VODKA O’CLOCK 2022-02:
MONTY NERO
AMBER LOVE 01-JULY-2022 My work is supported by the generous backers at Patreon.com/amberunmasked who appreciate my reviews and my stories; and they also get first access to what’s happening with my books and podcast. Also, I’m an Amazon Influencer so you can shop through my personal recommendations and buy my books.
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MONTY NERO is back on the show after years and still working on his incredibly poignant series DEATH SENTENCE. While working on this series, his life grew from when when his wife was pregnant with their daughter to all these years later as his daughter graduates primary school.
Life in Scotland for Monty is vastly different than what life in New Jersey, USA is like for us. DEATH SENTENCE is about a sexually-transmitted virus that becomes a pandemic because people will never stop having sex. The G+ virus however, gives one superpowers; however, the drawback is a short lifespan. What would you do with only six months to live?
The G+ super powers are interesting in that they manifest from something in the heart and soul of the victim. Verity can manipulate electromagnetic waves into brilliant forms of art. Her art can be to enjoy or an actual bomb. Weasel can move through surfaces like walls and floors which reflects how empty and invisible he feels deep inside. Yet, in his public life, he’s a rockstar and a hero. Roots is a black woman leading a gang in a neighborhood of London where she uses her fancy for smoking weed to create the best marijuana business she can. Jeb is a bit different. He’s an undercover FBI agent who struggles between all the time away from his family and his desire to complete the missions given to him.
Creating DEATH SENTENCE stories while in the lockdowns of the pandemic, Monty’s belief in how interconnected people was solidified further. Making art like comics in particular, is a little world the creator gets to control.
“You sort of get lost in it and it’s a little world you can control and you know you’ve got everything you need right here in front of you and you just need to work for it and everything is fine. It’s very calming.”
There are three important storylines about the choice in being a parent and how to be a parent in DEATH SENTENCE. **One spoiler was discussed at 45min mark until 47min mark.**
We discussed the hard realities of making comics during the pandemic: the paper shortage; the comic shops closing; shipping being slow or stuck in customs. Yet, there were increases in other online sales since people were desperate for entertainment and fantasy away from Zoom meetings and 24/7 news coverage.
DEATH SENTENCE volume one: Monty Nero & Mike Dowling, lettering by Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt
DEATH SENTENCE: LONDON: Monty Nero & Martin Simmonds
DEATH SENTENCE: LIBERTY: Monty Nero & Martin Simmonds (for some of the series; then Monty took over the art as well)
LINKS:
Montynero.com
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AmberUnmasked.com and Vodka O'Clock Podcast. Author of The Farrah Wethers Mysteries, comic book short stories, prose, and non-fiction. Cosplayer and figure model.