I’ll skip forward to Day two with a footnote that if you’ve never gone to the CBLDF kick-off party on Thursday night, it’s well worth the $40 cover price!

The morning of Day two, I took the first of many Uber rides to the tired, old bones known as the San Diego Convention Center. I carried both my wallet and my SDDC Professional Badge in my back pocket, and when I exited the Uber on a hectic and crowded parrallel street, I yanked the badge and landyard out of my back pocket. I didn’t realize my thin, little travel wallet slipped out and hit the unforgiving, hot asphalt below my feet. My whole life and a lot cash was abandoned, left for the taking and the potential for identity theft, not to mention problems returning home at the San Diego airport.

I was set to meet the homey Mike Dolce from Dren Productions, a long-time colleague and friend, at the back patio of the Hilton for lunch. As I made my way out of the Convention Center, I reached for my wallet and noticed it wasn’t there. I dug around for it in my backpack, and re-traced my steps to the Mad Cave booth where I just finished signing Major Thomás posters to promote the January launch of the trade paperback.

I began to panic. I texted Mike and told him what was going on; he asked if I wanted to cancel our lunch, I told him no, and I’m glad I did. Mike poked and prodded me to retrace my whole morning and that’s when we deduced that the wallet fell out as I grabbed my badge out of my back pocket, like a pair of the world’s greatest detectives! As I smashed through a cheeseburger, my phone began to ring: “Unknown Caller.” I never answer these types of calls, but something compelled me to pick up. The voice on the other end may as well have been a guardian angel.

“This is Officer Eckard with the San Diego PD, I’m looking for Omar Morales.” Umm yeah, shockingly close to spelling of Lieutenant Eckhardt from 1989’s Batman.

“Yeah, that’s me!” My heart leapt and I prayed for good news. She asked if I was currently in San Diego and I affirmed. She explained that because I had a clean record, there was no info about me in the police databases. She said she turned to Google to find my phone number. That is a bit unnerving, but in this instance, I’m happy about it!

“I have your wallet and there’s quite a bit of cash in it. Where are you right now?” I exhaled like I never have before. Thank you to the Good Samaritan that turned my wallet into the police! I am forever grateful to you, whoever you are, kind soul.

The officer and I went back and forth about logistics about where and when to meet so I could get my wallet back and avoid it getting impounded. Time was ticking with a 1 p.m. commitment to speak on a Comixology Originals panel alongside comics lumaries Marc Guggenheim, Lee Loughridge, Jason Marz, and Michael Conrad (and it was a banger of a panel!). I agreed to meet Officer Eckard at 5th and J streets, in the thick of hundreds of Comic Con attendees crowding blocked off streets. As I left the Hilton, I ran into a couple of cops and I asked if they could direct me to 5th and J, and they asked if I was the guy with the missing wallet. They proceeded to escort me through the seas of humanity, getting me past all barriers and blockades that you normally have to navigate in and around the convention center. It was amazing to have VIP treatment while people gawked at me and my police escorts quizzically.

I finally met up with Officer Eckard in the Gaslamp District. Her partner shot a video on her body cam for posterity and we took a photo to commemorate the occasion. I thanked her profusely, but that’s not where the story ends.

She asked why I was in a hurry to get back, and I explained I was in between a signning and panel, with more such commitments throughout the week. I showed her some of the postcards and stickers I’d been handing out and signing, she asked for a few and I was happy to oblidge. She explained that a connection of hers was a big comics fan, and a comics creator himself. Later on, Officer Eckard texted me, asked for a copy of the photo, and said her friend was thrilled with the signed postcard and sticker and that he’d reach out to me. Sure enough, Carrick Esquivel hit me up on Instagram and we started a dialogue. He has a comic called Jacqueline Jones, which just arrived at my new house today.

I couldn’t have written this story if I tried, and beleive me, I’m leaving out a ton of bizarre details, pun intended. After recovering the wallet, I signed copies of Tales of the Bizarre #14 alongside Dolce and James Mascia. The Dren head honchos encouraged me to write the “lost wallet” story. We decided I should embellish it, and make it into a Black Mirror-style comic for a future issue of Tales of the Bizarre. Challenge accepted! Page one is written and I hope to finish it by the end of month, after a much needed vacation. Stay tuned for updates on that “based on true events” story down the road.

To summarize the rest of SDCC: it was a blast and I felt I was playing with house money—my money—and the ability to buy myself food and get through security at the airport was a relief. I’ve never felt more relaxed and full of perspective at SDCC; it was truly liberating.

I’ll leave you with a photo essay of the week that I had at the show, including the Eisner Awards, which is always inspiring and mind blowing. Thank you Comixology and Superfan Promotions for inviting me back! Comics rule, and I can’t wait for SDCC 2027.

###

For now, it’s Comic Con season! It’s an incredibly fun and hectic time of year where I relish seeing announcements from all my comics friends about their activities, projects, and schedules. Without further ado, here is my schedule; it’s a bit truncated this year as I’ll be leaving Saturday night. However, on the flip side, I’ll be arriving early enough on Thursday to do a panel with the ladies from the Comadres y Comics podcast (alongside the homey Henry Barajas), as well as attend the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund welcome party on Thursday night. POW!

Two years ago, SDCC was pure magic for me. I wasn’t even supposed to be there (queue the Clerks reference), but I found a way at the last minute and ended up booking a meeting with the head of Comixology Originals to discuss a publishing contract. Although the great Jeff DiBartolomeo has departed Amazon and Comixology, I will honor his brilliant legacy with a cold IPA the Hilton bar nextdoor — the very place where we met to mull over the merits of my graphic novel, Major Thomás.

Twenty four months later and lots of digital sales later, I’m now on the verge of an announcement with an amazing publisher for the printed, paperback version of Major Thomás (more to come later on that front). Eagle-eyed friends and readers have noticed listings for Thomás on Target.com, Barnes and Noble.com and other major brick-and-mortar sites. For me, it’s a continuation of the fever dream that started with a last minute invite to SDCC and a borrowed badge two summers ago, which flowed into Wonder Con and NYCC. I can’t wait to come back to this space and tell you all about how it went in 2026 with house sitting for a friend and navigating downtown San Diego. Keep it locked on this bat-space!

In closing, I’d like to encourage all comics friends attending SDCC to buy a ticket to the CBLDF’s welcome party and auction on Thursday night! It’s only $40 bucks and it feels like the whole community will be in the house at the Westgate hotel: artists, colorists, letterers, writers, editors, publicists, publishers, lawyers, convention organizers, media, podcasters, and on and on! It’s a one-stop shop to the industry players and phenomenal for networking and socializing at all levels. What’s more, the purchase of a $40 ticket also entitles you to a free membership to the CBLDF, a worthwhile nonprofit that supports comic book creators and free speech. And these days, that means a lot in the current political and technology climate! Even if you can’t attend, you can still join the organization, volunteer, donate and get invovled here: https://cbldf.org/

Until next time friends… Excelsior!

###

My goal with this book was to build upon the previous two stories I made (with super talented artist Mau Mora and letterer Micah Meyers) and give the protagonist, bounty hunter Samus Aran, a glorious send off worthy of the hero that she is! I’ll gladly take your feedback on whether or not I hit the mark with the final installment. The capstone story is an exploration of Samus as a mother figure with no children, a dichotomy with her tragic childhood and loss of both her mother and father. This is classic hero’s journey stuff that the video games don’t delve too deeply into and this is where me and so many other Metroid fans jump in with their own takes on the lore.

The Metroid fandom is mighty and relentless, and I’m proud to count myself among their number. Hope you love Hero Mission!

OK, I think I’ve hit the max on pages that Substack will allow! If you’d like to read the rest, please hop on over to the homepage of my website and scroll about halfway down. You can read it in the browser, or download a PDF: www.TheForceMedia.com. Feel free to leave a comment on the site, or hit me up on socials: @omorales81.

