O'Neil states the following as a source of inspiration, the travel between worlds aspect of John Carter, the fantasy elements of Conan the Barbarian, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, Lord of the Rings, Michael Moorcock's Elric Saga, specifically Stealer of Souls and Stormbringer, and the science fiction works of Samuel R. Delany and Roger Zelazny.

[4] Jim Rook, lead singer of the hard rock band "the Electrics", enters a run-down shop named Oblivion Inc.

[5] He takes his ancestor's Sword of Night, a weapon with the ability to warn of danger and force a person to speak the truth, and becomes involved in a clash between Myrra and evil warlocks.

After his adventures in Myrra, he opens a bookstore in the Oblivion Inc. space and becomes active with other metahuman and supernatural entities, such as Primal Force and Swamp Thing.

While exploring a mysterious door in his bookstore, Rook discovers it was actually one of the many "back rooms" of the Oblivion Bar, an otherdimensional realm open to those touched by magic.

[9] Rook, along with Detective Chimp, is still seen as the proprietor of the Oblivion Bar during the Dark Nights: Metal event, when assembled heroes take refuge from the incoming threat of Barbatos.