#ROM Spaceknight Vol. 1

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

EARTH-BOUND MASSACRE IMMINENT -- THE SPACE DEMONS HAVE LANDED.

PIC INFO: Spotlight on the Dire Wraiths, space-faring demons from Wraithworld on a mission of catastrophic conquest of planet Earth, opening splash page, subsequent double splash page, and the following two pages, from "ROM" Vol. 1 #49. December, 1983. Marvel Comics.

"The wind howls in the high hollows this night, almost drowning out the hissing of the horrors that prepare to descend from the West Virginia hills. They are Dire Wraiths -- aliens -- demons from distant space driven in defeat to our shimmering planet. Their goal: conquest. Hunted here by ROM -- greatest of the spaceknights -- these sorcerous shape-shifters have determined to make their stand. And tonight, Clairton, West Virginia, ROM's adopted home -- shall share Wraithkind's revenge against the silver spaceknight!"

-- "ROM" Vol. 1 #49 (December 1983)

Story/script by Bill Mantlo

Artwork by Sal Buscema

Inks by Akin & Garvey

Colors by Ben Sean

Letters by Janice Chiang

Source: https://viewcomiconline.com/rom-49.

[vertigoartgore]

1984's ROM (Spaceknight) Vol.1 #53 cover by artist Bill Sienkiewicz (the published version with Purple Man/Zebediah Killgrave and the first unused one with the eyes collage). Source

[dynared]

Well, Year Two of the Energon Universe is in the books with the Free Comic Book Day Special, and with the spoiled appearance of Matt Trakker of M.A.S.K., albeit not looking identical to Duke anymore, it's once again time to check on the other Hasbro properties and see if any of them are viable to also enter the Energon Universe, especially with a fourth slot for the books open, since Robert Kirkman was adamant that they would not publish more than four books at a time.

Well M.A.S.K. is set, but whether they get their own book or not is a question mark. Ever since Hasbro bought the property, they have had a loose connection to G.I. Joe as separate but allied organizations, culminating in a Matt Trakker figure being released under the Joe branding.

They could easily fill the role of a private organization studying the Cybertronians, or even what the Bay movies tried and failed to do with the Order of the Wittwicians, having a group aware of the Transformers and dealing with them in secret.

ROM and the Micronauts: When it first appeared that Marvel was going to be reprinting the ROM and Micronauts stories, there were some assumptions Hasbro had given up on trying to make stories about the characters independent of Marvel. Two years later, while ROM Vol 1 is the bestselling Marvel omnibus of all time, there has been no word on trying to make a new ROM or new Micronauts story. They could potentially return to the Energon Universe but would face the same problem they did in their atrocious IDW comics, trying to rebuild the mythology of the Spaceknights and Inner Space from scratch, and not being able to use any of the characters Marvel had came up with, although Marvel’s attempt to use them without the Micronauts resulted in Quantumania, aka the moment where the public opinion of the MCU started to shift considerably more sour than at any point prior. They may be available, but it may be an incompatible mixture. I don’t suppose Marvel is interested in them again, are they?

Action Man - Originally the branding for European releases of the original G.I. Joe figures licensed by Hasbro to British company Palitoy, Action Man was eventually turned into a do-it-all super spy when Hasbro directly bought the rights to the franchise, both as a competitor to Mattel’s Max Steel toyline and TV show (which also was about an extreme athlete turned spy. No word on whether or not the XXX franchise also took inspiration). A spy character could work as a supporting character for another book, but the last time Hasbro tried to do an Action Man comic, it died in four issues, leading Hasbro to awkwardly shove him into the critically panned low selling Revolutionaries comic. He may just not be worth the hassle to be his own star, but can work better as a supporting role.

