Comic Review: Transformers Spotlights (2012 - 2013)

[griffin]

(Please post comments or even a fully comprehensive review - these are just brief details)

Comic review - Spotlights (2012 - 2013)
Creators - various
Publisher - IDW
Retail Price - AU$4.50 (approx) per issue (US$3.99)
Page count per issue - 22 pages

Issues
- Orion Pax (19th December 2012) James Roberts & Steve Kurth
- Thundercracker (January 2013) John Barber & Chee
- Megatron (February 2013) Nick Roche (writer & artist)
- Bumblebee (March 2013) John Barber & David Daza
- Trailcutter (April 2013) James Roberts & Matt Frank
- Hoist (May 2013) James Roberts & Agustin Padilla

(Release details here... tfwiki doesn't seem to have this info on the Spotlights)

[i_amtrunks]

Thanks for setting this up Griff.

Due to an uploading/digital error, I believe I have read Spotlight Thundercracker a week early.

Won't spoil anything, but it is a big improvement over Orion Pax, it ties into the overall continuity and was a good read. Highly recommend picking it up to those who were uncertain following Pax.

[i_amtrunks]

So the issue is out proper today.

A nice stand alone story that has vague ties to recent events. Also good to see Nightbeat again, I guess IDW really like him but cannot use him in the present stories due to his death.

Well we now know that Metroplex is holding/hiding something from the prewar/ early war days, so it cannot be the Magnificence or anything else from the Furman penned stories. It could be as simple as Metroplex is keeping his warp drive technology safe. I wonder if a future Spotlight will show when Alpha Trion catches up with Metroplex, perhaps even shed some more light (read: fix) a few more issues from the AHM sections of IDW history.

Art was decent, a few bots looked strange due to the angle of shots, Nightbeat copping the worst of it. The Fleshlings (have we seen this race in the Drift mini in the spaceport? In the Spaceport from the Pax stories? I feel that I have seen them before).

A much better issue than the Pax one, a more enjoyable story, better art and a cameo from everyone's favourite flying scrap insect.

[BigTransformerTrev]

Thanks for setting this up Griff.

Due to an uploading/digital error, I believe I have read Spotlight Thundercracker a week early.

Won't spoil anything, but it is a big improvement over Orion Pax, it ties into the overall continuity and was a good read. Highly recommend picking it up to those who were uncertain following Pax.

I actually quite liked the Orion Pax spotlight. I thought it was a cool little adventure, thought the humor with Wheeljack was nice and the James Bond style 'tied to a rocket' thing was suitably super-hero-over-the-top-ish.

Then I may be biased. It came out 5 days before our son Orion was born so I got 3 copies - 1 for my collection, 1 to read with him that he can destroy in due time and 1 (the cover with young Orion in the front and Optimus in the background) to put in a frame and hang on the wall of his nursery

Must admit, I am looking forward to reading the Thundercracker one though, as a Decepticon with a conscience who is not totally sure of their cause he is one of the more in-depth Con characters and makes for an interesting read. And I loved the Spotlights they used to bring out years ago. I think the only one I wasn't keen on was the Sideswipe issue, as it was too 'big story' focused and just happened to have him in it with a bit of internal dialogue about his feelings about Sunstreaker, rather than focusing on him as a character.

[Ploughmans Lunch]

Can't say I overly enjoyed this one. Even looking beyond the fairly unimpressive art, it just really failed to tell a story that was particularly engaging or interesting. Sure, it might tie in to things as IDW G1 comics progress, but anything new it offers could be pretty easily summarised in a later, more worthwhile story. As a supposedly stand-alone comic it just wasn't worth the price of admission and didn't really add anything new to the overall story (though again, I could be wrong).

[BigTransformerTrev]

Issues
- Orion Pax (19th December 2012) James Roberts & Steve Kurth
- Thundercracker (January 2013) John Barber & Chee
- Megatron (February 2013) Nick Roche (writer & artist)
- Bumblebee (March 2013) John Barber & David Daza

(Release details here... tfwiki doesn't seem to have this info on the Spotlights)

This begs the question: Will we ever see a Spotlight: Searchlight?

[i_amtrunks]

Sure, it might tie in to things as IDW G1 comics progress, but anything new it offers could be pretty easily summarised in a later, more worthwhile story. As a supposedly stand-alone comic it just wasn't worth the price of admission and didn't really add anything new to the overall story (though again, I could be wrong).

Nothing "new" in this one as such. It seems that these spotlights are being used by Barber to tie the Furmanverse/AHM/Ongoing stories into this Autocracy/RID/MtMtE. Also they may all relate to one another (based around Metroplex/the Titans.)

Pax was all about having a silly story that also happened to show why Orion Pax changed bodies between Autocracy, Spotlight Blurr and later flashbacks such as Shadowplay.

Thundercracker was about showing the beginning of the feelings he displayed during the ongoing, as well as shedding a little more light on Bludgeon was up to in the early days of the war, keeping him in the peripheral knowledge of readers since he will no doubt be featured in future stories. Perhaps even a little more showing who is Bumblebee, and why he was, in retrospect such a terrible choice to lead the Autobots. I expect that Bumblebee's own spotlight (after that awful miniseries) may shed further light on this.

Personally, I am really looking forward to Spotlight Megatron, Nick Roche is the man responsible for my favourite spotlight and series (Kup and Last Stand) as well as paving the way for IDW's Prowl to become the bot he is now. Can't wait to see his twist on the big bad, especially if it is a truly stand alone story set in the past with vague ties or links to today's stories.

[Paulbot]

I'm going to wait for a collection or at least a price drop (except maybe the Roche Megatron one) but I would like to know if there's a reason given for leaving out Ransack (in place of the out of place cameo). I don't recall an existing canon reason Ransack wouldn't be present if they are going to put the rest of the team together.

It also doesn't make a lot of sense for there to be Insecticons separate to and long before the swarms of Insecticons on Cybertron. I miss the days when they'd get pre-Earth modes instead if they were used (like Barrage had in Stormbringer).

[i_amtrunks]

Wasn't Ransack with the terrorcons in spotlight Sixshot?

And after reading the blurb for SL Megatron, it seems it will only delve a little ways back to something that I was surprised was skipped over when it happened; Megatrons return after Starscreams leadership run. With Roche writing, it could be very entertaining.

[Paulbot]

Wasn't Ransack with the terrorcons in spotlight Sixshot?

Maybe? Not that I recall. TF Wiki has been down every time I've gone to look up the deluxe Insecticons in IDW.