Rom #60

Nov 1984 · Marvel · 0.60 USD; 0.30 GBP; 0.75 CAD

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“The Eyes of a Child!”

★ 1st appearance — Cindy Adams

About this Issue

Rom #60 marks the first appearance of Cindy Adams, the young orphan who becomes one of the series' most emotionally resonant supporting characters — a child left devastated by the Dire Wraith invasion and taken under the wing of Rom, Starshine, and Rick Jones for the remainder of the Wraith War. The issue is also a notable entry point into the larger 1984 Marvel crossover tapestry: the snowbound train massacre that drives its plot is explicitly tied to the Casket of Ancient Winters event radiating out of the Thor title, giving the book a place in what one contemporary blogger identified as an early prototype of the 'event age' of comics storytelling. Simultaneously, it stands as one of Steve Ditko's earliest fully-realized interior issues on the series, signaling the artistic transition away from Sal Buscema that would define the final act of Bill Mantlo's long-running Wraith War narrative.

In "The Eyes of a Child!", Rom, Brandy, and Rick stumble upon a deadly train wreck where every passenger has been drained by Dire Wraiths—except for a young girl named Cindy, whose mother sacrificed her own life to sever a Wraith’s tongue, leaving the creature’s mind trapped within her. Written by Bill Mantlo and brought to life with eerie precision by Steve Ditko, with inks by Tom Palmer and colors by Petra Scotese, this haunting issue explores the fragile line between innocence and possession. The cover by Butch Guice and Tom Palmer captures the unsettling stillness of a child’s gaze that holds something far older and darker.

writer Bill Mantlo · artist Steve Ditko · inker Tom Palmer · colorist Petra Scotese · letterer Janice Chiang · cover Butch Guice, Tom Palmer

ComicBooks.com Value

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Raw (VF) $4

CGC 9.8 · 12 in census $84

CGC 9.6 · 2 in census $39*

CGC 9.4 · 2 in census $27*

CGC 9.2 none in existence

CGC 9.0 none in existence

CGC 8.5 none in existence

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CGC 8.0 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 7.5 none in existence

CGC 7.0 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 6.5 · 1 in census $20*

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Direct $2 FN $2.5 VG $3 VF+ $4 F/VF $4 FN $4.5 VF $4.5 VG · Newsstand $4.98

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History

By the summer of 1984, Bill Mantlo had been shepherding the Rom series through its densely plotted Wraith War arc for several years, and issue #60 arrived precisely as the book underwent a major creative shift: Sal Buscema, who had illustrated the series since its 1979 debut, had given way to Steve Ditko as the new ongoing penciler. Ditko's involvement was itself notable, as he had famously been reluctant to return to Marvel on any terms; editor Mike Carlin managed the transition under editor-in-chief Jim Shooter. Tom Palmer, a veteran inker with deep Marvel roots, finished the interiors, while Jackson Guice and Palmer together handled the cover — the same Guice who would debut as an inker on the very next issue, Rom #61.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Cindy Adams (Earth-616), the sole child survivor of a Dire Wraith massacre of a snowbound passenger train, who becomes a recurring supporting cast member through Rom #72.
Written by Bill Mantlo with interior pencils by Steve Ditko and inks by Tom Palmer — one of Ditko's earliest issues as the series' new ongoing penciler following Sal Buscema's departure.
Cover dated November 1984 (on-sale August 7, 1984); cover art credited to Jackson Guice and Tom Palmer.
The train massacre central to the plot is tied to the Casket of Ancient Winters crossover event then running through the Thor titles, connecting Rom #60 to Marvel's broader 1984 shared-universe publishing initiative.
Rick Jones appears as an established supporting cast member, having joined the book around Rom #54–55 after Rom and Starshine rescued him from a Dire Wraith-contaminated hospital blood supply.
Starshine in this issue is Brandy Clark — Rom's Earth companion, who had been mystically bonded to the original Starshine's armor in Rom #40 and had been fighting alongside Rom as the second Starshine.
Edited by Mike Carlin under editor-in-chief Jim Shooter; lettered by Janice Chiang and colored by Petra Scotese.
The issue was eventually collected in the Rom: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 3 (December 2024), made possible by a 2023 licensing agreement between Marvel and Hasbro that resolved years of reprint complications stemming from the character's complex toy-licensing history.