The Visionaries - While it was originally believed that after the failure of Transformers vs Visionaries that the Knights of the Magical Light would be shoved into a corner to be forgotten, they get namedropped in Void Rivals. Furthermore, unlike the IDW versions, Hot Rod appears to have a rather favorable opinion of them, speaking fondly about a “Prysmodian wedding” (Prysmos being the planet where Visionaries takes place). They could easily be the focus of a Void Rivals arc where our heroes (depending on who you follow the book for, that’s either Darak or Solia, the titular Void Rivals, or Hot Rod and Springer, who seem to be on half the covers to boost sales) visit the planet while the magical war is going on. But getting their own series might be tougher.

Hell, so far that seems to be the issue with a lot of the non-Joe/TF franchises that could theoretically be in the Energon Universe. They would be potential interesting additions to the stories of G.I. Joe and the Transformers, but are far less likely to carry their own books. That leaves one Hasbro property, one that IDW adored even when it sold like crap. One Hasbro seems to have declared radioactive.

Jem and the Holograms.

Yes, Jem.

https://youtu.be/m6G_o1MYECg?si=ekg9_H_lVSs5xB8V

The theme song may say Jem is truly outrageous, but after the legendary failure of the Jem movie (less than $2 million profit on a paltry $5 million budget) and the comics from IDW selling the worst out of all of the Hasbro licenses, Hasbro tends to think she’s truly radioactive.

She has been mentioned ONCE during the Energon Universe’s run, in a letters page in the Cobra Commander miniseries from writer Joshua Williamson.

You know, there might be something to this. But it would be a radical departure from Jem as was done in IDW and might just piss off just about everybody.

What if Jem was a Dreadnok, or at the least, a member of Cobra? Someone whose family went into a cause that she could care less about when she just wants to sing? Only now she’s potentially armed with Cobra technology which she can use to start her music career, including a computer that will allow her to assume a disguise so no one know who she is.

The only problem is that she’s still a homicidal Dreadnok, one not afraid to kill anyone who starts with her. Think Hannah Montana meets Dexter.

If that’s too radical a departure for Jem, the alternative is Jem being someone who is trying to start a career, only to run smack dab into the insanity that is the Energon Universe. Cobra saboteurs because someone thinks a band called Cold Slither is good PR. Alien technology and robots interested in music. Black market tech and battles when she just wants to sing.

It would potentially be the most radically different of all the EU books no matter what route you chose, but a slice of life/music story in the same universe as all the shooting and robot wrasslin could potentially open up a lot of possibilities as to how the world has changed. The question remains is if Jem could attract an audience. A similar issue occurred with DC’s attempts to make Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld a thing and how DC could not find a market for her, because she was a character that was meant to appeal to young girls, constantly given to people and put in stories that wanted nothing to do with young girls, resulting in what can best be described as Tryhard horror stories that appealed to no one.

So two years later, it seems we have a lot of supporting characters, but no one who could lead a fourth book. Don’t suppose anyone at Skybound wants to write a Shinkalion comic, do they?

[omniversecomicsguide]

Rom gets the omnibus treatment from Marvel in January! Part man, part machine… all Spaceknight… Rom hunts the body-snatching Dire Wraiths who have infiltrated the Marvel Universe. This three-volume series is likely a one-time thing, so don’t miss it if you’re a Rom fan!

See our INCOMING! episode for January’s new collected edition releases for our ten recommended titles. And take a look through our New Releases pages for all Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse and indie collected editions for the first month of 2024!

Featured cover art:

ROM: THE ORIGINAL MARVEL YEARS vol.1 (2023) George Perez Variant Cover - originally a 2013 commission by Perez

Looking for a ROM READING ORDER? Say so in the comments!

[docgold13]

365 Marvel Comics Paper Cut-Out SuperHeroes - One Hero, Every Day, All Year…

November 24th - Forge

The X-Man known only as Forge grew up amongst a Cheyenne community somewhere in rural Montana.  He was a pupil of the powerful shaman and mystic known as Naze.  Name taught Forge numerous magical incantations and hoped he would one day take his place as the shaman to their people.  This was not to be and Forge lost interest in the mystical arts at the advent of his Mutant powers in middle adolescence.  

