Going Backwards - Spotlight: Blurr review

This Spotlight is a tad old and out of order for my Going Backwards reviews, but I still love it. Casey Coller rocks! And I think he's doing the upcoming Spotlight: Prowl in April. But anyway, onto the review of Transformers Spotlight: Blurr...

TRANSFORMERS SPOTLIGHT: BLURR

Written by SHANE MCCARTHY

Art by CASEY COLLER

Colors by JOANA LAFUENTE

Covers by Coller, TREV HUTCHISON, GUIDO GUIDI

SYNOPSIS: Blurr, the best sportsbot on Cybertron, wins his latest race and sets a new track record. Though he’s barely aware of his assistants like Piston he and competitor Fasttrack are friendly enough to follow up the race by going to the Circle, the most exclusive club on Cybertron.

Outside a reporter asks him about the current political unrest but Blurr couldn’t care less. That is until a Decepticon terrorist attack destroys the main racing arena, resulting in Zeta Prime shutting down the races for good. An annoyed Blurr finds Piston (one of his race helpers) cleaning out his stuff, the worker having decided to join the Autobots. His efforts to persuade Blurr to join as well fall on deaf ears, as even without the races Blurr still has no shortage of parties to go to.
But the Circle is now deserted, with everyone either hiding or fighting. Without even his adoring crowds anymore Blurr seriously considers plugging into a addictive virtual reality device but is interrupted by the arrival of Starscream, who tries to persuade him to join the Decepticons.
Travelling home with much on his mind Blurr wanders into a firefight, where he finds Piston and Fasttrack -- now on different sides -- have killed one another. A young Autobot commander called Optimus approaches him and explains the group they were fighting were a Decepticon assassination squad out to kill Zeta Prime. Communications are being blocked and no one on Optimus’ team is fast enough to get to Zeta in time to warn him. After an impassioned speech about Blurr’s true nature the speedster decides to help, and races off to beat the Decepticons…

THE ART: Ah, Casey Coller. He was a complete newcomer to many TF fans who didn't read Mosaics. But his clean, simple style makes me feel tingly inside. The panels convey action well and you really get a feel of the moods in the story; the loud, strobe-lit bar looks alive and bustling, but when Blurr comes in during the fighting it feels really, really empty. It sent a little tingle up my spine when I read it. And although the inconsistencies of Cybertronian mode with Screamer and Warp annoy slightly (this issue takes place just after Megatron Origin), the designs for the characters look very cool and have obviously been well planned. Blurr's design in particular is very well done; his sleek body and Hermes-style helmet wings (or is this a pop culture reference to the Flash?) fit his racer personality perfectly. Damn you Figueroa, for making Blurr look like his Animated counterpart. And I love how she put lots of tiny cameos into the race scene; seen in the stands are (very hard to see); Blaster, Optimus, Jazz, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, and Starscream. Joana Lafuente does a beautiful job on coloring this baby up; her use of soft light and muted tones makes for excellent viewing. I almost hate her for changing her style to a more painted one, but it still retains her soft light look. Great job guys, I love it.

THE STORY: Shane McCarthy. Those two words can turn a room into a riot. His highly controversial and -- frankly -- very clunky writing makes for bad reading. But in this case the story is simple and good quality with interesting plot and great characterisation. I like McCarthy's portrayal of Blurr as an egotistical prick turned cheery good guy, and Ops' natural ability to inspire bots. The way Blurr talks to others and interacts with them makes it very clear what he thinks of them. Very cool. I like this one. So, Spotlight: Blurr's results overall:

ART RATING: 9 out of 10

STORY RATING: 7.5 out of 10

OVERALL RATING: 8 out of 10

VERDICT: A stunningly done issue that shows the beauty that Casey and Joana bring to the Transformes franchise. A true goldmine of wonderful art. Next review: who knows? Rated 8 out of 10.

Posted by Fanbot at 12:09 pm, MONDAY 14 December