So I read a rumor-blurb over at seibertron.com about the future Transformers animated series but it wasn't the Transformers stuff that remotely got my interest.
Now that Hasbro is making Marvel toys, look for a renewed relationship with Marvel Comics on that front as well. *ahem*ROM*cough*Three letters.
R-O-M.
ROM!
ROM: Spaceknight was one of my favorite Marvel comics as a kid. It lasted for years and was a thousand times better than the lame ass toy it was based on.
Bill Mantlo was able to make some great comic sci-fi and build an entire mythos around a silly toy.
It sucks, because like other licensed comic properties such as Marvel's Micronauts, the comic company doesn't own the likeness or even name(s) of the licensed property. They own all the other characters created for the series and this has resulted in very sad situations when the licensing agreement ends.
The Micronauts (the licensed name) can't be be used in Marvel comics so the Marvel-only characters have reappeared as the Microns. Acroyear, a pivotal character, cannot even appear or be named. Biotron and Microtron, two major roboid characters, can never grace the page either.
So you go from a long running awesome series to a pointless new series with only the licensed properties and it can't have any of the nostalgia or love that existed in the original property.
ROM suffered from that too.
Marvel tried to do a ROM mini-series without the character of ROM just called Spaceknights a few years back and it was mediocre at best. Not that ROM could ever be a best selling title or anything but it really all derives from Bill Mantlo's comic creation.
What's funny is I can't say I have any fond memories of the Marvel-only Transformers-related stuff.
I couldn't stand Circuit Breaker and on the whole, I find the Marvel comics an unreadable and very poorly illustrated mess.
However, I'm all for fully incorporating Buster Witwicky into a combined continuity and if I had the opportunity, I'd throw in the ultra-rare "brother" Butch!
build-a-wraith. the michelin man like qualities would also lend themselves well to a quick and easy retooling into the depowered blob.
Although this sounds a bit presumptuous on Seibertron's part I welcome the possibility. A Marvel Legends style ROM would be incredible. I knew if I stayed true to ROM my fandom would be rewarded 27 years later with an official figure!
Man I took so much crap in grade school for being a ROM fan. While my comic friends were heavy into the mainstream titles like Spider-Man and X-Men in the mid eighties, the only titles I collected regularly were ROM, Iron Man and Transformers. At least it was never hard for me to get back issues on the cheap. I was a 25 cent box kind of guy.
I did lose interest with the series when it turned into a big mushy love story. Heck I was a kid-I didn't like girls. Those early issues when the other characters in the Marvel Universe thought he was some kind of mysterious vigilante serial killer robot were awesome, though. He was Terminator before Terminator came out. In fact I remember as a kid seeing the end of Terminator where they reveal it was a robot and thinking it was at least partially based on ROM.
Speaking of Bill Mantlo (who is responsible for MANY of the comics that made my childhood happy), there's a benefit book being put together for him over at http://www.sleepinggiantcreations.com/sgc-mantlo-main.html
He was injured and suffered head trauma, so he's now in his family's care. Any fans who want to cheer the man up with letters of support, Christmas cards, prayers, etc. can send them c/o his brother Mike at:
MIKE MANTLO
425 RIVERSIDE DRIVE
APT 12-E
NEW YORK, NY 10025
Bill's work with Michael Golden on the original 11-issue Micronauts storyline is arguably one of the best self-contained comic book adventures EVER. I haven't read much of Rom, but now you've got me curious.
--Claude Flowers
The Adventures of G.B. Blackrock, International Oil Tycoon!
Coming soon to a comic and action figure line near you! ;)
"GB Blackrock wages battle to destroy the evil forces of. . .
. . . Donny Finkleberg?"