My first ROM issue ever was #22. It was just a random thing how I got it. I was 9 and my whole comic book collection at the time consisted of about a dozen comics (Fantastic Four, Master of Kung Fu, Marvel Two In One, Shogun Warriors, The Micronauts) which I really liked. At that point in my life my reading skills were only so that I could just pick up a few words here and there. My dad had to do most of the reading for me. I think wha
t blew me away the most about this issue at the time was the above panel (Sal Buscema's spectacular pencils) of ROM banishing that Wraith Rocketeer. To me at the time it looked like ROM was just blasting this guy in mid air with some kind of disintegration death ray. This was some hard core take no prisoners kinda shit I hadn't seen in any of the comics I had or in ones I had browsed through at stores. So from then on, even though I would come to love other more mainstream Marvel characters I was a "fan" of ROM Spaceknight. And eventually I'd would have to have all his issues and tie-ins. So nearly 30 years later here we are with IKON, the Annihilators and . . the dreaded Dire Wraiths again.Update: If they ever did a live action ROM movie I think ROM's neutralizer beam should look like a crimson version of the tripod disintegration beams from War of the Worlds. Remember how in the movie the people who got hit turned into ash just like the wraiths did in the comics:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doO-8KtoQYM&NR=1
Sigh. I miss the 80's. Not to trash some of the artwork now, because I think a lot of it is going in the right direction and not in the way of that horrid period of the 90's (cough cough..Liefeld) But there is something very iconic about the coloring and pacing in the books from the 80's that the comics today just don't have. And, I think, it's why I still go back and read those old ones over and over again. I wonder if, in 20 years, I'll go back and reread the comics from today with the same nostalgia? Or if it's because they were a part of my childhood and so left an imprint on my mind in some way that says "This is what comics ARE" that makes them so welcoming. Either way, they are a relief to read at times.
ReplyDeletei don't think you'll look back at these times in the same way. it's not to say you won't have any fond feelings for the comics of today but the 80s was just such a unique era for so many things. it's kinda like how people feel about the 60s.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely. I won't feel nearly as combative about the storylines from today's comics...I've come to accept a lot of the fluidity of the teams comings and going...but I still get outraged at the loss of teammates from the old ones...and they happened 30 years ago! And I will still fight anyone tooth and nail about whether the old teams or the new teams are better, because to me nothing beats the old ones. They are the pinnacle to me. And always will be.
ReplyDeleteI love the 80's too - comics were comics back then and it was an amazing time were marketing wasn't dictating storylines and what you could or couldnt do with the major players.
ReplyDeleteI first ran into ROM with my favourite Marvel Hero of the 80's THING in Marvel Two In One #99. The cover was so menacing and seeing the pair take on Dire Wraiths witches and Firefall was sheer awesome. That's why the 80's rocked to self contained storylines!!
how true. all these so called one shots and zero issues are so misleading as far as the way they are marketed since they always lead into a continuing story line. that Marvel Two in One issue was like adventure on the side to the ROM story line. if you were a regular reader of ROM at the time but had missed that issue it's not like that would have left you with any gaps in the story line for you. aside from that what i also loved about the 80s was comic books that were less then a buck (until maybe about 88 or 89) and packed with dialogue.
ReplyDeleteThat visual really sells the character. I think the visual effect of a character's powers or devices is an over-looked source of the coolest cool.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving all of the things we loved from the 80's seeing a rebirth these last few years, Transformers, Thundercats, GI Joe. On the downside, Strawberry Shortcake made more than a few appearances on my living room floor (trying to pry a strawberry-scented shoe out of the vacuum cleaner sucks, my friends) and there's a new CGI Smurf movie looming on the horizon.
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