Metroid™ and Samus Aran™ are the copyright and trademark of Nintendo Co. Ltd. of Kyoto, Japan. This is a fan fiction made with utmost respect. See you next mission! ✨

###

Today, I’ve come to ask for a favor, and only if you feel I deserve it, or that my project deserves it. It represents a crew of international Latino and Latina artists that worked so hard to bring it to fruition: the original graphic novel, Major Thomás from Comixology Originals. It was a labor of love to create, 10 years in the making and it launched last March to a wonderful reception, which I am forever grateful for! I have so many people to thank for its existence, from the art team, to mentors, to editorial consultants, to family and friends, to indie comics creators, to Superfan Promotions, and of course, Comixology. Today, I’m asking for a nomination for the Ringo Awards, an amazing organization that honors so many comics creators across so many categories.

Here are the categories that you can consider, and even a single one would be appreciated by me and the rest of the creative team:

• Best Original Graphic Novel (OGN): Major Thomás

• Best Kids Comic or OGN ages 12+: Major Thomás

• Best Letterer: Taylor Esposito

• Best Writer: Omar Morales

• Favorite New Talent: Omar Morales

Please nominate your favorite comics and creators across as many categories as your heart desires, even if it doesn’t include Major Thomás or any of its creators! There are so many deserving projects out there each and every year.

Here’s a QR code to link you to the Ringo nomination page for your convenience:

Both fans and comics pros are welcome to vote, so please spread the word for any comic or graphic novel you enjoy. You don’t have to fill out the entire ballot, so if you only read and care about Batman, you are free to go in and vote for Batman as the best comic, hit submit, and go on about your merry, bat-tastic way. 🦇

Down the road, nominations will be finalized, and then you can vote for a winner, which will be revealed at Baltimore Comic Con in September. For your troubles, you can rock this “I voted” badge on your socials… how cool, eh?

Thanks for your time, it is not lost on me that everyone and their mother has a blog, a YouTube channel, a newsletter, and so on. I try to pick my spots as not to wear anyone out, and apologies if I have. For reals.

#MajorThomás #ComixologyOriginals #RingoAwards #BestJackettPress #Comics

JANUARY

I took a took tour of Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, new home of my beloved Raiders. My heart still bleeds silver & black, even if they ripped it out by moving out of Oakland. 🏴‍☠️

FEBRUARY

The passion project of my life, a YA SciFi graphic novel called Major Thomás, was announced as an Amazon exclusive on the Comixology Originals platform—blast off! 🚀

MARCH

Major Thomás launched the same week of WonderCon in Anaheim and it was so great to announce it and engage readers in person at the show. It’s always great to get out to a show and meet so many amazing comics creators in person — way too many to name from my travels in 2025. 🧑🏼‍🚀

I also made my debut with Mad Cave comics with its Eisner winning anthology, “LA STRONG” — a great charity anthology to support comics creators that suffered losses in the LA fires. I was paired with the incomparable artist, Stefano Cardoselli, which was mind-blowing for me. Here’s the art for our piece from “LA STRONG.” 💪

APRIL

I went to NYC as a guest of Nintendo of America for its unveiling of the new Switch 2 Console before its launch in June. Best of all, I was able to play Metroid Prime 4 eight months before it released! The whole thing was a fever dream fueled by Mario mushrooms. 🧱🍄🌟

MAY

We bought my son his very first car, a Hyundai Ionic 5, in his favorite color, Luigi green. I’m so proud of both of my kids and their futures in college and beyond. 💚

Also got to see one of my favorite indie rock bands, The Exbats, live. This led to a brief conversation with the band after the show, and next thing you know, I’m writing a short comic for an anthology, based on their hit Ghost in the Record Store — it releases early in 2026 on various platforms, so keep your eyes peeled. 👻

JUNE

Negative Space Comics honored me by naming me as a mentor for one of its many comic book competitions for up-and-coming creators. It is such a worthwhile organization that gives people a start with prize money, mentorship and ongoing support and resources. Give them a follow on the socials.🗯️

JULY

San Diego Comic Con — what else can I say? It’s the biggest comic book convention on the planet and Comixology went all out to put Major Thomás front and center in a big way with booth graphics, and by putting me on panels. Thanks to the marketing efforts, Major Thomás became a best seller, topping several categories in the Young Adult charts for comics and graphic novels! Unbelievable.

It was also mind-blowing to attend the Eisner Awards to celebrate the best of the best in comics. Again, I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating the whole thing. 💭

AUGUST

My daughter and I got to see one of our favorite bands of all time, HEART, at San Francisco’s Chase Center. These ladies have been rocking arenas and melting faces since 1975 and it was a great 50-year celebration of their greatness! 🎸

SEPTEMBER

I took my kids for a weekend getaway at a chill resort in the Santa Cruz mountains for some hiking, swimming, and watching ALIEN EARTH at night in the hotel room. My cousin, my brother and I also went to Ann Arbor, Michigan to The Big House for a 63-3 drubbing of Central Michigan by our Wolverines. Go Blue! 🏈

OCTOBER

Always my favorite month of the year, so festive and spooky! New York Comic Con — another transformative comics experience where I was honored to sign posters at the Comixology booth, side-by-side with the pro’s pros of the industry. It was an honor to attend the Harvey Awards and rub elbows with comic book royalty before and after the ceremony. Also, it was my birthday and was invited to NYU to give a talk about comics to students, faculty and staff. Was it all a dream? 🎃

NOVEMBER

November kicked off holiday season with a trip to the new Nintendo store in S.F. and the triumvirate of Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It was a great time to wind down, enjoy family and celebrate life with gratitude. Although times can be tough, you can choose to focus on all the positives and take the negatives in stride; that’s what giving thanks is all about, right? Also ate a world-famous “jucy lucy” burger in Minneapolis. Yum. 🦃🥧🍔

DECEMBER

Metroid! After 18 years, Nintendo fans finally got the sequel they’ve been craving in Metroid Prime 4. I contributed to the hysteria by releasing my third fan fiction based on the armored hero of Metroid, Samus Aran. Global fan reception to “Metroid Hero Mission” has been amazing and I look forward to releasing a preview of it here on Substack early next year. For now, you can read the whole comic for free on the homepage of my website: www.TheForceMedia.com.

I also made a couple of “best of / favorites” lists for 2025 comic books with Major Thomás and that was both wild and humbling. I truly thank anyone and everyone that took a chance on me, or my comics, in 2025. I have more in store for 2026, so keep it locked, or in today’s parlance: like and subscribe! LOL. 👾

PARTING THOUGHTS

While 2025 did bring some personal strife and struggle, I choose to keep on trucking and moving forward, one day at a time. Exciting things are in store for 2026 and I look forward to a transformative year of growth alongside all my peeps from all of my fandoms and fams. Thank you all… and happy new year to you—salud! 🎉

###

It was raining with a nor’easter inbound and it was Indigenous People’s Day, so I didn’t know if anyone would show up. To my surprise, people did show up and we had a great chat about writing, comics, the technical aspects of making comics, and networking in the comics community. I shared a lot of the things that were taught to me (by Zoom or in person) by legendary comics creators, that I’ve posted about here on Substack. To say this experience filled my cup with joy would be an understatement.

It was a wonderful morning, talking comics and enjoying a great breakfast spread with coffee on a cold and hazy Monday morning. The audience had great questions, and I could tell there was a lot of passion for writing, for comics, and for representation in storytelling. It was a great vibe that I’ll always hold dear in my treasured bank of comics memories. I don’t know if I could have ever imagined all of this when I started making comics over a dozen years ago.

