Actually, I’m excited. I know a lot of people who will be up there, though most of them I’ve only dealt with over the internet, including Denis Caron, Stephen Downer, Sven Straatveit and Jason Copland, who will be joining me at our little Pop! Goes the Icon table in Artist Alley on Saturday to hang out, sign stuff and help give away two pages of his original art from the first issue of Omega Comics Presents.

But the only show I’ve tabled thus far was the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival, which is relatively small (1200 attendees), and was only five hours. I decided to forego bigger shows such as San Diego Comic-Con this year in lieu of more intimate (or at least, not four-day blowouts) venues such as ECCC and Long Beach Comic-Con. But still, ECCC is pretty huge, and I’ll have to be all cheery and approachable behind a table for two full days, something I haven’t done since I worked in retail — and that was a long time ago.

And as I’ll be in Artist Alley, people might expect, I dunno, sketches or something. And I’ve already had requests from folks attending for sketches. I gives me performance anxiety. And I would just pull the “I’m a writer” card, but everyone knows I also draw the comics I write, so I can’t really fairly do that. And sitting next to Jason, who’s a for-real artist, well, it has me a bit antsy.

But the main reason for my mini-freak-out, aside from still not having all my materials prepared and dreading how many supplies I’ll have to load into the luggage I don’t own yet, is whether or not I’ll sell enough comics to justify the huge expense of flying both Sara and I to Seattle, staying in a downtown hotel for three nights, and paying hundreds of dollars for space and power at the convention. Due to distribution fuck-ups with the first issue of OCP, I HAVE to count on convention sales to turn a profit on this thing and get my creators paid. So I’m being optimistic and bringing a bunch more copies than I think I’ll sell. But what if over the course of two days I don’t sell diddly? Is it because I’m a bad salesperson? Or because the product quality isn’t there? See why my nerves are a little wracked?

Of course, I’m sure things will go smoothly. And I’ll have a good time meeting new people, seeing old friends and generally hanging out in one of my favorite U.S. cities. But still: nervous.

If you live in Seattle or plan to attend the show, PLEASE come visit me at Artist Alley booth M-12. In addition to the first issue of the well-reviewed OCP #1, I’ll also have bargains on The Utopian #s 1 and 2, as well as free swag. And I’ll draw you a sketch if you ask nicely. So long as it’s not a car.

Of course, since Seven started up, I’ve self-removed myself from the local music beat for the Weekly and had to put Examiner stuff to the side (going from less than an article a month to none at all, sadly). But the result is talking to awesome artists such as Laurenn McCubbin and Gilbert Hernandez, and this week, spending a whole page discussing the differences between San Francisco and Vegas art scenes with Dray while exposing some outsider art at the Fallout Gallery.

I’ll probably be missing somewhat from Seven’s pages for the next few weeks as I prep for, and attend, Emerald City ComiCon in Seattle (more on this soon), but keep your eyes peeled for new articles in the near future.

Oh, and if you haven’t donated to sponsor my team in this year’s AIDS Walk Las Vegas, you have more than a month. So hop to it!

One of the charities I’ve very visibly supported for longer than I can even remember is Aid for AIDS of Nevada, a Las Vegas-based nonprofit whose mission is to provide “support and advocacy for adults and children living with and affected by HIV/AIDS in Southern Nevada.” How does AFAN do this? By working to reduce HIV infection through prevention education, providing services to those affected by the disease such as housing, transportation, food, nutritional counseling and legal assistance.

Every year around tax time, AFAN holds AIDS Walk Las Vegas, which serves both to bring awareness to the community and to raise beaucoup fundage for the organization. This year’s walk — the 20th annual — is being held on April 25, and as always, your pal Pj will be walking. It’s more like a big block party than a boring old charity walk — there’s live entertainment, vendors, colorful characters, food and drinks, and, of course, thousands of energized, awesome people ready to take to the streets of downtown Las Vegas.

I kindly request (and slightly urge) you to help the cause by either a) sponsoring me as a walker or b) joining our team and walking with us. I’d prefer “b,” but will definitely take “a!” This year, I’m walking on the Harrah’s Entertainment/Penn & Teller team, which means that for every dollar you guys donate on my behalf, Harrah’s will match that donation! Isn’t that cool? IT IS.

So I hope to either see you at 8 a.m. on April 25 at the World Market Center, or see your name pop up in my donation page “Honor Roll.” Thanks! In the meantime, enjoy a slideshow of photos from the 2008 AIDS Walk:

Oh, sure, the first wave of original, non-linear, mega-circus productions such as Mystère and O feature trademark vibrant costumes, mind-blowing artistry and awe-inspiring sets, all wrapped in a sense of whimsy and wonder orchestrated by their creator, director Franco Dragone. Dragone left Cirque to form his own entertainment group, and since then, the company’s subsequent shows (such as Kà and Zumanity) have diverged from what the general public perceives as the established Cirque status quo, when in fact, they’ve diverged from the Dragone standard.

Since then, Cirque has entered into collaborations for its Vegas shows that have been of, well, questionable success. With The Beatles LOVE, the company produced a much-loved, critically lauded show that even spawned a Grammy-winning soundtrack album. That show stays true to the “traditional” spirit of Cirque du Soleil, never letting either the vague biographical story of the Beatles or the circus performances feel forced. Of course, maybe the Beatles’ eclectic music was always destined for the circus.

On the other hand, Criss Angel: Believe has been … less enthusiastically received. Blame the lack of magic, blame the creepy rabbits, blame Criss Angel’s own lack of charisma and general douchebaggery — whatever it is, Believe proves that not everything graced by the Cirque du Soleil name turns to gold. Or even bronze.

