Slow-Paced Dire Invasion In Rom: Dire Wraiths #1
by Josh Davison
Mild Spoilers Ahead
It’s July of 1969. The Apollo mission approaches the moon, but it’s not the only mission currently taking place on the moon. Adventure One is an effort that has already been established on the moon to face threats heretofore unknown by the human race. They are there to protect the Apollo mission. Unfortunately, the Dire Wraiths are already on Earth’s moon and even the crew of Adventure One isn’t prepared for the danger.
In the backup story, we learn how the Dire Wraiths arrived on our moon and why there isn’t a Space Knight available to stop them.
Rom: Dire Wraiths #1 finds Earth under threat from the Dire Wraiths as these creatures from another dimension have their sights on conquering our world.
The comic has a fairly slow pace. There is a lot of dialogue that, while fleshing out both the crew of the Adventure One and the Dire Wraiths, keeps the comic from reaching a truly exciting moment. We do get to see the Dire Wraiths assail the Apollo crew and the Adventure One, but even that is somewhat undercut by character incompetence and admittedly funny comedy moments.
The comic does a good job of making the Dire Wraiths actual characters as opposed to unknowable threats or simple monsters. That does make the comic more enjoyable than it could have otherwise been.
The backup story doesn’t add much to the overall narrative beyond giving Rom himself an albeit brief appearance in this issue.
Luca Pizarri is the artist on the main story, and he does a damn good job with it. His rendition of the Dire Wraiths is memorable and intimidating. The armored suits of the crew of Adventure One gives the book an appealingly superhero-esque aesthetic. Guy Dorian Sr. and Sal Buscema provide the art for the backup and it has a pleasingly classic feel. Jim Boswell and Ross Campbell provide good color treatments.
Rom: Dire Wraiths #1 is a slow-paced but still overall enjoyable reading experience. The Dire Wraiths are back and have their sights set on Earth and we may be on our own against them. It’s a solid read and earns a recommendation. Feel free to pick it up.
Rom: Dire Wraiths #1 comes to us from writer Chris Ryall, artists Luca Pizarri, Guy Dorian Sr., and Sal Buscema, color artists Jim Boswell and Ross Campbell, letterer Shawn Lee, cover artist Luca Pizarri, and variant cover artists Corin Howell with Josh Perez; Guy Dorian Sr. and Sal Buscema with Ross Campbell.
Final Score: 7/10