Spotlight: Jazz

[Richter]

Also agree Jazz has had a general lack of development - he is quite easy to soundbite and give a general aura of 'funk' to but little details has ever been given to his exact role or place in the command structure.

Well, Jazz isn't as 'black' as he is probably most well known for in this issue, but we are still chanelling a little Scatman

[Best First]

Could we get insight into whether his opinion of Madonna has changed over time?

[Mr_Tigg]

Also for the record though yes i am generally fine with juevenille behaviour here and don't put a great deal of effort into the moderation as most people here 'get it' in terms of what Transfans does and does not accept, which is pretty much no racism, sexism or homophobia or being a massive c*nt and anything else is fine. Even Republicans or Man U fans.

Ho hum, mainly me being arsey to Skwege. I probably went too far, but yeh was sorta basking in the hilarity of the situation (not funny for you obviously Sprunker) and aforementioned posters general hypocrisy. Regardless, apologies to Transfans locals for egging him on and making the situation uglier.

Moving swiftly on.

I'm still dying for Mowry's Cosmos spotlight (or any by him actually. Really want him to make the jump to the G1-verse)

I agree with this statement. I think Mowry is a massive talent and really does have the potential to fill the void left by Furman. However I also think, based on the McCarthy situation, that Mowry should do a few spotlights first to ease him in. I also *hope* that IDW learn from the experience with revelations/AHM and try harder to thread new stories into older ones to ensure the main continuity has a greater sense of cohesion.

Also agree Jazz has had a general lack of development - he is quite easy to soundbite and give a general aura of 'funk' to but little details has ever been given to his exact role or place in the command structure.

Jass was also a bit of a non-starter under Furman. A lot of people say that many of Furman’s characters ‘sound the same’. I disagree in terms of the main characters, but for bots who hovered in the background like wheeljack and jazz they didn’t have much charisma, and that criticism could be applied to them.

For example – the most ‘Jazzy-thing’ Jazz actually said in all of the –tion arcs was “m’man” in escalation, and even that felt forced. So yes, more soul to the character would be most excellent in my opinion.

[snarl]

Best Jazz feature story is Man of Iron.

Flippin mint little story is that.

[Best First]

agreed. MOI is an early classic.

[Guest]

agreed. MOI is an early classic.

Can't fault it.

Makes for a good introductory point, has just the right amounts of human-centric and "giant robot wars" so as not to imply either is just background, and doesn't leave any loose ends.

Oh, and for Yaya's benefit - It isn't a Furman job. Which must come as quite the shocker.

[Brendocon]

So yes, more soul to the character would be most excellent in my opinion.

He's got soul and he is a soldier.

Agree about Twix, though Lion is a close second.

Am actually looking forward to SLJazz, at the very least from a "want to see what you'll do with it" perspective. Also nice to have writers who know how to handle the fandom directly without resorting to getting pissy.

Though it best have either Flywheels or Spinister involved in some capacity, lest I track you down and raze your homes. Sorry.

[Jack Cade]

Agreed that it's a good choice of character. I didn't mind Furman using the spotlights to introduce new bots to the fray, though in the whole I prefer the idea of using them to flesh out characters who we've already seen in action but know little about. Would've been interesting if, for example, Infiltration had been released with back-up stories about the Autobots that make up the Earth unit, coupled with them being allowed to get a bit more of the spotlight in Escalation.

[Brendocon]

Would've been interesting if, for example, Infiltration had been released with back-up stories about the Autobots that make up the Earth unit

True, but personally I think they did right in waiting until they'd (effectively) got two story arcs under their belts before debuting the Spotlight series.

Two "main continuity" titles debuting concurrently from the outset would have probably confused the casual reader even more, sadly. Especially with the reluctance to acknowledge that a published reading order might help.

Genuinely interested to see how the three-pronged starting approach for the GI Joe comic goes down.

[Yaya]

agreed. MOI is an early classic.

Can't fault it.

Makes for a good introductory point, has just the right amounts of human-centric and "giant robot wars" so as not to imply either is just background, and doesn't leave any loose ends.

Oh, and for Yaya's benefit - It isn't a Furman job. Which must come as quite the shocker.

Wasn't it reprinted as an issue of Marvel US TF comic as well?

I remember not liking it, but I'm pretty sure it was because I was a young tasteless teenage punk that just wanted to see robots fight all the time.

Bet I would enjoy it now. Is IDW going to reprint it?

[BB Shockwave]

Wow, so its true what they say about Transfans being a cancer to the fandom.

You simply don't know what you're talking about. Spencer knows he is supposed to drop it. Everything here is being catalogued and forwarded.

I am persistent.

Comedy Gold! I think I have my new signature...

Seriously, thanks for dropping by... you remind me why I will never, ever register at IDW boards.

