InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "There's one hundred of you!?"

alana_ (alana_) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-03-02 10:41:00

Current mood:	contemplative
Entry tags:	char: mirage, publisher: idw, title: transformers

Spotlight: Mirage
Spotlight: Mirage is, quite literally, the first comic book I ever bought. I thought it would be a fitting first post to S_D, too.

Until August 16th, 2008, I had subsisted on old issues and TPBs of my father's, leading me to have read most of Sandman when I was twelve, been left on a cliffhanger in Elfquest for five years, and have most of the Superhero comics I could get my paws on being Superman (usually The Death Of) and Batman. A few months before that lovely day, I had been introduced to Transformers through TFA, and had been working through the various animated series and diving into the wiki as often as I could.

And, on the 16th, I got paid for a commission I'd done for my mother, in the form of my first TF toys and this comic.

Best choice I ever made. (Until I went back a couple months later and picked up some awesome Marvel issues. Goldbug! Blaster! :D )

The basic premise of Spotlight: Mirage is that Mirage is hot.
... no, wait...
The basic premise of Spotlight: Mirage is that of just-barely-alternate universes, and choices, and dreams. Mirage is one of the very few characters on the good guy's side that is at all uncertain about his place in the war-- a war that ripped apart his home, left him landless, nobility in an ignoble situation. Mostly, he wants the war to end.
In the usual G1-based canon, he's an Autobot all the same, though there's been times where he was suspected of being a traitor. (Usually by hot-headed suspicious trigger-happy little red 'bots named Cliffjumper.) But... what if...

Mirage has dreams. Dreams which are wonky.

Dreams where he's the other faction.

Mirage and Megatron (who is evil, for those of you who missed the movie, the cartoons, Beast Wars, etc.) arrange a contract where, if Mirage can get the Autobots to surrender, he can get his lands and titles back after the war. Which is depressingawesome. Poor Mirage just wants some dignity...

So, true to his name, he sneaks into the Autobot base under the holographic guise of Bumblebee, and disables the security system. Everyone's in bad shape, low on energon (fuel), damaged-- in poor Jetfire's case, dying.

A squad of Decepticons burst in, and Mirage holds them back for a moment, offering the Autobots a chance to surrender.

The Autobots graciously decline.

Mirage offers again.

They accept, because Jetfire needs repairs, the repairs they might be able to get as POWs.

A mirror, Hound says?

Megatron, being evil, is not in the mood for having POWs when he could have corpses instead. Mirage tries to reason, and is asked if he wants his reward or not.

So, Mirage the Decepticon, what's the choice you'll make? Killing the people you promised safety for your own gain? Remembering your old pre-war friendship with some of them? Listening to Prime's pleas to keep your word, and listen to your conscious?

Does it matter?

I encourage anyone with even a vague interest in Transformers to look up this comic. It's an interesting character study, and a definite stand-alone, unlike most of the Spotlights (though a lot of them are pretty damn shiny), a good choice for anyone who likes a bit of trippiness and depressing in their comics.

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denyer.livejournal.com
2009-03-02 12:30 pm UTC (link)

The standalone-ness (plus the alt-reality nature of the story) was what turned me off, personally. Feels very inconsequential. Also, the Prime we've seen elsewhere in continuity* wouldn't be as prepared to surrender.

*Well, before the current series, All Hail Megatron, written by a different author in which he leads a squad of non-combat-specialists into a blatant ambush. I really dislike storylines in which characters become dumb for the writer's convenience.

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alana_
2009-03-02 12:43 pm UTC (link)

Really?

I suppose that's fair enough-- I've been in the fandom for less than a year, and while the local comic shop has some selection, it's mostly old Marvel and Dreamwave issues, with the occasional "Best of UK" or Spotlight Arcee (which I have yet to grab, mostly because it sounds like EPIC WTF in the bad way). So, in my case, a stand-alone story about Mirage was right up my alley.

Personally, I bought Prime's surrender-- they're the last, what, four? Autobots left alive, and they were losing the fight, and they were offered surrender by someone who used to be a friend... there's more hope in being a prisoner than there is in being dead. So, yeah.

