In case the title wasn't clear, I recently met a friend who turned out to be sorta into Transformers and VERY into "Rom". They pretty much flipped when they realized there was a crossover. I gave them a few suggestions for comics to read in the TF series, but I'm not 100 sure just what was required reading. I recommended MTMTE as a way to dive into the universe of Transformers, and threw in some stuff like Windblade and warnings to avoid certain event comics like Combiner Wars. Still, I'd like to be able to offer them a more detailed list of what they should read to really appreciate the Rom stuff. They seemed pretty open to diving in head-first, so I'm sure they'd be open to a few suggestions. So...what comics should I point them at?
No. It's a very standalone book, really. All the exposition you need is already mentioned by the characters.
It's a really good book though. Like, not just the only good crossover but actually good. The Decepticons are great in it.
Okay, important question: is your friend Very Into IDW Rom or Marvel Rom? Because while the central character is pretty much 1:1, the universes around them are very different (Marvel Rom is a cyborg, while IDW Rom wears armor which... well, it's in the crossover). If your friend wants to get up to speed on the IDW version, they'll probably want to read ROM Volume 1: Earthfall to get the details on the alternate version of the character. If they like that and want more, "related reading" (after Rom vs Transformers) would be ROM vol 2-3, Micronauts vol 1 (to get up to speed on what the Micronauts' "thing" is), and the "Rom and the Micronauts" story that concludes the overall story set up in Rom's solo. Plus there's a new "Rom: Dire Wraiths" miniseries coming. As for the Transformers end... I dunno, I think the Rom vs Transformers miniseries is actually one of the best jumping on points. The most "related" thing I can think of would be Stormbringer, since it takes place in the same sort of status quo, but also Stormbringer sucks. My one qualm is that RvTF spoils "the Ultra Magnus thing".
