Well here we go I'm happy to have discovered some new ROM fan art again so soon after my last posting. Fan art that is really well illustrated and conceptually creative as well I might add. As a kid I really liked The Black Hole but it doesn't hold up well in the here and now but never the less it's still classic late 70s sci-fi with a merchandising campaign that went well into the early 80s. Back in the day I had a number of Black Hole stuff including a couple of the figures, a puzzle and the read along record book.
I still think Maximilian was pretty bad ass and back then to a kid who was only around 8 or 9 he was so imposing and menacing. I even featured my old action figure of him in a previous posting http://romspaceknightart.blogspot.com/2017/01/shogun-warriors-13.html He was big, had the scary red visor panel and the whirling blades but in spite of all that not really a match for the greatest of the spaceknights in an actual show down.
A quick same day update here. Saw this tweet about 7 hours after I published this posting and felt like I needed to address the statement made in it. No dude, ROM is the guy in the Slemons art work. You're the fake ROM "the" spaceknight from idw. The same fake ROM that didn't make it past 14 issues and one annual where as the real ROM ran for 75 issues and 4 annuals. But all that aside thanks for posting the link.
Speaking of cool 80s memories here's a couple of gems I recently dug up from my child hood as something of a continuation from update of the previous posting. Look at all those M.U.S.C.L.S packs not to mention the G.I.Joe Mauler tanks. You can't see it well in this photo but on my left wrist I'm wearing one of the many CASIO digital watches I owned through out the decade I really wish I had kept at least one even with a dead battery.
Oh how I used to love my Castle Greyskull play set and those lazy Saturday mornings in my TRON pajamas. God bless the 80s.
Left click to enlarge
One last thing, Blade Runner 2049 comes out tomorrow although I'll have to wait to see it until this weekend for which I may add a short review (please don't suck!) to this posting. If you happen to be wondering why I have this here old cassette tape insert (love the art) from Iron Maiden's Somewhere In Time Album (1986) it's because of the band photo. If you look carefully they have one of the flying police spinners in it from the original Blade Runner film. All that aside it's one Hell of a great album.
Since this is a heavily awesome 80s themed posting and in light of the recent tragic celebrity death I gotta have something in here for Tom Petty who just passed away at 66. This video was one of those classic MTV 80s magic moments.
Ya know I gotta be honest with you guys, the vast majority of ROM fan art that turns up on twitter sucks. But once in a while something good turns up like this one from Preston Asevedo. Couldn't find the artist's name so that I could accredit it accordingly but perhaps it'll turn up later for me to update this posting. This guy has got some real illustration skills both ROM and the dog are drawn really well nothing amateurish about it. I also dig the back ground to, it's a nice touch.
It reminds me a lot of this part of ROM spaceknight #2. A good moment early in the series that helped establish ROM's humanity to the readers. Ya know how it is when you see a dog get killed in the movies or on a tv show you gotta be some kinda dick for it not to choke you up a bit. Then there's those SPCA commercials.
Thought it might be fun to throw on my ROM t-shirt and try to get an impromptu selfie with my wife's dog for this posting. She's a 12 year old corgie and beagle mix named Chevy. As you can imagine it took several attempts to get this shot ya know how it is when trying to take pictures with pets the challenge of getting them to hold still for two damn seconds. Just for the record I also like cats I used to have several when I was a kid I wouldn't mind having one today again but I'm afraid Chevy just wouldn't have it.
October 1st Update: Just got back from the San Jose Comics and Vintage Toy Show at The Santa Clara Fairgrounds where I saw this. Tell me that is not one of the funniest things you've ever seen. On a side note here I didn't run into any loose Hasbro ROM figures I was kinda hoping to just to see what dealers would be asking for it. Makes me all the more happy I snatched up the one from ebay for the straight $43.
Any body remember these little pink figurines called M.U.S.C.L.E.S? They certainly had their 15 minutes of popularity back in the 80s. Usually today you find em at collectible shows or in comic shops going for around 2 -3 dollars apiece. They usually came in a package of about 5 or 6 figures and if you can still find an intact package that can go for a pretty penny. This one in particular was always my favorite as far as I can tell he was supposed to be some sort of futuristic cop or something along those lines. I don't believe these figures had any sort of back story to speak of.
The 80s will never die. And I ain't just talkn about Cons and comic shops check out this new GEICO commercial.
