ROM From IDW Review

ROM

plot and script- Christos Gage & Chris Ryall

art and colors- David Messina

“Far, far away, in another galaxy, the knights of the Solstar Order, defenders of justice and truth, have been ambushed by the evil magicians, the Dire Wraiths. The Solstar Order has prevailed and is now seeking out their scattered enemies.

One of the knights has followed the trail of the Dire Wraiths all the way to Earth. This one, the Dire Wraiths fear more than all others. This one has hounded them and kept them underground for centuries. This one alone could wipe them off the face of creation. He is ROM, Lord of the Solstar Order. ROM, the Wraithslayer.”

Previously...

In 1979, three men sold the design for their new toy figure to Parker Brothers, hoping it would be the next big thing in the world of action heroes. Originally called COBOL, Parker Bros. executives renamed the toy ROM and by December of that year, it had appeared on the cover of Time Magazine and gotten its own Marvel comic book. ROM proved not to be the hit toy Parker Brothers wanted it to be. In the end, ROM sold only about 200,000 units in the US and Parker Brothers decided to abandon it. One of the creators, Bing McCoy, blamed packaging and poor marketing. But whatever caused the toy's lack of popularity, there was no denying that ROM's appearance on the cover of Time Magazine wasn't very helpful. The article was entitled “Those Beeping, Thinking Toys,” and it pointed out ROM's stiff articulation and predicted that it would “end up among the dust balls under the playroom sofa.”

Despite the ROM toy tanking, one thing was certain... ROM had made a splash in the pages of the Marvel Universe. The book, ROM Spaceknight, ran from December 1979 to February 1986. It quickly became a fan favorite, giving ROM connections to characters like the Fantastic Four, Thor, Power Man and Iron Fist, and the Incredible Hulk. ROM even had encounters with Wolverine and the X-Men from time to time. It's the legacy of the comic book that has kept the property alive this long.

The Marvel comic was written by Marvel giant, Bill Mantlo and drawn by illustrator, Sal Buscema. The general plot was that ROM came from the planet Galador in pursuit of the Dire Wraiths, a shape-changing alien race bent on world-domination. ROM belonged to the order of Space Knights, specifically recruited for this threat. The series put him in touch with characters like Spider-Man and the X-Men and pit him against the Mad-Thinker and Galactus. And the Dire Wraiths showed up in multiple Marvel comics without ROM, including the X-Men. This not only cemented ROM's place in the Marvel Universe, but allowed the character to help build the universe they all existed in. It also made it possible for ROM to appearing his own series, a handful of cross-over events, several Annuals, and a pile of mini-series.

And now...

ROM #1 by Chris Ryall, Christos Gage, and Dave Messina streaks across our comic book shelves and back into the lives of kids and adults around the world. With great thanks to longtime ROM fan, Chis Ryall, IDW now has the reigns of the gallant Spaceknight. Once again, ROM is on Earth to defeat the evil Dire Wraiths, only this time... they've already invaded. No one can be trusted. The Dire Wraiths has taken position in local law enforcement and almost every other facet of society, and it's up to ROM alone to stop them.

This book is beautiful. I'm a fan of the original Marvel series, but even I'll admit that it now reads like a Hasbro toy advertisement. Still, the IDW reincarnation brings new life and new excitement to the 37 year old action figure. Ryall takes great care with creating the world around the character. He puts detail into everything down to the locations he uses and promises that the detail he puts into character backgrounds will have us relating to and fully believing in ROM and the supporting cast. ROM lands on Earth in the first issue and quickly destroys a group of Wraiths posing as US soldiers. This puts ROM on the law's naughty list, even though he's trying to keep the Earth from being fully taken over. Times have changed in comics writing style, and Ryall shows that it's only for the best. No disrespect to Bill Mantlo (a legendary genius), but I can already see that this time around, ROM is truly going beyond the stars.

As for the art, Messina handles everything with grace. His version of ROM is nearly identical to the Buscema version from Marvel. And his Dire Wraiths, though they are totally different from what they used to be, are a fine upgrade into the modern age of comics.

Here's something for Mantlo fans and fans of Parker Bros/Hasbro action figures from the 80s... IDW now has the licensing to not only GI Joe and the Transformers, but to M.A.S.K., Visionaries, and the Micronauts. There is a massive cross-over on the horizon, so keep a look out.

ROM #1 and #2 are at specialty stores now. IDW has done the universe a favor by bringing ROM back, and you'll be doing yourself a favor if you read this book.