Forge found that he had been bestowed an intuitive understanding of technology and maniacal engineering.  The ways in which machines work and can work felt second nature to him and he could build just about anything his imagination could come up with.  

He was drafted into the United Sates Military during the war with Viet Nam.  He was severely injured during his tour and lost his right hand and right leg just below the knee.  Near death with the enemy closing in, Forge made a fateful decision and drew from the teachings of Nave to summon a portal that released the entity known as The Adversary.  This evil being slaughtered the enemy soldiers and saved Forge’s life, but it was not without a price and Forge would have to make amends for his action in later life.  

Upon returning to the states, Forge created a highly sophisticated set of cybernetic prosthetic limbs to replace his hand and leg.  He went on to develop numerous advanced weapons for the State Department as a part of the DARPA agency.  Herein he was commissioned to develop a specialized device that could identify and neutralize the powers of an invasive alien species known as The Dire Wraiths.  

The National Security Council seized Forge’s device and recalibrate it so that it could permanently neutralize the special abilities of Mutants.  The weapon was ultimately used on Storm of the X-Men, depriving her of her weather-controlling powers.     

Feeling great guilt over how his creation had been misused, Forge invited Storm to his palatial home outside Dallas where she could recover.  There was a great attraction between the two yet Storm became enraged when she discovered that Forge had been the one who invented the weapon that took away her powers.  

He would later team up with The X-Men and Rom SpaceKnight to finally defeat the Dire Wraiths.  Not long thereafter, Forge became embroiled in the affairs of the X-Men once more as they assisted him in deposing The Adversary (the demonic entity Forge had released decades ago in the jungle of Viet Nam).   

Following a stint as a member of Valerie Cooper’s iteration of X-Factor, Forge joined the X-Men becoming an official member of the team.  He remained with the team on and off for many years.  During the War with The Inhumans, Forge assisted Moon Girl in creating the device that would ultimately destroy the Terrigen Cloud and make earth safe for Mutant-kind.

Forge has since relocated the isle of Krakoa and has recently been promoted as a member of the main, flagship X-Men squad.  The hero first appeared in the pages of Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 #184 (1984).  

[radroller]

What's a super underrated manga/comic/show you REALLY want people to check out?

Manga: Sand Land, Eyeshield 21, Hajime no Ippo

Anime: Medabots, Ping Pong, Haibane Renmei (i wouldnt call this underrated bc everyone i know who’s seen it knows it’s good BUT I NEVER SEE IT TALKED ABOUT SO!)

Comics: 52, Thunderbolts, X-Statix, Squadron Supreme Vol 1, Exiles, ROM Spaceknight

[geekcavepodcast]

“Rom, the Greatest of the Spaceknights” Gets Omnibus Collections

Marvel Comics and Hasbro partner on new Rom: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus collections. Vol. 1 will collect ROM (1979) #1-29 and Power Man and Iron Fist (1978) #73. The ROM comics were from Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema.

“He strikes from outer space…and nothing can stop him! Marvel Comics is proud to present the iconic early adventures of the greatest of Spaceknights — Rom! Centuries ago, Rom pledged his life to protect his planet, Galador, from the evil Dire Wraiths. Now, Rom has tracked these vile creatures across the cosmos to Earth, where they have infiltrated the highest levels of power — including S.H.I.E.L.D. Itself!

Armed with his energy analyzer, only Rom can see the Wraiths’ true form — and with his neutralizer, he can blast them into Limbo! But what will Earth make of this armored invader? Will Rom’s quest be aided or hindered by encounters with the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Jack of Hearts, Nova, and Power Man and Iron Fist? And when Galactus targets Galador, can Rom and his fellow Spaceknights save their homeworld from destruction?” (Marvel Comics)

Rom: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 1 goes on sale in January 2024. The omnibus features a main cover by Frank Miller,  Direct Marvel Exclusive Variant Covers by Sal Buscema, Frank Miller, and George Pérez.

