Defying a near-capacity crowd of 52,483 in Brisbane, the Blues ran in four tries to one having set up the 18-6 victory with a commanding first-half performance.
They fended off a rally from Queensland to claim back-to-back wins at Suncorp Stadium for the first time in almost three decades, having memorably regained the Shield title last year in a rare series decider.
It was a successful start to the tenure of returning coach Laurie Daley, who was previously at the helm of the Blues from 2013-17.
He replaced Michael Maguire, who took the reins at Brisbane Broncos after a successful triumph last year in his sole Origin series.
"That was massive, the way that we started... our fight and courage was unbelievable," the 25-year-old Lomax said.
After a surprise defeat last year ended their bid for a hat-trick of Shield titles, the Maroons are staring down the barrel of rare consecutive series defeats.
"It's pretty frustrating, we have to go back to the drawing board and be more clinical," Queensland veteran Cameron Munster said.
The Maroons struggled in the early exchanges with ill-discipline against a physical Blues side whipped into a frenzy by the no-nonsense Daley.
NSW were kept at bay by steely Maroons defence until Lomax and Brian To'o crossed over in a frenetic four-minute burst.
Lomax, a hero for NSW in last year's Origin series, added a second try after diving across the line on the right side.
Their advantage would have been greater if not for three missed touchline conversations from an uncharacteristically errant Nathan Cleary.
Queensland were saved from the ignominy of a scoreless first half after To'o was thrown into the sin bin for a mid-air tackle on Xavier Coates.
Valentine Holmes converted the penalty right on the siren and Queensland pounced on a shorthanded Blues after the interval with Coates diving over the line for Queensland's first try.
The Maroons' bid for a famous comeback win was halted as Lomax capped a superb performance by setting up a late try to Dylan Edwards.
The series shifts to the neutral venue of Perth on June 18 before the final match in Sydney on July 9.