IDW Publishing Forums

JazZeke · Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 9:19 pm Post subject:

Wow. Now THIS is a Transformers comic. I think we have our new "IDW dream team." Kup remains my reigning favorite, but Jazz comes in a close second. It's a well thought-out, upbeat story that completely captures the spirit of the characters, and a much-needed breath of fresh air in the middle of the drudgery in "All Hail Drift."

Most Spotlights generally tie-in to the larger main arc in some way, serving merely as enhancer for a series. Jazz has managed to keep completely self-contained yet retain its relevance to the grander scheme of things.

You know, as much as I love EJ Su's art, I don't think this was some of his best work. I think it was the fact that he had to make the bots look injured and banged up, and his artwork looks most keen when the bots are shiney and new and the detailing is at its cleanest. The coloring was great through and through, and I just loved the way she did everyone's eyes and their swords. I think her glowing eyes are the best out of IDW's great lineup of colorists.

However, the hand-to-hand combat was totally freaking awesome. This definitely has a place in the top ten list of greatest Transformers fights of all time. The helicopter bit was admittedly a bit on the deus-ex-machina side, but a necessary component. As good as Jazz is, there's no way he rightfully should be able to defeat all five Predacons and I liked the fact that the comic retained its realism that way, instead of making the focus character magically badass just to sell people on him (*coughdriftcough*)

And I loved the new element introduced to Jazz's character, his firm belief in the Autobot cause and his belief in himself as merely one soldier out of many. That is an angle of him I would love to see explored more. It somehow makes him larger than life and yet brings him down to earth (so to speak) at the same time. he's the ideal hero everyone can look up to, yet not above us.
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Cliffjumper · Comic Book Guy Joined: 16 Apr 2009 Posts: 28

JazZeke · Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 12:20 pm Post subject:

prowlstreak · Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 1:27 pm Post subject:

Moroboshi · Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 7:51 pm Post subject:

Hey, Reload! Welcome, bro! It's Ataru! I think you'll find there are other AHM appreciators here, and we can get some balanced dialogue going on this board.
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Beachcomber · Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 9:00 pm Post subject:

JazZeke · Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 9:13 pm Post subject:

Cliffjumper · Comic Book Guy Joined: 16 Apr 2009 Posts: 28

Moroboshi · Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 7:51 am Post subject:

Yeah, I like this board a lot. I don't have as much time for Internetting as I used to, anyhow, so I tend to drop by the Allspark for news, and then come here to discuss stuff.
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Metal_gear_Eva · Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 11:38 am Post subject:

Ok, very late here, but I've only just read SL Jazz. I just wanted to contribute my thoughts (I'm afraid I haven't got the time atm to go through all the pages of this thread, so I'm probably going to be repeating a bunch of stuff already said.)

I loved it. It was very heartwarming, and I noticed when I had just finished reading it that I had a smile on my face. I really felt all warm and fuzzy inside! Kittens and bunnies and stuff. I really enjoyed Jazz's portrayal, a complete optimist, positive attitude in a pretty much screwed situation, yet with a wild and daring side. And the hand to hand combat was great! Jazz and Razorclaw exchanging super punches was awesome, you could almost feel them, Jazz's blocking and use of his arm guard was nice, and I loved the head smash :3 I do love a good robo-fight.
I like that First Aid was squeezed in there too, I'd like to see more of him, always found him interesting.
And you know what part I really liked towards the end? When Ironhide told Tracks, "Yeah, kid. He gave me a message for you. He said to tell you that he was just an Autobot...just like you are." I really think that said a lot about Jazz's character, simple but effective. He has respect for everyone, he doesn't get all high and mighty despite his skills and position, and he's just an all around genuine, great bot. Thems be my thoughts Cool

Also, whilst reading this, I kept thinking 'Razorclaw needs a SL dammit.'
Also also: Am I the only one that for some reason finds the panel on page 7 of Tracks shouting 'You ARE crazy!' unintentionally amusing?? It's the dialogue with his face and the background....I'm probably the only one...
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'The infection has been removed
The soul of this machine has improved'
Ok to print.

Richter · Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 3:34 pm Post subject:

HdE · Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 3:36 pm Post subject:

Metal_gear_Eva · Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 1:35 am Post subject:

DoubleTake · Posted: Tue May 05, 2009 3:12 am Post subject:

If this is the closest thing to a Tracks Spotlight that we’ll ever get, then I'll take it.

It's been a while since I've picked up a single issue rather than trades and this was a fun read.

Thanks!

Moroboshi · Posted: Wed May 06, 2009 8:02 am Post subject:

Actually, there's something I've been wondering about; as far as I can tell, Tracks' robot design in this issue is the same as Guido's design for him in AHM. Does this mean that Tracks still has a Cybertronian mode in the present day, or that his bot mode simply looks virtually identical regardless of what form he's taken? (i.e. "Beauty is timeless" Cool

)
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