All of this was fresh off of a whirlwind weekend experience at New York Comic Con, where once again, artwork from my graphic novel, Major Thomás, was featured larger-than-life at Amazon’s Comixology booth at the show. It was exhilarating to finally meet artists who worked on Thomás in real life and to pose for photos with them at the booth. Shout out to all who took the time to stop by for a chat and photo op: Joe Illidge of ILLUMINOUS, Serg Acuña (line artist), Fabi Marques (colorist), Butch Mapa (character designs) and the lettering duo of Mariano B. Chapo and Taylor Esposito.

Here are my two favorite moments of the convention. First, an 18-year old girl celebrating her birthday by having comics pros sign the back of her t-shirt! I know the PR staff at Comixology took a pic and I’m kicking myself for not taking one after I signed her shirt. UPDATE: picture found and shown below!

Then there was a little girl who could barely look over the table, taking photos of creators with her toy camera that would spit out a print out of her black-and-white pictures on paper. She wasn’t keeping the photos or asking for signatures, she was giving them to the comics creators as a gift—it was adorable! Here’s her handiwork from the Comixology booth:

Last but not least, a shout out to the Michigan fans at the Brickyard Craft Kitchen on Park Place, and to the Raider Nation at Peter Dillon’s bar on 40th Street. I had a blast cheering on my teams with my tribes in the Big Apple. I did a lot of subway riding and walking to be with my peeps for meet-ups, lunches and drinks, some of it in the rain, and it was all worth it—every musty, drippy second.

Thank you New York City, it was pure magic! ✨🍎

With much joy, I present Metroid: Other Femme here on Substack. This was a fun challenge, in that the lore and back story of the hero, Samus Aran, is very patchy and disparate. I’d like to get into more of my process, but length limitations on Substack are such where I won’t be able to post all of the pages, drawn by my man Mau Mora.

Please know the full comic is available free in the aforementioned links!

I hope you enjoyed this segment of the story! See you next mission… ✨

Comixology put on a QR code treasure hunt, where the booths of all the major comics publishers were giving consumers a free digital comic, and if you racked up scans at 15 different booths, it entered you into a raffle for a free Kindle Colorsoft. NGL, I wish I was eligible to win one, because I can’t think of a better way to read a digital comic than on a Kindle, presented in Technicolor. So there I was, signing swag side by side with fellow Comixology pros like Michael Avon Oeming, Taki Soma, Curt Pires and Paul Cornell. We had fun telling people about the treasure hunt, that they could get my graphic novel for free, and that other publishers were also giving away free books. To quote myself: it was glorious!

I was blessed to be on several panels alongside a range of creators and topics, ranging from Comixology exclusive panels, SciFi, and a diversity and inclusion panel alongside BIPOC and LGBTQ+ panelists. It was the time of my life, hustling, and in some cases, sprinting from the Marriott next door to the convention center, or back the other way. Whew! If you’d like to see the panel about culture and inclusion in comics, moderated by Kristen Parraz of the Comadres y Comics podcast, you can check it out here:

I was so grateful to meet so many creators for the first time and get to know them beyond what you see on social media. In some cases, I was meeting comics readers and comics creators cold, never having encountered them or their work before. It was truly delightful in a post-COVID world, where it’s so easy to mail it in and do everything online and from a safe distance. I mean, I even reconnected with old high school football teammates I haven’t seen in over 25 years! It was wild times in the streets of San Diego.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Scott Snyder’s Best Jackett Press breakfast for people who are subscribed to his Comics 101 (and morphing into 102, 103 and beyond). He hosts the “Black Jackett Club” for breakfast at Comic Con where he gives us amazing swag in the way of signed comics and other perks. The best part about the breakfast is to be able to mingle with other people that are trying to learn more about the craft of making comics, or just simply wanting access to Scott and his dizzying rolodex of surprise guests that come and engage with the club members. Thanks to Scott, I’ve been able to meet pro’s pros like Will Dennis, Nick Dragotta, Pornsak Pichetshote and many more! I’m grateful to Scott, his assistant Tyler, his guests, and the fellow members that I got to brunch and chill with.

There were so many amazing experiences and connections made at SDCC this year. This post could probably be its own mini novella, but in the interest of wrapping this up, I’ll leave you with two more things. #1, what an honor it was to attend the Eisner Awards for the first time! I could turn my head in any direction and see comic book royalty seated all around me, clapping for nominations, or going up to the stage to accept awards. It’s almost criminal to summarize that experience by saying these two words: how inspiring! Congrats to the great Jackie Estrada for running the Eisner proceedings for a whopping 35 years—I’ve been blessed by a few personal interactions with Jackie over the years and I’ll always hold those dear. Many thanks to Jeff, David, Pamela, and Dustin for the invite to the Eisners, I’ll always treasure it. 🙏🏽

#2, and the original reason for this post: my amazing Uber… urr, cab ride to the airport where I hand sold my final comic of the show before flying back to Oakland. I wanted to dedicate this entire post to that cab ride. But as is the way with comics, I shall summarize and compress the heck out my experience. I called an Uber and a taxi driver named Curt showed up. Apparently Uber has a deal with local cab drivers in San Diego when demand is high and Uber drivers are scarce.

So there I was, riding with Curt, a hard-core, old-school comic reader going all the way back to pulp fiction publishers like Weird Tales, Creepy and Eerie, EC Comics and many more! We chopped it up about the comics code authority and how his parents spoiled him by letting him read pulpy comics even though there was a witch hunt led by Dr. Fredric Wertham that led to the creation of the CCA.

He was incredibly engaged once he learned that I also make comics. We went deep on the lore, the characters, SciFi tech, and plot of Major Thomás. To say he was into it, without wanting to get anywhere near spoiler territory, was an understatement. I was positively delighted by Curt and his enthusiasm. This was my favorite hand-sell in all my years of comics, conventions and interacting with readers. He even agreed to start an Amazon account, just to buy my graphic novel!

I offered him a signed post card, but forgot they were all packed away in my luggage in his trunk. I told him I could fish one out once he pulled over and dropped me off, but ever the cautious driver, Curt said it probably wouldn’t be safe due to the inundation of cars dropping off passengers at San Diego’s airport. So I jumped out, lugged my stuff onto the terminal sidewalk and saw that Curt was log-jammed in traffic. So, what did I do? I ripped open my luggage, opened a box full of post cards, signed one in the blink of a Superman x-ray eye, and sprinted over to hand him one. I don’t know who was more over the moon, me, or Curt. It was a truly SDCC signature experience—pun intended.

See you next mission, true believers. Thanks for reading. #TownBiz

A friend in the comics librarian community, the great Jack Phoenix, posted that he had a badge he could assign if anyone wanted to snap it up. I hit him up, and he said he wanted to wait a couple of days before confirming. TLDR and 48 hours later: my homey Stan Alachniewicz and his wife were generous enough to put me up in a spare bedroom at their lovely San Diego home for a couple of nights (again!); I hastily booked a roundtrip ticket to San Diego, and my comics designs started to take shape—even if I didn’t know it at the time.

One year later, I stand before you as someone with a full slate of activities at SDCC 2025, including creator signings, a few panel appearances, a spot at the Eisner Awards, a networking event, a Bar Con meet-up, a couple of business meetings, and more opportunities to carve my niche in the comics world. The hardest part about juggling all of this is not being able to go to all the panels and events, and see every single friend and creator I’d like to see. But such is life. I’m happy to be in the mix at the biggest industry event in our galaxy.

Major Thomás will have a major presence at the show, pun intended, thanks to my publishing partners at Amazon/Comixology/Kindle. There are a couple of things that I’ve been sworn to secrecy on, but let’s just say they are big — literally and figuratively — digitally and physically. If you come by the Amazon/Comixology/Kindle booth (#1935) you can get your fill of Major Thomás with a poster, a post card, and a special surprise if you scan the QR code at the booth. If I’m at the booth, I’ll be happy to sign the poster and the post cards I’ll be lugging around, if you’d like. Read all about the larger QR code hunt here: Comixology to Host Exclusive Scavenger Hunt at Comic-Con 2025.

