Rom Spaceknight Issue #4 review

My local comic shop set aside the above cover variant for ROM #4 and while I think the art is ok, it is not the cover that I was hoping for. There was a neat cover done by Al Milgrom that was an homage to a cover he did for Marvel's Iron Man issue #80 that I would have preferred, but since I care more about the story inside the comic and not the cover so much, I won't throw a fit over it. :)

In this issue my previous thoughts about what becomes a twist in the story are proven to be correct. Darby is fully aware of how deceptive the Dire Wraiths are, and what seemed to be a wedge growing between her and ROM turns out to not be the case. I am trying not to spoil too much here, but ROM shows off some new skills as well as some brutality we don't normally see towards the Dire Wraiths and in my opinion, the brutality is justified. The writers of this issue have turned Darby into a spokesperson for the negative side of war, but I don't think that applies when the war is against visitors from outer space who seek world domination through deception and murder.

By the end of the issue, I can see now how the storyline leads into the ROM revolution one-shot, so I still have the complaint of why the issues of the Revolution storyline were released before ROM #4. The obvious answer is to sell comics and to jump start the other franchises interacting with each other sooner, but from this ROM fans perspective, it is a little frustrating. I still enjoyed the end of the first four issues' story arc, and I feel the return of ROM to comics has been successful, but why can't they work out the release schedule better?

Please comment with your thoughts on the ROM series so far and what variant covers you got or liked the most.

Grade: B-
 

ROM Spaceknight in IDW Revolution 1-3 Review

My comic shop only set aside the above regular edition covers for me, and while I am ok with that, I noticed that they then put some of the non regular edition cover versions of these issues on their main rack for $7.99 rather than the standard $3.99 cover price. I'll quietly laugh inside if I still see those higher priced variant covers sitting on the rack months later.

After three issues in to the Revolution mini series, I like how all the different franchises are intricately woven together in a story that is not overly complex, yet not too simplified either. I grew up liking G.I. Joe and some of the Transformers and Micronauts, but M.A.S.K. was not a cartoon I ever really cared for. I do like how M.A.S.K. is being used in this series as a way to counter the 'Cybertronians,' but it still doesn't make me want to start reading their solo comic series. Action Man gets an honorable mention, but so far he has had very little involvement in the series. Action Man plays out a lot like a James Bond type, but the jury is still out on him.

My favorite aspects of this mini series is the interaction between ROM, the Transformers, and G.I. Joe. ROM makes a great entrance in the first issue and in turn upsets G.I. Joe's Scarlett to the point she is hell bent on hunting down ROM and the Transformers.

The second issue has ROM interacting with the Transformers and my favorite part involves ROM schooling Optimus Prime on who shouldn't underestimate who. I didn't think ROM had that kind of strength in him, but I was absolutely giddy seeing an imposing Optimus Prime get a smack down from my favorite space knight. Of course Optimus shows that he can bring the smack down himself later. M.A.S.K. gets their introduction to the storyline in this issue too.

The third issue introduces the Micronauts and their involvement with this series storyline, but their introduction has been a little flat as in nothing significant happening except for exposition. Baron Karza is not that imposing of a villian, so I hope maybe that changes in future issues. ROM's and the Transformer's interaction with each other is not as exciting as when they were fighting against each other before, and ROM now has some ability to control an important substance that is at the center of this series' plot all of a sudden. This issues ends by introducing a G.I. Joe character that I was hoping to see at some point in the series, but it doesn't make up for the letdown this issue has brought to the overall story so far. Let's hope issue four picks up the excitement again.

Please comment with your thoughts on the Revolution series so far and what variant covers you got or liked the most.

Issue #1 Grade: A-

Issue #2 Grade: B+

Issue #3 Grade: C+

All the IDW Revolution with ROM Spaceknight mini-series toy package covers

With all the variant covers IDW likes to push out there, some of the variants get lost in the shuffle when searching for images on the internet. I decided I would show all the toy package variant covers for the Revolution mini-series here so you don't have to track them down amongst the sea of variant cover images out there. I also hope this is a sign of things to come from Hasbro by making actual figures of these characters again (aside from the Transformers and G.I Joe).

