“Yesterday’s” Comic> Transformers Spotlight: Blaster

“Ain’t nobody messing with my mural!”

Transformers Spotlight: Blaster

IDW Publishing (January, 2008)

WRITER: Simon Furman

ARTIST: Emiliano Santalucia

COLORIST: Josh Burcham (assisted by Andrew Elder, Liam Shalloo, & Espen Grndetjern

SELECTED COVER COLORIST: Jeremy Roberts

LETTERER: Neil Uyetake

EDITORS: Chris Ryall & Andrew Steven Harris

In this continuity Blaster was “The Voice”, a bot who would send transmissions that boost Autobot moral against the Decepticons, until that voice was silenced. He is found by a long haul freighter run by some organic species and returned to the Autobot command station Hub. Perceptor makes repairs and residence commander Silverbolt informs him that nobody knows who offed Blaster but evidence pointed to an Autobot. After another attempt on Blaster’s life, it’s nailed down to one of four Autobots. Blaster and the others set a trap to lure out the responsible party, who turns out to be Beachcomber, a victim of Soundwave and one of Bombshell’s cerebro-shells. Fighting against it burns out the shell but also part of his mind. Now Blaster wants to have a few words with Soundwave. Using his gun.

What they got right: I see stories about those recordings that were used to demoralize the enemy (Tokyo Rose and similar analogs) but you don’t see stories about the broadcasts meant to boost morale in your own soldiers. It’s a different take on Blaster from previous continuities but while it usually bothers me when IDW does that it’s not as bad here. Seeing the focus here is something nice to see. There’s also a good mystery (although we don’t get to help solve it, that would be difficult in the allotted space) and the ending is satisfactory.

What they got wrong: The way Beachcomber talks about Bombshell it’s almost like a device rather than a Decepticon/Insecticon warrior. Did he just not know that or is Bombshell not a character during Furman’s run?

Recommendation: This is what happens when Furman focuses on one story at a time. He can create some good stories. We saw it in the Dreamwave stories and the UK stories. I wish we got this Furman more often. Definitely one to pick up.