So, how did all of this come together in one year? If you’ll indulge me, I’ll spin you a little a yarn about the meeting that changed my creative life. You’ve come this far, why not come a little further with me?

My pitch was under review at Comixology, and they had asked me if I’d be at SDCC. At first I told them no, then I quickly doubled back and said that I’d be a last minute attendee. At that point, there were no guarantees of a face to face connection, but as Woody Allen once said: 80 percent of success is showing up. And show up I did, hungry to get that last 20 percent that always seems so hard to attain.

I attended a Comixology panel, featuring one of my mentors, the great Scott Snyder. After the meeting, I loitered a bit and made my way up to the stage where I saw Scott’s assistant, Tyler, who kindly introduced me to two key people. I’ll call them “PMH” from Superfan Promotions and “JDB” from Comixology. So there I was, standing face to face and shaking hands with two people that I’ll be forever indebted to, among many among others at both Superfan and Comixology. I exchanged phone numbers with JDB and made a loose plan to have a Sunday meeting to review my proposal for Major Thomás.

I didn’t know if the meeting would actually happen, but JDB was true to his word, and he was kind enough to make time to have a cold one with me at the Hilton (tip: do NOT cheers with water — thanks for the lesson, JDB). It was a phenomenal meeting and I walked away exhilarated, knowing that my dream project would have a real chance to reach a worldwide audience as a part of a Comixology Originals line-up that stands shoulder to shoulder with digital comics from every major publisher that distributes via Amazon. Nothing was guaranteed, but I heard the voice of the universe whispering in my ear to keep the faith… and that patience would be rewarded.

I went outside and took this picture, immediately after meeting with JDB. After the photo op, I grabbed my bags and flew back to Oakland floating on cloud nine.

Fast forward a few months and I had a signed contract with Amazon for a 10-year exclusive. We targeted a February announcement to coincide with NASA’s anniversary of the first American to orbit the Earth, when John Glenn made history aboard the Friendship 7. From there, PMH and the incredible team at Superfan put the publicity wheels in motion in a big way. They lined up a big splash for the launch of the book with a press release, article placements, a ton of podcast guest spots, and a panel at WonderCon the same week that my book launched in late March. It’s been a whirlwind!

If you remember nothing else from this entry, please remember my overwhelming and sincere thanks to everyone that helped the universe deliver my dreams over the last year: my God, my family, my indie and mainstream comics friends, all the artists I’ve worked with, business partners, Jack the librarian, Stan the fraternity brother, Scott the writing mage and his familiar, Tyler, PMH and the magicians at Superfan, and JDB the master of Castle Comixology.

I can’t wait to see what this year’s SDCC yields. I’m itching to catch up with the entire cast of characters in this journal entry. With any luck, I’ll be typing up another one of these a year from now, outlining all that has happened since SDCC 2025 wrapped up.

Until then, see you next mission… 🚀

In case you’re still on the fence, it’s just $6.99 for 120 story pages + bonus content and you can order it here. If it comes out of the gate strong with digital sales on Amazon, there’s a better chance for a printed version down the line and that is the question I’m getting the most. I appreciate your consideration, shares and feedback.

The very first paranormal adjacent experience of my life wasn’t even my own experience, I was just a symbolic participant in another dimension. When I was around two years old, my mom had a late-stage miscarriage where she had to deliver a dead baby whose gender was never determined. In that process, she had an NDE (near-death experience). She had the traditional experience of going through the dark tunnel of the afterlife and arriving on the other side to a glorious, bright, warm and loving white light. She says she felt more free than she ever had before and she wanted to stay in the glow forever. For unexplained reasons, she looked back into the dark tunnel behind her and saw the image of me, her first born. Some sort of telepathic voice told her she should return to her body and her life on Earth in order to look after my Dad, me, and a son that would come later in the form of my younger brother.

My fascination with the thin veil of our three-dimensional world, and what lies beyond it, has been with me all along and only continued to grow as I got older. When I was a little kid, my Dad bought a copy of Whitley Strieber’s seminal book on alien abduction, Communion. I was scared to death of the iconic image of an expressionless grey alien staring right at me — this image somehow resonated as a true and accurate representation of alien life in our cosmos. It not only resonated with me, but for droves of people that claim they have been abducted by the greys. Before this image was brandished on the cover of Strieber’s book, there really wasn’t a consensus image of what an alien looked like and it instantly congealed in the minds of everyone on Earth back in 1987.

My Dad kept this book on the his nightstand, pictured below. Over time, as Dad would tell me things that he was learning from the book, I began to feel more and more comfortable with the idea of "we are not alone in the universe.” As I grew up, I began to get more and more in tune with my hunger to learn more about the dimensions that are just out of the reach our basic five senses. For the record: I have never seen a UFO, a UAP, or in plain English, an alien space craft.

The first time I remember being able to see beyond the normal vision with my eyes was around the same time that my Dad was working his way through Communion. I used to be scared to death of a Star Wars Kenner toy called the Dianoga, a green monster that swims in the trash water of the Death Star’s compactor. My little brother, Tito, used to torcher me with that little piece of molded plastic. When he was a toddler, he approached me, hiding the Dianoga in his hand under the cover of a cloth diaper. I vividly remember seeing right through the cloth diaper and knowing that he held the Dianoga in his little mitts. I immediately ran in the other direction; he was forced to show his hand and began chasing me down the hall with the little green monster. His plan was foiled and he seemed disappointed that I had somehow got the drop on him. It was like having Superman’s x-ray vision and it felt amazing!

Years later, now a young adult in my first year of college, still living at home and attending classes, I experienced sleep paralysis for the first and only time in my life. It was absolutely terrifying. Imagine waking up and your body is paralyzed—that’s what happened. I can’t recall if my eyes were in a fixed position, but I do remember being only being able to look forward, as if I had tunnel vision. I couldn’t move, and I couldn’t tell if I was even breathing, as I was not in control of my body. It felt like an eternity as I struggled to move any part of my body in order to wake up and break through the freeze. It was probably just minutes and eventually I decided to just try to fall back asleep, which I did. Then I woke up again later, still in the middle of the night, but this time I had full control of my body. I immediately went and crawled in bed with my parents, a legal adult, acting like a toddler that wanted comforting. I was absolutely terrified and felt like some power beyond my comprehension had been toying with me. I don’t think my parents ever asked me about why I crawled into their bed that night and I’m not even sure I really told anyone about it the next day. It’s not a pleasant memory. This was my view of my childhood bedroom while I was in stasis:

I often wondered if there was some type of invisible entity hovering just outside of my bedroom window, just of view, that had some manner of telepathic hold over me. There was no way I was going to look, and something told me I wouldn’t have seen anything if I’d looked out the window anyway. Deep inside, I feel that things like ghosts, spirits, angels, demons, and even aliens, exist in a dimension just beyond our perception of the three-dimensional world. It’s like a window we can’t see through, obscured by a veil we can’t manipulate… like the curtains that hung over my childhood bedroom window.

Toward the end of my college years, as I was preparing to go out on my own for the first time, my ailing grandmother from México moved into a small room that served as our family’s office/computer room. Abuelita made her home there until her final days, and to her credit, became a U.S. citizen, and was buried in a cemetery where relatives from both sides of my family found their final resting place. Before she passed, she told my Mom and Dad a wild story about a bright light and little beings coming to visit her… at our family home! She said that in the middle of the night, an incredibly bright light would appear outside the window and then tiny little bald beings with big eyes would appear. It’s not clear to me if they would appear inside of the converted office or if they were in the front yard, just outside the window. My abuelita, the most devout Catholic I have ever met in my life, confronted these little beings with a question: “are you from the devil, or are you from God?” The little bald beings told her telepathically that indeed they were from God and they were there to care for her and look after her. From then on, she referred to these little greys as her angelitos—her little angels. 👽👼🏽

Now I’ll share what I refer to as “the download.” When my kids were toddlers, my mother in law would baby sit them during the day at her house, and I’d pick them up after work, battling horrible Bay Area commute traffic to get back home at night. I’d often come home exhausted, and decompress with a short power nap upstairs in my bed. One night, one of these power naps became one of the strangest things I’ve ever experienced—even more than the sleep paralysis incident.

