ROM spaceknight 65 tribute sketch card and Sal Buscema in Comic Book Fever

After nearly a year delay the over sized hard cover COMIC BOOK FEVER from Twomorrows Publishing (Back Issue Magazine) finally came out. And thanks to Gary again who's already got his copy we now know about the ROM related stuff in it. It has me feeling kinda sentimental which in turn is bringing out my creative side after it's been on a bit reclusive in recent weeks. Aside from that doing something with ROM and Iron Man has been on the back burner for quite a while.

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Getting back to Comic Book Fever, it's compilation of the comic book industry from the mid 70s to the mid 80s and it includes a 3 page chapter devoted to ROM. One page is just a splash page with the doll with star field background but the other two pages are editorial and include some clip art from the original series. The information for the most part is redundant although it also has some new commentary from editor Joe Duffy about her experience with working on the original ROM spaceknight series.

Now ROM does turn up in other sections of the book and it was a chapter on Sal Buscema where I found the most interesting ROM related information. When it comes to the behind the scenes talk in regards to the original series the most interesting thing to me has always been what effected me the most as a fan and reader back in the day. And that is, Sal's departure from the series which gave way to a very low point in the art work on the in the series. The quote seen above seems to suggest that Bill Mantlo and Sal may have had some creative differences very early on in the series which ultimately came to a head a few years later. Just imagine if Sal had penciled ROM spaceknight 65 it would have made the wraith war conclusion so much more epic. You can preview some of what's inside of Comic Book Fever here . . .
http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=95_94&products_id=1195

August 28 update: I noticed a copy of the 2nd issue for the IDW ROM in name only series and while I was browsing through it a certain familiar name got my attention. By April of this year my enthusiasm for this new series was buried under 50 feet of shit in a casket made out of utter dismay and disappointment. But I'm still going to post Gary's letter because it's his birthday today and he's also such an all around stand up guy. Happy Birthday Gary and welcome to the published letters club.

Well isn't that cool BACK ISSUE Magazine printed one of my letters again

BACK ISSUE Magazine 88 letter column

Big thanks to ROM curator Gary Martin Jr. for finding this in the letter column of BACK ISSUE Magazine 88 (May 2016). I had actually forgotten about having written this letter which as you can see was in response to BACK ISSUE Magazine 82 which had a long article about the Secret Wars series both I and II (see blog link below). Ironically I had picked up issue 82 because that issue had a letter of mine in it as well which was feed back from yet an earlier issue featuring The Micronauts. Unfortunately all print copies of issue 88 are sold out so for now I won't be able to get a copy to add to my growing collection of comics and magazines that have my letters published in them. I didn't have any luck on ebay either that blows.
http://romspaceknightart.blogspot.com/search?q=back+issue+magazine

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August 20th Update: Just found this Spanish language cover art for ROM 72. Aside from the obvious (spanish and not english), notice some other differences from the original? The left hand corner art has the Beyonder instead of ROM and instead of the little Secret Wars logo dog eared in the opposite corner they have a tag line running along the bottom. For those of you who don't have a copy of the original here's a link for a quick reference to compare...
http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Rom_Vol_1_72

My Spacenotes and Micromail in BACK ISSUE Magazine 82

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So yesterday I was in downtown Berkeley with some friends and I needed a mental break from all the gibberish they were talking so I slipped into a near by comic shop I like to frequent when I happen to be in the area. By chance I thumbed through a copy of BACK ISSUE Magazine #82 (Aug. issue) just for the heck of it and decided to buy it because it had some articles about the original Secret Wars I and Secret Wars II (with plenty of ROM & Micronauts references) series that looked pretty interesting. Plus I wanted something to read it didn't look like there was gonna be shit on TV last night.
Well imagine my surprise when I got to the letters page toward the end of the evening and found my letter there although I don't remember entitling it "Mantlo Booster" I think that's something they added. Plus it seems like they also may have tweaked my letter a bit to. In fact I had totally forgotten about the letter altogether seeing as I wrote and sent it back in December 2014 in response to a Micronauts article for BACK ISSUE Magazine #76 published October 2014. As far as published letters go this is the second one I've discovered this year back in May I learned about a 2012 Avengers Academy issue that printed my letter as well. Ironically I was giving them shit about some Avengers Academy issues which were written by Christos Gage who is slated to co-write the 2016 ROM series.

