Rom #24

Nov 1981 · Marvel · 0.50 USD; 0.50 CAD

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“No Place Like Home!”

About this Issue

Rom #24 serves as the definitive resolution of the long-running Skrull-Xandar War, a dangling plot thread that had wound through the Nova solo series and Fantastic Four before being left unresolved for years. By steering Rom through Xandarian space and pairing him with Richard Rider, Bill Mantlo wove together two separate Bronze Age cosmic corners of the Marvel Universe in a single issue, paying off continuity that readers had been waiting on since the late 1970s. The issue's ending — stripping Nova of his powers and returning him to civilian life on Earth — closed out a major chapter of the character's Bronze Age history and set the stage for his later New Warriors revival. As a two-front narrative (cosmic adventure in space, supernatural dread at home in Clairton with Torpedo), it exemplifies the structural ambition that made Bill Mantlo's Rom run stand apart from its toy-licensed origins.

In "No Place Like Home!", Rom journeys to the long-lost planet Galador in a borrowed Skrull ship—only to find it gone. Instead, he teams up with Nova and Powerhouse on Xandar, where they’re fending off a Skrull invasion, before a mysterious cosmic shift reunites him with his home. Written by Bill Mantlo and Mark Gruenwald, with dynamic art by Sal Buscema, Joe Sinnott, and Al Milgrom, and a cover by Al Milgrom, this 1981 Marvel classic blends interstellar adventure with a heartfelt return, all in a 50-cent comic that captures the era’s bold spirit.

writer Bill Mantlo · writer Mark Gruenwald · artist Sal Buscema · artist, inker Joe Sinnott · artist, inker Al Milgrom · colorist Ben Sean · letterer Jim Novak · cover Al Milgrom

ComicBooks.com Value

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Raw (Fine) $3

CGC 9.8 · 18 in census $79

CGC 9.6 · 7 in census $31

CGC 9.4 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 9.2 · 4 in census $20

CGC 9.0 · 3 in census $20*

CGC 8.5 · 1 in census $20*

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CGC 8.0 none in existence

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CGC 5.5 none in existence

CGC 5.0 none in existence

CGC 4.5 none in existence

CGC 4.0 none in existence

CGC 3.5 none in existence

CGC 3.0 · 1 in census $20*

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VG+ $1.6 VF $1.73 Newsstand $1.95 Newsstand $2.24 VG+ $2.9 VG $2.9 FN $2.97 VG $3

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History

Rom #24 (November 1981, on-sale August 11, 1981) was written by series regular Bill Mantlo with research contributions from Mark Gruenwald — then an assistant editor at Marvel and already renowned across the bullpen for his encyclopedic continuity knowledge — whose involvement helped Mantlo accurately thread together the Nova Corps and Xandar mythology. Sal Buscema penciled throughout, inked by Joe Sinnott and Al Milgrom, with coloring by Ben Sean, lettering by Jim Novak, and editing by Al Milgrom under editor-in-chief Jim Shooter. The issue was part of a sustained creative peak for the series, following closely on the X-Men crossover of issues #17–18 and the introduction of Torpedo (Brock Jones) in #21–22.

Trivia · 7 facts

Written by Bill Mantlo (plot/script) with Mark Gruenwald credited for research; art by Sal Buscema (pencils), Joe Sinnott and Al Milgrom (inks), Ben Sean (colors), Jim Novak (letters); edited by Al Milgrom.
Story resolves the Skrull-Xandar War, a multi-year Marvel cosmic subplot that had its roots in the Nova solo series and Fantastic Four issues from the late 1970s.
Nova (Richard Rider) and Powerhouse (Alex Power) appear as Xandarian defenders who initially mistake Rom — traveling in a Skrull saucer borrowed from the Fantastic Four — for an enemy.
At the issue's conclusion, Richard Rider is relieved of his Nova powers by the Xandarians and teleported back to Earth as a civilian, closing his Bronze Age Nova career until New Warriors #1 (1990).
The Fantastic Four (Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, The Thing), Iron Fist, and Power Man appear in flashback cameos, grounding the space adventure in Rom's prior Earth-based continuity.
A parallel subplot set in Clairton, West Virginia, continues the Torpedo (Brock Jones) storyline and the Dire Wraith fog-plague threatening the town's residents including the Clark family.
Reprinted in Rom: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 1 (Marvel, 2024), which collected the series' early run including issues #1–29.