Spotlight 2 : Nightbeat

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Spotlight 2 : Nightbeat

Post by KingMob » Tue Oct 03, 2006 1:13 pm

here:
http://fractalmatter.com/main/?p=402

there be plot-spoilers.
Gets a positive write up.

Is this MD Bright the same guy as Mark D Bright, who the Transformers comic cover usually voted best of all time (the Transformers are all dead Shockwave one?)

I am excited.

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Post by Metal Vendetta » Tue Oct 03, 2006 2:50 pm

SPOILERS (and some speculation)...




And yet again we have a shadowy figure in the backround. If its who I think it is – Oh, the fun.










GALVATRON!!!!
I would have waited a ******* eternity for this!!!!
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Post by Best First » Tue Oct 03, 2006 3:05 pm

yea, but apparently he isn't going to be Megs, which, personally, rob's the character of all interest for me.

or at least a lot of it.
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Post by Legion » Tue Oct 03, 2006 3:17 pm

Yay for Nightbeat! Sounds like a cracking issue! :)

Best First wrote:yea, but apparently he isn't going to be Megs, which, personally, rob's the character of all interest for me.

or at least a lot of it.
now, you see i'm just the opposite - i always thought Galvatron robbed Meg's character of so much (at least until G2)...
i'm very interested to see what direction this goes in.

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Re: Advance review of Spotlight: Nightbeat comic

Post by Predabot » Thu Oct 05, 2006 3:46 pm

KingMob wrote:Is this MD Bright the same guy as Mark D Bright, who the Transformers comic cover usually voted best of all time (the Transformers are all dead Shockwave one?)

I am excited.
I do believe it has been stated on this site when I asked for whom MD Bright might be, that yes, it was indeed him..?

Most passing strange tho... since the somewhat puffy style on that thumb-nail cover looks nothing like the style he had 20 years ago.

EDIT: Oh, that's Nic Roachs cover... Does anyone have a link to the BRIGHT-cover? I need to see it with my own eyes.

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Post by Josh » Fri Oct 06, 2006 5:29 am

Bright's cover is the one thumbnailed in the review

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/7578 ... sedkp1.jpg

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Re: Advance review of Spotlight: Nightbeat comic

Post by KingMob » Fri Oct 06, 2006 8:32 am

Predabot wrote:
KingMob wrote:Is this MD Bright the same guy as Mark D Bright, who the Transformers comic cover usually voted best of all time (the Transformers are all dead Shockwave one?)

I am excited.
I do believe it has been stated on this site when I asked for whom MD Bright might be, that yes, it was indeed him..?
Eh, I haven't been paying a lot of attention to Transformers stuff for a while, haven't been around here all that much for a little bit and I tend to forget most of what you post anyway.

Thanks anyway tho, mate.

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Post by Denyer » Fri Oct 06, 2006 4:13 pm


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Post by Metal Vendetta » Fri Oct 06, 2006 4:37 pm

Ha, weird, I just got that from the library.
I would have waited a ******* eternity for this!!!!
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Post by Predabot » Sat Oct 07, 2006 9:44 am

Metal Vendetta wrote:
Ha, weird, I just got that from the library.
Love that story. I've got the swedish mags with it. :) Spidey in East-Germany! :D Wolverine is an ass! Wolverines Girl tricks Spidey to... do something bad... :(

They need to do a sequel to that one, don't they? Best guest-appearance of Wolverine ever, and I'd wager the events in those issues is something that Peter Parker is haunted by every day.. those two need to settle that one... ;)

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Post by Josh » Tue Oct 17, 2006 10:47 am

just got my copies of this in the mail today

man


i pictured a completely different book when i first read the script [before i saw any interior art]

kudos for goin for a different style but the art took away a bit [for me] from the story


[looks like Bright was inspired by the fugly movie optimus head design thats been floatin around. all fish eyed and sad lookin T____T]


story great
artwork not so great [well, the art in itself was pretty good, but lots of little cosmetic things are what put me off. nightbeats red optics, thighs longer than his legs, station wagon refit, etc x__o]

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Post by snarl » Tue Oct 17, 2006 3:00 pm

Yeah, have to say, from the previews I wasn't feeling the art - exact same thing irks me regarding the proportions with thigh to shin ratio...

