San Diego Comic-Con has long been a fertile playground for comic book and pop culture junkies. Buzz has been building around this year’s fest, which runs through July 24, bringing with it first looks at the characters from Paramount’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and Disney’s National Treasure television series. Among dozens of other noteworthy endeavors on the roster is comic book writer’s Omar Mora’s Ancient Explorers, a graphic comic book hybrid novel with an adventure-action/sci-fi narrative that finds two pals and two archeologists — Luis, Mark, Jennifer, and Sandy — realizing that the ancient map and compass in their possession are actually artifacts filled with hidden clues to discover Paititi, the lost city of Peru.
“It’s a unique adventure story about these people that find themselves on an incredible journey,” says Mora. As the characters in Ancient Explorers understand what they have in their hands, newfound danger arrives, forcing the group to follow what they were meant to do. In this case, become explorers of the ancients, something they were taught as children. “I love stories about the relationship between the friends and discovering yourself through the journey,” Mora adds, “and how certain situations make you realize you need to become better than who you are.”
Mora, who’s at the helm of Moras Productions, is excited to debut the work at Comic-Con. It’s his second graphic novel hybrid. His first, The Unearthians garnered enough attention that Mora and his creative posse are currently in talks to make it into a television series. “We’re still in development stage with that one,” he says, “and we’re working hard to make it happen but, in the meantime, we’re super thrilled to be at Comic-Con to introduce Ancient Explorers.”
Creating Ancient Explorers
Written by Mora, with additional writing by Jim Higgins, Ancient Explorers boasts a compelling story with exceptional prose, but it is Miguel Guzman’s striking artwork that adds a wonderful layer of depth to the overall tale. Attention to detail is key in any graphic novel yet here, Guzman’s skill stands out—everything from the shadows and reflections found in body armor to the use of vivid green and blue hues.
“It’s an interesting process to make all this happen,” Mora notes. “This was my second comic book, so it was a little easier than the first time. But beyond the story, which, technically, is different from creating a film or TV script, you have to find the right penciller, the right artist and colorist, and I felt Miguel did a great job bringing this story alive. I’m excited about the art in the book.”
As Ancient Explorers unfolds, the four key characters confront the challenges of the mystery that has been presented before them. In many ways, it mirrors Mora’s own creative journey. He grew up in Puerto Rico yet never thought about becoming a writer, or even a comic book writer for that matter. Fate led him to pursue a career as a medical doctor. But while doing his residency in New York, Sept. 11 happened. “That really changed my life,” he reflects. “And that’s when I started having my own adventure in life, trying to pursue these dreams I’ve always had. It began my journey of becoming a storyteller.”
Which… he’d go on to do — as an actor, a filmmaker, and now comic book writer.
Opportunities At Comic-Con
Without a doubt, Comic-Con is an ideal place for storytellers. It’s also a place for people who love the stories those storytellers tell. Buzz builds at these events as news from film studios and major streaming sites drop, in addition to comic book announcements, and attendees lap it up. It’s not bad for the economy either. In 2019, more than 135,000 people attended Comic-Con and the event generated roughly $3.2 million in hotel and sales tax revenue for San Diego. The event has hosted thousands of special guests at its conventions through the years, too, bringing comics creators, science fiction and fantasy authors, film and television directors, producers, writers, and creators from all corners of pop culture to discuss their works.
“What’s amazing is that Comic-Con is that it started with like 100 people, and it just keeps growing because people will always love comics and superhero movies, Star Wars—you name it,” Mora says of the iconic event. “It’s like people have an excuse to go and just be a kid again — most of the people who go are adults. I just love that it brings everybody together and there’s so much being offered by the entertainment world.”
Still, being at Comic-Con this year almost didn’t happen. When the pandemic hit, the economy also tilted a bit, and Mora wasn’t sure if the finances would be in place to do the full graphic novel. That’s when he and the team decided to create a hybrid. “I’m happy I did it that way,” he says. “If you don’t read the comic book pages within the novel, you’ll get lost. The comic pages aren’t just illustrations, they’re part of the story. And I think that makes it very interesting and entertaining.”
For more information, visit ancientexplorersthenovel.com.
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