Rom Epic Collection 4: The Original Marvel Years 4

Continuing the complete collection of Rom’s classic adventures in the Marvel Universe!

The female Dire Wraiths hiding in Earth’s midst are even more deadly than the males, and now they’re taking charge of the invasion! That’s bad news for Rom, who is still coming to terms with Brandy Clark’s transformation into the golden Spaceknight Starfire! But it might be even worse for the super hero known as Torpedo! Tensions mount further when a crew of Skrulls arrive with their own vendetta against the Dire Wraiths! It’s a good thing Rom has allies in his noble fight — including Ant-Man, Alpha Flight and the New Mutants! But when the Spaceknight meets the Incredible Hulk at last, what impact will Rom’s Neutralizer have on the rampaging jade giant?

COLLECTING: Rom (1979) #48-60, Rom Annual (1982) #3, Incredible Hulk (1968) #296

Written by Bill Mantlo
Penciled by Sal Buscema, Mark Bright, Steve Ditko & William Johnson

Bill Mantlo began his Marvel career on Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, in which he introduced White Tiger, one of the industry’s earliest Hispanic super heroes. Eventually writing stories for almost every Marvel title, he did some of his most fondly remembered work on Incredible Hulk and Spectacular Spider-Man. He also created Rocket Raccoon, launched Cloak & Dagger in a pair of miniseries and guided Alpha Flight through some of its most harrowing ordeals. Mantlo excelled at integrating licensed properties into the Marvel Universe, as demonstrated by Micronauts and Rom, both of which he wrote from start to finish. At DC, he wrote the Invasion miniseries for one of the company’s biggest crossover events.

After a start as inker to his older brother John, Sal Buscema penciled Captain America, Defenders, Incredible Hulk and more. Famed for his ability to meet tight deadlines, he spread his talents across multiple genres. His 1970s work ranged from Ms. Marvel and Nova to Sub-Mariner and Spider-Woman’s first appearance in Marvel Spotlight. He was the uninterrupted artist on Spectacular Spider-Man for more than a hundred issues and penciled the web-slinger’s adventures in Marvel Team-Up, in which he and writer Bill Mantlo introduced Captain Jean DeWolff. After handling more team-ups in the Thing’s Marvel Two-in-One, he reunited with brother John on Steve Englehart’s Fantastic Four. He later provided inks for Tom DeFalco’s Spider-Girl titles and Thunderstrike miniseries.

Formerly a regular artist on Solo Avengers, as well as West Coast, Mark Bright is noted for working with writer Christopher Priest on Falcon, Power Man and Iron Fist, Quantum and Woody and other titles. He has also drawn Marvel’s incarnation of G.I. Joe and several DC flagship characters in Action Comics Weekly, Batman and Green Lantern.