BACK ISSUE Magazine #82

Rather big or small BACK ISSUE Magazine once again showing they don't give a shit about copy rights issues when it comes to printing ROM. As many of you know there have been a number of reprinted material over the years in which Marvel removed ROM's likeness including in a color version of this poster art.

All the ROM and Micronauts stuff aside there were some pretty interesting topics in those articles being discussed. Apparently there was some kind of "disconnect" in the deal between Mattel's Secret Wars toy line and Marvel Comics. Ever wonder why Mattel came out with accessory toys like The Doom Roller or Captain America's Turbo Cycle which were never in the series? Or better yet why did they never make any figures of any female characters like She-Hulk or Enchantress? Or why would they make a figure for Kang who was "killed" off by issue #4 but never a HULK figure who was pivotal through out the series? Not to mention the figures that Mattel made like Daredevil, Iceman or The Constrictor who were never in the series in the first place. It's funny according to the Secret Wars article the comic book series was a huge hit which I certainly remember being the case back in the day but apparently the toys line was some what of a marketing failure much like the Parker Brothers ROM spaceknight doll. That certainly wasn't my impression at the time I had a few of the figures and they seemed to be fairly popular at the time although not quite as much as Masters of The Universe, G.I.Joe or The Transformers. However, just like the ROM doll the Secret Wars action figure line have become highly sought after collector's items especially the ones still in their original packaging.

Easter eggs and the debunking of Marvel's latest retarded ROMless ventures

So here we have a panel containing some Easter eggs from the 1998 Fantastic Four X-Men crossover annual which I'd never heard of until Gary Martin Jr. "a Rom curator" (thanks Gary) sent this my way. Just to be clear the Easter eggs were placed in this panel just for shits n' giggles it makes no sense from a story stand point that ROM's neutralizer and anal-yzer would be in this store room on Earth years after the events of the ROM spaceknight comic book series.

Most of you have heard of this Venom spaceknight crap by now. Even if there's any sort of ROM related continuity to it which I doubt, I assure you it'll be as irrelevant as the brief Hybrid appearance or that "Disavowed of Galadoria" (renegade spaceknights from Nova 15 vol. 5) crap from last year. It's much to do about nothing as I'm sure will be the rumors about a new spaceknight mini-series (see previous posting). I hate to be Mr. Doom and Gloom here folks but the decision makers at both marvel and hasbro thus far have shown no real interest in ever resolving the insufferable rights issue which means cool fan art and some uncovered treasures from the past are mostly all we're ever going to have to look forward to. However . . .

Can you find the ROM Easter Egg on this cover?

On some what of a high note we do have something coming from a publisher that has not been one to shy away from printing ROM's image in the last year or so (legal issues be damned!). As if October wasn't a long enough wait as it is the release date for this has now been pushed back to December (sigh). Anyways, I would urge you all to take a few moments to read the synopsis of this book and why ROM fans and in general fans of Marvel Comics from the mid 70s to mid 80s should look forward to it.
http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=133&products_id=1195&zenid=df6urmb7iptt78l6qbbidkrq82

July 10th Update:
For those of you getting all excited about the alleged IDW Publishing advert for ROM & The Micronauts in 2016 you might want to take a cold shower for now. There's some things you need to consider first. See the opening remarks in the comments section.

July 13th Update:
Believe me folks the irony of this news from IDW coming on the heels of this posting about a gloomy forecast for ROM return prospects is not at all lost on me : ) But now that we know it's not a hoax I have 2 words for IDW . . "good luck" . . to be followed up with 3 words . . "don't fuck up". Although it appears I may have been a bit too harsh with Hasbro over the last year about they're efforts to facilitate his return in comics I still think their ROM heromugg doll blows. As for marvel, fuck you and your no ROM having supposed upcoming spaceknight mini-series no one gives a shit about that any more then they do about your lame ass Venom spaceNOT garbage. On this blog marvel is a Persian messenger and I'm the King of Sparta.

