Rom #1 Review: Both A Hero And A Killer Robot

By Alex Widen | Jul 29, 2016

Rom—the cult toy icon of the late 1970s—once again stars in his own comic book from IDW Publishing! But is he friend, foe, or a bit of both?

Rom #1

Writers: Christos Gage & Chris Ryall

Artist/Colorist: David Messina

Inker: Michele Pasta

If you were to ask many science fiction comic book fans who one of their favorite forgotten characters was, many of a certain age might reply, “Rom.” Initially introduced as a toy by Parker Brothers in 1978, the character was licensed to Marvel Comics to produce in their own comic book series. Written by Bill Mantlo and drawn by Sal Buscema, Rom ran for 75 issues from 1979–1986, long outlasting the toy itself and becoming a lost classic for many in Generation X.

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Now, IDW Publishing has licensed the character from Hasbro to produce their own Rom comic book as part of an entire universe they wish to build among other Hasbro licenses. These include current IDW comics G.I. Joe and Transformers and upcoming ones such as M.A.S.K. Kicking all of this off is an extra sized debut issue for Rom which reprints material from May’s Free Comic Book Day issue.

Two police officers in northern California have their routine highway patrol ruined when they come across a squad of heavily trained soldiers in a specialized tank. Before they know it, they’re making first contact with Rom, a giant robot who claims to be a knight from space there to defend Earth from the Dire-Wraiths. The only problem? The Dire-Wraiths have already infiltrated Earth!

Gage and Ryall pack a lot into this thirty six page debut issue, giving readers their money’s worth in terms of establishing the premise. The perspective within the issue itself often shifts from Rom himself (and his narration) to those of humans his actions have become intertwined with. They include police officer Camilla Byers and ex-soldier Darby, both of whom find themselves the sole survivors of two of Rom’s initial battles against the Dire-Wraiths.

Rom himself has been given a sleek redesign by Messina which is still recognizable, yet vastly updated from the bulkier incarnations as designed by Parker Brothers and Buscema. The writers do their best to add complexity to the affairs by portraying Rom as an old soldier who is set in his ways, and such ways may be brutal and occasionally outdated. He does act to protect humans around him, but his primary objective is to kill all Dire-Wraiths he identifies, no matter the cost.

The Dire-Wraiths, by contrast, appear to be shape shifting alien demons compared to the advanced technology of Rom. They can assume the forms of people they kill, absorb their souls to boost their physical power, and even infest the ground and plants around them to make them weapons. They seem to have infiltrated the U.S. military as well as taken over entire towns, and are prepared to pit the resources of the U.S. and the global media against Rom.

The art by Messina is absolutely terrific. Rom’s sleek and technological weapons are contrasted greatly against the supernatural ugliness of the Dire-Wraiths. His mighty Neutralizer weapon has never looked better, while the tactics of the Dire-Wraiths has never looked more brutal and vicious. The action sequences are well paced, the backgrounds and vehicles look great, and Messina captures the full range of emotion for characters like Darby and Camilla.

Both Darby and Camilla serve their roles well as point of view characters to ease readers into the series, as well as pay some tribute to the Marvel Comics series. Unlike that series, however, it seems Rom will surround himself with heroines who are more capable of defending themselves. Both have combat training and what appear to be psychic links to the Wraiths, gained through different means. Each one is also recovering from trauma, albeit from different sources.

If there is one flaw in this opening issue, it may be IDW’s zeal to ape some of their competitors by kicking off their own long form crossover. Characters from another franchise turn up in the last page and a breathless editorial by Ryall explains the upcoming crossover as well as a secondary Rom mini series in the fall. Previous IDW series seemed to allow plenty of time for the readers to become absorbed in the world of that comic, and the crossover pitch here may be too aggressive.

Aside for that, Rom #1 is as good an opening issue for a new series as one could imagine. It offers plenty of exposition explaining the premise as well as plenty of action, and an introduction to all of the main cast. Fans of the original series as well as readers seeking some alien-blasting robot action should do their own Analyzer scan of the comic book shelves and grab this issue for themselves!