Fans who missed ROM’s long-awaited return to comics in June will get another chance next month.
Skybound has announced that ROM Special #1 and M.A.S.K. Origins #1 will both receive open-to-order releases on Aug. 26, making the two previously blind bag-exclusive comics widely available. The move follows the not-at-all surprising strong demand from readers after both books debuted as surprise inclusions in the M.A.S.K. #1 blind bag program.
The main covers are only slightly different than what blind-bag buyers received in their bags, and will retail for $3.99 and $4.99 respectively — which is less than a blind bag cost last month, and certainly less than what the comics have been going for on the secondary market.
ROM Special #1 reprints the debut of the iconic Spaceknight in the Energon Universe, courtesy of Void Rivals co-creators Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici. The issue officially brings the character, who first debuted in his own Marvel title back in the late 1970s, into Skybound’s shared universe alongside Transformers, G.I. Joe, Void Rivals and M.A.S.K.
The issue will feature a main cover by De Felici alongside variants by Christian Ward, E.J. Su, Nick Bradshaw and Jim Charalampidis, plus a foil die-cut mask cover by John Amor and a blank sketch cover.
ROM and his alien companion Carpet will return in future issues of Void Rivals, starting with issue #33 in August.
M.A.S.K. Origins #1 is a double-sized issue collecting the first appearances of M.A.S.K. and V.E.N.O.M. in the Energon Universe, which laid the groundwork for the launch of the ongoing series.
That issue features a main cover by Pye Parr, with variants by Jason Howard, Ethan Young, Danilo Beyruth and Neeraj Menon, and Ben Oliver.
Both ROM Special #1 and M.A.S.K. Origins #1 arrive in comic shops on Aug. 26.
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