I drifted off and felt like there was a google of data and information was downloading into my brain at an incomprehensible speed. The best way I can describe this is the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey, when Dave enters the stargate and he can’t comprehend what he is experiencing, before passing out. I also saw colors and geometric shapes whizzing by, representative of the data that was entering me.

The only thing I clearly remember learning from that massive download was that time is a construct that doesn’t exist. This is not a new idea, as there are many theories about how time is simultaneous and we can only experience it one frame at a time, as it were. I remember excitedly coming downstairs to tell my wife that we don’t have to worry about time anymore and how there is always enough time to do whatever we want with our lives. I think my enthusiasm fell flat because we live in a world where we revolve around a sun and we keep time with clocks and calendars—there is no escaping it. The next morning, I’m sure I awoke to an alarm clock buzzing, and reported to work on time, ate lunch at noon, and did all the other things I needed to at the appointed time.

Since then, I do have experiences where I feel like I am “in the zone,” or where time is standing still. It’s hard to describe and it seems to happen at random intervals, with no rhyme or reason. Sometimes it’s playing pick-up sports, at other times it’s as simple as living completely in the moment with loved ones and friends. I don’t have special powers as a result of this download—I can’t suddenly speak new languages or play instruments because I don’t have a musical bone in my body. Life just goes on, ticking one theoretical second at a time.

More recently I’ve become more and more interested in the blending of all of these ideas: the merging of religion, science, space-time, dimensionality, consciousness, spirituality, artificial intelligence and the existential threat it proposes. One of these sub-topics is known as remote viewing, or leaving your body to be able to perceive and see things that are far away in space and in time. Without any training whatsoever, I’ve begun experimenting during that liminal space in between being awake and falling asleep at night. On two occasions, clear as day, I was able to see images from my future… nothing major, in fact quite inconsequential. I was seeing frames from TV and movie content that I’d watch at a later date, sometimes weeks or months later.

The first image I was able to conjure and see clearly in my head was a giant black-and-white checkerboard rectangle. Not an amorphous flag, but a solid, flat rectangle. I thought for sure this meant I would soon be watching, or seeing an ad for Sony Pictures’ Gran Turismo, which was being advertised a lot at the time. To my delight, I was wrong! I ended up seeing both the giant checkerboard square and a solid black background with a white-colored, CG closed caption reading “100.” I saw both images, exactly as I saw foresaw them, watching an Apple TV WWII program called Masters of the Air. What tipped me off that I had seen into the future was how closely I saw the two images in the show, both in the same episode, just seconds apart.

In closing, here’s what I do know: after the download and expanding my curiosity about how our strange universe works, I started scratching the itch to make comics. Is it a coincidence? Maybe. I’ll never know, and that’s OK. Some people may ask why I waited so late in life to start a passion project, like comics, where I can explore my obsession with science fact, science fiction, the future of humanity, and my belief that homo sapiens will evolve away from the Earth and live among other sentient races in our galaxy. I guess I’d say I have all the time in the world to explore the stories I want to tell. Some of the themes I talked about in this post are explored in my new graphic novel, Major Thomás, available for purchase on Amazon’s Comixology Originals platform.

See you next mission! ✨

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The lab is fresh off of hosting BIPOC PoP — a celebration of culture, gaming, animation and comics over the weekend. Although I wasn’t able to attend this year due to scheduling conflicts, Professor Aldama was kind enough to extend me an invitation to be a guest for next year’s show. I’m looking forward to it with an enthusiasm unknown to humankind!

Short of being able to attend this year’s show, Professor Aldama and I found another way to collaborate together with this essay he’s written as a reflection after reading my latest graphic novel, Major Thomás. This wonderful think piece will be included as part of a deluxe edition of Major Thomás that is TBD in terms of form factor and release date. However, I am happy and proud to share it here and now on Substack!

UPDATE: adding in a shout out to my man Pedro Iniguez, a wonderful writer, poet, comics creator and Latinx Futurist in his own right! You can check out Pedro’s stuff at his site, where he has exciting projects like The Fib and Mexicans on the Moon.

You can also read a review of the graphic novel by Rose Padilla of Latinx Pop Magazine, an media extension of UT-Austin’s Pop Lab.

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Comixology Originals Announces the Original Graphic Novel Major Thomás, a YA Space Adventure Written by Omar Morales With Art by Serg Acuña + Mau Mora

Major Thomás Blasts Off Digitally March 25, 2025

“Reading about Major Thomás’ adventures on the mysterious planet Wolf 1061C, alongside an unforgettable cast of aliens and robots, brought back memories of my own journey—from migrant farmworker to NASA astronaut. . . For anyone with a dream, this comic is a testament that anything is possible—no matter where you start or how far you have to go.” – Astronaut José M. Hernández

February 20, 2025 —New York, NY— On February 20, 1962, NASA launched the first American in space to orbit the Earth. This momentous event brought the far away dreams of children everywhere within reach. Now Major Thomás will blast off digitally from Amazon’s Comixology Originals exclusive digital content line on March 25, 2025. A debut graphic novel written by Omar Morales, Major Thomás is a YA space adventure about a Mexican-American farmworker in California’s Central Valley who becomes humanity’s first hyperspace traveler for NASA.

“I created Major Thomás to inspire young brown people from all over the world to reach for their dreams, no matter the obstacles, no matter their circumstances,” says writer Omar Morales. He continued, “The fictional characters in Major Thomás are inspired by real-life Latino heroes, and put into a fun, sci-fi adventure story.”

Thomás Mùnoz was born into poverty with one dream—exploring the cosmos as an astronaut with his best friend, Lisa. While Thomás studies and overcomes many of his circumstances to become Major Thomás, a NASA astronaut, he continues to suffer from anxiety and imposter syndrome.

In the near future, the launch clock to all of Thomás’ dreams counts down, but even after years of elite NASA training, he’s still not ready to let go of Earth. When he ends up lost in space he is stranded far away from our solar system and becomes entangled in a savage intergalactic war. Violent reptoids are hell-bent on destroying Thomás, and the robots he befriends, in their quest to control all of the resources in the star system. Throughout the brutal war, Thomás’ mind remains focused on cultural lessons learned from his mother and now-love interest, Lisa, who is back on Earth, working on a rescue plan with NASA. Will Thomás survive both the intergalactic battle and overcome the war raging inside of him?

Major Thomás includes a foreword by real life astronaut José M. Hernández, a former migrant farmworker who went to space in 2009. Hernández is the subject and inspiration for the Amazon Original film “A Million Miles Away,” now streaming on Prime Video.

The book features work by an entirely Latino creative team from all over the world including, writer Omar Morales (Mexican-American), artists Serg Acuña (Costa Rican) and Mau Mora (Costa Rican), colorists Raúl Angulo (Costa Rican) and Fabi Marques (Brazilian), letterer Taylor Esposito (Argentine-American) and graphic designer Gab Contreras (Peruvian).

Not only is Major Thomás a fun sci-fi story with aliens, sentient robots, and real planets, black holes and constellations found in our galaxy, at its heart it's an inspiring story about digging deep inside to overcome tragic circumstances and reach for the stars.

Major Thomás will be available to read digitally March 25, 2025 from Comixology Originals. As an added bonus, Major Thomás includes an educator’s guide written by Creators Assemble!, a nonprofit made up of teachers and librarians.

