Tag: bill mantlo

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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!

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Marvel Masterworks Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider-Man Volume Two

This is a review of Marvel Masterworks Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider-Man Volume Two. I read the first volume a few years back, but didn’t review it. This Spider-Man title features the art & writing team of Sal Buscema and Bill Mantlo, although Mr. Buscema didn’t draw everything in this volume. The issues are quick reads, as are so many Marvel titles of that time period (late 1970’s).

Mr. Mantlo wrote a lot of comics, many of which I’ve read. He also created lots of characters. In two volumes of Spectacular Spider-Man, he created Razorback, The White Tiger, Carrion, Spider Amoeba, and the Hypno-Hustler. Sure, there’s a few misses (read: Hypno-Hustler), but Mr. Mantlo also created characters such as Rocket Raccoon, who went on to star in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies.

This is a normal Spider-Man title for that time period. We have shorter story arcs, and an overarching storyline involving the Maggia that percolates for most of the volume. Peter goes to California, fights a brainwashed Iceman, and then battles the Masked Marauder and his dumb android. Coincidentally, I first read about The Masked Marauder and his dumb android earlier this month in Daredevil, reviewed here, but this time the character is handled a whole lot better, because Mr. Mantlo is not pulling plot points out of his ass. We have an appearance by Daredevil and Moon Knight, and last but certainly not least – the debut of the Spider Amoeba, which to my knowledge doesn’t survive more than a single issue. This is a real shame.

Frank Miller did some of the artwork, here, which is exciting. We also have a sneaky reference to Peter Parker having sex. Since the comic creators of that time couldn’t show the characters actually having sex, they used hints and tasteful cutaway scenes, and – well – at twelve years old I wasn’t a very astute reader. I spent my first thirty-plus years reading superhero comics convinced that none of them ever had sex. My attitude can be summed up by a scene in Brian Bendis’ New Avengers run, when Wolverine refers to his son and Spider-Man says – ‘wait a minute. You’ve had sex?!’ That was my reaction, sort of, when I finally read between the lines.

This graphic novel won’t set the world on fire, but it’s a fast, fun read from an underrated writer.