You know, I have been at Transfans for 6 years now, and no-one ever called me names or threatened my family... which I am not sure would be the case on any other board. Sure we had some debates, but the people here are intelligent and educated enough to know when to stop arguing, or just to keep in mind that this is a message board about giant transforming robots. Not the grand debate about whether God exists or not...

They know (N)etiquette, which you, apparently, never even heard of.

Feel free to show up on my doorstep, if you ever travel to Hungary...


Back on topic, I'm anxious to see more of Razorclaw - seening as he's on the cover I hope he's a major player. His code of honor is a rare thing amongst Cons seen so far in the IDW universe, I'm getting a Dinobot/Carnivac wibe from it... wonder why he and Jazz will cross (s)words.

[Mr_Tigg]

[BB Shockwave Wrote:]
Seriously, thanks for dropping by... you remind me why I will never, ever register at IDW boards.

In fairness, 95% of people at the IDW boards are nice, descent people there to discuss comics above all else.

You-Know-Who just happens to be the rotten apple from the bottom of the barrel, that’s all.

Overall, it’s a good community to be part of, although in the last 6 months AHM has divided people over there, and caused a bit of a rift on the board, which the management has been trying to stamp out of late, all be it in a bit of a ham-fisted way.

[Jack Cade]

Mr Tigg, forgive me my pedantry, but it's killing me that you keep spelling 'decent' as 'descent'! It makes me think you're describing people from some kind of underworld.

I do think the probs with the IDW board go beyond mere troublemaking though. For one thing, Tramp's still around, and he's living proof that it isn't just cussing and one-up's-manship that ruins a topical discussion. There's also too much of a sensitivity to things getting a bit heated - as soon as a topic becomes controversial some people seem to feel the need to post repeatedly about how they think everyone else is getting too aggressive and 'why can't we talk about something else?' I haven't got any particular people in mind - there just seems to be a microculture of it.

AHM has made it worse, because now there seems to be some kind of belief that critics have no business reading and commenting on it. "If you don't like, don't read" - isn't that the line? And while the mods aren't enforcing that idea, what you get is someone (and not always Skwege) making a crude, catch-all remark about 'all the critics' in a thread on something else, which is basically an invitation to a huge portion of the board to turn up and defend themselves, whereupon they're accused of being aggressive, yada-yada.

There are plenty of reasonable people over there. It just only seems a matter of time before any topic gets choked up by competing ideas of what everyone else should be discussing/allowing/letting lie. It's not unique though - happens in a lot of forums.

[Richter]

Back on topic, I'm anxious to see more of Razorclaw - seening as he's on the cover I hope he's a major player. His code of honour is a rare thing amongst Cons seen so far in the IDW universe, I'm getting a Dinobot/Carnivac wibe from it... wonder why he and Jazz will cross (s)words.

Razorclaw is definitely a major player. He (and the other Preds) are the main protaganists of the story and get a fair amount of screen time.

Just saw some layouts from EJ, and the Preds looks just as bad-ass as everyone thinks they are.

As for the whole 'which characters should be used for spotlights' thing, I think it's a very fine-line.

For me, regardless of how good the story is, if people either a) don't like the character, or b) don't know the character, they're probably not going to pick the comic up of the shelve.

For example, EVERY Transformers fan knows who Optimus Prime is, and a lot of non-transformers fans would recognise him to, where your average fan probably wouldn't know who Nightbeat or Sixshot was. Heck, a LOT of people would have no idea who Drift is. Now, that's not to say they're bad choices. Both Sixshot and Drift seem to be pretty important characters in the IDWverse, thus in dire need of some characterisation, and Nightbeat's story was pivotal to the overall plot.

Someone could pitch the most amazing story for Big Daddy, but it's unlikely it would ever see the light of day, really.

Like I've said before, the idea for Jazz was bouncing around for a while, but it wasn't until AHM came out that I thought it could work. Jazz is a really popular character, and even some non-transformers fans would recognise him. He's definitely a major player in AHM, so it seems like all the stars were in alignment.

Wow, that was a ramble

Anyways, to sum up, lots of Razorclaw (and Predacon) action, Jazz being Jazz and %#@#^ being a pain.

[amethystmatrix]

Boosts are 1 bar over here, far as I know.

Bounty has been two ever ever since I can remember.

regardless, its all about Kitkat chunky - that or doubledecker.

You 'Boys' have it all wrong. IMHO it's Cadbury's "Dark Chocolate Flaky" that beats every other entry in "the chocolate wars", hands down.
That bar just bursts into delicious little morsels in your mouth and slips delicately down to the nether regions of one's 'tummy' with no trouble at all. Ahhh.....

[Best First]

As for the whole 'which characters should be used for spotlights' thing, I think it's a very fine-line.

For me, regardless of how good the story is, if people either a) don't like the character, or b) don't know the character, they're probably not going to pick the comic up of the shelve.

