Out Wednesday April 1, 2009. HEL-LOOO, Jazz-meister!

crap! my local comic book store didn't have anything today because a storm last week here in colorado has delayed everything. have to wait til tomorrow to get this

I don't think we needed a Spotlight to remind us of exactly why Jazz rocks. This doesn't hurt, mind, but it does feel like something of a cookie-cutter plot.

Not bad though. A flashback to - presumably - pre-Thunderwing Cybertron told sometime before AHM #1, and not a bad message.

Awesome art as always from Su, but I think van Reyk and Knowler need a little more practice with the format.

Nothing particularly bad. Nothing special either. Kind of in the "take it or leave it" pile along with Ramjet, Mirage, and Blurr. But much more enjoyable than any of them, I will say. EJ's art seemed a little sketchy here and there.

I really want a Deluxe Universe Jazz toy now.

I had minor quibbles with EJ's art early on during the earlier -Ations, due to his TFs' expressions, or slight lack thereof. Details on physicals (neck cables, in between knuckles) are amazing but the facial expressions kinda fell flat (as compared to Don, Guido, or Nick). Here, some of them looked a little goofy, but I put it down to some of the grinning. However I consider it improvement.

Man, you can tell this was written by the Mosaic guys. Why?

TOTAL WISH FULFILLMENT FANFIC

Let's see. Tracks gets to tell a story! Everyone sits around and listens! Oh my God, they even SHAKE HIS HAND at the end, they are so enthralled by his awesome story! Oh man, wasn't that a great story? Whew! He sure tells good stories! Everyone will be talking about his awesome story.

And the story wasn't even all that great. OH HEY ONCE WE DIDN'T DIE? Because a helicopter arrived just in time? Dude, these guys have been fighting for millions of years. And they're dazzled by a series of cliches? Ooookay.

But, man! They sure loved his story!

PLEASE LOVE OUR STORY.

I could have told you that when I found out the premise was "Jazz (he's so cool) fights the Predacons (they're so tough)".

I love how everyone gets along at the end.

Wonder what could've happened to make everyone antsy again by the time they were first shown on Cybertron in AHM?

Probably came off that "Volatile Planet Has Goofy Fumes" high.

I mean, c'mon. They were SHAKING HIS HAND because his STUPID STORY CHANGED THEIR LIVES. These were not well mechs. Either that, or they were just humoring Tracks. But why? That is a tale for another day...

Jazz is one of my favorite characters, but that was just.....

Argh.

At least it was pretty most of the time.

Ah yes, I forgot about the fumes.....moving on.

edit: spelling

Okay issue. Could've used more Drift, though.

Yeah.

That sounds about right.

It was alright, I was hoping for something more grim and black ops-esque judging from what Kup said to Jazz early on in AHM about Jazz's past missions and that.

I actually steered clear of previews for that book and frankly, this was what I was hoping for too.

Instead, we got... well... like I said earlier, Walky summed it up best.

I agree yeah, it was a bit cheesy.

Prowl's "Whaaaaaaat?" face at the end when Jazz said he already knew Track's story was a good example of this I think. Up to that point I genuinely thought Prowl had pieced together it was Jazz based on what he had gleamed from Track's story...but yeah.

It was nice seeing lots of typically underexposed characters being used, but yeah, cheesy stuff all round.

The vaguely sad thing is, I'd wonder if they actually knew they were doing it, or if it just came out that way subconsciously.

not bad for a debut effort,
personally i would of preferred it to seen more internal narrative from Jazz, but i know with the Special Op's stuff it could of turned into something too reminiscent of Hot Rod Spotlight.
But i do know i was expecting something more SAS in style, I'd pictured Jazz being more James Bondish, doing assasinations or Kidnapping of Decepticon hi rankers, i mean yeah maybe not torture (more a Repugnus gig) but something a bit grittier. Being as completely unbiased as i can, i think whilst it was a good uplifting story, it just didnt suit the character of Jazz well enough for me, dunno who it would of worked better with, Springer maybe ?
Also i think the art had a few bad panels, there was one where everyone was crowded round tracks and both Lines and colours just weren't as hawt as these guys normally produce,

Before I read this issue, I was torn on what kind of approach I should take in judging it, knowing that some 'newbie' fans like myself were the ones breaking it out.

