Rom Annual #2

History

The issue was produced by the regular creative team of writer Bill Mantlo and penciler Sal Buscema — the same duo who launched the series in December 1979 after Marvel licensed the Parker Brothers toy — with inking by Ian Akin and Brian Garvey and coloring by Barry Grossman (credited under the pseudonym Ben Sean). Editorial oversight fell to Ralph Macchio, with Jim Shooter serving as editor-in-chief. The oversized annual format gave Mantlo the room to introduce six new characters simultaneously while simultaneously delivering a standalone cosmic action story, something the monthly 22-page format could not easily accommodate. The cover, by Bill Sienkiewicz — who contributed his distinctive painterly style to several Rom covers during 1983–1985 before moving on to become the signature cover artist for New Mutants — is among the most visually striking single images associated with the series.

Trivia · 7 facts

• First appearance of the Spaceknight Squadron as a team, and individually of Vola (Trapper), Plor (Pulsar), Tarm (Seeker), Skera (Scanner), Raak (Breaker), and Unam (The Unseen) — six of the seven named Spaceknights cataloged for this issue debut here.
• Story title: 'To Save a Spaceknight!' Written by Bill Mantlo; penciled by Sal Buscema; inked by Ian Akin and Brian Garvey; cover by Bill Sienkiewicz; edited by Ralph Macchio; editor-in-chief Jim Shooter.
• The 40-page story is structured in two acts: pages 1–14 follow Rom alone on Wraithworld roughly 200 years in the past; from page 15 onward, the Prime Director dispatches the newly assembled Spaceknight Squadron to find and rescue him.
• The plot hinges on a Dire Wraith sorcery trap: after Rom systematically banishes every Wraith he encounters on Wraithworld, the Wraiths conjure an illusion that makes him see Wraiths everywhere, driving him into a continuous firing loop from which only Unam (The Unseen) — stepping forward defenseless — can talk him back to sanity.
• First appearance of the Eldritch Energy-Scanner as a named item in the Marvel Universe (Earth-616), used by Scanner/Skera to detect Rom's Neutralizer energy signature on Wraithworld.
• Colorist Barry Grossman is credited under the pseudonym 'Ben Sean' — a long-running pen name he used throughout his Marvel work of this era.
• Reprinted in full in Rom: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 2 (Marvel, 2024), the same volume that also collects Rom #30–50, Rom Annual #1, and Marvel Two-in-One #99, marking the first time the issue was widely available in collected form since its original printing.

Cast · 14 characters

Full credits

Key issues in Rom Annual

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#3 1st appearance — Icarus

Variants (2)