Rom #2

Jan 1980 · Marvel · 0.40 USD

📊 ~14,816 copies sold its debut month

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“Second Coming!”

★ 1st appearance — Steve Jackson★ 1st appearance — Firefall★ 1st appearance — Archie Stryker

About this Issue

Rom #2 (titled 'Second Coming!') is the single issue that seeds the human-side machinery of the entire Mantlo/Buscema run: it delivers the first appearances of Steve Jackson — Brandy Clark's boyfriend and a recurring emotional anchor for the series — along with the Dire Wraith operative Rachel Sweet and her Project Safeguard apparatus, the governmental cover network that would drive the series' paranoia-thriller subplot for years. The issue also introduces Archie Stryker, the small-time criminal whose encounter with Rom here sets him on the path to becoming Firefall, one of the run's most tragic supporting figures and a pointed meditation on misplaced heroism. Together, these debuts cemented the book's distinctive formula: a shape-shifting-alien infiltration story filtered through small-town America, where every new face raised the question of whether they were human or Wraith.

writer Bill Mantlo · artist, inker Sal Buscema · colorist Glynis Wein · letterer John Costanza · cover Al Milgrom

ComicBooks.com Value

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Raw (Fine) $0

Flagged key issue — estimate limited by sparse sales.

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More listings for this title

VF $3.99 Direct $4 VF/NM $4.95 Newsstand $4.95 VG $5 Newsstand $5.78 FN+ $6.6 VG · Newsstand $6.98

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History

Rom #2 went on sale October 2, 1979, with a January 1980 cover date, just one month after the series launched. The book was shepherded by writer Bill Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema — assembled by editor-in-chief Jim Shooter specifically because, as Marvel Database notes, Mantlo was known for being 'always hungry for work' and Buscema was 'not too demanding,' both willing to take on a licensed property that higher-profile creators had passed on. Editor Jo Duffy and co-editor Al Milgrom (who also drew the cover) oversaw the issue; the interior art was both penciled and inked by Buscema, with colors by Glynis Wein (Oliver) and letters by John Costanza. Because the Parker Brothers toy came with almost no narrative infrastructure, Mantlo and Buscema were building the series' mythology largely from scratch with each successive issue, and issue #2 is where they first expanded beyond Clairton itself — introducing the neighboring town of Lansing and the covert government layer of the story.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Steve Jackson (Earth-616), Brandy Clark's boyfriend, who becomes a central supporting character throughout the series' run.
First appearance of Rachel Sweet (Earth-616), the Dire Wraith scientist posing as a human government operative and a key recurring antagonist tied to Project Safeguard.
First appearance of Archie Stryker (Earth-616), a former soldier turned part-time criminal, who debuts here as a minor antagonist and goes on to become Firefall; he dies in Rom #11.
First appearances of additional characters including Kevin Kraller, Senator David Carlisle, General Nolan Sutherland, and the unnamed Project Safeguard organization structure.
The issue establishes that Brandy Clark's father is named 'John' in these early issues — a continuity detail later corrected to 'Jonathan' in subsequent issues, as noted in the Marvel Database annotations.
The story moves the series beyond Clairton, West Virginia into the nearby town of Lansing, where Rom interrupts Stryker's gang robbing the Laserium Corporation and inadvertently banishes a disguised Dire Wraith — which Stryker witnesses and misinterprets as murder.
Written by Bill Mantlo, penciled and inked by Sal Buscema, colored by Glynis Wein (Oliver), lettered by John Costanza, edited by Jo Duffy with Al Milgrom as cover artist; released October 2, 1979 with a January 1980 cover date.
The issue and the full run were inaccessible in reprint form for decades due to licensing complications between Marvel and Parker Brothers (later Hasbro); Rom #2 was finally reprinted in 2024 in ROM: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 1 and again in the Rom Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years Vol. 1, both collecting issues #1–20.