Out tomorrow, April 21st, along with Last Stand of the Wreckers #4. Pick it up tommorrow and discuss here.

Until then, a TFW review:
TFW2005 Reviews Spotlight Prowl - Transformers News

 

Yay for Spotlight ME. I'll probably pick this up on the PSP if it's available. So far, they have been.

 

Finally a spotlight for Prowl, someone who very often fills that "Cyclops" role of order and stats, making him the butt of much jokes. Can't wait to pick it up!

 

I was about to say... Prowl's "change of attitude" had to have happened before All Hail Megatron; he's seen on the same station with Kup and his repair crew, something he wouldn't have had time for while he was stranded on Cybertron. So while I'm looking forward to reading this, it hardly sounds like it'll answer the deeper, more pressing issues that really affected Prowl between the end of Revelations and the beginning of AHM.

 

Looks good to me. Prowl's reaction to Thrust's execution seems to foreshadow his decision to break cover in Ongoing #1 when the humans attacked Breakdown.

 

Really? No mention of the Kup business? Did they think that no one would remember one of the most interesting things he's done ever?

This is why I almost never believe a comic company when they say they'll address certain old story lines.

 

I don't think they said that they would address things that happened prior to the Ongoing. The spotlight was to address the change in Prowl's personality that we saw in Ongoing #1 and forward. The business with Kup happened before all that and has nothing to do with Prowl's apparent new outlook on life in the present. That being said, just because Kup isn't mentioned in this spotlight doesn't mean it won't come up again at a later date.

 

It's just sad that one of the best sub-plot (Prowl's plans for Kup) of those years, or simple the "realistic" charaterization of Prowl was trew away to "change" Prowl in one of the many Autobot that languish for the evil humans.... it was so bad that at least ONE Autobot is not absolutely good but only cynical?

 

Thrust... dead? Im upset...He survives Thunderwing....... THUNDERWING only to be killed by humans while being stranded on a planet he was NEVER ON THE FIRST PLACE!!!!!


Bullshit.....

 

Can't wait to pick this one up!! It's about time he had a "Spotlight" issue...Go Prowl!!  

 

I actually enjoyed this a lot. Even better than the story was the artwork which at times seemed reminiscent of TF Animated (see prime in the top panel on page 10), yet mostly noir-ish and sharp. As Tim Formas mentioned, EJ Su's style has evolved but he has stayed true to his form. Props to Dalhouse as well. Every action panel is sharply defined... absolutely gorgeous.

In terms of dealing with Kup-- I agree with SmokescreenGT that the issue isn't made to address the Kup issue. Prowl is depicted here as a hard military guy, willing to do whatever is necessary to win the war, but short of mass murder. However, with no war to fight, he still wants to treat the Autobots as a military unit. He laments the collapse of the military structure and wants to get off earth, while Prime wishes to change the traditional hierarchy and help the humans rebuild (but in secrecy).

Prowl has conflicting emotions, and that's what makes his characterization interesting in this book. He knows the Decepticons are the enemy, yet he feels for Thrust's execution as a wounded combatant. He realizes the majority of humans can't tell the difference between Autobot and Decepticon, and knows they want to kill all Transformers... yet, he risks his life doing what he believes is right, against the numbers.

I also found Prime to be interesting in this as well. He knows the humans don't want the bots on earth, yet he feels compelled to help them rebuild against their wishes. He knows the humans were angered at the Transformers' "hiding in plain sight," yet he makes no efforts to convince them of the differences between Autobot and Decepticon. He orders Prowl to continue spying and infiltrating.

Great themes. It makes me wonder what will happen when this Cold War turns hot again...

 

I just read the issue, and I absolutely loved it. I really like that we got an explanation for Prowl's sudden change in characterization in Transformers Ongoing #1. It really shows also that Mike Costa is all about creating plot lines that are consistent and resolved in a timely manner unlike Shane McFailure's "All Hail Megatron" bollocks.

 

Really like this issue. On the one hand, even though it doesn't address every aspect of Prowl's IDW character, I do appreciate how Costa is connecting the spotlight to the central theme of the ongoing series--basically, what would TFs do if there was no war? Also, EJ's art (complemented well by Dalhouse) continues to evolve, with the lines still sharp and refreshing, in some panels nicely reminiscent of Dustin Ngyugen's style on Streets of Gotham.