For example, EVERY Transformers fan knows who Optimus Prime is, and a lot of non-transformers fans would recognise him to, where your average fan probably wouldn't know who Nightbeat or Sixshot was. Heck, a LOT of people would have no idea who Drift is. Now, that's not to say they're bad choices. Both Sixshot and Drift seem to be pretty important characters in the IDWverse, thus in dire need of some characterisation, and Nightbeat's story was pivotal to the overall plot.

Someone could pitch the most amazing story for Big Daddy, but it's unlikely it would ever see the light of day, really.

This is one of the reasons that i would prefer to see an ongoing title which could flit between the ongoing arc and occassional character pieces, plus get rid of the continuity head ache (for new readers) that having fundamental plot points occuring in the spotlights created. I don't buy Ryall's reasoning that an ongoing is harder to market - most of the best non big two comics - The Boys, Fables, Noble Casues, Invincible - are ongoings and all do better than TFs do (er, i think, i know Fables does)

BPRD/Hellboy is an obvious exception but they do far, far better in terms of editorial letting people know what is out and where it fits in.

just bursts and slips delicately down to the nether regions

[Brendocon]

Isn't Fables on Vertigo? And therefore, technically, DC?

By which I mean we can then include Hellblazer.

[Ozz]

Isn't Fables on Vertigo? And therefore, technically, DC?

It's listed on sales charts as by DC. And all of the titles BF mentioned outperform AHM (although Invincible barely). Except Noble Causes which either stopped appearing or is outside top 300.

[KJ]

Isn't Fables on Vertigo? And therefore, technically, DC?

It's listed on sales charts as by DC. And all of the titles BF mentioned outperform AHM (although Invincible barely). Except Noble Causes which either stopped appearing or is outside top 300.

Noble Causes is finishing very soon, possibly already finished.

Faerber is still doing Dynamo 5, which is an excellent book, easily his best work so far, IMO.

Dynamo 5 would have to be one of my top 5 comics of '08.

[Best First]

Isn't Fables on Vertigo? And therefore, technically, DC?

By which I mean we can then include Hellblazer.

Good point.

But its still an odd sell that does well as an ongoing so er, my point, kind of... mumble.

Hellblazer - where to start? Is it worth a punt? Heard good and mixed things. So on average mixed things.

[Jack Cade]

I don't buy Ryall's reasoning that an ongoing is harder to market ...

In any case, I would have thought that an ongoing only thinly disguised as several miniseries is *much* harder to market still. As well as new readers not being able to easily jump aboard, existing readers are left to work out for themselves where to go for the next issue.

[Brendocon]

Hellblazer - where to start? Is it worth a punt? Heard good and mixed things. So on average mixed things.

I've enjoyed what I've read. Format means that there's little in the way of ongoing story, from what I can gather. Lots of standalone stuff that dabble in different genres, similar set-up to Who in a way.

Whether it's good or not probably depends on author and personal taste. Long-running title with lots of creative teams... to be expected. Structure does mean that you can basically pick up any trade and be upto speed, from what I've seen.

Liked Warren Ellis' stuff. Next one I buy will probably be from Garth Ennis' run, which I've heard good stuff about.

So, yeah, example of an ongoing that functions in the way we're talking about.

[Mr_Tigg]

Richter Wrote:
Anyways, to sum up, lots of Razorclaw (and Predacon) action, Jazz being Jazz and %#@#^ being a pain.

COnsidering Jazz's newly found crazy ninja skills from AHM, combined with the hints in the interview over on seibertron, and judging from the fact the Predacons are hunters, I have a feeling this is gonna be like a transformers-predator style strip (minus arnie!). I have a feeling the predacons will stalk jazz, till he turns the tables after a few flash backs. I wonder if he will cover himself in mud to avoid detection?

[Yaya]

I wonder if he will cover himself in mud to avoid detection?

Always thought Predaking was one ugly mothafocka.

[Impactor returns 2.0]

hmm, its like the Preadacons stalking Megatron through a swamp so many years ago...

[Mr_Tigg]

Yaya Wrote:
Always thought Predaking was one ugly mothafocka

It’s funny you say that. Much as I love Predaking (he’s my favourite con combiner), I kinda hope he doesn’t appear. I loved the way gesault technology was on the slow burner under Furman. You felt like he was gradually building off Spotlight Optimus towards an introduction for Devastator as some sort of ‘con secret weapon. IMO AHM really messed that up, as when Devastator does appear, it is totally anticlimatic and ultimately pointless.

[Yaya]

Yaya Wrote:
Always thought Predaking was one ugly mothafocka

It’s funny you say that.

Actually, I just wanted to use that line from Predator.

I think Predaking is actually the coolest-looking Transformer out there.

[Impactor returns 2.0]

all the preadabots and preadaking look ******* cool

[KJ]

Sigh.

All that Skwege stuff made it into this weeks Lying In The Gutters.

:/

[Best First]

IDW announce New Series: Stormbringer in a Tea Cup