In the late 1970s through the 1990s, Marvel Comics worked on many licensed comics, largely for toy properties and children’s cartoons. From their hit 108-issue Star Wars run in 1977 to defining the major characters and narratives for both G.I. Joe and Transformers, Marvel became a noteworthy idea mill, leasing out major talent to work on developing concepts and building brands.
Though it seems more than a little bonkers these days, a good deal of these licensed comics crossed over into the central Marvel continuity – Godzilla: King of Monsters terrorized the Champions and Spider-Man met Megatron. These characters stood to become major players in a universe that did not own them.
Marvel
This means that these characters could have formative stories tied to them that later had to be excised from the Marvel continuity. One noteworthy example is a Conan crossover with the X-Men that is prevented from being reprinted during Conan’s periodic moves to other publishers.
Another example might be nearly everything that occurred in the 75 issues of Rom.
These Michael Golden covers rule.
Marvel
When Parker Brothers approached Marvel with Rom the Spaceknight, the electronic toy didn’t have a narrative leg to stand on. What writer Bill Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema created slowly integrated the larger Marvel Universe so heavily that Rom’s chief antagonists, the magical aliens known as Dire Wraiths, began to crop up in issues of Avengers and Uncanny X-Men; they even appear in X-Men classic Lifedeath.
In the early issues, such as those collected in Rom Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years vol. 1, Mantlo and Buscema barely dip into the Marvel Universe, though there are some minor appearances from Jack of Hearts and a two-issue X-Men crossover. The mythology surrounding Rom, his fellow Spaceknights, and the Dire Wraiths is sparsely sketched as the creators struggle to define what the book – and the property at large – are about. The book can’t quite establish a tone – is it horror, is it straight scifi? Should there be haunted houses, as with the Strange Tales-sourced abode seen in issue #5, or should the book delve into Cronenbergian body horror, as with the horrible human/Dire Wraith Hybrid?
Marvel
These first 20 issues are charming and promising, though they are rarely astonishing. Rom’s human pals – Brandy Clark, the first person of Earth to lay eyes on him, and her mopey boyfriend Steve Jackson – lack inspiration, only gaining life and autonomy as the book discovers itself. Rom is himself a bit flat, a vague moral paragon with a singular focus and little character flexibility.
Still, the book is markedly ambitious – its two creators (and editor Jo Duffy) are clearly invested in making this book sing. Backup stories work to establish the history of Rom’s Spaceknight order; the Dire Wraiths begin to develop more frightening depth. Even after the Rom action figure faltered and tanked, the Rom comic committed itself to quality and expansion.
Marvel
Rom Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years Vol. 1 shows glimmers of why the character became so beloved and influential. Even decades after these issues, long after the license with Parker Brothers dissolved, the book’s legacy continued to touch the Marvel Universe. Like no other toy-licensed book (except, perhaps, Micronauts), Rom’s legacy lasts. The Spaceknights were a part of the post-Civil War Initiative, for example. An unnamed Rom himself appears in the Earth X saga. This book brings that legacy home.
Like no other toy-licensed book, Rom’s legacy lasts. Read More