Pat O’Malley’s Popscars Is Bloody Brilliant!

Popscars Vol. 1, created by Pat O’Malley is a gritty Hollywood horror story about fame and revenge.

The graphic novel will be available Wednesday, August 7th, 2024. A cover, line art and issue #1 colors by Santi Guillen and interior color art issues #2-#6 by NL Ashworth, back cover by Arinela Kociko. All edits, design and letters are by Phil Smith.

Would you be interested in reading Popscars?

“Sure… why not!”

The thought I had in my head as I stared at an inbox full of indie video game requests that I know aren’t going to make me happy. Plus, this is a graphic novel and I love a good graphic novel.

Promptly the press copy comes through and the cover of Popscars takes over my screen.

I’ll be honest the cover is cool, but the character on the cover made me roll my eyes.

It reeked of try hard. A mix up thug and prostitute. Hard, but keep it sexy. Remember, no matter what that sex always sells!

Deeply sighing and praying that I didn’t just say yes to something that will waste my time and make me mad, I get comfortable on the couch and do ten deep breaths to clear my mind before digesting Popscars.

Pinky is vulnerable, angry, and doesn’t get win from the start. At the beginning I was worried that she wouldn’t make it to the end!

Strength, Determination, Perseverance

Popscars tells the story of a daughter done wrong who decides that she isn’t giving this up to God and lacks the patience to let Karma do its work. Instead we find out that her father was running for the lifetime achievement of worst person and father, Harry Kinkade. His accusations are that he left Pinky, our story’s hero and her mother. He’s also not a great friend which leads those that he considered friends to betray him.

Harry Kinkade is tossed out of Hollywood, but he isn’t just going to roll over and take it. He has his own henchmen and ends of enlisting his own daughter, who he isn’t even aware is his own.

The story is wild and filled with moments that will have you silently say “what the fuck” when taking it all in. There’s violence, sex, dildos with nails, sharks, and more.

You have to read it!

This is definitely not a superhero story or is it?

I guess it depends on what you consider a superhero. Batman fans would say that our main character, Pinky is a superhero. Others like me who believe that all superheroes need powers would disagree.

However, I would be wrong by saying that Pinky doesn’t have a superpower because when reading Popscars it obvious that she does. It’s not flying or knives that eject out of your hands, but it is significant.

Vulnerability.

I’m smitten with Popscars

The story was perfectly stirred with horror, revenge, and grit. The storytelling was immersive, engaging, and paced perfectly. Never once did I think…

“Wait, did I miss a panel?” The artwork really made it all pop!

I’ve read a lot of comics, novels and of course watched a lot of media. This graphic novel was oddly different for some reason I could tell that this was written by someone who is different. Someone that wasn’t throwing things against the wall and hoping it would stick.

Pat O’Malley Proved Me Right

A simple phone call at 2:00 PM mountain daylight savings time gave me more than I expected and it proved my point.

Pat O’Malley is a different type of writer. A writer that may be overlooked when everyone is a creator, everything is content, and great job comments are considered peak engagement.

Uncovering the background of Pat the graphic novel all makes sense. He’s always been a creative! Pool Shark, a short film that can be found on Youtube has accumulated 99 million views. The writer, a former cameraman on the sets of Hollywood, decided to walk away because although he met some great people he definitely met some awful people.

The awful people continue to be awful and no one does anything and those that want to do something simply can’t even when they try.

“It shouldn’t be that way!”

Pat states and you can feel the settle outrage in his voice. Was our character Pinky him? I forgot to ask, but an answer is definitely not needed. However, some of the characters in Popscars are based on some very unpleasant bosses that Mr. O’Malley had to work with.

A little over the hour mark and I get it. The reason why Popscars stuck with me is because of Pat’s experiences and skills. Now, I know why the story was immersive, engaging, and didn’t skip a beat. It’s from years of producing his own projects, being on Hollywood sets, screenwriting, and the love of cinematography that birthed Popscars.

He spent five years with a few basic notebooks writing, sketching, jotting notes, and revising the tales of Pinky until he got it just right! Here he takes a moment to thank Phil for pushing him.

Pat was very kind and shared these images. As you can see the original title wasn’t Popscars, but instead Popfreaks at one point. He has an attachment to the word “Pop”.

I’m honored that he shared these sketches with me. I enjoy seeing the creative process and it gives projects a bit more depth. Pat points out that sketch #2 wasn’t shared with the artist so it’s quite cool that the artist envisioned the same imagery as him.

Currently, Pat O’Malley is with Godhood Comics.

They publish comics/graphic novels that are outside of our typical comic book collection as they want to create stories and characters that appeal to different audiences. I highly suggest that you check out their website if you have the craving for something different.

Make sure to Pre-Order!

Since this is an indie production there is no guarantee that it will be available at every single local comic book store so make sure that you take the time to pre-order it and add it to your pull list before it is too late.

If you are interested in keeping up Popscars and Punch Publishing feel free to follow them on social media and check out some of Pat’s other work including their short films.

Social Media Links

• Instagram:
  https://www.instagram.com/punchpublishing
• X/Twitter:
  https://x.com/punchpublishing
• Pat’s Youtube, includes the short films Pool Shark:
  https://www.youtube.com/@PatOMalley
• Purchase Popscars Online:
  https://godhoodcomics.com/product/popscars-vol-1/
• Previews World Pre-Order:
  https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUN241705