Blaster Spotlight Review (SPOILERS)

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 1:31 am

Well, I enjoyed this one too.

For three main reasons:

Firstly, Simon understands the power of striking that nostalgic chord, and he does it again here by bringing together some of the crew from the Marvel Return to Cybertron story. Yep, Blaster's back with his pals Perceptor and Beachcomber, who together long ago fought so valiantly against that brute Straxus. Nostalgia worked well in the Shockwave Spotlight (when Shockers again fought the Dinobots on prehistoric Earth), and I think it worked well here too, in no way seeming like a rehash.

Secondly, it sets up the Blaster/Soundwave rivalry. Fans want to see things like the Dinobots vs. the Predacons, Magnus vs. Galvatron, etc. and it looks like Simon's giving us want we want. Most fans, anyway.

Thirdly, the character of Blaster as written somehow doesn't make a drastic departure from either his Marvel comic version or his cartoon version. He's the "Voice" of Cybertron, the Autobot who's job it is to put that positive spin on even the worst of situations, and yet he's that death-defiying Straxus-killer ready to take on all challenges in combat, finding compassion and patience in dealing with those less fortunate beings who do not have full control over their own selves (Spanner anyone? Again,nostalgic but new).

So kudos to Simon for tackling Blaster and this spotlight the way he did.

The negatives? Well, the whole 'talking someone out of mind control' gig has been done time and time again, so it's quite a cliche ending. Still, you gotta feel for Beachcomber who, in my mind, has always been one of the more innocent bots around.

I give this issue an A-. Took some points off for lack of originality in the plot department, but this is overshadowed by the originality shown by Simon in the characterization department.

Oh, strong work on the art as well.

Post by **Denyer** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 7:18 pm

Nearly perfect. It's a cliché to talk mind-controlees out of their state of mind, but it ties in beautifully with the focus of the piece being Blaster and his role in Autobot society. It's one of the first stories to suggest that they even have a society during wartime, though you'd hope there are some lighter programmes on offer as well to give everyone some escape moments.

Some background, some evidence that the 'Bots exist in a wider universe of alien races, plenty of character appearances and illustrating both the effectiveness of 'Cons such as Bombshell and the devastation a sleeper agent (witting or unwitting) can wreak.

Beats out Spotlight: Shockwave and on par with Spotlight: Kup, IMO.

Art's nice too, but I was expecting that.

4.5/5

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 7:42 pm

Denyer wrote: Beats out Spotlight: Shockwave and on par with Spotlight: Kup, IMO.

For me, it's just below these two, on par with the Hot Rod spotlight.

Predabot · Post by **Predabot** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 8:46 pm

Denyer wrote:Nearly perfect. Beats out Spotlight: Shockwave and on par with Spotlight: Kup, IMO.

Art's nice too, but I was expecting that.

4.5/5

Whole-heartedly agree.

The way Furman combines the best out of the cartoon and comic-versions is nothing short of genuine craftsmanship. Finally! A Furman Blaster done justice!

And indeed, we have both seen first-hand before, what Emiliano can do, so his arrival to IDW feels like a hand in a glove. For those still sceptic, Emiliano can best be described, when he's at his very best, as somebody that combines what EJ and Don does, and adds nearly flawless anatomy.

Solid!

Shanti418 · Post by **Shanti418** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 4:36 am

Probably the best Spotlight since Shockwave. Kup was bad ass, but Shockers and Blaster really tie into the continuity a way that Kup has yet to, although that's to be expected with Roche writing it, IIRC.

Anyway, yeah. Blaster vs. Soundwave? F*** yeah. The Return to Cybertron crew? (Don't forget, Inferno was there too) F*** yeah.

I think the Marvel Blaster comes through not only by the way he handled Beachcomber, but also the whole "heavy load on my shoulders, everyone's expecting things of me" kind of thing he has going on after he gets picked up in deep space. Very Blaster in the Scraplet Era.

And even if mind control is a bit passe, that wasn't just mind control, that was motherf***in Bombshell mind control, yo! I haven't seen that kind of stuff since Bombshell got that fleshling to use gun Megatron waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in TF US#20, the intro of the Aerialbots, no?

Legion · Post by **Legion** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 12:02 pm

It gets a big thumbs up from me

My only slightly quibble is the fact that Beachcomber appears to be aware of what he's doing but unable to stop it, he's able to strike up a conversation with Blaster whilst trying to kill him... so why hasn't he done so before? like "Watch out! I'm going to try to kill you!" (a bit like that episode of Red Dwarf when Lister is being remote controlled by his evil duplicate i suppose... heheh).

Impactor returns 2.0 · Post by **Impactor returns 2.0** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 2:50 pm

Is this a Furman Blaster or a Bob.B Blaster?

BB Shockwave · Post by **BB Shockwave** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 6:19 pm

Impactor returns 2.0 wrote:Is this a Furman Blaster or a Bob.B Blaster?

A mix of the two... He is, or rather, was, something like bards were in the middle ages, inspiring warriors before a battle, keeping morale high, etc...

But something happened, he was betrayed by someone he trusted (though he conveniently doesn't remember who it was) and Blaster starts doubting that his 'resurrection' was a good thing - maybe he should have faded into a legend. He IS a loud and proud warrior, but spouting this gung-ho talk is even a play for him, he's NOT like that. And it's a constant thorn in his side.

