Sabra by Dann Phillips!

http://dannphillips.deviantart.com/

Mozel Tov! Every body raise your glass Dann and I just had a baby. But in this case the "baby" came in the form of an upload yesterday on deviant art. Now the baby thing is because I had been pestering Dann for some untold months about doing something with Sabra. The thing is I can always draw something myself (previous post) if I really want to see it but every artist brings some different to a character or scene based on their style and imagination and some times it's just nice to see another artist's interpretation for a change. I hope you all enjoy this it certainly made my weekend.
Nothing new on the ROM front I hadn't really planned on any more postings in the foreseeable future and I'm trying not to think about the new series because I'm burnt out on it already. But since I posted this new Sabra fan art today to give it some more exposure I might as well pass along some other fan art to you. Speaking of strong female characters created by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema this is some of the best Starshine fan art out there although The Defenders cover concept doesn't make much sense to me but that aside this is pretty damn good . . .
http://michaeldooney.deviantart.com/art/Spaceknight-covers-595064323

And finally, here's a color version of that recent Acroyear vs ROM fan art piece which is over all really good although ROM's neutralizer still looks like shit. It really is the proverbial fly in the ointment as the saying goes . . .
http://mavspace.deviantart.com/art/Rom-Vs-Acroyer-591575790

March 14th update
Actually there's one more thing Ptor from The Sanctum Sanctorum gave me a heads up about a custom Torpedo that just recently sold on ebay. The seller also had this on deviant art where  he comes off as kind of an asshole but hey whatever.

Damn, What a difference some color makes for this ROM & Starshine fan art!

Pencil and inks by Jeff Slemons & colors by  Ian Sokoliswki 

The posting title pretty much says it all but in case you might want to see the uncolored version go here . . .
http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=971922&GSub=156008

Left click to enlarge

Update 7/07: We've also got a new custom spaceknight figure that turned up from Chris yesterday. With the addition of Seeker Chris now has made every final member of the Spaceknight Squadron among other spaceknights and characters from the Rom series. I believe most of those figures have been sold off but you can still view them in his deviant art gallery
http://custom777.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=0

The good ol days of comic shops in the 80s

Berkeley 1988 - 1989

Of all the comic shops I've ever been to the one that stands out as my all time favorite hands down was Comics & Comix on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley California. I discovered it by chance in the mid 80s and ever since whenever I was able to get my father to take me there it was always the high light of that weekend. It's the only comic shop I've ever been too that had two floors. The first floor had all the new comics, books, magazines, toys and lot's of anime models. I still have all my Star Blazers (Space Battle ship Yamato) model ship sets that I bought there. The upstairs had all the back issue boxes including a large number of 3 for $1 comics which was how I got introduced to many Marvel characters and titles like Nova and Kobra (DC). I also got a shit load of Shogun Warriors and Godzilla issues on the cheap from those 3 for $1 racks and I know I was able to get many of the Rom tie-in issues from the back issue boxes. I wanna say at that point I already had the entire Rom run leading up to where the series was at that point. Can't remember when was the last time I went to Comics & Comics before it eventually closed but it was probably shortly after that photo of me (on the right) and my buddy was taken.

Left click to enlarge

I did a Google search for anything about Comics & Comix a couple nights ago and came across this photo. I don't know any of those people but I do know that photo was taken on the first floor because of all the anime models in the back ground like I said they had a ton of those there. Also, I couldn't help but notice that awesome poster on the left hand side. God I love the 80s, Marvel was the shit back then. Now it's just shit.

.

Back cover stamp for 3 for $1 comics

About a year ago I picked up a copy of Incredible Hulk #256 from a comic shop in Fremont I was checking out. Talk about a blast from the past as I looked it over and discovered these stamp imprints all over the back cover. And they say time travel is just a thing of fiction, I beg to differ.


And now back to the present. This part of the posting is for all you people who think I'm being too mean and too critical of Marvel these days. In the last 13 years marvel can't seem to settle on what spaceknights are supposed to be or look like. We've seen everything from manga styled exo-skeletons to clone trooper look alike type spaceknights and finally the classic style (all too briefly!) just prior to Galador's destruction last year. And with the latest issue of Nova we get these chumps . . .

