Bleeding Neon

J. Caleb Mozzocco, who used to review comics for the Las Vegas Weekly and still contributes to websites such as Newsarama on occasion, posted a review of Omega Comics Presents #2 on his blog yesterday, and … it wasn’t bad. He was fair and tried to find something good in each story, even noting that any review is somewhat colored by the reviewer’s own tastes.

Most surprisingly to me, Mozzocco had nice things to say about the second chapter of my serial thriller, “OMEGA.” No, really:

Omega, by PJ Perez, is a thriller about a terrorist [g]roup taking over the Hoover Dam with high school students taken hostage. Their plan is to blow up the dam, but one of the kids has some sort of strange power that saves them. It’s just a chapter of a longer story, but it has a clear beginning, middle and end, and Perez is subtle enough with the storytelling that it creates a mood of intrigue. The character designs are strong and well-rendered, but as solid as any individual panel was, the art seemed a bit stiff to me…and the computer-lettering left a lot to be desired.

Subtle storytelling? Strong character designs? I swear, I did not slip him a fiver with his review copy. I agree the art is a bit stiff. Something that was a problem with the first chapter, too. Something I’m gonna try really hard to fix with the third chapter. But, you know, what’s better? Well-rendered by stiff? Or poorly rendered but loose like that crappy webcomic I put out every week? (Don’t answer that.)

If you’re intrigued and haven’t gotten a copy yet, go ahead and fix that now. Yep.

Back to the drawing board. Finally started work on the third chapter of the “Omega” serial from Omega Comics Presents (you did order issue two, right?) now that contracts have been issued for that anthology’s third issue, and getting a bit ahead on The Utopian. About to start work on a new one-off anthology that you’ll be hearing a lot more about in the near future, which I’m editing and contributing a piece as well. Going to try to get some serious writing done today on several fiction projects, as I need to start on my next feature for Seven soon.

Hey, remember Omega Comics Presents? The black-and-white anthology series I started publishing in the winter, which features multiple new stories by up-and-coming independent comics talents?

It’s baaaack.

This time, we have some awesome contributions from folks across the North American continent, such as Glenn Arseneau and Andy Gray’s mystical adventure “Greyman: Highway Patrol,” Dino Caruso and J. Korim’s comedic quickie “Door to Door,” and perhaps most awesomely, former The Batman Strikes! writer Russell Lissau’s “Greedy,” a sultry, noir crime drama elegantly drawn by mpMann. Oh, and I have a story in there too, the second chapter of my espionage-action epic, “Omega.” If you picked up the first issue and want to see where that story is going, the only way to find out is to buy the second issue.

Remember, these fine creators only get paid if you buy the comic. So buy it. Buy a few copies and hand them out on Halloween to trick-or-treaters. Buy a few more and line your birdcage. Personally, I don’t care what you do with the comic, so long as you buy, buy, buy.

Further incentive? This mind-blowing cover drawn by my own fat fingers and brilliantly colored by Bozeman, Montana’s own Stephen Downer:

Here’s a little more incentive: If you live in Las Vegas, and you get there early enough, three local comic book stores have copies of the first issue they’ll be giving away this Saturday, May 1, during Free Comic Book Day: Alternate Reality, Comic Oasis and MaximuM Comics. So, you know, pre-order issue two and pick up issue one FREE. America: Fuck Yeah!

I’m back. Didja miss me?

Of course you didn’t. I’m sure between Twitter and Facebook and whatever else you kids use to do the cyberstalking these days, it feels like you can’t get rid of me. It’s OK, I understand the feeling. I can’t get rid of me either.

So Emerald City Comicon. It was fun. For the most part. I didn’t sell nearly as much as I’d have liked to — mainly, the goal was to push the first issue of the new anthology series I’m publishing, Omega Comics Presents. But people at the show seemed much more interested in having their stacks of comics signed by Big Name Creator X, or buying Wow That’s Neat-O art, not investing $3.50 into an unknown comic anthology by unknown creators from an unknown publisher.

But once I got over the depression of that on the first day of the convention, I simply learned to enjoy the time in Seattle, both at the show and outside of it, meeting new and old friends, walking around a beautiful city in gorgeous weather, and doing the working vacation thing. I could spill more, but that’s all I have the energy (or time) to say about it. For some reason, I’ve been kinda drained since getting back to Vegas, part of which I think is the kick-off of the annual Trees and Plants Assault Pj’s Sinus Cavities event, which has already caused my eyes to puff, my throat to clench and my body to go limp.

While I was up in the Pacific Northwest, two new reviews of Omega Comics Presents #1 hit the interwebs. The first is from a weird little horror-themed website that may or may not be called “Count Gore De Vol’s Tomb of Dark Delights.” It’s focused mostly on John Dimes’ tale in the debut issue, as John has one foot firmly in the horror fiction world, but overall, the, er, Count calls the comic “an entertaining first entry in what promises to be a very satisfying series.” Works for me!

More visibly was our review on Comic Book Resources’ “Comics Should be Good” blog. It’s a thorough, and I think fair, dissection of the issue. While the writer, Greg Burgas, doesn’t love everything (and in an anthology, I guess that’s the point), he does admit “there’s room for improvement,” and that “the fun of comics comes through rather well.” On the subject of my specific contribution, the first chapter of espionage-action serial “OMEGA,” Greg is critical but objective, and more importantly, the story was set up well “enough to be intriguing,” and I’m OK with that. I know the art’s not great, nor even my best, but so long as the story is told well, that’s all that really matters to me. But he did write that I have “talent, certainly, but [need] work on fluidity and nuance.” Which is all true. And kind of him to say. It would have been easy enough to outright say “the story’s OK, the art sucks,” but he didn’t, and the thing is, this is a starting point, and the only way to go is up. And believe me, the second issue of OCP – from cover to cover — is gonna rock peoples’ worlds. Or so I TELL YOU.

Anyway, the next week or so will be spent trying to get back into the swing of things, despite questionable physical and mental discombobulation. I need to get back to work on a number of projects, back to the gym, back to housework (bleh) and just, um, back. Like the Beatles.

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.