Review: Rom “Tales of the Solstar Order: Battle Scars”
Is there a more tragic space faring character than Rom, the Space Knight. I know some of you will say “Machine, have you gone nuts? What about the Silver Surfer?” I will grant you that when ensconced on Earth, the Surfer did have a level of pathos. But, since he became armed with Mjolnir, I am quite happy that the Smug Surfer has recently met his match via a couple of Thanos’s. With all that said, Rom in now the only forlorn traveller from afar. This re-presented one-shot looks to provide more misery for the Knight, who bravely defended his home-world only to lose to the Dire Wraiths.
Essentially, this is a story about how Rom used to pal about with his bestie Fy-Laa. The pair come across a living sentient globule of a planetoid, with Fy-Laa becoming somewhat attached to it. It seems that the planet kind of absorbs consciousness’s having already assimilated the Wraiths, removing their Dire elements, but leaving their desire of conquest. Now with his bestie under the globules thrall,  Rom has a choice to make, one that could cost him more than he bargained for.
Back in the day, my brother was a huge Rom fan; me, I could take him or leave him to be honest. Sure, some of the ideas were straight out of the angst driven hero play book, and despite his wins, Rom was always a better character for his loses. However, a hero that always loses, or at least who hardly wins, eventually gets a tad old. Under IDW banner, from what I have seen, things are pretty much the same. Granted, I haven’t been following all that much. This one-shot from writers Christos Gage and Chris Ryall is at its heart quite a simple story of loss and ramification, both as much a part of Rom as his Neutraliser and Analyser. The script and dialogue seem a trifle over handed for my liking as if everything needs to be explained too much. It may be that I am not the target audience, but as this book features what was once a toy line, I assume that it has been his inclusion in crossover events with/against the likes of the Transformers and G.I. Joe means that IDW are in fact aiming at a younger audience.
The art from Guy Dorian (I hope his painting is somewhere safe?) Sr. is functional, showing a pair of knights on their mission. The planetoid and the way it coalesces around Fy-Laa and ultimately the interaction with rom is good. If anything, the environment, there is only effectively one, doesn’t really allow for Dorian Sr. to really showcase his art. The pacing of the at is as heavy-handed as the dialogue. One of my all time favourite artists provides the inks for the book. In my mind, Rom co-creator Sal Buscema can do no wrong! Here, his inks are part of the whole art package, embellishing where he can, adding a thicker line in places that surprised me. Colors are provided Alessandra Alexakis who delivers a kind of painted look that suits the ambiguity of space.
Guy Dorian Sr. has dedicated this issue to Jack Kirby. I like the sentiment, even if Rom is one of the characters that The King had zero impact on. With that sentiment in mind, this book, with its dialogue and at times clunky art, is something of a throwback to a simpler age of comics. The fact that this a re-presentation of a classic Rom tale adds the that bygone vibe. Current fans of Rom, may well enjoy having their hero gain another ratchet of loss. For older fans, there is an interview with Sal Buscema amongst the extras on show.
Writing – 3 Stars
Art – 3 Stars
Colors – 3.5 Stars
Extras – 5 Stars
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Written by; Christos Gage & Chris Ryall
Art by; Guy Dorian Sr.
Inks by; Sal Buscema
Colors by; Alessandra Alexakis
published by: IDW Publishing
Author Profile
- I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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