Marvel Comics has revealed the official details for the upcoming second volume of its Rom: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus.
This past May, Marvel teamed with Hasbro to reprint Rom the Spaceknight’s original comic book series for the very first time. A Rom #1 Facsimile Edition is due to arrive this September to kick things off. Rom: The Original Years Omnibus Volume 1 will follow suit in January 2024. Marvel has now announced the contents of Rom: The Original Years Omnibus Volume 2, which is itself due to hit shelves in June 2024.
Rom: The Original Years Omnibus Volume 2 collects Rom #30-50, Rom Annual #1-2, and Marvel Two-in-One #99, the latter of which includes a “pivotal storyline involving the iconic X-Men member Rogue and her mother Mystique!” The hardcover features a main cover by Bill Sienkiewicz and a Direct Market Exclusive variant cover by Mike Zeck.
ROM: THE ORIGINAL MARVEL YEARS OMNIBUS VOL. 2 HC
Written by BILL MANTLO, MARK GRUENWALD & STEVEN GRANT
Art by SAL BUSCEMA, PAT BRODERICK, GREG LAROCQUE & BOB HALL
Cover by BILL SIENKIEWICZ
Direct Market Exclusive Variant Cover by MIKE ZECK
On Sale June 2024
The Spaceknight’s Marvel stories are reprinted in Rom: The Original Years Omnibus
“Locked in an endless struggle with the Dire Wraiths, Rom’s solemn quest to eradicate them from Earth brings him into conflict with the Metal Master and his army of spiders, Mystique and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and more!” an official description for Volume 2 of the Rom omnibus reads. “The Spaceknight joins Namor to battle monsters of the deep, and Shang-Chi lends his deadly hands to thwart the Wraiths’ black magic!”
It continues, “Meanwhile, Rom’s human friend Brandy Clark is transformed, and the impending arrival of the dreaded Dweller on the Threshold may spell doom for all! It’s a cosmic epic featuring Doctor Strange, the In-Betweener, the Living Tribunal … and the human form of Rom?! Has he been freed from his armor at long last? All that, plus the Skrulls, the ever-lovin’ Thing — and a tragedy that even Rom cannot withstand!”
The original Rom toy was designed by Bing McCoy for Parker Brothers, which then licensed the character to Marvel Comics. In September 1979, Marvel launched Rom: Spaceknight (later shortened to simply Rom) from writer Bill Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema. The series wrapped up in November 1985 after 75 issues and four annuals. IDW Publishing eventually launched a new line of Rom comics in 2016. IDW licensed the character from Hasbro, which had acquired Parker Brothers in 1991.
