ROM #66 [1985]

"The Day After!" is a 22-page transitional issue of the long running series. The previous issue wrapped up the war with the Dire Wraiths which was pretty much the title's focus up to this point, with a resolution very steeped in Marvel continuity and involving the Avengers, Defenders, X-Men and others. There's just some clean-up to do, with ROM banishing the rest of the now powerless Dire Wraiths who threatened Earth, plus a lot of recap of the background of the characters to explain ROM deciding to leave Earth and his friends behind.

So a bit exposition heavy and not much room for visual creativity, so not the best issue of the series if you want a sample, but not bad for regular readers.

Steve Leialoha inks this issue, and that's always a pleasing combination. The final double-page splash of ROM in space, apparently quite quickly going to a system with some freaky looking planetary configurations, is really neat.

The letter column also has a comment about a cameo by Spider-Man in an earlier issue, which the editor clarifies was added by the inker. There's also a circulation statement, apparently ROM sold about 155,000 copies an issue back then.