 I couldn't just show these toy covers without showing a toy cover of my favorite character from the series.

Stay tuned for my review of the Revolution mini-series. Please comment if you like these covers, want to see more toys from these characters, or just comment about which variant covers were your favorite from the Revolution series.

IDW ROM Spaceknight Revolution One-Shot Review

I was happy to see that my local comic shop set aside the above cover variant of the ROM Revolution one shot issue. This one was drawn by Rob Liefield and I love that it looks a lot like the classic ROM.

Well this one shot was interesting since it begins with ROM flying into Seattle, Washington with Camilla in tow. It appears to take place before the Revolution series begins since there is no sign of G.I. Joe (except for one) or the Transformers in Seattle yet in this story.

This one shot's primary purpose was to introduce a new antagonist called Axiom to the ROM universe, and we learn how Axiom came to be through a flashback. As you would expect, Axiom was engineered by Dire Wraiths, one posing as a key figure that I don't want to spoil for you, so that they can ultimately test the limits of ROM's abilities.

At the end of this one shot, ROM figures out who the Wraiths are and is off to the races to track them down, which in turn leads into the first issue of Revolution.

This issue was a little confusing at the beginning as to where this story fits into ROM's series timeline, but a tweet on Chris Ryall's Twitter mentions that the one shot comes after ROM issue #4 (which at this time of this writing, is not out yet). If it turns out that is the case, maybe this one shot, and the rest of Revolution, shouldn't have happened so quickly so the stories could play out in the order they should. That is a little disappointing, but on the bright side, I am always happy to read more ROM stories. It was nice to pick up three issues during September that had ROM stories (for the record it was ROM #3, ROM Revolution, and Revolution #1).

Please comment with your thoughts or theories about the ROM Revolution one-shot and which variant cover you got or which one is your favorite.

Grade: B-

References found in the current IDW ROM Spaceknight series (part 2)

Part 2 of me showing screenshots from movies or other comics that I feel have been referenced or homaged in the latest ROM series by IDW.

Predator:

 

In this panel from ROM issue #3, a Dire Wraith is shown camouflaged in a similar way as one my other favorite aliens, the Predator. I don't know if this is done by technology or through telepathy by the Dire Wraiths, but the effect is still very much like the Predator cloak. 

Evil Dead:

One of my favorite movies is Evil Dead 2 and I couldn't help but notice the similarity to Evil Dead's possessed trees reference in the new ROM series. The Dire Wraith possessed trees grab ROM is a similar fashion as the possessed trees had *ahem* grabbed female victims in Evil Dead.


Battlestar Galactica:

 

In the panel above from Revolution issue #1, ROM is drawn in such a way that looks almost exactly like the new Cylons from the more modern Battlestar Galactica series. Not much else to say as it looks fairly obvious to me from the above images.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers:

The comic panel above doesn't visually show how the new ROM series references Invasion of the Body Snatcher, but it does through the context of the story. The Dire Wraiths can mimic humans to the point that other humans can't detect or tell the difference.


Hellboy:

















Another of my favorite movies/comic characters is Hellboy, and I felt that the human to Dire Wraith mutation looked a lot like the Sammael creature from the Hellboy movie. Other than the slight resemblance, there really isn't any more similarities between the two. That is the modus operandi of homages or reference though, isn't it?


The Guyver & Robocop (2014):

One of my guilty pleasure movies is The Guyver starring Mark Hamill. When I saw the supersuit being developed in the ROM Revolution one-shot and the enhanced abilities it gave the wearer, I immediately thought of the Guyver and how it's suit enhances it's wearer. I see that there is a little bit of resemblance to the newer Robocop movie's Robo suit, but I felt the Guyver and it's enhanced abilities fit as a better reference.


I Come In Peace (Dark Angel):

Another Guilty pleasure movie of mine is the film 'I Come In Peace' starring Dolph Lundgren. The villain in the movie is an alien who comes to earth to suck out the adrenaline from humans because adrenaline is like a drug on his planet. I immediately saw the similarities when those cords came out of the Dire Wraiths hands in a similar fashion as the cord that comes out of the alien's gauntlet to suck out a human's adrenaline.

Please comment if you find additional references that you think I missed or if you agree or disagree with what references I found.

