Bleeding Neon

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.

Ladies and gentlemen, today is the day. Let Feb. 10 go down in history as the date upon which a new comic book giant tread upon the Earth for the first time. For today, the debut issue of Omega Comics Presents goes on sale. For real.

This is the anthology series I’ve been talking about for months. It features an array of new comic talents recruited from around the globe (no kidding, we have at least three countries represented here). Yes, that means Pop! Goes the Icon is finally publishing a comic book that doesn’t exclusively revolve around my questionable talents.

However, this will be the first time for many of you to see my storytelling capabilities (or lack thereof) outside the context of my weekly webcomic, The Utopian. The lead story in OCP is “OMEGA,” an ongoing serial about a covert counter-terrorism team that embarks on a mission to save Hoover Dam even as a mole is discovered inside its own ranks. It’s 24-meets-Heroes, and hopefully does not suck.

Buy this comic or the terrorists win.

On top of that, we have a supernatural comedy from U.K. creators Alex De-Gruchy and Robert Durham, a surrealist take on superheroes by D.C.’s own John Dimes (featuring my first lettering on someone else’s art), and a short gag strip from my favorite Canadians, Dino Caruso and Jason Copland.

It’s only $3.50 a copy (or $2.50 digital) and available in select comic stores, as well as direct order from the PGTI website. All of the above creators get paid royalties, so it’s not just me taking your hard-earned bucks anymore. Nope, I have an international cabal of comic-making mouths to feed. So, you know, please support independent comics.

The second issue is just about wrapped up and is being prepped for submission to Diamond, the giant company responsible for distributing comics and toys to just about every comic store in North America. So send some good vibes my way as we vie for wide distribution for the subsequent issues of OCP. And thanks.

Buy this comic or the terrorists win.

I don’t need to tell you about the devastation that’s wracked Haiti (more than usual) in the wake of this week’s 7.0-scale earthquake. What I am asking is for you to help me help the survivors by donating to Save the Children, one of my favorite charities who does continuous work in the field there — and whose own staff in Haiti has been affected.

You COULD do that on your own, but I’m going to offer added incentive by tossing in a comic book. Yep. It’s simple: Pre-order the debut issue of Omega Comics Presents, the new comic anthology series I’m publishing starting next month, and I donate 100 percent of the proceeds to Save the Children. To sweeten the deal, I’ve knocked 50 cents off the cover price and am waiving shipping charges. So your $3 goes to Save the Children’s relief efforts in Haiti, and in a few weeks you get a signed comic book and letter of appreciation from me.

DO IT NOW. CLICK HERE.

Thanks.

Is anyone else bored by this yet? I’m guessing not entirely, because a lot of people I know who follow my exploits (boring as they may be) still haven’t glommed on to Detox Week yet or are actually ASKING for updates. Crazy, right? But we all know this is really just an excuse to get me to update this blog, which wasn’t happening in any way, shape or form before.

I didn’t feel too great yesterday morning. Just some, er, post-digestive stuff. I wonder if that rice I made was either undercooked or just didn’t agree with me. Either way, I felt a lot better over the weekend eating mostly-raw, so, well, we’re not going to try to do that rice again.

One of the things I realized last night (though it should have been obvious before) is that I’ve been spending about 300 percent more time in the kitchen than normal throughout this process. Making every meal by hand takes time! A lot of time! Time that, honestly, I don’t have. Seriously, we’re talking multiple hours a day, between the chopping, cooking, cleaning, storing, etc. No wonder we drove our mothers insane!

Of course, my time already is strained. The band is starting to get active again (met with potential new bassist last night again, had a pretty decent jam), more freelance work is looming, and full-on roll-out of Omega Comics Presents is beginning. Something has to suffer, and looking at how terribly my time has been consumed and how much I’m beginning to feel strangled by my own obligations (not to mention the lack of time I’ve been able to spend with Sara, which I’m sure has not thrilled her), I’m dropping down The Utopian updates to once weekly, on Wednesdays. It’s just too much for me to write, pencil, ink, color and letter two full comic pages every week even as I’m editing an anthology, writing, drawing and lettering eight pages for each issue of that and trying to actually hit my other work deadlines.

I’ve been so stressed about trying to “get ahead” in order to just get out of town for two or three days. And I don’t like that feeling. But I also can’t just, as Sara suggested last night, go on holiday with the webcomic. If I do, honestly, I’ll never pick it back up. The weekly obligation is what keeps me driven to the end goal. I don’t work well without deadlines. Like most work-for-hire creators, you can give me a deadline a month ahead and I’ll start and finish the article/illustration/story the night before the deadline. That’s just the way it is.

So yeah. I guess it’s that time of the day where I review what foods I consumed yesterday, huh? You know, when Detox Week is over, I might start keeping a food journal anyway, to really force myself to pay attention to everything I eat. Until then, here’s yesterday’s line-up:

• Breakfast: 1 banana, 1 cup “Dynamo” juice blend
• Morning snack: 1 apple pie Larabar
• Lunch: 1 bowl homemade vegetable stew (I think I’m definitely going to be making this once a week from now on)
• Afternoon snack: Approx. a handful of raw almonds & walnuts, plus 1 serving of dried, unsweetened pineapple rings
• Dinner: 1 can Amy’s Organic Lentil Vegetable Soup (also becoming a new staple)
• Evening snack: 1 piece raw “fudge” from Go Raw Cafe, plus two stalks celery with organic peanut butter

Gonna keep this short and sweet. Spent most of yesterday working on comic stuff, because things are really ramping up now, going to print on The Utopian #2 as we I type this and doing final editing and prep work to meet a Dec. 31 deadline so Omega Comics Presents #1 gets to the printer by the first week of January. And if you haven’t pre-ordered that issue yet, please do so to help, you know, pay for it (and more importantly, ensure the creators get paid). Previews of OCP #1 are featured today on Ain’t It Cool News!

This week’s going to be pretty mad, as I have deadlines aplenty and need to get caught up before the New Year so that POSSIBLY Sara and I can make a break for it and run away where none of you little bastards will find us. For a day or two.

In the meantime … yesterday’s menu (only three days to go!):

• Breakfast: 1 apple, 1 banana, 1 cup “Dynamo” juice blend
• Lunch: Salad (romaine lettuce, carrots, bell peppers, celery, tomatoes) with Bragg’s Aminos
• Afternoon snack: 1 peanut butter cookie Larabar
• Evening snack: 2 stalks celery with organic peanut butter
• Dinner: 1/2 cup mixed, long-grain rice (boiled in homemade vegetable stock and mixed with diced carrots, celery, onions and garlic) with steamed broccoli and cauliflower — this should have been really good, but I think the crunchy texture of the rice threw me off. Either I prepared it wrong, or I just don’t like long-grain rice. But I boiled it down for like 50 minutes, so … uh …
• Late-night snack: 1 piece raw “fudge” from Go Raw Cafe
• Beverages: As usual, aside from the above-listed stuff, just water, and an ounce or two of Trader Joe’s “Green Protein” juice blend.

Well, I’ll tell you ONE thing good to come out of this process: I’ve blogged daily! (What, that’s NOT good?)