But then, as said, I haven't read much of the IDW G1 'verse~ so perhaps you're right.

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	dogbite12 2009-03-02 04:37 pm UTC (link)
	I liked this and I know a lot of casual fans loved it. I remember my brother asked me to get him a copy and when I asked for it, the guys at Forbidden Planet were like"Spotlight Mirage? It's awesome! Sorry, we sold out." I finally managed to find one and he thought it was great. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	alana_ 2009-03-02 04:58 pm UTC (link)
	Hahaha! I was lucky, I haven't seen it at all since I bought mine. XD Which is a pity, 'cause it's one of my favorites of the Spotlights I've read (though Sixshot and Hot ~~Sho~~ ROD-- oh, man, did I make that mistake down there? I did! Has been watching too much Armada Ahem. I love those two, as well. XD;; ) (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	dogbite12 2009-03-02 07:32 pm UTC (link)
	This comic's one of my favs too-it's so different from what we usually get. I had to look around but I finally found one-I wasn't giving him my copy. XD Hot Rod's all over Maximum Dinobots and AHM; have you picked those up? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	alana_ 2009-03-02 08:44 pm UTC (link)
	Ooooh, not yet. :D Been busy with school and trying to get through the various cartoons~ but for Roddie, I'll definitely go out and hit the, uh, one small comic book shop in my town that I know of. XD;; (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	dogbite12 2009-03-02 08:51 pm UTC (link)
	AHM TPB is out, covers issues 1-6. Maximum Dinobots #3 was just released-he's a big part of this series. (Reply to this) (Parent)

denyer.livejournal.com
2009-03-02 05:06 pm UTC (link)

Don't get me wrong, I like standalone -- but it's possible to get that whilst building larger narratives.

they're the last, what, four? Autobots left alive

In really good condition, just happening to be early TV cast, and just happening to be fighting more early TV cast. Plus Megatron agrees to the deal, rather than agreeing to the deal then killing Mirage at first opportunity -- and cartoony art doesn't exactly help the idea that this is the end of an incredibly old war and its last few fighters. Even if not all of the action is kid-friendly, the writer and story seem very much stuck in retro.

It's probably not worth bothering going after singles now; trades should be fairly cheap on Amazon, and much better value. There are some decent standalones in each volume of Spotlights apart from Revelation. Aside from Spotlights, I'd recommend Infiltration, Stormbringer, Escalation, and then (depending on how cynical you're feeling towards whatever of the more recent titles you've glimpsed) pretending the title got cancelled there.

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	alana_ 2009-03-02 05:16 pm UTC (link)
	... and what's wrong with retro? Sometimes, I think we could all use a bit more retro in all of our lives. But I am, admittedly, biased towards anything that has Mirage in it, so perhaps you're righter than I am, in this case. And I'll start looking up trades when I get the chance and the money~ (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

denyer.livejournal.com
2009-03-03 02:00 pm UTC (link)

what's wrong with retro?

Works well as a bit of detail sprinkled in for old fans to notice. When it involves characters doing something stupid to service a thin plot, or clinging to alt-modes there aren't any reason for, it can undermine a series. Furman's as guilty of this as anyone, with the slight saving grace that his anachronisms tend to offer some rationale and be set up as temporary situations.

The 80s stuff is still there to enjoy, most of it's been re-released, and there's plenty of it. For the current IDW stuff it'd be nice to get more material that was generally held to be good comics, rather than good for a Transformers comic. They've probably dropped the ball a few too many times by this point though.

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	bwmedia.wordpress.com 2009-03-02 03:15 pm UTC (link)
	Funny you should mention AHM, since I think this Spotlight plays into the "is Mirage a traitor?" subplot. I'm thinking it's a Cerebro-Shell involved, like in the Blaster Spotlight and Beachcomber, making hit a sleeper agent, and something inside is trying to warn him. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	lookingforsigns 2009-03-02 01:38 pm UTC (link)
	I usually don't like the comics very much, but this one's nice, just on account of the alt-reality "what would I do if I was in this situation" nature of it. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	alana_ 2009-03-02 01:41 pm UTC (link)
	Yeah, this one's lovely~ I'm also really fond of Spotlight: Hot Shot, which has a similar stand-alone REALLY DEPRESSING sort of feel. And is also adorable and wibbly. And pretty. gratuitous icon! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	lookingforsigns 2009-03-02 01:42 pm UTC (link)
	The depressing part I don't usually like so much--this is just whistful and thoughtful. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

alana_
2009-03-02 01:45 pm UTC (link)

I see what you mean...

