Excerpt One
To help set the collaborative stage for this featured collaboration, we start just as Len Kody’s Chicago1968 comic starts – with an introduction of the main characters –including officers Jimmy O’Herron and Clark Zomski .
Our introduction to Clark Zomski opens with a dream that pulls him back to another tumultuous moment in Chicago’s history: the Haymarket Affair (also known as the Haymarket Square Riot), which occurred on May 4, 1886. The Haymarket Affair began as a labor rally for the eight-hour workday and turned violent when an unknown individual threw a bomb at police, triggering chaos and gunfire that left both officers and civilians dead and intensified tensions between labor organizers and law enforcement nationwide.
From this brief dream sequence, we transition to Zomski joining his partner, Jimmy O’Herron, as they begin their daily patrol, driving past the Chicago Stockyards—which sits within the real-life Back of the Yards neighborhood. Both officers understand that the days ahead may be especially eventful with the Democratic National Convention about to take center stage in Chicago.
Excerpt Two
With this second excerpt, we join Zomski and Clark as they respond to a patrol call at a neighborhood bar called Bernie’s Tavern. There, they encounter an old acquaintance of Zomski’s who has had one too many and is causing a disturbance. Meanwhile, the ongoing escalation of the Vietnam War continues to heighten tensions, foreshadowing the challenges awaiting the two officers as the 1968 Democratic Convention approaches.
Excerpt Three
In this third and final excerpt, we again encounter Zomski in the midst of his recurring dream about the notorious Haymarket Affair. He is abruptly awakened by news that shakes the nation: the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
We then follow Zomski and O’Herron to the now-familiar Bernie’s Tavern, where over a drink we gain insight into their personal politics—Zomski, a Nixon supporter seeking what many at the time viewed as a return to “law and order,” and O’Herron, a Bobby Kennedy supporter holding out hope for a more idealistic future.
The scene concludes with yet another national tragedy: the assassination of Bobby Kennedy, underscoring the extraordinary and turbulent events leading up to the fateful Chicago protests of 1968.
With this third excerpt, we conclude our brief glimpse into Len Kody’s Chicago1968 comic, which—as noted earlier—is still in production and slated for completion in 2026. We hope you’ve enjoyed these previews, and more importantly, that they provide useful context for understanding the characters of Clark Zomski and Jimmy O’Herron.
Our featured collaboration below centers on creating a new police officer character for the BackoftheYards comic series. This new character will be connected—whether through family ties or another meaningful relationship—to either Clark Zomski or Jimmy O’Herron. Exactly how they are connected, and how that relationship shapes the traits of your new BackoftheYards officer, is entirely up to you.
With that, we invite you to scroll down to learn more about this featured collaboration!