The M.A.S.K. #1 Blind Bag Surprises Return to Shelves in August
Today Skybound and Image Comics, in collaboration with Hasbro, a leading games, IP and toy company, announced the much-demanded open to order release of ROM Special #1, reprinting the surprise first appearance of the pop culture icon in the Energon Universe, as well as M.A.S.K. Origins #1. Both issues initially released in the M.A.S.K. #1 Blind Bag program and will now be available at comic book shops on August 26, 2026.
Void Rivals co-creators, writer Robert Kirkman (Invincible, The Walking Dead) and artist Lorenzo De Felici (Red Roots), reunited to introduce space knight ROM to the Energon Universe in this standalone special issue.
ROM Special #1 features a main cover by Lorenzo De Felici and a variant cover program including open to order covers by Christian Ward (Killing Red Sonja), E.J. Su (Blood & Thunder), Nick Bradshaw (Wolverine and X-Men) & Jim Charalampidis (Amazing Spider-Man), a foil, die-cut mask cover by John Amor (Phantom 2040), and a blank sketch cover.
Fans can expect to see more of ROM and his alien companion ‘Carpet’ in upcoming issues of Void Rivals!
M.A.S.K. Origins #1 is a double-sized issue that collects the first appearances of M.A.S.K. and V.E.N.O.M. and other landmark Energon Universe moments that led to the launch of M.A.S.K.!
M.A.S.K. Origins #1 features a main cover by series artist Pye Parr (Petrol Head) and a variant cover program including open to order covers by Jason Howard (Transformers), Ethan Young (Titans), Danilo Beyruth (Catwoman) & Neeraj Menon (The Ultimates), and Ben Oliver (Detective Comics).
M.A.S.K. is the latest addition to the historic collaboration between Skybound and Hasbro, a new part of the shared Energon Universe that features ongoing series Void Rivals by writer Robert Kirkman, artist Conor Hughes (White Ash), and colorist Patricio Delpeche (Catwoman), the two-time Eisner Award winning Transformers by writer Robert Kirkman, artist Jason Howard (The Astounding Wolf-Man), and colorist Mike Spicer (Stillwater, Murder Falcon), and G.I. Joe by writer Joshua Williamson (Superman, Dark Ride), artist Andrea Milana (X-Men ’97), and colorist Lee Loughridge (Thor, Star Wars).
ROM Special #1 (Lunar Codes Coming Soon| SRP: $3.99, unless otherwise noted) will be available at comic book shops and digital platforms including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play on August 26, 2026.
The full list of covers is below:
- ROM Special #1 Cover A by Lorenzo De Felici
- ROM Special #1 Cover B by Christian Ward
- ROM Special #1 Cover C by E.J. Su
- ROM Special #1 Cover D by Nick Bradshaw
- ROM Special #1 Cover E (Blank Sketch Cover, $4.99)
- ROM Special #1 Cover F (Foil, Die-Cut Mask Cover, $4.99) by John Amor
M.A.S.K. Origins #1 (Lunar Codes Coming Soon| SRP: $4.99, unless otherwise noted) will be available at comic book shops and digital platforms including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play on August 26, 2026.