It's a shame actually cause all that aside this was a pretty good read. But I don't see myself being able to really enjoy this mini-series with all these questions about Galador and it's spaceknights. Ya know I said a couple of postings back that Marvel never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity to get me on board as a regular reader of their stuff as far as going out to buy something every month. There are those who might say to be patient, don't have a panic attack over the first issue and keep reading the series and see what happens. That's a good point but damn, we've been waiting for over 12 years to get some real satisfaction when it comes to Marvel continuing ROM's legacy and this time it felt like it was so very close starting with Avengers #16 Prelude to Infinity. But at the end of the day I came away disappointed yet again with what Marvel is doing. It seems like no matter how much of today's writers at Marvel are fans of Mantlo's work on Rom spaceknight they just can't seem to deliver a satisfying product that will work for current story lines along with the old school fans. As if Sabra getting shot in the back by a fucken nazi wasn't bad enough (more on that later). For now I'll keep following Infinity on the internet cuz Marvel ain't getting any more of my money for this shit.
And in other news of The Empire today . . .
Infinity #1 hasn't hit our shores yet, but I picked up from online talk what was going down. Hey, just remember DC's leading space corps got massacred once when their star went nutty, and a few years on they were back and the companies hottest ticket, so maybe this is one of those take em away to consolidate fan support kinda things, so people will be thankful when they return.
ReplyDeleteStink it happened but with Guardians of The Galaxy the favourite cat in the House of Ideas at the moment, I don't think anything dead in Marvel cosmic land will stay undusted off or unused for long :)
you make a valid point here Dan but i'm just tired of reading stuff from Marvel that's ROM related always ending in disappointment. i mean they gives us a nice homage here and there like with the other dimension Reed Richards with Neutralizer in Future Foundations but when it comes to any stories that play out it always disappoints.
DeleteArt of the spaceknights was great here but pointless to include them just to kill them all off.I thought the story was good spaceknights aside.the only way i would be ok with what happened here and with new marvel was if and i mean if this all lead to the next to impossible return of ROM as last of the spaceknights. Nothing else will do .no more bullshit to pull oldschool readers in unless its that .
ReplyDeletefirefall looked fucked in the face here for as good as the others looked
Deleteso that being said i hope you too won't buy any of Marvel's new shit until they give us Galador and our spaceknights back. but even that's a big IF for me right now.
DeleteDavid, you put into words exactly what I felt when reading this issue. There's a trick we dungeon masters do in Dungeons & Dragons games where we are going to set our heroes against someone they don't have a chance in hell of beating, nor should they try. So what we do is put someone into the game who is more mighty and powerful than the PCs (player characters) and then have them get wiped out in a flash by the "big bad". The players are supposed to then realize "oh, crap, we shouldn't mess with this bad guy because we'll get our asses handed to us" and we can proceed in the game without me as the DM having to kill them all. I've given Infinity#! some serious thought and this is the ONLY logical reason I can think Hickman did this. Any other reason is a slap in the face to all Rom fans for no other reason than an idle whim. At this early stage, I'm pretty sure the Spaceknights (and Galador) were blown away in a flash (literally) so we can see how powerful the bad guys are. However, I can't agree that the Spaceknights should be treated that way after Marvel has ignored them for so long. Nice job, David!
ReplyDeleteIt does have that, "Our adventure just started and a cave in did us all in" feel to it. Except worse, because we started the adventure after years of waiting to come back to the table. I'd love to think that they did it just so they have no option but to bring ROM back in as the last spaceknight. That's an incredibly optimistic outlook. One I have trouble believing at this point. It almost smacks to me of Marvel saying "look guys, we know you love this, but it's not going to happen. Let it go." Screw that. Eventually every good idea comes around again, and good people rise to the top. Idiots die off. And no one in comics stays unresurrected forever. I just hope I'm around to see the Spaceknights, Galador or not, come flying back.
ReplyDeleteO.k. I'm probably going to get a lot of shit for this but,..ROM became a Spaceknight to defend Galador from a species that threatened his home world, and the rest of the universe. He was so dedicated to this cause that he chased the last remnants of this species across the universe to insure they could not threaten other worlds the way they did his. That is beyond heroism, its nobility.
ReplyDeleteDoes Marvel expect us to believe that a character as noble as ROM is just going to let this atrocity slide? I see this as a GREAT opportunity to bring ROM back. In fact if they DON'T bring him back as a result of this bullshit, it would be the ultimate slap in the face to ROM fans everywhere because they would basically be saying,
ROM doesn't give a shit about his home world,..or earth,..or the universe. We all know thats not the case. I loved the spaceknights and I want them back but if they have to be sacrificed, let it be to bring back ROM.
ROMs return on the ashes of his fellow spaceknights and home is the only thing i can accept.yes no planet to defend anymore and to noble for str8up revenge but a new race that destroyed his world and people and a treat to other worlds and people is a cause noble enough for him to take up.vrrrreeeeee..........
