Rom: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Volume One

 This is part one of a review of Rom: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Volume One. Because this is a longer graphic novel (thirty issues), I’m going to review it in two parts. One of my goals for the New Year is to read longer material. I started reviewing graphic novels in 2023 because at this point in my life I have trouble finishing longer books. Reading two issues per day isn’t a lot of work, but it’s additive. In 2023, I read and reviewed fifty-four graphic novels.

On to the review. Rom was a toy released by Parker Brothers in the late 1970’s. The toy company went to Marvel, who have written material for properties such as The Micronauts, Planet of the Apes, and G.I. Joe, for help in fleshing out the character. Writer Bill Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema filled in the blanks, and the rest is history.

Rom is a Spaceknight, hailing from the planet Galador, and he’s fighting a war against the evil Dire Wraiths. The Wraiths are shape-changers like Skrulls, but they depend on magic as much as science. They’re written as being evil with a capital ‘E.’ In one of the first issues, they shoot a dog. They let a man die on the operating table. You get the idea.

Rom – who has been pursuing the Dire Wraiths for two hundred years – crash lands on earth. He sets foot in West Virginia, and is almost run off the road by Brandy Clark, his future love interest. Rom uses his analyzer to determine that Brandy isn’t a Dire Wraith. When Brandy sees Rom seemingly kill humans, she’s a tad upset, but Rom explains to her that they are actually Dire Wraiths in disguise. He isn’t killing them, but banishing them to Limbo with his Neutralizer.

I am guessing the banishing to Limbo bit has to do with an edict Jim Shooter, the editor-in-chief of Marvel at the time, made about Marvel heroes not killing. This is used to great advantage here. Rom’s Neutralizer banishes the Dire Wraiths to Limbo, but to human eyes it looks like he’s killing human beings. All that’s left of the Dire Wraiths is a pile of ashes. Nobody believes Rom but Brandy and her boyfriend, Steve.

Rom, Brandy, and Steve soon become enmeshed in a bizarre love triangle. Rom is a cyborg; his nervous system has been bonded to his armor. This makes him very powerful, but since he’s partly human he’s also very, uh, lonely. Unfortunately, at this point he’s mostly robot. Rom soon falls in love with Brandy, who senses Rom’s noble spirit, and Steve doesn’t like any of it. Unlike Rom, Steve has a functioning penis, so you’d think there wouldn’t be much suspense as to how this love triangle ends, but appearances can be deceiving.

I stopped reading when Brandy is about to marry a Dire Wraith disguised as Steve, and Rom strides into the church. Sort of like that scene in The Graduate, except instead of Dustin Hoffman a eight-foot silver robot bursts into the church. Anyway, really good stuff. Highly recommended.

Part Two coming soon!