Hence, we come to Cirque’s latest collaboration, Viva ELVIS, which — in case you couldn’t figure it out or have been held hostage from the internet lately — loosely tells the story of Elvis Presley’s life through song, dance and trampoline tricks. On its own, ignoring the Cirque du Soleil name, Viva ELVIS is an adequate, enjoyable musical, featuring an integrated, energetic live band performing along with Elvis’ vocal tracks, enhanced by live singers. It’s a whitewashing of Elvis’ career, of course, leaving out all the ugly parts about drug addiction, affairs and, oh yeah, getting fat and dying. And it’s narrated by an actor portraying Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis’ notoriously manipulative and corrupt manager who, here, appears as a genial carnival barker.

So what makes it a Cirque show? There are kitschy, giant set pieces, such as a blue suede shoe, a guitar and a wedding cake, and acrobats performing feats of derring-do upon them. There is a fun but totally out-of-context trampoline segment. There are aerialists and colorful costumes and creepy plastic Elvis wigs. But unlike The Beatles LOVE — and yes, I’m going to compare here, because these are both Cirque-spawned shows based on the music and lives of giant rock stars — Viva ELVIS lacks that, well, certain je ne sais quoi that makes LOVE so fantastic. There’s no emotional investment. No build-up. No surprises or small, touching moments. It’s just all flashy showmanship, all the time, and even then, some scenes went on too long and could not maintain entertainment value.

Viva ELVIS feels more like the Broadway version of Hairspray, if you removed characters for whom we care about, a storyline we can follow or a genuine feeling of nostalgia. If you just purely love Elvis’ music, and dig musical theater, it may be right up your alley. But if you’re expecting the otherworldly, transcendental experience of earlier Cirque shows, your money’s best spent on a discounted ticket to Mystère.

THE TENSION MOUNTS!

The first review of Omega Comics Presents #1 appeared on the interwebs today courtesy of the Ambush Bug over at Ain’t It Cool News, and … he was VERY generous with the niceties. I was kind of nervous sending out review copies because, well, I’m used to my friends humoring me with their love for The Utopian, but this time, it wasn’t just my local reputation on the line, but that of all the hard-working creators who contributed to the first issue. Thankfully, no matter how bad any future reviews may be, this first one out of the gate at least justifies that the first issue of this anthology to which I’m contributing (and editing) is enjoyable to at least one other human being.

The Bug had lots of nice things to say, calling each of the stories “pretty good” and stating he was “looking forward to issue #2.” And at least one of those stories in the second issue will be chapter two of my action-espionage epic, “Omega,” about which the Bug had this to say:

Story one entitled “Omega” by PJ Perez focuses on a team of anti-terrorists that work under the radar of the press and populace. This story may take a bit longer than I’d prefer to get started, but once the Omega team is introduced, the story really gets rolling and the tension is built high enough to make me want to check out the next issue.

That’s probably the nicest thing written about my storytelling since Jarret Keene compared The Utopian to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Stan Lee’s Spider-Man. So thanks, Ambush Bug!

And if you haven’t picked up Omega Comics Presents #1 yet, I wouldn’t cry if you did.

ME.

Oh, yeah, so, my latest contribution is a nifty article about Love and Rockets co-creator Gilbert Hernandez, his USA Fellows award, what he’s working on right now, and other probing issues of our day. Did you know the beloved underground comics writer/artist has been a Las Vegas resident for 8 years? No? READ THE ARTICLE AND YOU SHALL. Or if you enjoy more visual displays, click on this link (requires registration).

In the meantime, I’m finishing up another art story for the March 4 edition of Seven. So please keep it down while I try to beat my deadline. Thanks.

Just trying to get caught up while everyone in the house is napping. Heading to Ago for dinner in a few hours. It’s a snazzy Italian joint inside the Hard Rock Hotel. We shall be snazzy.

EVERY DAY. BECAUSE WE LOVE YOU.

When we come to your town, hide your daughters. And sheep.

Shockingly, I launched a new project two weeks ago and have not promoted it on this blog yet.

We’ll fix that right now.

Pocketful of Awesome is a new, weekly podcast hosted by yours truly and the always-chatty Michael “Mikey Vegas” Willoughby. Because I didn’t have enough to do with the writing and comics and music. Nope, I had to add something else that takes up about six hours a week between recording and editing. But hey, you LOVE MORE PJ RIGHT?

Anyway, the second episode was posted today, and it’s an hour and 35 minutes of, um, two guys drinking and talking politics, music, news, pop culture and really whatever other tangent onto which we derail. The first episode was relatively coherent. This most recent one interrupts a musical segment to talk “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” and answers a listener question about little people’s clothes in ways that will surely offend and alienate most of our listeners soon enough, all while Mike and I slowly devolve into slurred giggling fits.

But, hey, if you’re dying to hear my voice every week, well, there it is. Pocketful of Awesome is available on iTunes, where we also recommend you subscribe and rate and review our nonsense.

And that’s all. I’ll probably be back tomorrow to shamelessly self-promote some other stuff with which I’m cluttering the media spectrum.

As you may determine from that sexy, silvery cover you see to your right, the new issue’s cover story is about Muse, who rocked the Joint at the Hard Rock back in December. And this guy wrote it. “No Resistance” is 1776 words of pure gushing Pj prose exploring the bombastic rock band’s struggles to become king of the U.S. rock scene (which they haven’t yet, but SHOULD).

Photography for the article comes courtesy of Erik Kabik, a good dude and great shutterbug. When the digital version is put online, I’ll link to it. In the meantime, you’ll have to actually get off your couch and go to the Hard Rock to pick up an issue if you want to read it. Which I highly recommend.