Comic book guys are sexy.

In case you hadn’t noticed by my multiple Twitter and Facebook posts, The Utopian #1 shipped this week. Response has been fairly positive. Not only did I get a healthy amount of pre-orders for the comic (all of which I signed and shipped in one day), but I — surprisingly — received orders through Haven Distributors, which means at least one comic shop wanted to carry The Utopian. Pretty cool. I’ve received more requests than expected, so I actually re-ordered more books from the printer just so I have enough to go around at the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival on Nov. 7. All of which is pretty cool. Unless everyone is blowing smoke up my rear, it means at least a few people actually like what I’ve been doing with The Utopian. I’ve started working on the next chapter, and I’m enjoying the heck out of writing and drawing the new stuff, which hopefully means you kids will enjoy reading it. Oh, and if you’re in Vegas and want to pick up a copy (and avoid the online ordering hassle/shipping fee), it’s being carried locally at Alternate Reality Comics on Maryland Parkway. Go there, it’s a rad shop and owner Ralph is the man.

The Rebel Yell, UNLV’s twice-weekly student-run newspaper (for which I was editor-in-chief briefly during college), ran an awesome story about my comic book activities in its Oct. 15 issue. Written by current EIC Jorge Labrador, it covers a lot of ground, including revealing plans for things I haven’t made public elsewhere (and also has awesome quotes from my pal Aaron Thompson, all the way from South Korea!). However, one thing that got left out from my interview was exclusive news about the lineup for the first issue of Omega Comics Presents, the new anthology series Pop! Goes the Icon will be publishing starting next year. I now have contracts signed for all the creators involved in the premier issue, though I won’t be making the official announcement until after the Comic Fest. But I will leak a bit of news related to that here: The lead feature for the series will be an ongoing serial called “Omega” (now it all fits, right?) written and drawn by yours truly. It’s an action-suspense drama, completely unlike The Utopian, and hopefully will be awesome. More on that coming soon.

Aside from occasional CD reviews and mini news bits, things might be quiet around the journalism area of Awesome City as my attention turns toward publisher duties with PGTI and band stuff, as I’ll be aggressively preparing my home studio for recording even as we’re shopping for a new guitar player. Stay tuned.