Praise for Major Thomás

“Thomás Muñoz is a modern hero… sure to inspire teen readers. Featuring all the action, sci-fi, romance, and diversity that comics readers expect, the professional illustrations lend ultimate shelf-appeal.”

–Moni Barrette, Former President of the American Library Association roundtable for Graphic Novels and Comics (GNCRT)

"A fun, compelling, and character-driven sci-fi adventure that'll keep readers engaged and entertained. A great debut from Morales, Acuña, Mora and co."

–Alex Segura, bestselling author of Alter Ego, Secret Identity, Encanto: Nightmares and Sueños, Spider-Society, and more

“Major Thomás is a charming YA tale starring a Latinx cast and creative team, who celebrate love and science—from outer space to the inner spirit.”

–Shelly Bond, Former DC Vertigo editor, Editor-in-Chief at OFFREGISTER.PRESS

“Omar Morales creates an unpredictable story about friendship, love, and the price you pay for traveling to the stars. Just when you think you have systems lock on what the story is about, it shoots you out the airlock into the vast cosmos.”

–Joseph Illidge, Former Editor at DC and Executive Editor at HEAVY METAL MAGAZINE

“Blast off with Major Thomás for a boundless adventure that teases the depths of both space and the human condition.”

–Brian Hawkins, writer and creator of Black Cotton, Block’D

“Major Thomás is a beautiful, passionate story about determination, perseverance, and love. Omar Morales has written an epic tale about characters that are inspiring for readers of all ages. With wonderful art by Serg Acuna and Mau Mora that complement the story perfectly, this is a book I hope everyone will read.”

–Adam Wallenta, Co-Author/Illustrator of the Ringo Award-winning Punk Taco graphic novel series, editor at PAPERCUTZ

About the Writer:

Omar Morales is a storyteller and writer from Oakland, CA with a deep passion for comic books – the medium that helped him learn English as a young, first-generation American born of Mexican immigrants. His original stories include The Lunar Ladies (Scout Comics), LA Strong (Mad Cave Studios) and now Major Thomás (Comixology Originals). He is the winner of the CW TV’s inaugural 2009 Comic Book Hero writing contest. You can follow Omar on all social media platforms: @omorales81.

About Comixology Originals:

Amazon’s Comixology Originals exclusive digital content line is available at no additional cost for members of Kindle Unlimited and Comixology Unlimited, and for purchase at amazon.com/comixology. Prime members can enjoy a selection of eBooks, audiobooks, comics, and manga included with their Prime membership. With a monthly Kindle Unlimited membership, customers get access to an extensive library of digital books, featuring beloved authors and genres, including binge-worthy series, best sellers, audiobooks, comics and manga, magazines, and trending titles—all at your fingertips at amazon.com/kindleunlimited. Comixology Unlimited offers over 45,000 comics, graphic novels and manga for just $5.99 a month with a free trial at amazon.com/comixologyunlimited.

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And here’s a video trailer, cut by Geek Collective with custom music by my man Tom Breyfogle, a talented comics creator and musician.

And just for fun, a little 8-bit style teaser animated and scored by the homey Chris Fequiere, an brilliant creator and collaborator. It features a VO cameo by the super talented voice actor, Melissa Medina.

If you’ve made it this far, I thank you and salute you. Now I prepare for blastoff in just three weeks—wish me luck!

As a native Californian, I felt called to contribute and pitched Mike and Sarah on a concept for a one-page story wrapped around the theme of California Love. A short time later, I received the green light to proceed with my concept, and I was off and running — and running a bit blind. I was writing not knowing anything about the artwork or the artist I’d be paired with. It felt a bit like the old “Marvel Method,” where an artist would draw a story first and the writer would fill in the words later. In this case with Mad Cave, it was a simultaneous effort, where I imagine Sarah was curating the art and written submissions, and making pairings after everything was submitted. I have never worked on a comic in this way… and it was exhilarating!

I now know that the title of the anthology is called “LA Strong,” and you can pre-order it here: buy LA Strong and support comics creators impacted by wildfires.

This week I was floored when an e-mail came in from Mad Cave to notify me that I’d been paired with legendary artist Stefano Cardoselli. It was an honor to say the least, because I love Stefano’s distinctive art style. His imagery lends itself to so well to futurism, dystopian stories, and SciFi, as clearly evidenced by his work for Heavy Metal Magazine, 2000 AD, Epic Games, and more! When his splash-page with my words hit my inbox, my jaw fell to the ground and I had to pinch myself. I’m not sure if I can share the art, but if you look at his Instagram page, I bet you can figure out which image is the one you’ll see in the pages of “LA Strong.” It is a thing of beauty.

Suffice it to say, I’m beyond thrilled to be included in this most honorable endeavor alongside so many incredible comic book creators, listed below.

If I’m ever in a position to jump in head first for a charitable comics endeavor like this one, where the end product is a joyous surprise, I shall do so with much love in my soul. Thank you Mad Cave. Thank you Mike and Sarah. Thank you Stefano!

And lastly, thank you for reading, and I really do hope you consider supporting this incredible effort for comics creators that need a hand! Here are some closing details:

The book will be on-sale on March 19, 2025 as a drop-in solicit for comics retailers with Lunar code 1224MA843. The final-order-cutoff (FOC) date is February 24, 2025.

Mad Cave will then solicit the issue with Lunar Distribution through its regular catalogue cycle with an on-sale date of May 7, 2025 and FOC date of April 14, 2025. That will allow retailers to get full orders for the project.

100% of the proceeds are planned to go directly to the comic-book creators who Mad Cave is confirming have lost their homes.

#LAStrong

#MadCaveStudios

#CharityComics

Today I share “A Holiday Wrap” with you - an homage to my favorite Christmas song of all time, “Christmas Wrapping,” by The Waitresses. This was created with permission from the record company, ZE Records, and made with so much love and care for the source material. Art by Alex Diotto, Colors by Ellie Wright, Letters by Micah Myers, and cover art by Jenna Stark. You can download it as a PDF at my site, or just scroll below.

I know I haven’t been that active in posting blogs and free comics this year, but it’s for good reason. I’ve been super busy prepping for an exclusive release with Amazon’s ComiXology Originals (announcement here), as well as a couple of new pitches for 2025, and of course, some mini-comics based on my fan favorite franchises.

These little mini comics I make are such a joy to create and it brings me so much happiness to share with you all. Thanks for reading and sharing — I appreciate it!

Without further ado, here is the comic, featuring two lead characters that have lived rent free in my head for some 40 years. They are two star-crossed lovers, passing like ships in the night until Christmas magic takes their fate into its own hands. If you love 1980s pop culture, rom-coms, and alternate realities, then this story is for you! The truth is out there, true believers! 😉

Thanks again — my best to you and yours this holiday season!

I’ll readily admit, I needed to be reminded of this as I have had my own challenges with my comics endeavors. It’s been a trying year where I have felt so close, and yet so far, from realizing my comic-book making dreams. At times, as creators, we have to accept and be at peace with so many factors that are way beyond our control in the industry. Blue Beetle came at the right time and really struck a cord with me, complete with a touching cameo to El Chapulín Colorado — the comedic, try-hard superhero with no powers and a heart of gold.

Beetle was a great reminder to dig deep into my cultural roots and find that ánimo when things don’t go according to plan. My projects, and my cherished artwork partners, deserve that extra effort and care to push forward in the face of adversity. When I see my people represented in the main stream with films like Blue Beetle and Amazon’s A Million Miles Away, I am reignited with motivation and inspiration. Ima find some kinda way to get my stories out there — as there is one thing I know I can control: how much joy and passion I put into creating and presenting my stories.

Thank you to Warner Bros., DC, the producers, director Ángel Manuel Soto, and that wonderful cast! Bravo y gracias from a Chicano boy trying to live the dream… and represent while doing so.