In addition to the omnibus, Marvel will also release a new Facsimile Edition of ROM #1 (1979), featuring a cover by Frank Miller.

(Image via Marvel Comics - Frank Miller’s Cover of  Rom: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 1)

[ungoliantschilde]

ROM Spaceknight, Vol. 1 # 03 by Frank Miller and Terry Austin.

[allspark]

IDW Publishing have released their solicitations for their Transformers and other Hasbro Universe titles due for release in August 2018. Read on to check them out!

After reading the solicits below, head over to the Allspark Forums to discuss them with other fans!

As with the July solicitations, be aware that the below solicitations contain MAJOR SPOILERS for Optimus Prime #17.

Cover A – Alex Milne

Cover B – James Raiz

Cover RI – Guido Guidi

Transformers: Unicron #3 (of 6)—Cover A: Alex Milne—SPOTLIGHT

John Barber • Alex Milne (a & c)

Unicron approaches Cybertron, so Windblade enacts a desperate plan—one neither Optimus Prime nor Starscream agree with! Has Windblade outmaneuvered Shockwave’s machinations—or played right into his deadly hand?

FC • 32 pages • $4.99

Transformers: Unicron #3 (of 6)—Cover B: James Raiz—SPOTLIGHT

John Barber • Alex Milne (a) • James Raiz (c)

FC • 32 pages • $4.99 

Bullet points:

Variant covers by Nick Roche, and Francesco Francavilla!

Cover B – James Raiz

Transformers: Unicron #4 (of 6)—Cover A: Alex Milne—SPOTLIGHT

John Barber • Alex Milne (a & c)

Unicron sets his sights on Earth… but is anyone left to defend it?

FC • 32 pages • $4.99

Transformers: Unicron #4 (of 6)—Cover B: James Raiz—SPOTLIGHT

John Barber • Alex Milne (a) • James Raiz (c)

FC • 32 pages • $4.99

Bullet points:

The destruction continues! We’re halfway to the end and Unicron is winning. Will Optimus and his allies be able to save anything?!

Connecting B covers by James Raizfeaturing destruction at the hands of Unicron!

Covers by fan-favorite Transformersartists of the past decade!

Variant covers by Guido Guidiand Francisco Francavilla!

Cover A – Kei Zama

Optimus Prime #23—Cover A: Kei Zama—SPOTLIGHT

John Barber • Priscilla Tramontano (a) • Kei Zama (c)

The battle against Unicron forces Optimus Prime’s colonist soldiers to contend with a brutal reality—they have no homes to return to. But when they make a move against Trypticon, the human-controlled home of the next generation of Cybertronians… can the end be far behind?

FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Optimus Prime #23—Cover B: Priscilla Tramontano—SPOTLIGHT

John Barber • Priscilla Tramontano (a & c)

FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:

Tie-in to the Unicron event!

Part of the summer of Transformers—all building up to the end of the universe as we know it!

Variant cover by Kei Zama!

Cover A – Jack Lawrence

Cover RI – Jack Lawrence

Transformers: Lost Light #23—Cover A: Jack Lawrence—SPOTLIGHT

James Roberts • Jack Lawrence (a & c)

The final battle is here! Bots will live, bots will die, and the craziness can only increase! We’re halfway through a finale six years in the making! And if you’ve ever loved a bot, you won’t want to miss this.

FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Transformers: Lost Light #23—Cover B: Geoff Senior—SPOTLIGHT

James Roberts • Jack Lawrence (a) • Geoff Senior (c)

FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:

Lost Light’s grand finale kicks into high gear!

Bringing the story to a close at long last—and everyone’s involved!

Don’t miss the B cover by beloved Transformersartist Geoff Senior!

Variant cover by Geoff Senior!

