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.

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!

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.

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.

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

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?)

Set for release in February, Omega Comics Presents features three all-new, original stories from writers and artists scattered around the globe. No, really. THE GLOBE. Including the lead story by yours truly, the first chapter of an epic, action-espionage drama called “OMEGA.” Epic, I say.

“OMEGA” is actually a story that has existed in many different forms over the last 20-plus years. Much like The Utopian, it has its roots in those homemade comics I cooked up when I was a kid. Unlike that webcomic, however, this tale is completely different, bearing resemblance only superficially in characters’ names and abilities.

I started shopping around the entire graphic novel pitch to indie publishers last year, but after I launched Pop! Goes the Icon, my workload became suddenly heavier, and it didn’t make much sense to send projects off to other companies when I was in the midst of starting my own. So “OMEGA” is rolling out in short chapters with each quarterly issue of OCP, with the goal of wrapping up the rest of the story in full, graphic novel form.

Maybe.

Anyway, there’s some really great work in this first issue by folks such as Alex De-Gruchy, Robert Durham and John Dimes, stuff that will make my puny scribblings look amateur. And even more amazing comics in the second issue! But, um, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I need you to first pre-order the first issue of OCP. It’s only $3.50, and it’ll come right to your doorstep. And the aforementioned creators get paid based on sales, so it would be really nice if not only could I afford to pay for the printing, but that I can actually pay these fine people for their hard work.

The comic will also be available in stores, though just which ones I don’t know. That’s because our comics are distributed by Haven Distributors, which specializes in fulfilling indie comic orders. So if you would like to see OCP carried at your local shop (or if you’re a retailer yourself), please be sure to let Haven know.