¡Si se puede!

Enjoy the Cypress Hill tunes, taken straight from the Beetle soundtrack! 🐞

¡No contaban con mi astucia!

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In October of 2022, I released a digital, fan-fiction comic based on Nintendo’s cult-classic video-game franchise, Metroid. I did this to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the release of the 2D, side-scrolling game Metroid DREAD — a game that loyal Metroid players had been waiting on for nearly 20 years. With so much pent-up demand for Metroid content, I felt I had to contribute something back to such a loyal, rabid fanbase, of which I count myself as a member of the community.

It is a fan fiction, meaning that I can’t sell it or profit off of it, so I put it up for free on my website as a downloadable PDF that you can access here: Metroid SHRED PDF. I’ll also drop the individual comic pages at the bottom of this post, so read away!

Here are some things that I learned doing this fun and deliciously satisfying project.

• Partner with a fellow enthusiast - I deliberately chose to work with a long-time collaborator in artist Mau Mora because he is also a massive Metroid fanatic. This made it easy to move quickly with a short-hand for visuals and references that required virtually no research by either of us. It also gave us the ability to check each other and make sure were were treating the material with the utmost care and respect to both Nintendo and the franchise’s supporters.

• Have a logical release plan that resonates - in my case, it was rather simple: Metroid DREAD released on Oct. 8th 2021, and I released my fan fiction project a year later as an anniversary celebration. This made sense to the fandom and it gave me and Mau a target date to aim for, with the game’s announcement by Nintendo in June ‘21. Until then we were just working at a leisurely pace, and having a deadline with the bombshell news of DREAD’s surprise release gave us motivation.

• Leverage fellow fandoms and fan sites - I was so fortunate that fellow fans were so willing to support our project. I gave some preview images and the full story to some outlets ahead of time, to give them confidence that the story was a legit endeavor at full production with colors and professional lettering. I offer sincere thanks to Metroid Database, Metroid Monday, countless other Facebook groups, and international fan sites for their support! The story was read and shared thousands of times the world over, and I’m grateful for it.

• Writing your favorite characters can be liberating - I’ve heard many comic book pros talk about how hard it is to do licensed characters, at places like DC and Marvel, that are so heavily governed and managed by committee. Because I didn’t ask anyone’s permission, I had free reign to write any type of story in any way I chose, and it was thrilling. Even more exciting was the great reception the story enjoyed from my beloved circle of Metroid fans from around the globe.

• Never apologize for your passion for an IP - a great piece of advice I got from a pro’s pro (Bryan Edward Hill) was to let it all hang out on social media with regard to your fandom(s). His view is: you never know who could be looking at your content and see you as a potentially good fit for a project that is similar in tone and genre. Whether you are a producer, writer, line artist, cinematographer, or whatever… let people know what type of stuff you are into. In my case, this became a truism, as I was approached by a publisher for a potential project based on my relentless celebration of Metroid on social media.

  Metroid Shred is the comic book adaptation that the world and fans of the mega hit Nintendo franchise need right now, and Omar Morales’ The Force Media imprint delivers it! The writing on this 15 page adventure is everything that you’d want the story to be – clearly and indelibly led by visuals, it’s as if you can feel the actual game play. Needless to say, the art by Mau Mora is phenomenal, capturing every aspect of the game and transferring it to the comic book medium seamlessly as our main character, Samus Aran, is placed perfectly in the fast paced setting of a galactic sojourner always in the midst of some battle. So, yeah, if you haven’t read this yet or told your friends about it, like, get on that – now!

  ~Brian Hawkins (The Vineyard, Black Cotton)

  So that’s where I’ll stop for today. I hope you enjoy this quiet, little side story about a solitary bounty hunter named Samus Aran, a science fiction hero that Nintendo based on Ripley and the ALIEN SciFi movie franchise. You’ll see that Metroid SHRED is an homage to an homage, made with so much affection for these fantastic worlds and heros that I adore. Also, I encourage you to indulge in other wonderful fan-created Metroid comics that are available and collected at the aforementioned Metroid Database site.

  As for what is next for Mau and I? All I can say is… See You Next Mission! 😉✨

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Hey all, I hope you’re having a happy holiday season and that all of your creative endeavors are taking shape no matter what phase of the process you are in! Today I want to share three more key lessons learned from the great Shelly Bond.

A couple of months ago, I had the great fortune of workshopping my original graphic novel, Major Thomás, with Bond. It was a wonderful, holistic experience that broke down every aspect of my project, from concept, to assets and branding, to script, to finished page review. Before our review session, she had e-mailed me high-level notes and a marked-up PDF. Bond also snail-mailed me something I’ll treasure forever: a fully printed out black-and-white ashcan copy of my book with all of her editor’s marks in glorious red ink. As a former journalist, I was back in familiar and nostalgic territory with this old-school approach. I carried that ashcan around with me for a couple of weeks as I made detailed notes for my creative team on almost every single page—art, colors, and lettering, sometimes only one tiny thing, sometimes a combo of all three things.

Luckily, I’d had a primer to this approach by taking Bond’s 4-week, online course Filth & Grammar, which is opening up again in February 2023 and you can sign up for it here at the Off Register Press web site.

Now it’s time to drill into three super specific areas that really stood out to me in the one-to-one I had with Bond. These were some of the finer details of making a comic book that may seem obvious from a 30,000-foot view, but hard to spot when you are in the weeds of writing a script. For example, I felt I’d come a long way by asking artists to leave enough room for balloons and/or captions for any given panel that has more than one or two balloons, or that is a smaller panel on a page where space is tight, like a close-up or a two-shot of talking heads. So here are some gems that came into sharper focus under the critical microscope of a brilliant editing mind.

1. Readability of things like whisper balloons, quiet balloons, and words and names with accent marks and tildes.

   1. My book is littered with Spanish-language words with accent marks and tildes, including the titular character Major Thomás Muñoz. The key learning here is that the leading, the space between lines, needs to be ample enough where an accent mark or a tilde doesn’t get lost in the line above. With a project like mine, I would lose so much cultural flavor without enough headroom to make the intended impact of using Spanish-language words.

   2. This one may seem obvious, but the font size on a whisper balloon or quiet balloon still needs to be big enough to read for people of all ages. The whisper is easier to accomplish with the effect of a dotted line around the balloon, but a quiet balloon is a little trickier. Suffice it to say, I came to a good compromise with my talented lettering partner, Taylor Esposito.

      

2. Use of color to subdue and highlight. Admittedly, I hadn’t thought of incorporating this into my script, but I will going forward. Simply put, this is when you have a group of people in a panel, and you need your speaking characters (usually the main characters) to pop out. What the color artist can do is subtly dull out the colors of the background characters just a touch so that the speaking characters catch the eye. This can even be done in a two shot, where the speaking character is at risk of getting drowned out by an over-the-shoulder or an obstructed view. There was one page in particular where this made all the difference in the world and I’m glad to have partnered with the fabulous Fabi Marques on this particular color edit. Here’s a before image, and you’ll have to buy my book in 2023 to see the after version (cha-ching)! Line art by the great Mau Mora:

   

3. Adjacencies from a neighboring panel, creating weird optical illusions. This one is harder to explain, but sometimes a drawing in one panel just looks weird with the drawing in an adjacent panel. Imagine one panel where a character is sticking out their arm, and we can only see up to the elbow before the arm disappears into the panel border. Then in the next panel over we have an extreme close-up of a character’s ear. The result is what looks like an arm going into a giant ear. I found this topic the hardest challenge to overcome by far. As a writer, I’m struggling with how to express watch out for adjacencies in the script phase. It’s a toughie, but as a many-hats project manager, you can pay attention to detail in the thumbnail phase, and even that can be hard due to the very rough nature of thumbnails. Better yet, I’d encourage writers to hire an editor with a keen eye for all aspects of production!