I decided, "Hey, if I'm paying the $3.99 to read it, then I should not evaluate with kid gloves on, I should evaluate it just as I would any other Spotlight comic".

So I did just that.

And loved it.

From start to finish, this story kept my attention, and as the story unfolded whilst reading it, I think a congratulative smile kind of crept onto my face.

So yeah, congrats to you guys for putting this together. I found it to be just the kind of tale that got me into Transformers in the first place, full of heart and spirit with just the right amount of suspense, action, and humor. What a spotlight should be, really.

In particular, I applaud the decision to include a two-page spread of Jazz going at it with Razorclaw. Some might find this wasted space, but I have found that these kind of battles have been somewhat neglected of late. I think Prime vs. Megs in Escalation was maybe the last time such focus had been put on a fight.

And let's face it, these are the kind of battles that cemented our love of Transformers in our youth, and it's nice to rekindle a bit of that now and then.

Also, nice use of 'tech'. These are robots, after all, so it's nice to see the use of a cable-toted camera retracting from Jazz's wrist, for example, and the static-like vision from Tracks damaged optics. Nice touches.

I am hardpressed to find something I didn't like, but if put to the task, i would say the Predacons were too easily taken out. One could still rationalize this, though, by saying they had not faced an opponent with the cunning, guile, and heart of Jazz. So it still works on some level, IMO.

One of the best Spotlight yet to see print.

Strong work.

Give it an "A".

With MD #4, twas a great day to be a TF comic fan.

I really feel it would have been improved without the framing device of the flashback. It reads a bit cheesy, removes any suspense (do Jazz and Tracks survive? Well, yes) and doesn't really fit in with AHM either.

Tracks should have realised it was Jazz pretty much straight away since he could hear him (unless his hearing was broken too) and the Predacons (apart from Razorclaw) get taken out way too easily for such a group of 'elite soldiers'.

As for the actual story itself, it was far better than I was expecting, if a little short and inconsequential. Snipping the framing device would probably have solved this, but I imagine the current spotlights are supposed to tie into AHM more. It also really did seem to be much more about Tracks than Jazz.

Also as nice as the art was, the huge visor flares seemed really distracting!

Sigh.
There are only so many times I can re-read my Furman issues, when I want good Transformers storytelling.

And with such textbook ease!

That's right. They pull the old "Distractaroo." The weak one goes out in front of them, says something stupid, which gets the bad guys to do something even STUPIDER, because... well, because it's required by the plot. And then that sustains the heroes long enough for Deus Ex Helicopter.

Yeah, uh, it's really hard to take Tracks and Jazz at their word (their INCESSANT word) that the Predacons are really smart and the best and they're both so totally dead like yesterday, man! Except the Predacons are idiots.

You are an evil little man Walky. That's fantastic.

I had a lot meaner one, but it would have taken a lot longer to draw. I'm spiteful, but only lazily so.

Canonized Fanfiction Catfight !

Well unless you live in Dreamwave continuity where if you are a pre-movie character you will up and commit suicide for no reason other than to be edgy (I'm looking at you Prime Directive)

I'm not perfectly happy with the final word balloon. I think I might change it to "Because we're FICTIONAL CHARACTERS!" That fits the artificialness of the Spotlight story better.

Is that going to be Monday's Shortpacked?

Naw. I'm in the middle of a storyline. I'll probably run it at some later date, though.

I liked the issue. The framing of it didn't bother me at all. I liked how it was essentially a time out during the events of AHM. Would love to hear Jazz's version of the story, obviously Tracks was exagerating. I thought it was a nice story.

If it makes Willis feel any better, Tracks may well have made the story up. Would definitely explain how Jazz knew about it - it's something Tracks has told before.

