How are you? I’m good. In the middle of another system reboot. Not going to bore you with the details, because as these get more frequent and less rare, they’re also getting somewhat routine (and easier to get through). Nothing new to report there.

I turned 35, so that was a thing. Been working on some new articles for the usual suspects. Finishing preparations for the release of As Yet Unbroken‘s long-awaited debut full-length album. Been hanging out on Tumblr, posting old comics and new(ish) drawings. Oh, and then there’s this …

That’s the cover(s) for The Best of Omega Comics Presents, Vol. 1. It’s a 102-page trade paperback coming out in September from ye olde publishing company, collecting the, er, best stories from the first four issues of that anthology series. And of certain interest to you, my friends, is the inclusion of the full four-chapter epic that is “Omega,” which I wrote, drew and slobbered over.

This thing is only $7.95. That’s really cheap. The single issues of this series cost $3.99 each, so even just to get all of my stuff, that’s more than a 50 percent savings, but you get ALL THE OTHER AWESOMENESS. We’re talking some really good stuff in here, things that made reviewers write nice things without having to be paid off. So, you know, feel free to pre-order a copy if such if your desire. I won’t mind.

See, that wasn’t so bad, was it? OK, fine, it was half-blog post and half-ad. So?

Hey, don’t I owe you guys another installment of the Magical Musical Mystery Tour? Maybe I’ll do that next…

p.s. Dino has a short story in the next issue of Omega Comics Presents, and I have a slightly longer story in there, too, and, well, you might want to buy a copy.

You guys know I use these “desktop snapshot” posts just as an excuse to blog, right? Right.

I’ve been mostly head-down for the last week, working simultaneously on three projects. One, as seen above, the final chapter of “Omega,” my action-espionage serial which has been running through the Omega Comics Presents anthology over the last year. The fourth issue (featuring the final chapter) is now available for pre-order and should be shipping the first week of April, so if you’ve read the first three chapters, you might want to order a copy NOW. It got delayed a bit by a variety of factors, including me having to switch inkers in the middle unexpectedly. But as you can see above, the man (well, I presume he’s a man. We’ve only spoken via e-mail!) has a way of actually making my poor excuse for comic art look almost pro!

The other project I showed you last time, but kind of talked around the specifics. It’s doing a comic book adaptation of “War of the Ghosts,” a story which has been used for memory research for almost a century, but this professor at UNLV had the novel idea to conduct the same research with a visual presentation, not just prose. I have two pages fully inked, but seven still to go, and a loose deadline at the end of this month, so most of my time is being spent drawing rivers, canoes and trees.

The third thing I’m not sure I want to talk about right now, at least not until I physically start the work. But it’s basically been approved and all the design work for it is done. You’ll just have to stay tuned for an announcement next week. Hopefully.

So, yeah, I’ve been doing a lot of artwork, and not as much writing. At least, not as much that you’re seeing in the usual places. I’ve been squeezing in time when I can to force progress on two screenplays and a potential novel, and once these art deadlines are met, I’ll be diving back into those full speed. It would also be helpful if I could obtain a new laptop soon. My lappy finally gave out last week, after barely holding on for the last year. To be fair, I’ve had it since 2004, so it was really waaaay past its prime. But I’m not the type to buy a new device when the one I have is usable in any way. However, I’m holding out for a MacBook Air, because, well, if I’m going to buy a new laptop, it’s going to be a good one. And the Air is the perfect middle ground between an iPad and a Macbook Pro — just enough power without the bells & whistles — and no moving parts!

All right, back to the Wacom tablet for me.

I’m trying to cram in getting as many of these comic book pages for the final chapter of my anthology serial “Omega” done as I can this weekend. If I avoid shenanigans like last night’s bar-hopping (though much-needed, and for good reasons), and not find myself dragging ass in the morning like I did today, maybe I can even get all five pages penciled and sent to my boy Vic to ink. But we’ll see.

It’s been a very interesting week, between posing for photos that may be featured in multiple publications, laying the groundwork for and promoting next week’s Utopian trade paperback release party, and working on a particularly physically challenging article that I’m sure you’ll hear more about later. That, and I had a meeting with a new friend that, depending on what side of the coin fate decides to land, could prove to be the start of something fruitful. Yes, I know I’m being very vague right now. I just seem to have a lot of things in the works that have to be kept under wraps right now, but I really hope to share the behind-the-scenes soon.

In other news, somewhat related to the earlier item about the physical article research, I realized this week just how out of shape I am compared to when I was running three-to-four days a week. I’ve already gained back a pound or two from the 10 or so pounds I dropped in the fall, and after one grueling experience this week, it struck me I need to get my act back together. Thanks to the amazing, Southern California-like weather we’re having in Las Vegas this weekend, I went for my first outdoor run in probably three months today, and while I’m definitely off my game, it feels as though it won’t take too much effort to get ready for my next benchmark, the Run Away with Cirque du Soleil 5k on March 19 at the Springs Preserve. I half-jogged, half-walked about 1.8 miles (if you believe Google Maps) in 20 minutes today, which wasn’t terrible, though I definitely felt it in my chest.

