Rom #38

Jan 1983 · Marvel · 0.60 USD; 0.25 GBP; 0.75 CAD

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“Suffer the Little Children!”

★ 1st appearance — Doctor Dredd

About this Issue

Rom #38 is the opening chapter of a two-part crossover that bridges two of Marvel's most distinctive Bronze Age licensed and kung-fu properties, teaming the Galadorian Spaceknight with Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, and his full supporting cast — Black Jack Tarr, Clive Reston, Leiko Wu, and Sir Denis Nayland Smith — against the Dire Wraith invasion in Britain. The issue also delivers the first appearance of Doctor Dredd, one of the vanishingly rare male Dire Wraith warlocks whose ability to wield black magic set him apart from virtually every other Wraith antagonist the series produced, making him one of the handful of individually named and recurring Wraith villains in the entire run. Dredd's debut scene — tempting Brandy Clark with the promise of merging her with the Starshine armor — sets in motion the arc that culminates two issues later in Brandy's transformation into the new Starshine, a pivotal development in the book's ongoing human-cost-of-cosmic-war narrative. As a crossover that imported the complete Fu Manchu universe supporting cast wholesale into a science-fiction horror context, the issue also stands as a late showcase of how freely writer Bill Mantlo wove licensed-character continuity across Marvel's Bronze Age line.

In "Suffer the Little Children!", Rom ventures to an English orphanage where something is terribly wrong—children are trapped in a strange trance, and their true identities are hidden beneath the guise of the Dire Wraiths. Meanwhile, in Scotland, Shang-Chi confronts a sinister coven attempting to resurrect a child’s spirit through dark means. Written by Bill Mantlo and illustrated by Sal Buscema, with inks by Akin and Garvey, colors by Ben Sean, and letters by Jim Novak, this 1983 issue features a cover by Gene Day that captures the eerie tension of the story.

writer Bill Mantlo · artist Sal Buscema · inker Akin · inker Garvey · colorist Ben Sean · letterer Jim Novak · cover Gene Day

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History

Rom was conceived as a toy by Scott Dankman, Richard C. Levy, and Bryan L. McCoy for Parker Brothers, and after the toy was licensed to Marvel, Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema transformed it into a sprawling, heavily Marvel-integrated cosmic horror serial that ran 75 issues from 1979 to 1986 — outlasting the toy line it was built to support. By late 1982, with the book deep into its globe-trotting Wraith-hunt phase, Mantlo engineered the crossover with Shang-Chi's world at what proved to be the twilight of that kung-fu character's own solo era, Master of Kung Fu having effectively ended its Doug Moench-driven run around the same time. The cover was penciled by Gene Day, with Al Milgrom also credited, and interior art is by Sal Buscema inked by Akin Garvey, the regular creative partnership that anchored the series through these middle issues; Jim Shooter served as Editor-in-Chief. Long unavailable in any collected form due to complex rights issues between Marvel and Hasbro (owner of Rom), the issue was finally reprinted in 2024 as part of Marvel's Rom: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Volume 2.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Doctor Dredd, a Dire Wraith warlock — one of the only named, recurring individual Wraith antagonists in the entire series and a rarity within Wraith society as a male capable of wielding sorcery.
First appearance of Mara, a Wraith High Witch, who is established as the sister of the Mara that Rom banished in issue #33.
Guest stars Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, along with his complete supporting cast: Black Jack Tarr, Clive Reston, Leiko Wu, and Sir Denis Nayland Smith (the latter three being licensed characters originally from Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu novels).
Story title: 'Suffer the Little Children.' Cover date: January 1983; on-sale date: October 12, 1982.
Written by Bill Mantlo; pencils by Sal Buscema; inks by Akin Garvey; cover by Gene Day and Al Milgrom. Jim Shooter served as Editor-in-Chief.
Doctor Dredd's debut scene initiates the storyline in which he manipulates Brandy Clark — using her connection to the deceased Spaceknight Starshine — into agreeing to a mystical merging ceremony, which concludes in Rom #40 with Brandy becoming the new Starshine.
The issue is part one of a two-part arc; the story concludes in Rom #39 ('Deathrise!'), which moves the action to the British Museum in London.
Reprinted for the first time in 2024 in Rom: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 2, after decades during which the entire series was unavailable in collected form due to rights complications between Marvel and Hasbro.