These are the "Disavowed of Galadoria" (thanks Gary). Or in other words a just a couple of hired goons. Here's a good question, if you were a semi-immortal self sustaining cyborg that can't eat, drink or fuck what the Hell value does money hold for you? Oh how the mighty have fallen both when it comes to the spaceknight order and to Marvel Comics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeQWfVf01_k

MARVEL, the good ol days and the latest bullshit

So I'm going to open up this posting with something from the past when Marvel was actually cool. I want everybody to give it up for The King of Thessaly (K.o.T) for sending me this clip art from New Warriors Annual #1 (1991). Can't believe I didn't know about this already! As you can see this Rom cameo flash back is making a reference to Rom #24, however the editorial seems to be a bit off there were no spaceknights in that issue it was only Rom himself fighting along with the Champions of Xandar against a Skrull invasion.  Hey K.o.T, was this issue one of your flea market or dirt mall questing finds?

Left click to enlarge

Moving right along, let's talk about the present, which is a not so good time for Rom fans when it comes to Marvel. I told you all a while back when Infinity #1 came out that jonathan hickman would do this. This panel which came from the recent Avengers Infinity #21 (thanks for the heads up Gary Martin Jr.) is some of the table scraps that I told you all hickman would throw to Rom fans to try and keep us on the hook.
This doesn't even make any sense. The character intro at the beginning of the issue shows a head shot of Starshine as the armor was in it's original incarnation (more or less) that we saw in Infinity#1. So why are we seeing the Starshine 2 armor (but with a pony tail) here? I don't have to tell long time Rom readers why that doesn't make any sense. And as you can see Ikon is there too which also makes no sense since they were both on Galador when it was destroyed. Is hickman gonna come up with some "creative writing" or is this just some inconsistency they didn't think anybody would catch? Whatever, hickman you're still a douche so you don't get my money on this one either.

LAST CALL! Look, speaking of douche bags don't be one and let Bill Mantlo's birthday come and go this year with out showing this great man a sense of gratitude in a way that's the next best thing to telling him in person. Even if you live on the East Coast if you can get off your ass and get a card into the mail addressed to me in the next 2 - 3 days that should still leave enough time for it to arrive before I send the whole thing to his brother.

Alright so let's end this posting on a fun note as with the latest video from The King as he shows us his extensive action figure collection along with some other things like published clip art from Marvel and DC that was so disturbing it'll have you saying to yourself "What the Hell were they thinking!?"

Left click to enlarge

Ok so one last thing here. I wrote this posting after midnight when I finally got home from work and this morning I end up finding this innovative fan art. This obviously doesn't fit a narrative of the Rom universe as we know it but then again it isn't supposed to since it's a homage piece to those old mystery and sci-fi novels of the 30s which were largely regarded by the "literary community" as pulp. But then again those are the same sorts who say that about comics and let's not even get into all the art snobs out there who think comic book art is beneath their notice. Remember I was an art major in college (multi-media) so I was around a lot of those assholes for years. Rather you like the concept or not you gotta hand it to the artist (Rob Reis) for having some serious illustration skills.

Infinity #1, Bill Mantlo, Rom & Me, New fan art, Nuff said . . .

 Well folks as you can see here Infinity #1 does have your spaceknights and Galador. Seven pages worth to be specific although rather you are happy or not with what happens in those seven pages is another matter. But since I know almost all of you will not have had a chance to pick this up until later today or this weekend I'll refrain from posting any more clip art or talking any more about what happens especially since I probably won't get a chance to give this double sized issue a thorough read until tomorrow or Friday. At that point I may post again with my thoughts on it and so on but we'll see.

 Here's something new I recently found from Dann Phillips. I like the unique nature of the scene my first thought that it's some kind of space vessel that's been talking over by Dire Wraiths that maybe was able to send a distress signal before the Wraiths got to em. Or maybe it's a Wraith warship that ROM is boarding right after he got done giving it a beating in battle. Dire Wraiths can with stand the vacuum of space as far as I know but hey, I'm just nit picking now.
Also, here's some other stuff worth looking at. It's a homage to X-Factor #1 that features a number of characters from several publishers including two from Marvel with one happening to be one silver spaceknight: http://dashmartin.deviantart.com/art/Multiverse-II-161977028
GLORIOLE! http://nikoskap.deviantart.com/art/Gloriole-392214802

Left click to enlarge

Moving right along I wanted to leave a message for Ceoria from the ROM and Me web site. So by now many of us know about your bad experience from before. But if the title of this blog is any indication that sort of bullshit won't happen here. This blog site was created to be a community of Rom fans as well as others who like comics and sci-fi to share news, art and ideas. So if you're out there I'm extending an invitation to join us here it's all good, the past is the past.

 Here's a nice photo of Bill Mantlo from last weekend with his sister in law in which she was able to get him outside of his hospital room which sadly doesn't happen very often.