Wedding Cake Topper

So, I'm getting hitched in a few months and I designed this wedding cake topper for our wedding cake. What do you think? Will the bride go for it? ;)

- J

Seven Years Later...

To publicly answer an e-mail I received early this afternoon, yes, I have been waiting to use today's comic strip since 2002.

And perhaps in another seven years, I'll actually get around to posting the Comic Con 2009 photos and wrapup!

- J

January 2nd, 2009: More STREET FIGHTER Rumblings

Wow. Lots of STREET FIGHTER fans out there! It used to be I would receive a few e-mails per week to talk about PIRATE COVE but lately all I've been getting are questions about STREET FIGHTER: THE LEGEND OF CHUN-LI! Well, it should come as no surprise that I'm not allowed to speak freely about the film or give out detailed information, but I CAN confirm the following:

1. The trailer that has been showing up on Japanese sites was originally created by Fox, then dubbed & slightly altered for Japanese audiences. When Fox gets the trailer online and into domestic theatres, this is pretty much what you'll be seeing.

2. The movie is around 97 minutes long and rated PG-13. We HAD an R up until a few weeks ago, but FOX wanted a PG-13 release so we cut out a few moments of brutality. I expect there will be an unrated version available on DVD when that time comes.

3. For those of you who were concerned, no, Taboo does not sing in the film.

4. Since the poster has been spotted in theatres, I guess it's OK for me to post one! Enjoy!

And for those of you who come to this blog to read about PIRATE COVE, I'll see you on Monday with the next installment of Episode XXXVI: $1,984!

- J

December 18th, 2008: Holiday Cheer & Other Fun Stuff

As those of you who read the PIRATE COVE blog know, my full-time job involves motion picture production. The PIRATE COVE comic strip is my part-time escape from reality.

So before I get into the ins & outs of PIRATE COVE's holiday schedule, I thought I'd let those of you who've been chomping at the bit for information know that our next movie, STREET FIGHTER: THE LEGEND OF CHUN-LI is scheduled to be released in the US theatrically on February 27th, 2009!

We've got Kristin Kreuk as Chun-Li, Michael Clarke Duncan as Balrog, Neal McDonough as Bison, and Taboo from the Black Eyed Peas as Vega (my personal favorite character from the game and from the film. Alas, Vega doesn't get much screen time as I'd have liked. Perhaps in the sequel?)

The marketing gurus at Fox are putting the finishing touches on the trailer and poster even as we speak - I daresay they will be online within a week and in theaters shortly thereafter! Woo hoo!

OK, enough propaganda. Back to the webcomic. Yes, there will be a new comic posted on Monday, December 22nd. I couldn't let you face a Monday without your daily dose! PIRATE COVE will be taking its holiday hiatus from December 23rd through January 2nd, returning on January 5th.

So, on behalf of Joe, Biff, Brian, Patty, Louis, Edre, Randy, and the rest of the PIRATE COVE crew, I hereby wish y'all a happy holiday season. Keep it safe, keep it merry, and I'll see you in 2009 when I promise to continue to ignore the blog like the complete bastard I am.

Best wishes,

- Joe!

August 7th, 2008: SAN DIEGO COMIC CON REPORT!

Howdy, folks! It's been about two weeks since all of Geekdom invaded San Diego and frankly, I'm still recovering. My living room has Comic Con memories scattered everywhere - boxes of PIRATE COVE books, Comic Con "exclusive" toys, newly-discovered comics, books, dirty laundry, business cards, flyers, a bag of giveaway goodies, and parts to the Boba Fett costume I was building & hoping to have ready in time for the show. Maybe next year.

The show itself was as massive and crowded as ever. If you've ever read about (or been to) the San Diego Comic Con, you no doubt already know about how overwhelming it can be!

As with last year and the year before that, the Pirate Cove Crew set up first thing Thursday morning and met with a variety of COVE fans, old & new, over the course of the next four days. We debuted three new PIRATE COVE books at the show (Episodes 1 - 3, Episodes 29 & 30, and Episodes 31 & 32) along with some brand-new PIRATE COVE pin-back buttons. I'm not sure if the buttons were selling so well because people were into PIRATE COVE or if they liked the one that read "What happens at Comic Con STAYS at Comic Con." Either way, I was happy to see so many of them being pinned to attendee badges!

Once again, the COMIC CONJOB book sold out. No matter how many I bring, they never seem to be enough. And although there was no new COMIC CONJOB at the show this year, I promise there will be a COMIC CONJOB 4 at SDCC 2009!

COMIC CONJOB SELLS OUT... AGAIN!