Deletethere's still the licensing issue for the ROM name and character so really story wise it's still irrelevant as far as a ROM return to Marvel.
DeleteJust what is the licensing issue currently? I was under the impression it was not due to parker bros who sold them for the delay of ROMs return but due to Bing Mcoy and his sad conditon .Is that correct?
DeleteI think i saw somewhere that his brother was his guardian and would be the person needed to release rom.
Deletedamned if i know but this might help answer your question http://lkseitz.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-rights-to-rom-its-not-just-parker.html
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DeleteYes that was the very page i saw quite sometime ago.I see you were up to date on that news then
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ReplyDeleteTaken fom an interview
ReplyDeleteFollowing the prologue with Thanos and his army we move right into the main action which kicks off with the destruction of Galador. I imagine "Rom" and Space Knights fans are probably wondering, why Galador?
Hickman: Well there were a couple of reasons. Number one was that I wanted to include the Space Knights and I thought it was a really cool set piece. Then on top of that, is an answer that I don't really want to reveal, but I'm happy to. I have an idea kicking around in the back of my head that I think would be super cool coming out of "Infinity" that deals with the Space Knights that have lost their planet. We'll see the survivors of Galador later on in "Infinity."
So there are several reasons behind it, but probably the most honest and obvious answer is that we wanted to show what our bad guys were capable of.
Hope or smoke unknown but i hope we could be on the cusp of his return.
EXCELLENT WORK JOSEPH! so at least now we know what Hickman was thinking. but i still don't like it and i'm not going to keep buying Marvel's over priced stuff for just some Galador/ spaceknights table scraps here and there. my ROM collection along with all it's tie-ins can live with out that bullshit.
DeleteThat is one of the key things about what we've seen in recent Marvel concerning Spaceknights; they are not all sitting on Galador waiting for the next crisis. They were involved in restoration after the Annihilus event. They were involved in the Conquest event in Kree space. Ikon was a part of the Annihilators(which is probably a defunct team now anyway). And now we have a Spaceknight Squadron show up in infinity. There are definitely Spaceknights out there somewhere and about now they are really pissed off.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing this brought to my mind was how early TNG:Trek used Worf. The writers would have Big Bad Worf go up and attack the Bad Dude du Jour and they would just slap him away proving just how really bad THEY were. That's exactly how Marvel just used the Spaceknights.
What gets me is how everything cosmic is getting torn apart. The Skrull homeworld became Galacta-Snack, the Kree decimated, Xandar eliminated, and now Galador (and presumably the entire Golden Galaxy) snuffed like a cheap cigar. One other issue, did they Builders take out just the planet Galador or the entire system? If the latter, then Wraithworld is also obliterated and the Dire Wraiths are again powerless since the Black Sun was fused with Galador's own star in the Annihilators series. You have to wonder if anyone at Marvel ever thinks about continuity.
http://www.cosmicbooknews.com/content/hickman-says-more-spaceknights-come-post-infinity
ReplyDeleteso if you copy and paste that link into your browser you're gonna go to the article Joseph mentioned earlier where Hickman tries to explain himself. i find it unsatisfactory ROM fans have been disappointed for too long to see their spaceknights basically get used as cannon fodder as Galador gets destroyed. so how long do we have to wait to get the next round of spaceknight table scraps from Marvel now? Hickman should have come up with a better way to use Galador and the spaceknights in this story line Marvel owed that to us. so from now on their not getting any more of my money and that's it for me.
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ReplyDeleteDAMN! CrossBones NAILED her! Fuck, man... that's... actually pretty awesome. I have always liked CrossBones- I LOVE Mark Gruenwald's run on Captain America.
ReplyDeleteHickman is a hack. Seriously, am I the only one who thinks he's just a tad overrated? His Fantastic Four was good in spots- but he's kind of all over the place... it's like he constantly forgets just what he was doing. -That's how his writing-style comes off to me anyways.
As for the Spaceknights: Cheap fodder. "We need casualties- to show the stakes are super high! Our Distinguished Competition is taking eyes out and limbs off and killing characters like a (Rub the) BloodStrike comic in the 90's! Hey- Galador means something to someone right??? We can't do shit with that ROM guy anyhow so lets just get rid of it all! MARVEL NOW!!!"
Like I said in the last post- it's a pale attempt to make old-school comic readers give a shit. -They know that basic nostalgia makes up half their demographic...
People always say- give it a chance- wait it out- see what happens- they said it with Spidey, they said it with the reboot (they're singing a different tune now, but...) ...more than likely- anyone who says shit like that has not been reading comics for 18+ years. You see the patterns- you know what they're doing. It's all happened before and it will all happen again. This industry constantly repeats their mistakes, and never learns. Editorial always trumps creative. Money always trumps fans. And us readers all have Battered-Spouse Syndrome. "I still love you, comics- I know you're sorry. You didn't mean it... I believe you- you'll never hurt me again."
