5 Page Arcee Spotlight Preview by Alex Milne

Looks great! Milne draws a great Ultra Magnus too!

Why does Arcee remind me of some wild beast there?

Bleh. No matter how "badass" you try and make G1 Arcee, it doesn't change the fact that she was boring in G1, and is still boring.

You'll need to read the story, that's what they are going for.
This is a completely different character from the G1 cartoon so your statement is baseless.

Damn, she looks pretty hard core in that.. worthy of her beast wars title of Valkyrie.

Seems like a holo Magnus perhaps? And her teeth are... pointed? O-o" Might pick this up.

You can tell this Arcee is boring without reading the comic? Sir, I envy your powers of prescience.

This looks very interesting.

Don't judge a book by it's cover.

Oh, okay. I see now. Though there are nicer ways to say my opinion is "baseless".

Still bleh. I don't like it that much.

I wasn't talking about this Comic Arcee, I meant the Cartoon/comics Arcce form G1.

Which is why I wasn't looking at the cover, but the pages within the book.

Sorry, I'll remember to keep my thoughts to myself next time. I was wrong, I apologize, everbody.

No, it is still the same character, regardless of how much 'creative liberties' the writers decide to take. Frankly, I didn't think it was possible to warp a key G1 character beyond the mind-blowingly awful Ramjet spotlight, but it seems IDW is attempting to set a new standard. I can't wait to see how they'll attempt to pull off the Grimlock spotlight with monologues in his caveman speech.

Hard Core Arcee!

man his art just keeps getting better, and I'm looking forward to this issue, even if Spotlight Wheelie is a joke of a concept I've got good hopes for this issue.

Wow, so many '86 movie bots have One shots, Hotrod, Ultra Magnus, Kup, Arcee, Wheelie....I'm beginning to think IDW LOVES these guys.


I just wanna see pics of the Grimlock Spotlight, he's the one I've wanted to see most of all!

What's going on with Arcee?

Is comic Arcee that much different from toon Arcee? ...never did read much of the comics.

I never thought of Arcee as a mad kunoichi/badass with an electric sword, so I can't help but chuckle at her badassness--I'll never understand the need to add teeth on robots, but I suppose I should be grateful saliva...er...mech fluid or some other kind of leaking lubricant isn't connected to her teeth.

I'm not dissing the art--it looks beautiful--I'm just wondering what's going on with Arcee is all.

Transformed

... that time of the year, Arcee?

i add teeth to help convey certain emotions that the character is feeling. arcee's more pointed teeth were to add to the creepiness of this character now. one day i'm going to do a tutorial on why sometimes you need to draw teeth on robots to get emotions. yep, thats what i'll do.

I gotta say for the first time in a long time I'm quite temped to pick up a TF comic. I think this just looks great, seriously the best looking work I've ever seen from Milne.

You and me both.


You mean month, right?

I'm sure it's just wishful thinking.

That's like saying two guys named Mike are the same person because they are both named Mike. This is a completely different universe. No dice.

QFT
They're about as the same as BW Megs is to G1 Megs.
I'm hoping we get to learn a bit more about Jhiaxus in this issue. I'm betting he's behind super-bitch Arcee, or he at least did something to her.
Also, c'mon Arcee, slice Magnus's armor open! Let's see some white Prime IDW action!
DN

Okay, I have a question. Is she a doppelganger or just a completely NEW character. Just because she is doppelganger doesn't mean she can't be completely different. Our Elita 1 is a doppleganger but is very different from the G1 toon version

G1 Marvel Jazz / IDW Jazz = Doppelganger

G1 Thrust / BM Thrust = Different character

If she is the latter it seems odd that she would have the same name and look the same BUT I guess that does not mean it can't be that way, just curious to how it is being explained...

It's simple, the IDW G1 Comic Universe is a complete reboot / retelling, so effectivle, same name, same appearance, but it's own personality template.
That's as far as i understand it

Hmm, well, most stories in TF are reboots but usually the base character template is the same throughout (Movie, Animated, DW, Armadaverse).

Prime still acts and looks like Prime, Jazz still acts and looks like Jazz and so on...

The IDW-verse seems to be kinda mix-and-match with many of the characters.
Some are more similar to their original versions than others, some take more from their cartoon versions, some more from their comic versions, some from both, some from neither.

As for details about IDW Arcee, we will have to wait and see, the Spotlight is her first appearance

Wow I'm actually looking forward to this even if Arcee is not one of my favorite characters. Heck if Milne does Wheelie's spotlight I'd willing to get that too.

me likey what see so far

Wow. Milne's art is outstanding.

I've really enjoyed Su's stuff for the stories set on Earth, but this style is so much better for the space opera vibe many of the Spotlights have had.

Magnus especially looks amazing.I have to believe there'll be some similarities--the whole femmebot thing at a minimum, even if it's only in appearance and nothing else. And I've always found that lame. Even if they change everything else, Arcee's still a pink robot with curves and a bust, and that's at the heart of my dislike for her.

I'll still buy the issue, of course, and I hope I enjoy it--but I woulda been okay with Arcee never showing up, changes or no.

Could it be that theres a reason why this version of the character is, dare I say it, acting so out of character? I mean, look how many people in this thread have already inquired about her being different from the G1 toon character. Thats the hook; you see it and wonder whats going on, so you gotta read the book to find out why things are out of the ordinary.

Wow. Bitch is crazy! This is gonna be sweet.

On another subject, markerguru's teen aged Sari is frickin' hotness!