To be honest, when Tracks said he could only imagine how Jazz defeated Razorclaw, I was totally expecting something different to happen at the end.


I expected Jazz to have made a deal with him.

I mean, Razorclaw has shown himself to be one of the more honourable Decepticons (Stormbringer), and with Jazz supposedly being some Black Ops guy...

I dunno, It just felt like a good suprise ending over the "Hurrah! We're going to be sad in the next few issues despite this heroic tale" tending.

But Smokescreen is the compulsive liar, not Tracks.

If Tracks didn't actually know what happened, it wouldn't make him a liar. If anything his imagining of what happened shows us how highly he thinks of Jazz.

Yeah. Its one thing to say what you think happened as the truth; since thats how he experenced it; even if there might be some fualts or untruths; its not really lying unless you know for a fact its not true.

Neither of those images is from IDW's current comics.

Well Sunstreaker bit it, though with Hunter we don't know if that is a perminant thing or not.

I liked this spotlight, it was pretty entertaining. Probably one of the better spotlights thus far. I thought the dialouge was pretty strong, the best part of the issue and a definate step up from a Furman issue in that regard. The plot was admittidely cliche but nevertheless was well executed. The art was the only weak point, not that it wasn't good in places, it just seemed to be inconsistent. Some panels are really strong, and others, not so much. Overall I'd give it a B. Good first time effort on the part of the writers.

Walky's cartoon is equally entertaining but I almost think he didn't enjoy the issue as much as I did, oh well.

Particularly when voiced by Blaster. Possibly it was more convincing because various other characters seem to think Tracks is a complete ***; there's a bit of surprise that he is actually interested in the cause as well as his deco.

My take...

The Spotlight series has continued, issue for issue, to hold interest at times the main series have lost focus on pacing or simply an an ability to gel with existing books. This wasn't any exception... even though a lot of it's essentially fight, there's plenty of dialogue in there -- some of it a bit "generic Autobot", but only in the way Superman written well is still "generic Superman". A few of the good guys have to be inspirational if we're meant to believe that a war can go on for millennia.

It's also pretty naturalistic, even chatty in places. This is something other books could learn from -- by this point Furman has become rather locked into certain phraseologies, McCarthy seems determined to characterise everyone as either emo or badass, etc. The writers may have done overdone it with the faction names somewhat (who else but the Decepticons would have wiped out Tracks' squad? and give the 'Cons some other invective to use; personalise the taunts a bit -- they obviously know who Jazz is) but dialogue is the biggest strength of the issue; the last page says more about Jazz, effortless seniority and the respect others have for him than throwing in a pissing match / brawl to try to make a point. Getting into character's heads and friendships doesn't happen much in Transformers, but there are hints of it here.

Nice to see technical touches being observed, such as being able to cannibalise parts to use as weapons, fingers with micro-tools, transformation as an integral part of fighting, built-in diagnostic hardware, etc.

Looked great too. Not quite a perfect score for either writing or art because there are always things to tweak, but all-in-all up there with the best of the Spotlights. More from everyone involved would be welcome.

The one thing I didn't like was the leader text -- "For most, the word AUTOBOT is simply a faction or title. But for one individual" -- nah, 'cause if that were the case, they'd have ****ing lost centuries ago. There's a limit as to how much you can make good guys apathetic or anti-heroes and get a storyline out of that which'll satisfy. And if anyone's looking for ideas, how about a little more emphasis on characters appreciating what they're saving by putting themselves on the line in inifiltration squads? Culture, politics, the achievements of other civilisations, etc. This does, of course, require building characters up to have some of those things themselves -- a bit of invention, philosophy, personal habits that define, favourite colours, anything to pull Transformers out of genericism. For all that most characters are given to do, they could compose symphonies in the middle of battle with the processing power at their disposal.

It's funny... I like this sort of story a lot. The desperate survival scenario is one that works fantastically to hi-light great villains and show off great heroes.