References found in the current IDW ROM Spaceknight series (part 1)

I thought I would try and show screenshots from movies or other comics that I feel have been referenced or homaged in the latest ROM series by IDW.

The Thing:

The new look for the Dire Wraiths are eerily similar to this image of The Thing from John Carpenter's film. I think that is awesome.

The Terminator:

In this panel, ROM looks very much like a terminator with his glowing red eyes, chrome body and giving a gesture to the seated Camilla that screams out to me, "come with me if you want to live."


They Live:

The way the Dire Wraiths can 'hide' in plain view is very similar to how the aliens in they live could hide in plain sight. ROM has come to kick butt and chew bubblegum, and ROM can't chew bubblegum, so watch out.


Marvel's Soviet Super Soldiers:

When I saw the image of some of the Solstar Order as ROM was reminiscing about his past, I couldn't help but feel that I have seen something similar to this before. While perusing the interwebs, I see that I most likely have seen Marvel's Soviet Super Soldiers before either in comic or cartoon form.


Aliens:

To me Axiom in the ROM Revolution one shot is an obvious homage to the Alien from James Cameron's Aliens. I love H.R. Giger's unique design for the Alien and it is so iconic that it gets reused (or homaged) by other artists.


Power Rangers:

I have never been a huge Power Rangers fan and I wonder if the creators of the new ROM series knew that what ROM was doing with his translator was very similar to what the Power Rangers do before they get all super-powered and combine forces.


Robocop & Iron Man:

ROM's hud is very reminiscent of Robocop's ability to assess the people or environment around him. I realize ROM's hud looks more like Iron Man's hud, but Robocop preceded Iron Man (in the movies), so Robocop gets the credit in my book.

Please comment if you find additional references that you think I missed or if you agree or disagree with what references I found. Check back for part 2 of the references I have found in IDW's ROM series.

IDW ROM Spaceknight issue #3 review

I am happy that my local comic shop set aside the above cover variant of ROM issue #3 for me, but I am a bit torn because I really like the standard cover too by Bill Sienkewicz (not sure I spelled that right).

This issue begins by showing the outcome of the cliffhanger the last issue ended on, and Camilla learns firsthand how the Dire Wraiths have existed over the years on Earth. Darby was "recovered" by a covert government agency from the hiding spot she and ROM hid in at the end of the last issue, and now Darby seemingly feels that she has been duped by ROM.

ROM and Camilla eventually meet up with Darby again, but Darby, thinking it's in her best interest, alerts the covert government agency that ROM is with her. There appears to be a gap in the story before ROM, Camilla and Darby meet and I think that's where the ROM Revolution one shot might come into play.

The issue ends on another cliff hanger where the covert government agency and Darby are transporting a restrained ROM to some government facility. Is ROM and Darby allowing themselves to be caught to gain access to the government facility and get more information, or is this an actual major setback for ROM? We'll have to find out in the next issue.

Please comment with your thoughts or theories about issue #3 and which variant cover you got or which one is your favorite.

Grade: B-

IDW ROM Spaceknight issue #2 review

The image of the cover above is the variant of issue #2 my comic shop set aside for me and it happened to be the one I liked the most.

Issue #2 picks up where issue #1 left off and we see that the Dire Wraith infestation of Darby's hometown is more than it originally appeared. There's a hint that something about Darby has kept her from being 'Body Snatched' by the Dire Wraiths and ROM is trying to convince her to help him. In the last issue, ROM had to take out pretty much all of Darby's family Terminator style because they were Wraiths and Darby is still struggling with how to accept that and ROM being an alien.

A big aha moment is the reveal of the secondary phase of ROM's Neutralizer where it looks very similar to the classic version of his Neutralizer in the Marvel series. The secondary phase of the Neutralizer doesn't just take out individual Dire Wraiths, it takes out whole blocks of Dire Wraiths. I have to admit, I was a bit giddy when I saw it happening.

In this issue, we get a brief retelling of ROM's origin including why he joined the Solstar Order. Amazingly, one of the knights of the Solstar order was a bear. ROM's homeworld is now called Elonia, which unfortunately is a far cry from the cooler sounding Galador from the Marvel series. After reading a couple issues of this new series, I believe IDW needed to make darn sure that Marvel wouldn't come knocking with any copyright infringment claims by changing things like ROM's homeworld's name and the look of the armor he wears.