Cover – Nicoletta Baldari

Transformers: Bumblebee—Win If You Dare

James Asmus • Marcelo Ferreira (a) • Nicoletta Baldari (c)

Life can feel rough when you aren’t the fastest, or the bravest, or the tallest Autobot, and Bumblebee’s feeling the pressure. When he’s hurt, Bumblebee takes it upon himself to prove his worth to his fellow Autobots. Things get tense as ‘Bee and his new human companion race into action hunting down dangerous foes and a devastating device. It’s ready, set, go in this new exciting ’80s adventure packed filled with laughs and thrills!

TPB • FC • $9.99 • 72 pages • 6” x 9” • ISBN: 978-1-68405-227-1

Bullet points:

Advance solicited for September release!

The first Bumblebee original graphic novel!

Bumblebee: The Moviepremieres in theaters December 21st, 2018.

Transformers: Bumblebee Movie Prequel #3 (of 4)—Cover A: Andrew Griffith

John Barber • Andrew Griffith (a & c)

Energon is Forever. It’s war in the streets of swinging 1960s London, baby—and it’s freaking Bumblebee out! The Decepticon scheme to lure the world’s top espionage organizations into war shifts into high gear—so Bee and his super-spy friends call in some international help!

FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Transformers: Bumblebee Movie Prequel #3 (of 4)—Cover B: Fico Ossio

John Barber • Andrew Griffith (a)• Fico Ossio (c)

FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:

The prequel to the new Bumblebeefilm (coming this winter), geared toward a younger audience!

Sometimes serious, sometimes campy action spy adventure for fans of James Bond or Mission Impossible!

Black and white variant cover by Andrew Griffith!

Transformers: Lost Light, Vol. 3

James Roberts • Alex Milne, Brendan Cahill, Jack Lawrence (a) • Jack Lawrence (c)

Crammed into a dead Decepticon astropod that’s 10 sizes too small, the displaced crew of the Lost Light faces their most serious threat yet: each other. No worries though, Rodimus can save the day! Or maybe they’ll all die… Plus, the Scavengers have never had it so good. The war is a receding memory, their patchy service records have been forgotten, and the five of them can roam the galaxy as they please. All’s well that ends well? Not quite. Collects issues #13–18.

TPB • FC • $19.99 • 144 pages • ISBN: 978-1-68405-331-5

Bullet points:

Advance solicited for September release!

Winner of the Comixology Award for Best Ongoing Comic Series of 2017 as well as Best Writer for James Roberts!

Offered Again!

Transformers Lost Light, Vol. 1 • FC • $19.99 • ISBN: 978-1-63140-992-9

Transformers Lost Light, Vol. 2 • FC • $19.99 • ISBN: 978-1-68405-148-9

Cover – Loston Wallace

Rom: Cold Fire, Hot War

Chris Ryall & Christos Gage • David Messina, Ron Joseph, Paolo Villanelli (a) Loston Wallace (c)

The evil Dire Wraiths have escaped to Earth but are hounded by a Knight of the Solstar Order, the one feared more than all others. He is Rom, the Wraith-slayer. Rom, the Spaceknight!

Having followed the Dire Wraiths across the galaxy to Earth, Rom finds they have infiltrated all levels of society, hiding in plain sight. Replacing many humans in key leadership positions, the Wraiths’ plan to dominate the planet—and everyone in it—is gaining momentum. But Rom finds resistance from the humans as well, who fear he is just another alien invader. He is joined in the battle by two other Solstar Knights… but are they here as friends or foes?

Collects all 14 issues of the series, the 2017 Annual, and the Rom: Revolution one-shot.

TPB • FC • $29.99 • 312 pages • ISBN: 978-1-68405-278-3

IDW Publishing Solicitations for August 2018 IDW Publishing have released their solicitations for their Transformers and other Hasbro Universe titles due for release in August 2018.

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

A FORTY-YEAR-OLD ISSUE THIS MONTH -- THE BLOOD RUNS RED ON EARTH.