I’m gonna get back to the drawing board now. Hope you enjoy your Five-One Day.

Well, I believe it was actually still Jan. 7 when I grabbed this screen cap, but apparently we have moved to a new day. Hello Jan. 8!

I’m still hard at work finishing the pencils on these pages from “Omega” for Vic Moya to ink. Interestingly, I’ve spent more time painstakingly rendering these pencils than I ever did doing finished inks for any of the previous chapters. Go figure. Maybe it’s because I want to provide Vic the best pages possible for him to embellish. Maybe it’s because, unlike usual, I’m not doing layouts knowing I’ll be finishing them, so I’m actually putting more effort into the initial rendering. Either way, I still have five more pages to do, and Vic still has to make them pretty, so back to the drawing board/Wacom tablet I go …

I’m back at the art thing, feverishly (OK, fine, I’m not burning up or sweating or anything, but you get it) working to get done my portion of the next issue of Omega Comics Presents before I look like a jackass for holding up the issue’s release, while all my other creative teams actually made their deadlines. To speed things up — and make it look a lot better than I could do — I’m turning inking chores over to my man Victor Moya, who illustrated the post-apocalyptic story Jarret Keene wrote for Tales from the Boneyard (you have bought your copy, right?). Of course, that means I need to actually send him penciled pages (in my case, digitally), so no more slacking from me.

Aside from one other project that may or may not happen in the next year, I’m swearing off illustrating my own stories in 2011. I’m focusing heavily on writing this year, and I predict much better visual results if I hire out an artist as opposed to try to do the one-man show. Either the art or the writing suffers when I do it all, and I’d prefer not to choose.

Omega Comics Presents #3 Trailer

Pop! Goes The Icon | Myspace Video

Not too bad, I think. It’s always kind of a challenge to present literature — even the graphic kind — in a motion medium, but I think this is effective enough. It really helped that by coincidence all the stories in this next issue center around a theme of paying back the bad guys, something that’s made promoting this collection a lot easier than earlier issues.

Of course, my serial “Omega” continues in this issue, so if you’ve read the first two chapters and want to continue doing so, please consider ordering a copy.

Thank you.

Nah. I’ve just been working.

One of the things I’ve been working on is an article in this week’s Vegas Seven about the relative success of local comic book shops, especially in the face of our struggling economy. I think it turned out pretty well, and there’s a lovely picture of Ralph Mathieu inside the new location of Alternate Reality Comics accompanying it, so you should go read it.

The other things I’ve been working on … well, it’s almost tiring to think about it. I mean, my eyelids are even sagging as I type this. Let’s go to list form:

• Playing shows again with As Yet Unbroken. We went from no gigs for nine months (while we shifted membership) to five gigs in two months. And we’re in the process of recording a proper EP, something that takes a lot longer than expected when all of us have day jobs/lives/vacations/side projects/health crises/potty breaks. But it’s getting done. I’d check out the AYU website for more info on upcoming events and whatnot.
• Making art. I mean, aside from comics (which we’ll talk about in a minute). For whatever reason, people becoming aware (or being reminded) of my semi-ability to draw has led me to be invited to group art shows. There was that LVSK8 show earlier in the summer for which I painted a terrible piece, and now I’m coming back again with an original creation for a zombie-themed show at Blackbird Studios (formerly Place Gallery) in October. I’m still not quite done with it, and the show is being hung next week, so I kinda need to get on that. But it’ll be sweet when it’s done. I hope. I’ll also be at First Friday with my own Outdoor Exhibition Space next week (Oct. 1), showing original art from Tales from the Boneyard, and promoting the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival. Speaking of which …
• I’ve been on the planning committee for the aforementioned Comic Book Festival for the last two years, but this year, my involvement has been amped up by volunteering to publish, edit and contribute to Tales from the Boneyard, an anthology of local creators to benefit the Festival’s benefactor, the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District. I know I’ve mentioned it here before, but let me just say that it is turning out way more awesome than I ever could have expected. But don’t take my word for it, see for yourself.
• Oh, comics, right. Well, in addition to the Boneyard book, there’s a fourth issue of The Utopian and a third issue of Omega Comics Presents both coming out in the next few months, and rumor has it you can go ahead and pre-order them at the Pop! Goes the Icon website right now. I’ve got a few other things up my sleeve, but mainly, once these two issues and the Boneyard anthology are out the gate, it’s mini-hiatus time for the Peej, as I recover from what feels like a six-month marathon. You know, before I start another one.

That’s pretty much it. I’ve also been trying to find time to work on a major redesign of this website that would take the focus off this blog and put it on the work itself (a portfolio, I suppose), but uh yeah right. In the meantime, thanks for reading and bless your face.*

*Sorry, Toby.

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.