The comic expanded on the simple premise that Rom was a man who gave up his humanity in order to become a powerful robot - A Space Knight. His new powers allowed him to fight his planet's greatest enemy, the shape shifting Dire Wraths. After the Wraths were victorious, Rom pursued them across the galaxy eventually landing on Earth. He was part of a League of Space Knights, each with their own unique powers and abilities but ROM was the greatest of them all.
The comic gave him contact with the rest of the Marvel Universe. It made Rom the most perfect co-star comic because he could easily slip into any conflict and fight with any character. Eventually the entire Marvel Universe joined his Crusade and the Dire Wrath were defeated after 66 issues and ROM found his lost humanity so the saga had an beginning, middle and end. That was rare in series comics. The legend Steve Ditko actually returned to Marvel after many years in seclusion to illustrate the later books in the run. So even that psycho was inspired by the story of a savior from the stars. He is the one Marvel character that needs to be part of the Guardians of the Galaxy more than anyone.
The greatest part of ROM is that he started as an electronic robot toy from Parker Bros, the makers of Monopoly. The toy company approached Marvel to do a comic based on the character and a legend was born. This toy is my HOLY GRAIL figure Mint in a nice box with electronics that still work is the dream. I won't order him online lest I get an empty box. I want to hold him and hug him and call him ROM.
Big thanks to Brother Schlomo from http://romspaceknightart.blogspot.ca/ for finding this gem for me.
I was pure geek even back then. I wrote a few letters to Marvel over the years but only this one and one from Iron Man # made the cut. Or maybe I was the only one who wrote and they needed to fill the letter page with something, anything.
This letter was my introduction to a nice guy living in a V.A. Hospital in the states. He was a Vietnam vet and was dying of cancer. He mailed me a short note and we wrote each other for a year until he passed on. With his last letter he sent me a package with the first 35 issues of ROM in mint condition. I never thought he remembered my letter but obviously he did because it was included with his final package. One day I need to dig out all our letters and share some of them to thank him properly for the friendship he gave me during those years when there was no internet to talk comics or toys about. For the first time I didn't feel like such a freak for liking what I liked.
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4 comments:
I love that story about your letter to Marvel and the resulting friendship with the Vietnam vet.
It was a very cool part of my life when I was in high school and before the Internet.
Nice going on that letter for sure. Life can produce some rewards at times. Good memories. Wow,35 mint ROM comics. He was a hell of a guy.
And that's, without a doubt, the coolest action figure ever produced in this Galaxy.
Isn't it. The electronics alone are unique even today. Sure some figures light up and talk like my two huge Galactus figures but nothing like this guy. And this was the late 70s.
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