So bottom line, yeah, he's a DJ like in the cartoon (thankfully without the rhymes) and he's also a skilled warrior and a hard-to-kill Bot with a compassionate spark like Budiansky Blaster was. Certainly, much better and more fleshed out then he ever was in Furman's Marvel UK/US stories, where he was mostly just... there.

I really enjoyed the issue, as some said it before, it showed what life on a Bot HQ is during the war. And Blaster's narration was perfect. I really felt for Beachcomber too, 'Golden Lagoon' is one of the few cartoon episodes I really liked and the only time the poor Bot got some characterisation.

Also, the art was superb. Emilio Santalucia drew some MOTU comics before, but I was worried how good his robots will be, well, they are perfect. Mind you, he was using Don's IDW and sometimes (Jazz and Bluestreak) DW designs, but his redesign of Blaster as a sonic tank was excellent, as well as Beachcomber's buggy mode. Silverbolt looked too much like the toy for me, though.

The cameos were excellent, the big spread page with the Predacons leading an offensive with the huge Trypticon in the background was ace (too bad Tantrum was miscolored as part of Trypsie's feet...).

The things I didn't like?

-Setting up the Soundwave/Blaster rivaly. It's as much fanwank as Magnus and Prime being brothers...
-Perceptor was... not really 'perceptory' for me. More technobabble next time, Doc, please...

-Someone tell the colorists Bluestreak ISN'T blue! He looked like Smokescreen most of the time...

Oh and, anyone else notice that Simon, as he told me on his blog in a reply about TF Genetics, indeed introduced us to the TF equivalent of DNA - CNA!

I wouldn't rate the issue as high as Spotlight: Shockwave, but it was on par with Hot Rod, and much better then Kup's. The way Blaster used his 'voice' to make Beachcomber regain his strength of will almost brought me tears to the eyes. Superb work!

sprunkner · Post by **sprunkner** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 10:05 pm

Some Foolish Person wrote:Beats out Spotlight: Shockwave

Nothing does that.

Good fun nonetheless.

Post by **Best First** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 8:26 am

eh, it was ok.

The art certainly wasn't stunning, not bad by any streach, but felt a little 'fannish' at times.

The mystery was a little spoiled by the fact you could pretty much tell it was BC from the monitor silhoette, although he was a good choice of innocent.

Liked the fact that Bombshell was an unknown from an Autobot perspective.

Blaster... just wasn't quite as cool as Bob B Blaster, and some of his supposedly inspirational rhetoric fell a bit flat for me.

To echo someone elses approach to reviewing: C+.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 8:05 pm

Best First wrote:eh, it was ok.

The art certainly wasn't stunning, not bad by any streach, but felt a little 'fannish' at times.

The mystery was a little spoiled by the fact you could pretty much tell it was BC from the monitor silhoette, although he was a good choice of innocent.

Liked the fact that Bombshell was an unknown from an Autobot perspective.

Blaster... just wasn't quite as cool as Bob B Blaster, and some of his supposedly inspirational rhetoric fell a bit flat for me.

To echo someone elses approach to reviewing: C+.

Out of curiosity, did you read any reviews before reading the issue?

I don't get how so many fans can read reviews before reading the issue, and somehow manage to enjoy it thereafter.

Hound · Post by **Hound** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 9:16 pm

I read the issue before seeing the reactions and I would be inclined to agree with BF. It's enjoyable enough, but nothing outstanding. It doesn't have the solid characterisation that Shockwave had, nor the creativity of Kup - those being the 2 spotlights I see Blaster being compared to.

Would also agree with BB Shockwave that Soundwave vs Blaster is very fanwanky. Yay lets have teh 2 tape players fight each other!!!111one!

Hot Shot · Post by **Hot Shot** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 2:19 am

I finally got it today after nearly a week of restraint to my house via intestinal flu. I loved it. The art was nice. It was well written. I can't find anything bad about it at all. I echo 4.5/5.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 2:41 am

Hound wrote:I read the issue before seeing the reactions and I would be inclined to agree with BF. It's enjoyable enough, but nothing outstanding. It doesn't have the solid characterisation that Shockwave had, nor the creativity of Kup - those being the 2 spotlights I see Blaster being compared to.

No, I don't think it compares to Shockwave and Kup. They were the best issues of Transformers from IDW to date, IMO.

Post by **Best First** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 8:27 am

Yaya wrote: Out of curiosity, did you read any reviews before reading the issue?

I don't get how so many fans can read reviews before reading the issue, and somehow manage to enjoy it thereafter.

Nope.

Scanned this topic and saw you A- but did not read the comments themselves.

Also agree on the tape recorder thing - pretty lame.

Liked Blasters alt mode tho.

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 7:46 pm

I found this a feel good story. I'm all smiley now.

Predabot · Post by **Predabot** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 4:42 pm

Hmm... do we know if Ryall has hinted at even considering using Emiliano for some more work? Surely he must have at least hinted at it? Santalucia is a keeper.

Metal Vendetta · Post by **Metal Vendetta** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 3:11 am

Hee hee hee