| Brief | For Issue #3, we're also introducing Nick Zomski - a veteran Chicago police officer whose past may hold clues to what is happening in the present - and opening his story to collaboration. More than thirty years ago, a younger Zomski crossed paths with Darius King and an investigation that was never fully resolved. As Zomski makes his debut in Issue #3, we're inviting you to help us explore what he remembers from 1994, and what he may recognize today that others do not. |
|---|---|
| Core Personality Traits & Values | Quiet, observant, and deeply pragmatic, Zomski values fairness, survival, loyalty, and maintaining order within systems he no longer fully trusts. |
| Archetype | TBD - [Tony to Determine] |
| Motto | TBD - [Tony to Develop] |
| Collaboration Background | Nick Zomski was developed by Tony Maldonado in collaboration with Eric Nyamor, Len Kody, and Jimmy Briseno as part of the Issue #3 pre-production workshops during the summer of 2026. |
| Debut | Issue #3 of the Back of the Yards comic series |
Nick Zomski is a veteran Chicago police officer approaching retirement after more than three decades navigating the shifting criminal and political landscape of the fictional Back of the Yards neighborhood.
Quiet, guarded, and deeply observant, Zomski has earned a reputation over the years as a fair and dependable officer — someone who treats ordinary people with a level of respect uncommon within the city’s machinery. Yet beneath his calm exterior lies the weight of a past he rarely speaks about, shaped by years spent operating within systems where truth, loyalty, and survival often blur together.
Though no longer driven by ambition, Zomski possesses a sharp intuition and awareness that continue to make him dangerous when circumstances demand it.
Much of the mystery surrounding Zomski traces back to the summer of 1994, when Back of the Yards entered a strange and deeply unsettled period marked by escalating violence, unexplained disappearances, and growing instability throughout the neighborhood.
Most notably, the sudden disappearance of Darius King — a rising and deeply polarizing figure within the neighborhood’s criminal ecosystem — triggered years of rumors and speculation. Officially, little was ever connected. Unofficially, whispers persisted that certain police officers, criminal figures, and political interests may have been tied to events occurring behind the scenes during that time.
Zomski’s name occasionally surfaces within those hushed conversations due to his presence in the neighborhood – along with his then-partner, Thomas O’Herron – and their connection to certain reports from that era. Though few who know him can fully reconcile those rumors with the man they otherwise know or remember. Still, decades later, the ambiguity surrounding that period has never fully faded.
Now partnered with the younger and highly ambitious Cerria Cortez, Zomski finds himself pulled back toward unresolved tensions from the past as a new pattern of violence and disappearances begins emerging across Back of the Yards once again.
While Cortez believes systems can still be challenged and changed, Zomski understands how easily institutions bury uncomfortable truths beneath silence, fear, and political convenience.
As their investigation deepens, long-buried memories, hidden relationships, and lingering questions surrounding the events of 1994 begin resurfacing — forcing Zomski to confront not only what may have happened all those years ago, but the uncertain role he himself may have played within it.
Beyond the day-to-day realities of gangs, political influence, police pressure, economic decline, and shifting neighborhood loyalties, there is a growing sense that Back of the Yards is once again drifting toward the kind of instability that defined parts of the early 90’s. Unresolved violence, buried investigations, disappearances, and decisions made in the name of survival or control never truly disappeared — their consequences continued quietly beneath the surface, shaping relationships, institutions, and the balance of power within the neighborhood for decades.
As new violence and tensions emerge in the present day, individuals from different generations gradually find themselves pulled into the same unfolding conflict. Zomski is forced to confront unresolved truths tied to his own past, while Andre Davis, Carl Castaneda, Cerria Cortez, and others begin uncovering how deeply connected the neighborhood’s present instability is to forces that have quietly shaped Back of the Yards for years.
Now that you have a sense of who Nick Zomski is and the broader storyline surrounding his character, we invite you to collaborate with us in helping shape his continued development. Your responses to these collaborative prompts will be regularly reviewed by Zomski’s creator, Tony Maldonado, together with our Studio Board.
Selected ideas and contributions may ultimately become part of Zomski’s evolving core canon moving forward, with Creative Commons credit attributed to you as a contributor. Additional submissions may also be selected for expanded development and discussion through our virtual collaboration workshops.
Nick Zomski is a seasoned Chicago police officer nearing the end of a long and complicated career. Over three decades on the force, he's witnessed the best and worst of the city, built lasting relationships, and carried more than a few memories along the way.
But there's still plenty we don't know about the man behind the badge. What does his life look like outside the police department? How have his relationships and experiences shaped him? And what stories from his past remain untold?
That's where you come in.
As we develop Issue #3 of Back of the Yards, we're inviting you to help fill in the blanks of Zomski's personal and professional history - from his family life and former partnership with Thomas O'Herron to the smaller details that make him human.
Explore the workshop below and help us bring Nick Zomski to life!
Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book. iPad/iPhone users, submit images from FILES (NOT from Photo Library).
Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.
UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW
Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.
UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW
Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.
UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW
Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.
UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW
Collaborate with professional artists by contributing some artwork of your own! Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.
UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW
