Bleeding Neon

Though I’m not usually one to tout my own artwork around here (as opposed to my everything else), colorist and illustrator Steve Downer did such a whiz-bang job taking my black-and-white line art for the cover of the second issue of The Utopian (coming in January) and transforming it into a Work of Awesomeness™, that I just had to share:

Yeah, I know, right? For reference, here’s the line art I sent Steve:

So for what reason would you not pre-order this comic right now? I don’t know, I just don’t know.

Also, over at Pop! Goes the Icon, we began posting never-before-seen previews from inside the first issue of Omega Comics Presents, which comes out February. More will be coming soon. Stay tuned.

Comic book guys are sexy.

In case you hadn’t noticed by my multiple Twitter and Facebook posts, The Utopian #1 shipped this week. Response has been fairly positive. Not only did I get a healthy amount of pre-orders for the comic (all of which I signed and shipped in one day), but I — surprisingly — received orders through Haven Distributors, which means at least one comic shop wanted to carry The Utopian. Pretty cool. I’ve received more requests than expected, so I actually re-ordered more books from the printer just so I have enough to go around at the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival on Nov. 7. All of which is pretty cool. Unless everyone is blowing smoke up my rear, it means at least a few people actually like what I’ve been doing with The Utopian. I’ve started working on the next chapter, and I’m enjoying the heck out of writing and drawing the new stuff, which hopefully means you kids will enjoy reading it. Oh, and if you’re in Vegas and want to pick up a copy (and avoid the online ordering hassle/shipping fee), it’s being carried locally at Alternate Reality Comics on Maryland Parkway. Go there, it’s a rad shop and owner Ralph is the man.

The Rebel Yell, UNLV’s twice-weekly student-run newspaper (for which I was editor-in-chief briefly during college), ran an awesome story about my comic book activities in its Oct. 15 issue. Written by current EIC Jorge Labrador, it covers a lot of ground, including revealing plans for things I haven’t made public elsewhere (and also has awesome quotes from my pal Aaron Thompson, all the way from South Korea!). However, one thing that got left out from my interview was exclusive news about the lineup for the first issue of Omega Comics Presents, the new anthology series Pop! Goes the Icon will be publishing starting next year. I now have contracts signed for all the creators involved in the premier issue, though I won’t be making the official announcement until after the Comic Fest. But I will leak a bit of news related to that here: The lead feature for the series will be an ongoing serial called “Omega” (now it all fits, right?) written and drawn by yours truly. It’s an action-suspense drama, completely unlike The Utopian, and hopefully will be awesome. More on that coming soon.

Aside from occasional CD reviews and mini news bits, things might be quiet around the journalism area of Awesome City as my attention turns toward publisher duties with PGTI and band stuff, as I’ll be aggressively preparing my home studio for recording even as we’re shopping for a new guitar player. Stay tuned.

… and thanks to a little cold I picked up and some car drama, I’m more behind than expected. So a quick update, bullet-point style:

• I had a few CD reviews run in last week’s Las Vegas Weekly, of new discs by local bands Theory of Flight and Onara. Two very different approaches. Check ‘em out.
• I’m meeting a photographer tonight from The Rebel Yell, my alma mater’s newspaper (which I edited for a short time during my undergrad), for an article about my comic book creations that I think is running in tomorrow’s issue. Of course I’ll keep you posted.
• I’m pretty sure I’ve rounded out the line-up for the first issue of Omega Comics Presents, the new comic anthology series I’m starting next year. Should be good. More soon.
• Outside of sitting on the couch watching Smallville (and I have to say, Season 8 is making up for the last few seasons) yesterday, I did manage to sign, pack and mail all the pre-ordered copies of The Utopian #1. This is what the home office looked like last night:

• If you DIDN’T pre-order the first issue, no worries: You can now order both the standard and deluxe editions directly from IndyPlanet — and even get a preview of the new splash page artwork. You just won’t get signed copies or discounts on shipping. Sorry. But if you want ‘em signed, come see me on Nov. 7!
• Some changes are coming for As Yet Unbroken. Don’t want to talk about it too much right now as we have a meeting about it this weekend, but suffice it to say, things are happening.

That’s it. I’ll have a wrap-up on the Florida trip and other goodies soon. Just wanted to check it. Booyah!