It turns out the portion of a Bill
Mantlo interview I found last month on the net was just a small part of an article from Comics Feature #17. The whole article spans what seems to be countless pages based on the files that were sent to me by a mutual ROM fan who had bought the issue through
ebay right after I bought issue #9 (Rom, a Year in Review March 24 posting) on
ebay as well. So I went ahead and isolated the pages from issue 17 that specifically dealt with ROM in order to post them here in segments. It's a pretty interesting read how everything from old sci-
fi movies to the politics at the time influenced the writing during the titles more formative years. You should be able to magnify all the clip art in this posting (including the cover) to make it easier to read.
Reading all this makes me relive those early days when I was reading ROM every month and roaming the earth for missing back issues. I think ROM fans all over the world should exactly at the same time do what William
Shatner is doing here. I hope Marvel feels the wrath of ROM fans some day.
On a little side note here both Comics Feature #17 and Star
Trek 2 The Wrath of
Kahn came out in 1982.
It turns out the portion of a Bill Mantlo interview I found last month on the net was just a small part of an article from Comics Feature #17. The whole article spans what seems to be countless pages based on the files that were sent to me by a mutual ROM fan who had bought the issue through ebay right after I bought issue #9 (Rom, a Year in Review March 24 posting) on ebay as well. So I went ahead and isolated the pages from issue 17 that specifically dealt with ROM in order to post them here in segments. It's a pretty interesting read how everything from old sci-fi movies to the politics at the time influenced the writing during the titles more formative years. You should be able to magnify all the clip art in this posting (including the cover) to make it easier to read.
Reading all this makes me relive those early days when I was reading ROM every month and roaming the earth for missing back issues. I think ROM fans all over the world should exactly at the same time do what William Shatner is doing here. I hope Marvel feels the wrath of ROM fans some day.
On a little side note here both Comics Feature #17 and Star Trek 2 The Wrath of Kahn came out in 1982.
Fun! Maybe one more page of interview, there? This seems to have been before the Galador stories---right about the time I got, what was for a long time, my one issue, #24. I would have liked to see something more experimental from almost the same premise, sure, but a toy-based comic wouldn't do so well again until The Transformers. Is "Real People" a reference to the popular NBC prime time show of the era? I enjoy the places where a coordinated plot comes together from different locations; outside the limits of a movie, there were subplot possibilities. I always enjoyed that atmospheric window into another time.
ReplyDeleterest assured my friend that last text block in the posting concludes all the ROM talk. the interview goes on at that point to talk about the demographics when it comes to the audience of comic books back then.
DeleteNice job, Dave!
ReplyDeleteDavid,
ReplyDeleteThese posts are tremendous. It's amazing to find such dedication to ROM.
In honor of your effort, you are hereby named Keeper of the Living Fire!
;)
thanks Dana but in this case it'll have to be the thought that counts. the last guy who wielded the Living Flame was killed and the guy before that ended up in Limbo.
ReplyDeletei appreciate the sentiment but keep in mind some of these postings in the last month have come as the result of people tipping me off about newly discovered stuff so it's been a group effort actually.
but that effort certainly has paid off all this stuff lately has been making me relive those days where i was picking up ROM on a monthly basis.
Thanks Bruce i'm glad you liked the new Mantlo article.
But...but... I WANNA read about the demographics of comic books and readers back then!
ReplyDeletesorry Rick i can't anticipate everything everyone is gonna want to see here. Frank sent me over 20 scanned pages with small news print from Comics Feature #17. it was a lot of work to sift through it all and find the ROM portion. doing that on a computer is really hard on the eyes.
DeleteI think its amazing that they are talking about Rom being a 'top-tier' comic and actually out-selling other titles at the time and yet they will do NOTHING to reinvigorate the franchise. It is quite obvious that there is still a following just by seeing the followers of this blog and our interest in a property that has added NO NEW CONTENT in a QUARTER OF A CENTURY.
ReplyDeleteDon't make mine Marvel....make mine ROM!