Except...
There's no tension here. We know the outcome before the story even begins. Tracks lives, Jazz saves the day -- it has to go that way since he's telling the goddamn story.

And... on top of that it's too short.

The Predacons don't get to actually show off how deadly they are (an openning sequence of them taking out some dudes... and some cannon fodder to go down like punks during the hunting, would have been good). They just kinda do some stupid stuff and are defeated with ease. The result is that Jazz doesn't really look that awesome.

There's literally two confrontations between our antagonists and protagonists in the entire story. It's a lot of wasted space from both Su and the Spotlight writers. Why waste multiple pages on Jazz's fight with Razorclaw if... TRACKS DIDN'T EVEN SEE IT?

And wow...
Talk about a cheap ending!

But... that's the thing, there couldn't have been another ending. Simply because they weren't going anywhere. This was another problem I had with the book -- the characters are supposed to be trying to escape the Predacons... but where to? Where were they hoping to get to? Did Jazz know another ship was coming? There's no settup for the ending so it just feels cheap.

--Boltax.
(Su's work is... starting to lose its incredible fire and energy. That's sad.)

You really think so?

His work in AHM was phenomenal (e.g. that "darkest hour" page with Megatron ripping the matrix from Prime), his last work in the -ation series, Spotlight Sideswipe, had some of the best artwork I've seen in any Transformer comic ever.

Yes, his work in this Spotlight didn't look as nice as it normally does, but when you take into consideration that he's been consistantly putting out detailed and technical art of an incredibly high standard, I think it's more than fair to allow him one "off" comic.

It's not all gloom and doom chum.

For most of the story, I wasn't clear that Tracks was unaware who precisely was his mysterious savior. If the story was told from his perspective, - then it would have been an all-test story, but still... maybe that would have been more interesting. Likewise, if Tracks had at the end, learned that it was Jazz who helped him, it woul dhave made the framing sequence part of the story rather than just a container for it. Perhaps if the story itself was exagerrated to clear unrealism (being an account rather than actual events), and Jazz reveals that it was his by correcting Tracks.
Exaggerating details also almost fits Track's character.

Su's art is still good, but if it wasn't for the credits on the issue. I never would have guessed it was by the same Su who did so much of the -ation series. But this is totall filler work, but that's okay since it's a total filler issue. On the other hand, none of the faces look silly to me as they often have in the main series, but that might relate to shape of the heads he's drawing.

Agreed, this is one of the reasons I like Spotlights so much, we know around where it's set in the timeline but nothing solid. And I kinda like that it was just an up building story when the Autobots were in hard times.

I am disappointed the Predacons didn't do anything, except be there and be scary because of who they are. I really want to see more Razorclaw, he's commended the Autobots twice now for their bravery against Thunderwing and in this for besting three of them, and that seems rare to me.

I like how specifically on page 15 "I have a feeling Razorclaw was being taught a hard lesson" Jazz got a kick in and blocked a punch, but other wise he was getting the lesson.

And after all the comments about how "Jazz is super awesome cool!", Um he would have died if not for (squints) Bluestreak? I can't really tell who that is.


Second.

Put me in the "thought this was going to be a black ops story" group. Really underwhelmed by this. I wish this was written by McCarthy, since he was the one that added the black ops background to Jazz. You could've told this story with any Autobot and any group of Decepticons and it would've been the exact same, which means it really failed as a Spotlight IMO.

Wow, I had no idea you had it in for the Mosaic guys.

Nor did I have any idea people had been wishing for Tracks to tell a story, but hey, now their wish is granted.



Yeah, I was really hoping they'd dig in on that. I don't think it was even touched on at all, though, was it? Not even mentioned, as I recall.

At least it did help reinforce the "Jazz = Badass" thing that AHM started the ball rolling on.



I think it was supposed to be their first meeting, so that's probably why. Unless you mean later, in which case I think Tracks was beating around the bush, or didn't want to say it was Jazz.

--LBD "Nytetrayn"