 

When I first heard this was being written, I wasn't keen on it. I mean, it just seemed like a bad idea to try and appease a fan base that has never known, and never will know, appeasement.

Nevertheless, I have to say I was surprised about how it turned out. Not that it's this great work, or that it stands out amongst the better spotlights, but it wasn't anywhere near the disaster I thought it would be.

For one, E.J. is at his best with this. I haven't been the biggest fan of Su's style, but this sucker is mellow. I mean, cool mellow. It's stylin, the colors by Dalhouse are stlyin, and I really appreciated the different style of presentation from Roche's manic style featured in LSOTW this month. It's nice to have a mix of artistic presentations. Many an E.J. fan will appreciate this issue solely for his visuals.

And Costa actually does a decent job with the seemingly insurmountable task of writing this. One thing has become increasingly clear to me about Mike. His strong suit is character pieces. He can fashion a good story with competent dialogue out of a very poor premise and make it readable and enjoyable.

For example, I liked the way he used this tale to contrast Prowl's skeptical and critical analysis of mankind with Thundercracker's newly acquired fond view of humanity. Whereas Thundercracker's story featured the noble elements of humanity, Prowl's spotlight focuses on what's wrong with mankind, and the destructive capabilities we possess as a race. The irony of these contrasting perspectives is not lost on me, given the factions to which they belong.

Granted, Prowl stays true to his Autobot roots by stories end, and doesn't "go Decepticon" on us, as some of us were hoping. But the door is still left open that Prowl can "dabble in the dark side", if you will, and have good reason to do so based on his experience as a "cop" in the police force weeding out rogue elements of a "swarm"-like society.

This is not a story of action, like LSOTW, but again, one of character building. I appreciate this, to be honest, provided there's Rochert's LSOTW to maintain that even keel.

Give it a "B-". Not great, but not lousy either. Certainly, Su's masterful work makes me more accepting of this issue happening in the first place.

 

I liked this issue a lot. One of my favorite spotlights.

 

ugh, just....ugh

 

the art alone makes it one of my favs

 

OK, but if Prowl decides that Human life is worth protecting, then why does he join up with Rodimus' crew in the Ongoing to go off planet?

I'm in the group that was disappointed that this Spotlight didn't cover Prowl's shadier decisions like reanimating Kup. The issue was OK for what they were going for, but frankly, I didn't think it was all that necessary.

 

I hate to be the negative one in this bunch, but I didn't enjoy this issue as much as everyone else.

I enjoyed the art, but I didn't understand why EJ Su changed his style. EJ's biggest strength as a TF artist is his ability to create believable machine drawings. I don't know if it actually works in real life, but his drawings in the -ation series give the impression that EJ's thought out where every bolt and pipe goes in each mode. To change his style into this noir style is confusing. If the intent was noir and dark, perhaps someone like Geoff Senior would've been better suited to this task. I didn't dislike the art, I just feel like EJ Su's considerable talents were not needed here.

I do not enjoy Costa's writing for Optimus Prime. Remember Beast Machines, when Optimus Primal spent half the series just completely deluded, blindly trusting the Oracle, leading the Maximals into disaster? That's what this Optimus feels like. When Prowl and the other Autobots argue with Prime, it doesn't feel like they're talking to their leader or even an equal where each side has valid points (like an argument between Superman and Batman); it's like they're talking to a child who literally doesn't understand what's happening.

Prime's actions do not feel real to me; they feel like a story contrivance designed to give the characters something to react to, like Spider-Man quitting in Spider-Man 2. Instead of enjoying the current story, I'm just waiting for this guy to get his act together so we can see what we know is coming up sooner or later.

Lastly, the storytelling was kind of confusing near the end of the story. Throughout the issue, I assumed that Prowl's various drivers were avatars made out of his holo-matter. I thought he was actively participating in police work, arresting people, participating in shoot-outs, etc. When his driver started talking to him, my reaction was, "Huh? Optimus Prime literally just had Prowl chauffeur the police for 8 months?"

 

I never gave it a second thought that his driver could've been holo-matter, it just never came across like that to me. But I do agree with you on E.J.'s style, like he took all the detail out of his work :[

I for one like the issue, it also answered the burning question of where all these other bots were coming from. So I'm happy where this series is going, it was nice to see some G1 style art within the "ongoing storyline". Curious to how the new artist will handle the future issues.