Logo by Charles Barnard

Rom, Spaceknight Revisited

Two-hundred years ago, the evil Dire Wraiths threatened the peace-loving planet, Galador. In their homeworld's darkest hour, a thousand brave, young Galadorians sacrificed humanity itself to become Cyborg Warriors, a last desperate line of defense. Though hopelessly outnumbered, these Spaceknights triumphed and pursued the remnants of the Wraith horde across the universe. Now, alone in the Enemy's mightiest stronghold, on a backward planet called Earth, one Galadorian Warrior faces his most awesome challenge.

Stan Lee Presents: The Greatest of the Spaceknights--ROM!

These are the words used to introduce the reader to Rom in the early issues of Rom, Spaceknight. They're still as good an introduction as any, but if you want more detail, visit the Comic Book section. The Rom character is based on an electronic action figure produced by Parker Brothers in 1979. Although the toy did not sell well, the Rom, Spaceknight comic book survived for 75 issues (over six years).

This site is divided into the following sections:

Spoiler Warning: There are numerous "spoilers" throughout this site for the Rom, Spaceknight and Spaceknights comic book series. If you have not read the series and wish to be surprised, I suggest you limit your surfing primarily to the Action Figure and Other Media sections. This is your only warning!

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[Skrulls! cover] 28 Jul 2008: There are currently two publications on the stands Rom fans might want to pick up. First, ToyFare #133 (September 2008), features a story in honor of Marvel's Secret Invasion event: "We Come in Peace: The 50 Greatest Alien Invasions of All Time," in which the Dire Wraiths place at #16. Second, Marvel has released a OHOTMU-like book titled Skrulls!. Written as if it was a Skrull intelligence report, it also features an entry on the Dire Wraiths. When looking for this one, note that "Secret Invasion" is what's at the top of the cover, so it's what you see on the racks. (See cover at right.) "Skrulls!" is at the bottom. Look for the "one-shot" box at the top left to help identify it. Both books have been added to the Checklist.

16 Jul 2008: Two bits of news this time around. First, back in 2005, Rom #73 appeared on a coffee table in an episode of My Name Is Earl. Details can be found on the Other Media page. Thanks to Lloyd Burr for the tip and graphic. Second, Back Issue #32, coming out in January 2009, will feature articles on both Rom and Bill Mantlo. Thanks to PTOR for the tip and link.

19 Dec 2007: There just weren't enough Rom/Mantlo fans at the Spacenite Mantlo Tribute to raise the desired funds in the silent auction, so Floating World Comics has taken the auctions to eBay. At the time of this writing, there are 34 auctions under the eBay ID, floatingworldcomics. This includes art by Walt Simonson, Fred Hembeck, Jeff Parker, and many others. There are also two, one-of-a-kind Rom T-shirts and a Thor drawing by Simonson. You can see larger views of several items at the Floating World Comics web site. The auctions end December 28th. Please bid and help support Bill Mantlo's care.

1 Dec 2007: If you're a Rom fan and you live anywhere near Portland, Oregon, you need to get to Floating World Comics in the next month! This Thursday they start, Spacenight - A Tribute to Bill Mantlo, an exhibit featuring over 100 artists' interpretations of Rom, including original Rom artist Sal Buscema! All proceeds from the show go to Bill Mantlo's care.

Also, in RSR news, the Comic section has finally been revamped so now the whole site should match. The Checklist has been given a complete overhaul, plus some updates with many more to come.

10 Nov 2007: Fred Hembeck's blog (November 9, 2007 entry) poses the question of identifying a heroine from Rom #65 who's not in costume. If you'd like to help solve the mystery, come participate in the thread at the Marvel Chronology Project forums. Update: Paul Bourcier points out that Marvel's own Official Marvel Index to the X-Men (vol. 2, #4) confirms that it's Shadowcat.

1 Nov 2007: Rom made cameos in last night's South Park episode, "Imaginationland Episode III." Two of them – I don't know how many there were – can be seen in the first two clips currently available on the South Park web site. Please note that South Park is not a show for the easily offended. Thanks to Kenny Doug of the Galador Yahoo! Group for pointing it out.

22 Sep 2007: There's two updates to the Other Media page. First, I finally found the pinball machine with a Rom-inspired robot on it. It's called Gamatron (not Galvaton, as previously listed). Also Gary Martin, Jr. provides another example of a Rom comic in film, this time from The Lost Boys.

25 Jun 2007: There are two books that arrived in comic shops last week of interest to Rom fans. First, is Marvel's Annihilation Conquest Prologue, a one-shot that kicks off the sequel to last year's Annihilation event and features the Spaceknights of the 2000 limited series. The other is Mantlo: A Life in Comics, a $7.50 biography of the writer behind Rom. Proceeds of this book go help pay for Bill's care.

19 Mar 2007: I received a note from Charles "Chip" Wallace saying he's selling his share of the original artwork from the Spaceknights series on eBay. You can find it via this search or his eBay user id which is charleswallaceart. As of 5:00 p.m. CDT, the auctions have five days left.

5 Feb 2007: Well Annihilation #6 is out and it turns out the third generation Spaceknights really aren't in it. They are limited to a cameo with Nova wondering if they survived the events of the issue or not.

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