And I don't blame you for not liking the comics. Except for a few characters, Marvel!G1 has even LESS personality for most of the cast than the cartoon did, and some of the Spotlights I've read have been. Urgh.

But then, some of the comics are really pretty, so!

(And then some are neither pretty nor good. *Looks at Spotlight: Ultra Magnus* :/ )

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	lookingforsigns 2009-03-02 01:49 pm UTC (link)
	I'm just not a big fan of the whole killing people off all the time without bothering with characterization thing, it just makes things dull for me. But this one is pretty! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	alana_ 2009-03-02 02:03 pm UTC (link)
	... relevant icon is relevant? :B And yes, it is. <3 likes it (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	lookingforsigns 2009-03-02 02:05 pm UTC (link)
	Icon is relevant and awesome. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	alana_ 2009-03-02 04:59 pm UTC (link)
	... BTW, that should've been Hot ROD, not Hot SHOT. has been watching too much Armada BLAAAAMES (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	lookingforsigns 2009-03-02 05:02 pm UTC (link)
	The one with angsty troubled tortured Dealer who totally wasn't? Bah! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	alana_ 2009-03-02 05:04 pm UTC (link)
	^^;; I liked it! It was shiny! And Hot Rod was adorable, and I felt so bad when Dealer was all MWAHAHA at the end, because ROOOODDY~ ... but then, I like Hot Rod, so maybe I'm biased. :P (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	lookingforsigns 2009-03-02 05:11 pm UTC (link)
	I know, the whole Doubledealer thing ruined it for me. YES, ROBOTS CAN FEEL LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP AND HUGS. You don't have to ruin it for them all the time. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	alana_ 2009-03-02 05:18 pm UTC (link)
	But didn't you hear? Comics have to be DARKDARKDARK to be good. :P reads some Calvin & Hobbes (Reply to this) (Parent)

	pyynk 2009-03-02 05:18 pm UTC (link)
	Neat story. I'd also recommend the spotlight on Kup from a couple of years ago. OTOH, the spotlight issue on Nightbeat was effing terrible. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	alana_ 2009-03-02 05:22 pm UTC (link)
	The Kup one was awesome nightmare-fuel, yes! <3 Though the parts that weren't filtered through Kup's nutty kinda made me go "uhhhh..." and want to smack everyone who got the idiot ball. And I actually kinda liked Nightbeat's. :D;; Though mostly for the coloring-- I love the color use, omg. <3 The plot, I could take or leave. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	thexenomorph 2009-03-03 02:05 am UTC (link)
	Man that was freaky, I was going to recommend Kup's one too, so I had the damn issue in my hand. (Reply to this) (Parent)

romorini
2009-03-02 05:29 pm UTC (link)

I'm a huge Mirage fan, but I have trouble getting behind this Spotlight. I can deal with Depressing, but the stand-alone nature is really jarring in comparison to the rest of IDW's TF series to that date.

I'd recommend Ultra Magnus's Spotlight or Kup's, and maybe even Nightbeat's. These all have a stronger connection to the IDW universe without requiring extensive knowledge of the IDW background. If anything, Ultra Magnus's and Nightbeat's serve as the first tastes of larger mysteries to come.

The interconnectedness is what I liked most about IDW's universe. It could make for confusing reading if you didn't ave all of the pieces though.

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	alana_ 2009-03-02 06:13 pm UTC (link)
	Without extensive knowledge of the IDW background, Spotlight: Ultra Magnus kinda made me want to hit something. Probably him. XD;; I've been recommended the rest of the IDW 'verse, though, so perhaps I'll look up some other stuff, see if it changes my opinion at all~ (Reply to this) (Parent)