's more of a parallel universe than a sidestory. Quattro (that's Char) is with the Titans, Amuro's hitting the bottle hard, and the AEUG is made up of Zeon leftovers. Even Kamille, the main character from the anime, is part of this Zeon-flavored AEUG.

They've got their own version of the Zeta Gundam, too – the Z Gustav. It's got both a monoeye and twin eyes, which is pretty unique. The series ended up unfinished, originally marked as "Part 1 End", though newer versions just say "END," making it even more open-ended. Kondo had worked on the Zeta Gundam manga for Comic BomBom back in 1985. He was asked to do Gundam ZZ, too, but he was burnt out and passed. After that, he moved over to Bandai's magazines for this series. The Dengeki Comics release in 1997 saw the addition of Amuro and Char's famous duel at the end of the series/movies. The B-CLUB Comics version includes a collection of setting materials and title page illustrations, as well as a conversation between Kazuhisa Kondo and Makoto Kobayashi. It also features a restructured compilation of parts 1-8 (out of 12) of the Project Mobile Suit illustration series that was serialized in Making Journal magazine (from July 1987 to June 1988 issues). Furthermore, it includes illustrations drawn for the "MECHANIC" essay series published in B-CLUB (issues 12-15). At the end of the book, there are comments from Kenji Uchida, producer of Char's Counterattack. None of these made it into the Dengeki version or ebook that followed in 2014, sadly.