(I feel dirty)

I must say the UMagnus rendition is amazingly done well. I love the high level of detailing in him...and so is Arcee. So, it looks like Arcee is fighting with a Magnus hologram. Eheee, from the drawing, it looks like Arcee is one crazy b*tch bot. With that, looks like I'm going to pick up this issue.

Overall, excellent work by Alex and I gotta tip my hat to my boy Josh for giving UMagnus his cartoon color treatment, eheheh.

Thanks for the explanation m(_ _)m

I'm not an artist, so I know very little about the tricks of the trade. That said, here comes a possibly stupid question: is it impossible to convey emotion without teeth? Why can't lines between the forehead and eyes or eyes and eyebrows convey anger/intense anger?

I ask this because--as I said earlier, more acquainted with the animated Transformers than the comic version--the episodes I remember watching during my childhood did a pretty good job showing various emotions on robots without the use of teeth. What did the animators of the show do that can't be done in comics?

Again, I'm not dissing your art, I'm just trying to understand why beings with no need for teeth having them.

Thanks in advance,

Transformed

PS: if you ever get around to writing that tutorial, please let me know when it's up, I will be sure to read it

going by that logic then what use would they have for human-like noses and mouths? proportions? limbs? hands? all that stuff.

just wonderin

Your dodged question doesn't answer the question asked. Besides, you ask a question none of us have an answer to, we DIDN'T design the transformers. One could argue that they like humans were created in GOD's image. Who's to say Primus, there god and ours aren't one and the same?

It should be noted that not all Transformers have mouths, noses, balance proportions, hands with figures or what have you.

Back to my question: are teeth essential for emotion?

Transformed

this comic looks pretty cool but I will have to pass.

Hard to tell -- he hasn't done much so far except get his arm torn off...

Prime's certainly having different characteristics played up.

ok, here is a question for you. what happens when you draw then without teeth, like the cartoon, but have to convey that there so mad that there gritting there teeth in anger. without teeth it would look like there just having there mouth open. since comics have no sound like the show, you'd have to do something.
its very hard to word it without a viusal to illustrate what i mean, and i don't have the time at the moment to draw it out.
now, if i were to have drawn arcee without the teeth that i did, would you still get the feeling that she might not be a good guy?
basically, to make these robots have all the same emotions that people have, you have to be able to make there face be able to display those emotions. the hardest one is when there sad, because they don't cry, so thats a hard one.

Not sure if I'm going to end up getting this spotlight...the art is really nice here, especially the line crispness. Arcee...well...it's hard to get past how radical a change this is for her. Reconciling her as a bad-ass overpowered seigebot with the girly-girl cartoon form, and even Dreamwave's double-agent, is not easy. The panels make it seem like this is a training exercise getting out of control. Maybe Galvatron or Nova Prime are manipulating her like they did Nightbeat?

Art is nice, but for me, making her into a "badass" is even duller than the kind of character she was in the first place.

Awesome art. Can't wait to get this spotlight.

I'm no artist as well, but I guess in the cartoon is easier to convey emotion via other means, such as the voice actor and even the soundtrack.

-airfox

Hell, I dunno.. I don't HAVE periods!!! I dunno how they work...

My wish would be to do away with them alltogether... and I'm sure many ladies would agree with my way of thinking. I mean, does anyone actually ENJOY them?

I'm liking what I'm seeing so far, tho I do have a question that I should try to ask of Mr. Furman the next time I get the chance... Is Ultra Magnus a Bounty Hunter or the Cybertronian version of Judge Dredd.

I really do appreciate you taking the time to explain your usage of teeth. Please know that I'm not continually asking these questions to be an ass, as I said earlier, I'm not an artist and I just wanted to know the importance of adding certain elements to characters.

I understand cartoons have music, and sound to help illustrate the story on the screen, but even muted isn't a characters emotion apparent? Though the use of animation is helping as well by means of moving lines, key frames of animation are still necessary to illustrate the desired look, is it not?

I see your point about grating teeth, but that isn't the only way to show anger is it? There are people without teeth/dentures who are capable of conveying just as much anger without the use of their teeth just as easily as those of us with them. The mouth, with or without teeth, is capable of showing anger. The following picture of Galvatron explains his emotion quite well without the use of teeth, but with his eyes, nose, and mouth (http://www.fortunecity.com/lavendar/...Galvatron1.jpg). Arcee's face, I feel, isn't that much different from the pictured Galvatron, so why can't the same level of anger be shown in a similar fashion on paper?

Again, I'd like to thank you and anyone else who has contributed answers to my question. Your opinion has helped a non-artist come a bit closer to understanding why some artist draw Transformers with teeth.

Transformed

oooookay....so Arcee shoots balls....out of her hands now???
allllrighty then

PLOT spoilers from discussion on IDW forums:




Arcee is a Jehaxus experiment that went wrong, has a few "issues", and is gunning for Jehaxus for revenge.

Speculation has it that she's responsible for the Pretender Monsters/Monstructor escape mentioned at the end of Devastation #5.

your right, but it shows a certain kind of anger. like frustration, of hate. but you can express those differently also. it all depends on how the artist thinks those emotions should look. i personally like tf's with teeth and what not.

Maybe something more Bender-esque or stylized, instead of animal fangs? I dunno its not really a big deal and just a style thing.

Then again I don't like any of my robots to have mouths

In terms of pure visuals, animation for Transformers has an easier time dealing with emotions due to the fact they can move. You can show a range of emotions, often more subtle ones, in animation, while in comics you are limited to whatever's in the 'still' panels.

That's probably why comics often humanise Transformers more than the cartoons did.

Arcee looks kick ass!