This is the third in my series of posts on comics based on toy lines that are in discussion to have films made about them. My first post looked at comics inspired by Mattel products, and my last entry focused on Mego’s 'Micronauts': relatively innocuous toys, some of which managed to become successful comic book titles. The Micronauts progression from popular toy to comic book story followed a pattern adopted by Mego that was used many times previously by Mattel and others. Like Mattel, Mego took a successful toy line and promoted it using comics. The comic I want to look at today is, in many ways, the exception to that proven rule of taking a successful toy and then using it to launch a comic book adaptation. ROM: The Space Knight was far more successful in comic book than as toy.
And it was the same person who gave life to Micronauts who also helped make ROM interesting. Bill Mantlo was a major reason why the ROM comic was so successful. Whereas, the 'ROM' toy by Parker Brothers was a failure that had to be pulled from the market after about a year, the ROM comic, mainly scripted by Mantlo, was so successful that it was published continuously between 1979 and 1986.
In those seven years it managed to completely integrate the Space Knight mythos into the existing Marvel Universe. Moreover, even after its last Marvel issue was released, the ROM saga in comics continued with stories produced by other comic book publishers. In this sense, ROM in comics resembles Transformers and G.I. Joe, and so it was probably only a matter of time before the ROM comics became as valuable as those other brands.
In fact, key issues of ROM: the Space Knight may soon be worth just as much or more than the above mentioned comics, since the main reason brands like Transformers and G.I. Joe are maintaining their value seems to be largely tied into the big budget, and for the most part bad, films they are supported by.
In the case of ROM there are also rumors that a feature film may be on the way. In contrast to Transformers or G.I. Joe films however, the ROM movie might actually be good. A big emphasis on “might”. The script for the ROM motion picture is reportedly in the works and being written by Zack Penn (‘Ready Player One’). As in the case of Micronauts - Paramount pictures has plans to release this film, possibly in 2021 after its planned Micronauts movie (see here).
If the film borrows from the Marvel comic adaptation then this can only give a boost to ROM's key comics. So which issues of ROM should you try to scoop up for a bargain before prices rise?
ROM: The Space Knight #1 (December 1979) – First ROM in comics
I’d start with this one. Now is a good time to get your hands on this comic if you haven’t already. The first issue of ROM, with scripts by Bill Mantlo and Jim Shooter and art by Sal Buscema, breathes life into the unsuccessful toy line, in the process producing a readable and interesting sci-fi comic. It was really Mantlo's input that helped make this interesting with his comic book saga about Space Knights fighting evil Dire Wraiths. This comic has been gaining in value for the last several years and is currently down in high and low grades, with a rise on mid-grade copies. Now is the time to buy. After 604 recorded sales, a 9.8 has a fair market value of $290.00. My advice: find a Near Mint raw copy and slab it.
When I was growing up, I knew of no one who had the ROM toy. G.I. Joe and Transformers seemed to be omnipresent, and I even recall owning a Micronaut or two, but the ROM doll was only known to me through the comic. One thing that made the comic appealing was that it featured actual Marvel characters fighting ROM. When was the last time you saw Wolverine in an issue of G.I. Joe? Yet, in ROM #31 we get not only the second full appearance of Rogue ‘sugar’ but also the Brotherhood of evil Mutants (including Mystique, Pyro and others). With only 40 of these on the CGC census and 9.8 graded copies selling for around $60.00 (although the last recorded Ebay sale was for $79.95, so that could be changing), this is the sleeper key of the ROM run. Currently best returns are on 9.4’s (positive + 81.1% over the last year).