PIC(S) INFO: Spotlight on cover art & opening splash/title page to "ROM" Spaceknight Vol. 1 #49. December, 1983. Marvel Comics. Cover Art by Al Milgrom.

""Massacre!" Death comes to Rom's closest friends when he returns to Clairton, West Virginia! And his energy analyzer is useless against the new breed of Dire Wraiths! You must not miss the dramatic developments whihc lead up to next month's double-sized, fiftieth anniversary issue!"

-- MARVEL COMICS, c. winter 1983

Story/script by Bill Mantlo

Pencils by Sal Buscema

Inks by Ian Akin & Brian Garvey

Colors by Ben Sean

Letters by Janice

Source: https://viewcomiconline.com/rom-49.

[vertigoartgore]

1984's Marvel Age Vol.1 #23 cover by cover artist Bill Sienkiewicz (featuring his redesign of the Dire Wraiths ; Sienkiewicz also did a bunch of covers at the same period for the ROM Spaceknight series).

[omniversecomicsguide]

Not sure how much of an impact Rom actually had on the Marvel Universe?

See the ROM READING ORDER, 1978-1994: SPACEKNIGHT OF GALADOR for his compete comics chronology, plus the parts of the MU he interacts with and the characters introduced in his series!

Featured cover art:

ROM AND THE X-MEN: MARVEL TALES #1 (2024) by Nick Bradshaw & Richard Isanove

This one-shot collects Rom #17-18, 31-32 - his interactions with the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Grab this or the freshly released Rom: The Original Marvel Years vol.1 Omnibus for more Rom reprints!

[docgold13]

365 Marvel Villain paper cut-outs - one villain, every day, all year.

October 20th - The Awesome Android

A creation of the villainous Mad Thinker, the Awesome Android is a powerful artificial construct composed of primate DNA combined with unstable molecules and cybernetic components. The result was a fifteen foot automaton with greatly enhanced strength and durability as well as the capacity to alter its shape and mimic the abilities of whichever super powered being it came into contact with. The Awesome Android has battled numerous heroes, including The Fantastic Four, The X-Men. Captain America, Iron Man, Namor and ROM Spaceknight. The android’s sentience has enhanced over the years leading to a greater autonomy. It ultimately abandoned The Mad Thinker and worked alongside She-Hulk for a brief while. For reasons yet to be revealed, the Awesome Android has since returned to The Mad Thinker. The android first appeared in the pages Fantastic Four Vol. 1 #15.

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

A SPACE KNIGHT ON THE BRINK -- WELCOME TO 1984, DEAR READERS.

PIC(S) INFO: Spotlight on preliminary phases & published cover art to "ROM" Vol. 1 #53 [part of the "Wraith War" event]. April, 1984. Marvel Comics. Artwork by Bill Sienkiewicz.

Resolution from largest to smallest: 982x1522, 833x1226, & 442x590.

Sources: https://docpop.org/2023/05/bill-sienkiewiczs-rom-art & Marvel Comics of the 80s (blogspot).

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

A "HERO SPLASH" FIT FOR A SPACEKNIGHT -- THE GREATEST SPACEKNIGHT OF THEM ALL.

PIC(S) INFO: Spotlight on published & preliminary end page key splash to "ROM" [Spaceknight] Vol. 1 Annual #2 (page 40). October, 1983. Marvel Comics.

Sal Buscema (penciller)

Ian Akin (inker)

Brian Akin (inker)

Ben Sean (colorist)

Sources: www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1183849 & Pinterest.

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

THE FACE OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL DARK SORCERY IN THE MARVEL UNIVERSE.

PIC INFO: Resolution at 1198x1791 -- Spotlight on super-spooky cover art to "ROM" Vol. 1 #47. October, 1983. Marvel Comics. Artwork by Bill Sienkiewicz.

I'm totally buying this issue, btw, and this cover alone is just something I gotta have in my humble little comics collection ASAP.

Source: www.pinterest.com/pin/431219733052657392.