In ROM & The Micronauts #1, Baron Karza and D’rge, the Dire Wraith sorcerer, have joined forces to carry forward their equally malignant goals—Karza desires to conquer all of Microspace (again), while the Wraiths seek to awaken their Wraith God and conquer Earth! Now it’s up to Rom and the Micronauts to form their own alliance in order to stop the evil domination of two worlds!
We had the chance to discuss the new mini-series with writer Christos Gage (Amazing Spider-Man, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), as well as his first exposure to the characters and writer Bill Mantlo’s influence on his work.
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FOG!: What was the genesis of the team up and where are the characters when the story begins?
Christos Gage: I don’t know the genesis because IDW approached me about the team-up…but it’s a natural! We pick up after The Micronauts and ROM one-shot First Strike storylines, but readers will get everything they need to know in ROM & The Micronauts #1. You don’t need to have read anything else.
Was your first exposure to these characters as toys or comic books?
Comic books, for sure. I got ROM #1 when it came out and fell in love at first sight. I found Micronauts a bit later, but that was great too. Space-opera and epic fantasy in the wake of the original Star Wars movie…it was just what my kid brain wanted. (And my adult brain, for that matter!)
The issue is dedicated to original Micronauts and ROM comic writer Bill Mantlo and longtime ROM artist Sal Buscema. Was Mantlo an influence on your work?
In a huge way. He was so good at world-building…or UNIVERSE building, often! But he never lost sight of the characters. I also learned a lot from the way he’d take toy-tie-in comics and never treated them like they were less legitimate than any other comic…he’d put all he had into making it great. Which is why we still remember them so fondly!
Bill Mantlo
When juggling so many characters in a team up such of this, do you find yourself gravitating towards one in particular that you can relate to or enjoy more, or do you try to treat them all equally? Is there a character in this book that you enjoyed writing the most?
It comes from character.
In this book, ROM and Acroyear had a lot in common – warriors, trapped in armor, stoic…so playing them off each other worked well.
But you do want to give everyone a moment. It’s whatever serves the story best.
You’ve written television, film, video games, and comics. What makes comics such a satisfying storytelling medium?
Because the only limit is imagination. And it’s just the right balance of collaboration vs individual effort. You work with a talented team and get the rewards of collaborating, but the team is small and close-knit enough that your voice comes through.
Besides ROM & The Micronauts, what else do you have coming up?
I’m writing for the PS4 Spider-Man video game, out in 2018; NINJA-K from Valiant, monthly; a Batman miniseries set in the world of the Telltale video game; occasional team-ups with Dan Slott on Amazing Spider-Man; and other things I can’t talk about yet!
What are you currently geeking out over?
For more info, visit ChristosGage.com
ROM & The Micronauts #1 is available now in stores and via digital.
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