And what would a Comic Con Report be without mention of my wonderful neighbors? For the first time, I can honestly say I was happy with each and every neighbor in my surrounding vicinity!

Right next door to us was MyNerdGirl.com, an amazing group of vivacious young ladies intent on publicising their new online community (it's for guys as well as girls - go check 'em out!) Across the way were Ryan Claytor of ELEPHANT EATER COMICS and Paul Friedrich of ONION HEAD MONSTER fame. I'd read comics from both of these fellows and can vouch for them wholeheartedly!

Directly behind us was STRONGARM LABS who had a record-breaking show, while Randy Reynaldo's ROB HANES ADVENTURES and Jim Hillin's webcomic WIRE-HEADS sat across to our left. I've been reading Wire-Heads since meeting Jim at WonderCon this year and booth babe Randy Carter has been reading the Rob Hanes Adventures for as far back as I can remember. Both worth checking out!

JIM HILLIN HIDES BEHIND ZOMBIE BUNNIES!

I didn't get to as many panels as I would have liked, but it was nice to attend the FRIDAY THE 13TH panel where I got to see some footage from the new film. Looks scary, folks! Could we ever really say that about a Friday the 13th movie before?

Many thanks to the friends & fans of PIRATE COVE who stopped by for a sketch, a book, or simply to chat! You're the ones who make this all worthwhile! And if you couldn't make it this year, I hope to see you next year!

I'm heading off on vacation next week, so PIRATE COVE will also be taking a break - but I'll get into that in tomorrow's blog entry, along with info about a brand new PIRATE COVE contest and information on how you can order the new PIRATE COVE books! Meanwhile, enjoy some of our photos from San Diego!

Stay tuned!

- Joe

Um... I'm sure he's a VERY nice man.

This is what happens when Joe is stuck at the PIRATE COVE booth for too long.

LANDSHARK!!

PIRATE COVE READERS SHOWING OFF SOME INK!

Joy just LOOOOOOOOVES Furries.

July 7th, 2008 - San Diego Comic Con Info!

OK, I'm back and this time I've come prepared! Firstly, for those of you who want to come looking for the PIRATE COVE KREW at Comic Con, you can find us in the Small Press Area, table L-9. We're on a corner so we should be easy enough to find!

And you may be wondering, "will they have anything NEW at the show?" The answer is: YES! We'll have THREE brand new books making their debut at Comic Con this year:

Episodes 1, 2 & 3:

Episodes 29 & 30:

and Episodes 31 & 32:

All that remains is for the books to arrive from the publisher in time for the show!

As per usual, PIRATE COVE will NOT be updating on July 24th and 25th due to convention festivities, but will resume on July 28th.

Hope to see y'all at the Convention Center!

- Joe

July 3rd, 2008 - Oh, That's Right... I Have A Blog.

I think the title of this entry says it all. I have no excuse for not updating since November of last year... but I'll give a few anyway.

First and foremost, I've been trying to better myself career-wise. See, my full-time job involves motion picture post production and while I've got the paperwork aspect of the job committed to memory, I never had the opportunity to really learn the PHYSICAL side of the process. So I've been trying to learn it. And that's meant a lot more time spent in and around cutting rooms, labs, sound houses, etc... basically, we're all lucky I manage to get (on average) five PIRATE COVEs done each week what with my hectic schedule.

Meanwhile, I've been deep into re-scanning the first three episodes of PIRATE COVE so they can be put into book form and guess what? It's done! Well... almost. I'm waiting to get the proof copy back from the printer, but by the time the San Diego Comic Con rolls around, guess what's going to be for sale both at the show AND via our http://www.lulu.com/ storefront?

Speaking of books, two other volumes of the printed COVE will be making their debut in San Diego this year: Episodes 29/30 and Episodes 31/32. As usual, the books will be available in both FULL COLOR and BLACK & WHITE. Episodes 1-3 will be available ONLY in black & white because, well, the strips are all in black & white.

I've got PIRATE COVE's San Diego Comic Con Small Press table number around here somewhere, but I just re-organized my desk and now I can't find anything. I'll post that information in my next blog entry. Should be sometime in the year 2010.

Anyway, I gotta run... still putting the finishing touches on the first few strips of Episode XXXV: THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE MUMMY which starts this Monday, July 7th! And I hope you enjoyed EPISODE XXXIV: HYSTERICAL BLINDNESS... now that I've looked back and re-read it, it's definitely ranking high up there on my list of favorite PIRATE COVE episodes.

Take care, check back on occasion, and see some of you in San Diego!

- J