   ---

   I know I don’t post a lot due to a crazy busy schedule, and I hope you were able to take a nugget or two from this post. If nothing else, do check out Bond’s how-to books like, Filth & Grammar, or Hey Amateur! Better yet, sign up for her second interactive session of Filth via 4 Zoom classes, it is money well-spent for anyone craving that secret knowledge to level-up their comics skills no matter what artistic discipline they are bringing to the creative table. It is a phenomenal investment…and I hope to see you there! Or, you can always catch me online at my web site, or on any social media channel with the handle @omorales81. I use that handle for gaming, Substack, Discord, and just about anything else you can think of.

Thanks for reading and please feel free to share! Next time, I’ll reveal what I’ve learned from Scott Snyder’s Comics 101, available via his Best Jackett Press Substack.

Hail to the Victors! #GoBlue

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I feel lucky and privileged to be among the inaugural class of students learning the Filth & Grammar method at the foot of Bond. Right off the bat, I appreciated the way she goes about her business; she demands that you come prepared, on time, and ready to engage. So many times, classes like this will get rescheduled endlessly, start late, end late, and sometimes they don’t offer participants a chance to unmute and speak 1:1 with the instructor. Not so for the Zoom version of Filth & Grammar; everyone has a chance to ask questions, both in Saturday classes and at dedicated Sunday Q & A sessions. Bond offers the main courses on Saturdays at a time that is reasonable for everyone from L.A. to London—brilliant. I can’t tell you how many comics Zooms are scheduled for 4 or 5 p.m. Pacific Time, during the week, which is not always doable for people with day jobs and families. Score one for Filth & Grammar!

On to the content. The course follows a very logical and chronological flow of how editors bring comics to life…and to market. From idea and concept, to the one-page pitch, to the script, the roughs, the balloon placements, the pencils, the inks, the colors, the letters, the page specs, the printer schedule, self-publishing, and to crowdfunding, Bond covers it all. The lessons are rock solid and born from decades of forging comics with a hands-on approach, with an eye toward the visual language of comics. From the graphic sensibilities of cover art, title and masthead, to the dangers of adjacencies in connecting panels, Bond gives a master class in how to look at the production process. All of this is told through the eyes of an editor that has the skills of a filmmaker, a graphic designer, and an art director. As this article so eloquently points out, many of these skills are disappearing from the landscape of comic books: Why comic books became a more of a writer's and less of an artist's medium. It’s worth a read, trust me.

Out of respect to Bond and the price I paid to enroll in the Zoom class, I am not going to share any of the hand-outs or video content here. However, I will share a couple of holy-trinity tips that really resonated with me:

The three goals of making your comics

1. Entertain

2. Enlighten

3. Empower

My take on this is: yes, write the story you would want to read and only you could tell, but do it in a bold new way that’s never been done before. Tell your story from a fresh perspective that isn’t out there in the mainstream. For example, my current passion project is an original graphic novel titled Major Thomás. As you might tell by the accent mark, this isn’t just another story about a white-male NASA astronaut on an adventure. It’s about a Latinx space explorer that grows up as a farmhand and has to overcome incredible adversity for the privilege of getting lost in space. His unique experience as a marginalized Chicano-American is the key to him transforming himself into the person he must become in order to survive in space. I am creating this story exclusively with superstar Latinx artists Serg Acuña, Raúl Angulo, Mau Mora, Fabi Marques, and Taylor Esposito. Why? Because I want to entertain, enlighten and empower from the perspective of these Latinx comics creators that truly love the medium. This team represents México, Costa Rica, Brazil, and Argentina. All continents represented — North America, Central America, and South America. I’m damn proud of the work we’re doing; we all absolutely adore comics and it shows.

The final tidbit I’d like to share came in very handy in a recent revision of my script.

The three things to know about your characters

1. Flaws

2. Skills

3. Cadence

When it comes to the lead characters of my story, Thomás Muñoz and Lisa Rodriguez, I spent a lot of time contemplating these three things. Thomás’ fatal flaw is a mirror image to the strengths and skills of Lisa, which was a must-have for this story and how it unfolds. Where Bond really got me to think about re-evaluating and revising my story is with the supporting characters. Without giving away too much, Thomás encounters an elite squad on his adventure. Back in 2018, I took great care to make sure each of member of this squad had a unique look and visual design, but when I went back and reviewed their dialogue, a lot of them sounded the same. Without unique cadences, I began to think a reader could start mixing up the members of the squad if they weren’t paying close attention to the visual details. So when it came to cadences, I went back and re-wrote a lot of the dialogue so that each squad member had a voice - a unique one that was unmistakable and true.

So with that one key insight, my tuition to Filth & Grammar paid off and my project is better for it. In the months ahead, as I look to 2023 and the publication of Major Thomás, I anticipate sharing more about how Bond has helped me grow and learn in order to improve my passion project. As always, thanks for reading and sharing. As Bond would say: VIVA COMICS! And as I would say: BLAST OFF!

#VivaComics #ShellyBond #Filth&Grammar #MajorThomás #BlastOff #OmarMorales

After seeing several ads for an online course on storytelling by the great Alan Moore, I finally pulled the trigger on the self-paced class, offered by BBC Maestro for $90. It is broken down into very digestible chapters, ranging from 5-10 minutes each, more or less, totaling 33 chapters hosted by the one-and-only Moore. Here’s the link:

BBC Maestro presents: Alan Moore on storytelling

One of the early lessons is labeled the Four Weapons. I couldn’t wait to dig into this video because the name alone seemed so very Mooreian. He identifies as an anarchist and his approach to the world comes through the lens of alchemy and magic. In his own words, writing is a way to enchant and even change human consciousness. As a writer, much like a magician, he offers that you need four weapons:

1. Coins/discs = representing Earth and the physical world

2. Swords = representing air, or human intellect

3. Cups = representing water, or emotion and compassion

4. Wand = representing fire, or a human’s will and spark

So, indeed the four weapons are earth, wind, water, and fire. Let’s dig a little deeper.

With the physical world, Moore recommends you learn how things work and how people work. He urges you to learn about sociology, physics and history and gives an example that if you want to write a story that is a medical drama, you must learn all you can about modern medicine, healthcare and how hospitals work. It makes sense. I call this background research, where you can build your knowledge and come off as credible as a creator and narrator in any given genre.

With human intellect, the gray wizard says you must develop a very sharp edge for good ideas versus bad ideas as you shape and craft your themes and storylines. His take is that you must stand for something as a writer and you have to have a firm sense for your personal moral compass and politics, whatever they may be. From this knowledge of self, a writer can have a clear voice and stance on the real world and the fictional worlds they create.

With emotion and compassion, a writer can empathize with the characters they birth. In particular, villains must be well fleshed out, because you understand where they come from and why they are they way they are. It’s been said elsewhere: villains are the heroes of their own stories. Think about Emperor Palpatine. His end goal was peace, even if his means were dark and twisted… but you must know him inside and out before you write him, or else he comes across too flimsy and one-dimensional.

With human will and desire, he says this weapon directs the other three. He told a very personal story of being a fearful writer his first year, not finishing anything he started and not submitting anything for review. One day, he took matters into his own hands and decided no one would help him become a writer… but also that no one would be blocking him or preventing him from reaching his goal. Let me just say that is the mother-lovin’ truth right there! Bravo to Moore for coming to this conclusion in his twenties, as opposed to me — I came to this epiphany in my thirties. But such is life, Moore a full-time writer, and me, a part-time writer doing the side hustle. Either way, it requires a headstrong attitude with no room for quitting or fear of being judged.

At the end of the day, Moore says you have to manifest your stories and will them into existence… into that physical world you’ve studied on the way to becoming a writer with passion and intellect. Four weapons indeed.

Stay sharp, friends!