Publisher Pj Perez. Photo by Josh Navarro.
LAS VEGAS – A celebration of sequential storytelling will serve as the stage for the launch of a new force on the independent comic book publishing scene as Pop! Goes the Icon (PGTI) makes its debut at the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival, held on Saturday, Nov. 7 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Clark County Library (1401 E. Flamingo Road). Part of the larger Vegas Valley Book Festival, being held at a variety of venues across Las Vegas from Nov. 4 to 8, the Comic Fest will feature top industry pros, autograph sessions, film screenings, a marketplace and, of course, the release of The Utopian #1, the first print comic from PGTI.
Publisher and Utopian creator Pj Perez will be on hand with freebies such as buttons and postcards, copies of The Utopian #1 (the first print collection of his semi-weekly webcomic series) and a limited-edition mini-poster featuring art by local designer Hernan Valencia. Two versions of the 36-page comic, a "deluxe," full-color edition and a "standard," black-and-white edition will be available for purchase, featuring respective covers by Valencia and celebrated local painter Mark T. Zeilman. The comic is also available online at www.theutopiancomic.com, as well as at Alternate Reality Comics (4800 S. Maryland Parkway).
The celebration of The Utopian's debut continues the following evening, Sunday, Nov. 8, at popular UNLV hangout Yayo Taco (4632 S. Maryland Parkway), where PGTI will host an issue release party from 7 to 10 p.m., featuring $5 Corona buckets, door prizes and Yayo's usual selection of south-of-the-
