Read it.
Didn't really do it for me, to be honest.
I mean, it achieves the goal of delivering a self contained character-driven one-shot.
But that's never really enough these days, is it? It just felt so
generic and tired.
It's the same old cliche tale of a young punk who wakes up to the realities of his surroundings just in time to become a hero. It just felt like one of those old Furman character moments from the eighties rehashed, like an expanded version of a story you might find on the last page of an old UK
TF comic or even in a Mosaic. Except back then, it was fresh and fun. Now it's just boring.
The dialogue was alright, the best moment in the story being Starscream's attempt at recruiting Blurr to the Decepticons over a few glasses of Energon. Cybertron's portrayal was well done. It's always nice to catch a glimpse of life on Cybertron pre-war. And the art was strong, so I was pleased there.
In the end though, the motivation behind Blurr's taking on the Autobot cause is not really convincing enough for me to really enjoy the moment. The whole "the lights, the roar" monologue at the end doesn't really do justice in explaining
why Blurr is drawn to the Autobot cause. In fact, given his portrayal in the first half of this story, it would have made more sense if he joined the Decepticons.
After all, how does racing for personal glory and adoration, his initial characterization in the first half of the arc, lend itself to knowing "what I'm doing really matters" by joining the Autobot's and their
selfless cause in the end? I know what Shane was trying to achieve as far a character development goes(ala Lightening McQueen, as someone so aptly mentioned), but the execution was weak, IMO. Maybe in the confines of a single issue, it's hard to achieve something like this as effectively as one would like.
That pivotal moment of self enlightenment, of self exploration followed by self determination so crucial in making this work is missed on me.
Also, the dialogue was so very Furmanesque, I would have sworn Simon wrote this.
I give it a "C". Good art, average story, average dialogue.