Some of Rob Ruffalo's 6shot previews appear guilty of this too, although I think in general his IDW stuff is looking a lot better then his DW stuff...
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Post by Metal Vendetta » Wed Oct 18, 2006 1:14 pm

Josh wrote:story great
artwork not so great [well, the art in itself was pretty good, but lots of little cosmetic things are what put me off. nightbeats red optics, thighs longer than his legs, station wagon refit, etc x__o]
Yup, that's pretty much my take on it too...some of it looks great, but some of it is just plain weird...and I mentioned this over on IDW but Nightbeat's character design changes between pages 5 and 8, while all he's done in the intervening pages is drive around. It's reminiscent of Bumblebee's "morph" in HoS#1.
I would have waited a ******* eternity for this!!!!
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Post by Yaya » Thu Oct 19, 2006 12:07 pm

I liked it. Not an overly verbose tale, it was mysterious, and as far as telling a story in one issue, it did it's job.

Some have been critical of the art, but I didn't think it was too bad. I liked that the pencils seemed finer, and the coloring I thought was very good. I was particularly fond of how the planet was drawn. It really looked like a busy place on the surface. Not sure what happened to Nightbeats "ears" though.

Obviously, this is a set-up story for bigger things to come. My only major gripe would be it read kind of short.

So overall, I give it a "B". Not on par with the first spotlight, but that would be a standard too high for comparison perhaps.
"But the Costa story featuring Starscream? Fantastic! This guy is "The One", I just know it, just from these few pages. "--Yaya, who is never wrong.

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Post by snarl » Thu Oct 19, 2006 2:09 pm

Just glancing though it, I have to say I really do like the art style, nice change from what we're used to.

scruffy and underplayed.

Yeah, the ears... where the [composite word including 'f*ck'] did they go!?!?
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Post by Shanti418 » Thu Oct 19, 2006 5:36 pm

I liked the story, I especially like the technorganic society evolving into robots.


Art was cool by me, except for the Optimus heads. Those were just ridiculous.

You think that's Galvatron? What sort of evidence do we have for that?

To me, (and this is right after reading Stormbringer, mind you), I thought a big sea of transformer self replication with that underground ocean.
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Post by spiderfrommars » Mon Oct 23, 2006 2:40 pm

I am loving what Furman is doing with the Spotlights. Self contained old school stories that still advance the new TF saga with each issue. Real page turners. Love the inner monologues... the characters feel real. Wouldn't be surprised if they turn out to be my fave new IDW series.

Great to see TFs on another planet... expanding the universe... reminds me of the (good parts of) Matrix Quest.

IDW have had less than 15 issues out in this continuity! I can't believe how fleshed out it is, more than Dreamwave managed in 40+ issues. Wow.
snarl wrote:Just glancing through it, I have to say I really do like the art style, nice change from what we're used to.
Me too. To be honest, stuff like this is a lot easier for me to follow than Figueroa's, even if it does lack his detail and panache.
Its good to have variety, I'm grateful for that.
shanti118 wrote:I liked the story, I especially like the technorganic society evolving into robots.
Yeah, that was great. And it could mean a completely new origin for the TFs along the way somehow.

And that must be Galvatron. I hope he is a future Megatron - they don't need to labour the point, but I'd prefer that angle.

The mystery of the whereabouts of the original Ark has really caught my imagination too.
Last edited by spiderfrommars on Mon Oct 23, 2006 9:59 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Post by Brendocon » Mon Oct 23, 2006 8:50 pm

Shanti418 wrote:You think that's Galvatron? What sort of evidence do we have for that?
Chin, crown, the snatches of dialogue. Dead universe, emissary. Screams Galvatron, based off the Marvel US and Armada appearances from the character.

"Not being Megatron" can simply mean that he's not this universe's Megatron. Or he could be a Megatron analog. I'm intrigued by it.

