David Bowie’s 1969 song “Space Oddity” remains popular today, and many still refer to it as “Major Tom,” (the song’s main character). This serves as a reminder that inspiration for a story can come from unexpected places. For writer Omar Morales, this song sparked a ten-year journey, culminating in his graphic novel, the young adult space adventure “Major Thomas.” This story follows Thomás Mùnoz, a Mexican-American farmworker from California’s Central Valley, who becomes humanity’s first hyperspace traveler for NASA.
His graphic novel will make its digital debut on ComiXology Originals on March 25th. In advance of this, we caught up with writer Omar Morales to discuss his creative beginnings and his inspiration for Major Thomas. So, let’s welcome talented writer Omar Morales to GVN Talking Comics.
Creative Beginnings
GVN: Thank you, Omar, for taking the time to speak with us. Since we have not had the chance to converse before, let us begin with your creative origins. You were introduced to comics at an early age. Which comic titles were you exposed to, and did you have an ambition to write at that time, or did that come later?
Omar: I grew up with the spinner rack at 7-11 as my library! The first book I remember owning and reading was “Spider-Ham, ” the humor and novelty was right up my alley. Then I got into “Secret Wars.” There was an entrepreneurial kid in my neighborhood that had a distribution deal with Diamond, and he used to sell me X-Men books. I was a Marvel kid 100%, and yes, it inspired me to draw and write from an early age. I still remember the first original character I made with one of those old BIC multi-colored ink pens.
Making First Pitches
GVN: Talking about those old BIC pens brought a bit of nostalgia for me. I too used those in my early drawing days. You have written for many different publishers, including Scout, Mad Cave, and ComiXology Originals. Who was the first publisher that you reached out to, and did you have any trepidation when pitching your first books to them?
Omar: Oh wow–wow! What a great question. Of course I had trepidation, I was so new and had no idea what I was doing. I can’t remember the name of the guy, but he ran a small vanity press, so he was one of the first I reached out to with my first one-shot. He ripped my writing to shreds, but I got up, dusted myself off and kept putting one foot in front of the other. I bet if I dig around, I could still find his scathing e-mail somewhere, as I hung onto it for motivation. It takes time to build up the connections and confidence to pitch!
Mad Cave’s “LA Strong Anthology”
GVN: I mentioned your work with MadCave which was a story for their LA Strong Anthology, California Love.” How did this collaboration come together?
Omar: Mike Marts and Sara Brunstad from Mad Cave put out a call to creators to pitch ideas for the anthology, so I sent one in with the angle that I’m a life-long Californian. Some days later, Sara responded, accepted my pitch, and gave me some parameters. I was writing blind, not having any idea what the art would look like, so that was a new and novel challenge! “California Love” was paired with the legendary artist Stefano Cardoselli and my jaw hit the floor when I saw his art under my words.
Inspirations for “Major Thomas”
GVN: As a big fan of Stefano’s work for Mad Cave, I’m right there with you. Your book Major Thomás from ComiXology Originals will be released digitally March 25th. A wonderful tale that follows Thomás Mùnoz, a Mexican-American farmworker in California’s Central Valley who becomes humanity’s first hyperspace traveler for NASA. How did this story come about and how confident were you that once pitched, it would be published.
Omar: I was inspired by a live performance of the pop song “Major Tom,” covered by Shiny Toy Guns in San Francisco. Almost immediately, I started workshopping a Latino version of the astronaut that is famously lost in space. It marinated in my head for about 10 years, then during COVID, I finally had the time to turn my outline and concept drawings into a legitimate script. Before I started pitching, the project caught the attention of a Top 10 publisher and we had a lot of great discussions before its originals program kind of fell apart. That was a great learning process, and it gave me confidence to keep pitching.
The Artistic Team of Serg Acuña and Mau Mora
GVN: Major Thomás includes art by Serg Acuña and Mau Mora. Did you reach out to them about working on your project and how much input did you give them when telling this compelling story?
Omar: I got to know Serg via Instagram and I pitched him the project, and he said yes! So we did a contract, an initial video call to discuss the story and away we went. To his credit, he started getting regular work from DC and he had to depart my project… but he did me the favor of handing it off to a trusted partner in Mau Mora. Mau and I already had a short-hand because we’d worked on a couple of Metroid fan fictions together, and those are free on my website, www.theforcemedia.com. I worked off of full script with all the artists, but they still found ways to amaze me with their flourishes and Easter Eggs.
Astronaut José M. Hernández
GVN: One of the very cool things about Major Thomás was the foreword by real life astronaut José M. Hernández, a former migrant farmworker who went to space in 2009. Hernández was the subject and inspiration for the Amazon Original film “A Million Miles Away.” (I actually reviewed that film and was greatly impressed). How were you able to get Jose’s participation on your project?
Omar: Much like the real-life José M. Hernández, I never quit. I kept asking him until he said yes, LOL! I secretly think maybe he respected my tenacity, just as he showed tenacity in applying to NASA over ten times! Honestly, I led with the fact that he is from the same hometown as my Dad, La Piedad, Michoacán, México. He and I have some crazy connections, as he’s done some charity work with my cousin. We’re both Raiders fans and he has a grape farm in Lodi, Calif, which is near where I live. It was meant to be!
Guiness Book of World Records
GVN: That persistence you learned when making comic pitches paid off. Nice! I want to thank you once again Omar for your kind patience. Before I let you go, I would be remiss if I didn’t ask about your Guinness World Record for the “Largest Comic Book Published” in 2014. Was that a goal going in or did it develop as you progressed on that particular project?
Omar: That was the thing that put me on the map way back when I first started this wild ride of independent comics. I made a book called CruZader: Agent of the Vatican, and as part of the marketing launch, I wanted to set a world record with it. I did the research and found a local printer that could make me a 24 inch by 36 inch, poster-sized one-shot. It was a real book with a stapled spine and I had a blast selling it and showing it off at comics conventions. For a long time, Ming Chen and Mike Zapcic had a copy on display at Kevin Smith’s Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash store in Red Bank, NJ. Cool, huh?
Thanks so much for your time. Please tag me at: @omorales81 – I use the same handle on every platform imaginable.
Major Thomas by Omar Morales, Serg Acuña and Mau Mora lands on digital for ComiXology Original on March 25th. Be sure to check it out.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 60 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove headfirst over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 21-year-old young man with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