Lesser known licensed properties of the 80s

A big thanks to Michael Mantlo for sending me this photo from this weekend's visit to Bill. As you can see I sent a copy of my ROM Micronauts holiday fan art to Michael just in time for him to have it for what was then the upcoming visit to Bill. It's so cool to think that the same guy who wrote the entire ROM series along with so much other great stuff for Marvel during the 80s is enjoying something I drew that's based on his prolific career. As you all know Bill had a knack for writing comics based on toy lines but let's have a look at a couple of toy based titles Bill didn't write that are worth having a second look at . . .

Another big thanks to the lovely and ever charming Randomnerd for loaning me her Crystar series. I've already read the issues I used to have and it's been a real joy reading them now as opposed to when I kinda sorta did in my early teens. They're actually pretty well written and ofcourse in general it's great to now be able to read all 11 issues of the series. Written by Jo Duffy by the way, you all should know of her aside from her career in Marvel Comics I've also posted about her here because of her editing work on ROM spaceknight.

And on the same day I got Random's Crystar collection so also arrived the 3 issue mini-series of The Power Lords from ebay. Ever since I coincidentally found issue one at a flee market last summer I've been wanting to read the other two issues again.  Back in the day (1983) I used to have issues 2 and 3 and shortly there after as a random gift selection my mother had gotten me a few of the figures for X-Mas. I think as far as the comic goes the big selling point for me back then was the inherent intriguing visual nature of the characters which I think Mark Texiera's dynamic pencils really brought out the best off.

In terms of the story and dialogue it was largely what one might expect from a toy based mini-series of the early to mid 80s but it wasn't a bad read in the here and now and it still brought back some good memories. But at the same time I think Mantlo and Duffy would have done more justice to it. The Power Lords franchise has earned a place in the 80s vintage toy arena despite it having been some what less then a success back then but like with Crystar I'll always have a bit of a soft spot for them.

Jan. 12 update: Gary, I don't know how you find this stuff! What a fantastic article this 2009 #32 of Back Issue magazine has about the Al Milgrom alternate ROM #1 cover art as well as on Bill Mantlo and the business of comic book titles based on licensed properties. So now we know where that "mock up" in my Jan. 1st posting came from.You can read a digital copy online at the link below . . .

http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_54&products_id=735

But here's just a sample to whet your appetite . . .

But regardless of which cover you prefer thank the Gods of Galador the cover art for ROM #1 was never this version it almost makes the cover art for the ROM remix project look good . . . http://sanctumsanctorumcomix.blogspot.com/search?q=rom+1

Superskrull vs ROM and Captain Mar-vell variant homage fan art

By Nick Baldwin

Just when I think I can go on a hiatus or other wise let this blog sit idle something else comes along that warrants a posting. In this case we have something that turned up yesterday on deviant art that was actually inspired by some of my own fan art
http://csuhsux.deviantart.com/art/ROM-and-Captain-Marvel-vs-The-Super-skrull-482864758 Rather you want to consider this some variant fan art or more of a homage it's just all around cool and one Hell of a compliment.

And the cool new fan art just keeps on coming! This one by a Brazilian artist turned up on deviant art this very morning check out the full image
http://victorhugo.deviantart.com/gallery/#/art/ROM-the-Space-Knight-493069320?_sid=41595fad

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Nov. 8 Update: I found myself with a surprising amount of free time on my hands today so I decided to take a jaunt up to the radical left wing shit hole (where soda now costs more then pretty much any where on the fucken planet) known as Berkeley. There's a comic shop up there I wanted to look around at and they happened to have had an October copy of BACK ISSUE! Just read the Micronauts article last night it had a couple of cool extra stuff too as you can see above but it was basically an expanded version of the Micronauts chapter of the Bill Mantlo: A Life Time In Comics tribute magazine.

Nov. 9 Update: Ever since I first published this posting it seems like something else keeps turning up one way or another so here's yet another update. Another fellow over at Deviant Art took it upon himself to color this already. For those of you who don't have an account with Deviant Art just get one already it's free and it only takes a few minutes to set up. You can see the original full size art work here . . .
http://smackos101.deviantart.com/art/Super-Skrull-vs-Mar-Vell-and-ROM-493462919

Nov. 10 Update: It just seemed to be raining ROM fan art over at deviant art last week here's another one I recently discovered it's definitely worth having a look at . . .
http://csuhsux.deviantart.com/art/Rom-The-Space-Knight-493498486