Slightly disappointed, though - for all the flashes of originality, Furman still ends up slipping back into the same old ideas. Though that's arguably half the fun of a reimagining. :o

Enjoyed the issue. Gets my undying adulation for the unexpected Sports Car Patrol love.
I thought a big sea of transformer self replication with that underground ocean.
Interdimensional portal was my take on it. Probably not unlike the thing that Boss (or whoever) drove into in Age of Wrath.
Grrr. Argh.

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Post by Shanti418 » Mon Oct 23, 2006 9:54 pm

spiderfrommars wrote:
snarl wrote:I liked the story, I especially like the technorganic society evolving into robots.
Yeah, that was great. And it could mean a completely new origin for the TFs along the way somehow.

OOOoh, I'm snarl! Kick ass! :p
Best First wrote:I thought we could just meander between making well thought out points, being needlessly immature, provocative and generalist, then veer into caring about constructive debate and make a few valid points, act civil for a bit, then lower the tone again, then act offended when we get called on it, then dictate what it is and isn't worth debating, reinterpret a few of my own posts through a less offensive lens, then jaunt down whatever other path our seemingly volatile mood took us in.

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Post by spiderfrommars » Mon Oct 23, 2006 9:59 pm

Eeek!

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Post by Shanti418 » Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:03 pm

Aw, now my previous post is nonsensical.
Best First wrote:I thought we could just meander between making well thought out points, being needlessly immature, provocative and generalist, then veer into caring about constructive debate and make a few valid points, act civil for a bit, then lower the tone again, then act offended when we get called on it, then dictate what it is and isn't worth debating, reinterpret a few of my own posts through a less offensive lens, then jaunt down whatever other path our seemingly volatile mood took us in.

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Post by Guest » Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:30 pm

Sometimes, nonsensical works.

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Post by spiderfrommars » Mon Oct 23, 2006 11:12 pm

Shanti418 wrote:Aw, now my previous post is nonsensical.
Yes! I win! Don't you realise thats all that matters?

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Post by Best First » Tue Oct 24, 2006 8:58 am

that was really good.

not what was expecting at all (although i'm not sure what that was expecting) - i really like this set up, night beat getting hsi head buggered was pretty dark and it could go either way in terms of him figuring it out. I also liked the stuff about his remit and things like 'maybe even one fo the big three' - smashing plot littering

the notion of a society upgrading - great stuff.

This was, for me, as good as Shockers. Shame almost that both the one shots are better than SBs conclusion - also there's the contrast of how much you can actually get into one issue...

And just having one story in an issue is so brilliantly retro.

the art wasn't spectacular but was functionally good, as in it told the story very well (like Spidey says, better than Don does on that front, and also i would say Roche although in fairness this is probably a representation of industry experience).

2 for 2 on the one shots for me.
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Post by Brendocon » Tue Oct 24, 2006 9:12 am

Best First wrote:And just having one story in an issue is so brilliantly retro.
It's like Planetary but with robots. :oops:
Grrr. Argh.

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Post by Best First » Tue Oct 24, 2006 9:14 am

now there's a recipe for success
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Post by Brendocon » Tue Oct 24, 2006 9:22 am

It is, though! It's a self-contained story, reinterpreting an older notion, that fleshes out the backstory of the continuity.

It's Planetary with robots. :)
Grrr. Argh.

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Post by spiderfrommars » Tue Oct 24, 2006 10:16 am

Best First wrote:
This was, for me, as good as Shockers.
Yep!
Best First wrote:And just having one story in an issue is so brilliantly retro.
Yep!

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Post by snarl » Tue Oct 24, 2006 10:27 am

When I was sketching out a plot for continued G2, I had NB rebuilt a la Hi-Q to Prime, only Bludgeon had got to his Nebulan head first and completely ****** his mind up with Metalicato in order to make NB into a high powered time bomb.

So naturally I like this idea of Nightbeat's head getting buggered - Trojan Horses are good.
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Post by Brendocon » Tue Oct 24, 2006 10:33 am

snarl wrote:Trojan Horses are good.
Unless you're on the receiving end, in which case I'd say they're a bit of a bitch. :oops:

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