ROM and Darby are eventually separated and that leads to ROM finally meeting up with Camilla. There was a panel where I swear ROM could have said "come with me if you want to live" (which would have been a neat homage to The Terminator), but that wasn't exactly the dialog used. 

The issue ends on a cliffhanger when a sorcerer like Dire Wraith and his minions get the best of ROM and Camilla by evading ROM's Analyser and holding them captive. Will ROM and Camilla escape the clutches of the Dire Wraiths? What are the Wraiths' new capabilities? Tune in next month for the thrilling answer.

Please leave any comments regarding your thoughts of IDW's ROM #2 and what cover variant you got or like the most.

Grade: B

IDW ROM Spaceknight issue #1 review

The cover above is the variant of issue #1 that my local comic shop set aside for me. While it isn't my first choice of variant covers, it has grown on me how retro and classy it looks.

I was excited to finally pry open the pages of a ROM comic after nearly 30 years since I last read a new issue of ROM the Spaceknight. The #0 issue first introduces ROM after he had just landed on Earth as opposed to seeing him crash down dramatically in the first issue of the Marvel series. Immediately we are introduced to the 'ROM is a random killer' trope when he takes down some dire wraiths disguised as humans.

Dire Wraiths now come in various shapes and sizes. Some look like H.R. Giger's Alien, some have cords that come out of their hands and suck body fluids ala the "I come in peace/Dark  Angel" film's alien drug dealer, some can manipulate living things like people or fauna, and some are just beastlike (i.e. the Wraithhawk). This variety of baddies is pretty cool, and I really love the 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' and 'They Live' movie vibe the storyline plays out.

ROM predictably ends up with a female sidekick Darby Mason (i.e. like Brandy in the Marvel series) that has a progressive twist in that she's an African American female soldier. I don't mind that as much as long as she doesn't become the predictable love interest that Brandy became in the Marvel series. Let her just be a warrior in the long run that works along side ROM.

One of the biggest aha moments in this issue is the reveal that Dire Wraiths can control plant life in addition to controlling humans. We get an Evil Dead possessed trees moment where ROM has to escape a possessed forest and then obliterate the Dire Wraith controlled fauna.

Another character, Camilla Byers, is a survivor of the first encounter between ROM and the Dire Wraiths and she is the victim of an interesting twist to the story. Having been grazed by that alien sucking cord that comes out of the hands of one of the Dire Wraiths, she is infected by something that gives her the ability to see and hear Dire Wraiths in plain sight (think of the sunglasses in the movie 'They Live'). Very cool idea that should be an advantage to ROM in future issues.

The last thing I'll mention is that the Dire Wraiths have now infiltrated Earth so much so that many government agencies are compromised. This includes the most popular Hasbro government agency, G.I. Joe. Very cool way to end the first issue with the promise of a shared universe with another popular toy of my childhood. Before anyone balks at the shared toy universe going on at IDW, remember that Marvel did the same with ROM by having cameos and interactions with many famous Marvel characters fighting with/against ROM and the Dire Wraiths.

Overall the first issue left me feeling this new series will be promising by touching on my favorite toys and storytelling genres (i.e. Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror) and I was left wanting more when I was done reading. I am highly anticipating the next issue.

Please leave any comments regarding your thoughts of the first issue of IDW's ROM #1 (and issue #0 which is included in issue #1) and what cover variant you got or like the most.

Grade: A-

Judge Minty Fanfilm

Going off topic, but this is a great fanfilm set in the Judge Dredd universe, and I think it has an even better story than the latest Judge Dredd movie, DREDD 3D.

Watch it here: http://www.judgeminty.com/

ROM Spaceknight Cameo Cover

I realize the barrage of ROM cameo covers was a bit over the top, but I can't believe in 2016 that there would be so much love for a character that is around 36 years old (if you didn't know, I am referring to ROM. Judge Dredd is about 39 years old at this point).

My favorite cover, even though this is not an actual crossover issue, is the one you see above where two of my favorite characters are facing off.