I aint buying into anything new marvel even if some want a be spaceknights do come back i am not intrested .yes wishful thinking that they would bring him back.yes to wishful as if maybe they did secure the rights but not let on.Forever locked in limbo is not where he belongs and how kick ass would this marvel bizillth event would have been to pull a return like that off.
ReplyDeleteK.o.T
ReplyDeletegood analogy with that battered wife syndrome remark. Avengers #16 and Infinity #1 were the first new marvel comics i've bought in about two years now. that's the last of my money those bastards are going to hustle me out of.
Joseph
damn straight!
This blog rocks. And I am PISSED at what they did to my Spacekninghts!!!
DeleteI I figured out how to reply. :)
Deletecongratulations. in a world of constant disappointment and aggravations even the little things that work out can go a long way to making our day. as for the before mentioned disappointment and aggravation what we're talking about here is just the latest example. glad you're enjoying the blog i appreciate the kind words Mr. T.
DeleteDisappointment is an understatement. What I see is an ongoing pattern of dismantling, undoing and destroying the legacy of ROM, Galador and the Spaceknights over the years. It is sad, really, because Bill Mantlo was one of their own, and one of their best writers. He brought ROM to life for me. ROM was and still is my favorite comic book character.
DeleteIt feels kinda cruel to reintroduce the Spaceknights, which are drawn so beautifully, and than blow them all up, along with their home world in one fell swoop.
And you know what? The fist issue of Infinity has sold out, and awaits a second printing. So obviously people cared, just not in the way we did...
I hope Bill doesn't know what they are doing to his legacy and work.
Question: Is there anyway I could write to him and thank him for his work?
You know brother my neighbor actually gave me this book I haven't read it yet I recognized it because I saw your message on deviant and checked even commented but my phone log in kept glitching and wouldn't let me put my password in so I lost my post and I was too pissed and tired to go to the PC! Anyway when he gave me the book he said he was just confused by it. I told him I had just saw your blog on this I just wasn't sure if it was that issue but I see it is and your kidding me!! Thank God it was just given too me I would have been pissed if I just bought it!! Gonna sit down and read it today
ReplyDeletelet us know what you thought of the issue zhaanman inquiring minds want to know : )
DeleteWhy can't marvel get the license to publish ROM again?? Thier top creator Bendis wants to write him. What is the issue with them getting it again??
ReplyDeleteOh GODS no!!! I'd rather be ROMless FOREVER than have fuckin' Bendis do it!!!!!!
DeleteHonestly- they probably could get the rights back if they threw enough money at it- but it's not worth it for them to do so... You can check out the archive of this very blog for more on all that.
Bendis... *shakes head*
rob T - as near as we can tell Hasbro owns the rights to the ROM character but that's not 100% certain. Marvel either doesn't want to be bothered to pay up for those rights and/or Hasbro has more important things to do then dig that deep into their "attic" of red tape paper work to get that deal done. i know a couple of people who've written letters to Hasbro about that but they just got blown off. and if you really want a mind fuck check out what IDW Publishing printed in the back of a TPB earlier this year http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALieUDk_l1Q
DeleteP.S. it's probably pretty much like The King of Thessaly is saying
Hasbro or Bing Mcoy we dont know 100% what it would take but The King of Thessaly is right $ and being worth it could probaly could do it. Wonder if a online petiton would help? Probaly not money talks.
ReplyDeletei've seen several over the last couple of years and i can assure you they all fall upon deaf ears. it's never gonna happen until someone with some serious clout at Marvel and or Hasbro (or whoever owns the rights) pushes for it to happen.
DeleteHere's some food for thought....was the young man on Galador who was describing his grandfather in Infinity #1 Rom's grandson? :)
ReplyDeleteactually, i think that kid was Luke Skywalker.
DeleteIn an interview with CBR, Hickman said he has something in mind for the Spaceknights. I hope so because Infinity #1 ripped my heart out.
ReplyDeleteBleeding Cool tracks companies trademarks and copyright apps, last year they posted that Hasbro renewed the copyright/trademark and it covers toys, games and comics. I do hope to see something come of it. I would rather seem ROM back at Marvel but seeing how tight Hasbro is with IDW right now, he could show up over there.
well actually Greg, in a way IDW already has. earlier this year they published a Rom vs Mars Attacks bonus pin up page. however, this is not the result of any sort of partnership with Hasbro it basically was because IDW decided to do it and no give a shit about any licensing rights issues.
Deletemost of us have have seen that CBR article with hickman but i think we're all pretty much on the same page. that being that we find his explanation unsatisfactory and that ROM fans deserved more then what they gave us in Infinity #1. and speaking for myself i've had with the occasional table scraps of Rom homages that Marvel gives us every now and then. they're not getting any more of my money for shit like that.
Indeed, it's not just being thrown scraps, but even those scraps are burned before you even reach for them.
Deleteplus they fell on the floor and didn't get picked up again within the 5 second rule.
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