Friday, January 30, 2015

Galactic Hot Dogs Island debuts on Poptropica today!



This is big news, you guys! I know there are a lot of you Poptropicans out there who are as psyched as I am about the new Galactic Hot Dogs Island!

But wait — hold up — I bet some of you are like “Poptropi-what?” Let me explain.

Poptropica is this awesome virtual world where kids can play in a safe online environment. Within the world of Poptropica there are Islands, and each Island has its own theme and adventure to complete. There are super-cool quests, stories, and games to explore. And you can collect objects, read digital books and comics, watch movies, and compete in head-to-head competition!

Now here’s the dealio with Galactic Hot Dogs Island…
  • Members get early access starting NOW. You guys get to play the whole island!
  • Non-members can start to explore GHD Island, too, but you have to be a member to get full access.
  • Check out this GHD Island info page where you can:
    • Watch the video trailer
    • Get free Island extras: desktop wallpaper, Neon Wiener paper craft, and a free F.R.E.D. follower
    • Get cool members-only extras like a customizable poster and a space suit for your character
So what are you waiting for? Go check out Galactic Hot Dogs Island!

Okay, gotta run. I’m off to school the Princess in how to make a good mustard. She’s not catching on to the whole cooking thing too quickly. But don’t tell her I told you!

See ya later,
Cosmoe

Oh, smudge. The Jacks are coming for us!

Hi, you guys. Today I’m typing while trying not to zonk out on the keyboard. Humps, Dagger, and I were up late checking out a meteor shower. It was unbelievable! Have you ever seen one? The one we saw last night kind of looked like this:

NASA photo copyright ©2007 by Fred Bruenjes, all rights reserved.
Which means you can't use photos without giving credit. So don't.

There’s nothing like seeing a meteor shower from Mowee’s tropical moon!

So today we’re back to our reading marathon and we’re checking out Chapter 3: Jacked Up. Evil Queen Dagger sent Jacks, her bad robot dudes, to collect the Princess. Will she go willingly, or will she rope us into a royal rumble? And what is the possibility of successfully navigating a Royal Armada, anyway? Read Chapter 3 to find out!

Those Jacks are really a giant pain in my butt, you know? It’s no fun running into them because they’ve got those pulse-cannons for hands. But Jacks are so dumb, it’s not too hard for Humphree to knock their metal skulls together. Here’s a little background stuff about them:


And here’s how the book’s illustrator designed the Jacks:


Look at that big head with no brains. They may be really not-smart, but those Jacks have got a whole lot of lethal power. So we avoid them as much as possible!

All right, you guys. I have to go. After a snooze in the sun here, we’re off to Space Port Funketoun to make some cash. If we want to go on an adventure in the Wild and Crazy West soon, we need to make a bunch of spaceos — you know, space spending money!

Have a great weekend!
Cosmoe


Wednesday, January 28, 2015

What the heck do you do when you've got Princess Problems?

Hey everyone! How are things going? Today I'm zooming down the Interstellar Highway and stealthily avoiding bad guys. They're everywhere out here. It's a wretched hive of scum and villainy, you know? Sometimes I wish I had the Force to see me through like Luke in Star Wars. At least I've got F.R.E.D to help me out.

So let's get back to our Galactic Hot Dogs reading marathon! At the end of chapter one, Humphree, the Princess, and I were all about to be blown to bits by rockets. Check out Chapter 2: Princess Problems to find out what happens next. Will the Neon Wiener be destroyed? Why did the Princess steal away on our ship? And - GULP - what is the Evil Queen going to do to us?

Since today's chapter is all about Princess Dagger, I thought you might like to see what she looked like in early designs for the book. Check it out:

early drawing of Princess Dagger of Galactic Hot Dogs

And of course, here's how she ended up looking:


Pretty different, huh? It took a while to get her hair exactly right because Dags wanted to be sure her 'do was, in her words, "flippin’ awesome!" She's giving me the hairy eyeball as I write this because she wants to be sure that I remind you that Chapter 2: Princess Problems is all about her and you should definitely read it because it's super way-cool.

Okay, gotta go. Traffic jam ahead. And a traffic jam in space gets pretty tricky - don't want to accidentally cut off a big, angry, HUNGRY alien, know what I mean?

Keep being awesome,
Cosmoe

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

The inside scoop on the Galactic Hot Dogs crew!

Hey everyone!

I heard a whole lot of you in the good old USA are buried under a mega-ton of snow. Man, I love snow. Princess Dagger and Humphree have never seen the kind of snow Earth gets. I mean, they’ve seen frozen stuff, for sure. The Princess can freeze stuff instantly with her ice flash pistol, and that’s freakin’ rad! But I gotta get them to Earth sometime to check out real-deal snow.


Speaking of my buddies, I said I’d tell you a little bit more about the crew of Galactic Hot Dogs today. So let’s get to it! I’ll start with my co-captain, Humphree.


Some of Humphree’s favorite stuff includes helio jalapeƱos, giving bad guys the Humphree Hurt Hug, and trying to beat me in Super Moon Ninja Death Jab. He’s always there when I need him. Humphree’s awesome like that.

And then there’s the (usually) not-evil Princess Dagger.


What does Princess Dagger dig? Eating space paste, zapping bad dudes with her fire and ice flash pistols, and organizing our messy ship (totally can’t get on board with that last one, but whatever).

Plus we’ve got Goober and F.R.E.D.


Goober is super cool because he’s all elastic and stretchy and stuff. He can turn into a lasso. Or a human shield. Or a really warm but kind of slimy coat. You know, whatever I need.


And F.R.E.D is my incredibly helpful, incredibly awesome flying robot. He’s like my own C-3PO and R2D2 mash-up. He fixes stuff, has endless gadgets, and is super useful!

We’re all pretty different creatures, but we've got something super-important in common: We all love getting into intergalactic space adventures!

Well, you guys, Humphree’s giving me the stink-eye. I gotta go sling some hot dogs or he’s going to slip some lime moon cheese in my hot dog when I’m not looking. Blech. I hate that stuff.

Come back tomorrow and I’ll give you a look at a cool Princess Dagger drawing that’s never been seen before — because tomorrow’s chapter in the reading marathon is… Princess Problems!

Until then, stay awesome (and safe if you’re in that snowstorm),
Cosmoe

PS: If you missed the beginning of the reading marathon, don’t worry. You can start here with Chapter 1.

Monday, January 26, 2015

Aw, man! Who stole my Mega-Dog?

Happy Monday, everyone! How was your weekend? Mine was MESSY. We had a little incident at the old hot dog truck. This jerky alien from Zelnerf got really mad when we ran out of moon rock relish. And to show us how POed he was, he barfed slime all over the outside of the truck! What the fuzz? It took hours to clean up. Argh.

Anyway, it’s time to kick off our super-cool Galactic Hot Dogs Reading Marathon! First up is Chapter 1: Mega Dog! Me and Humphree cook up a Mega-Dog for the Intergalactic Food Truck Cook-Off but someone steals it from us! One thing leads to another and we end up with the Royal Armada coming after us. And who the heck stole away on our ship? You gotta read the chapter to find out!

And now for some behind-the-scenes awesomeness. Check this out:


That’s me, believe it or not. Well, early drawings of me, before the illustrator of my book got my face juuuuuust right. Cool, huh? My favorite is my Han Solo suit because STAR WARS!

All right, you guys, I have to jet. Literally. So come back tomorrow for an inside scoop on the crew of Galactic Hot Dogs. And on Wednesday I’ll give you a look at some more never-seen-before stuff!

Stay awesome,
Cosmoe

Friday, January 23, 2015

Hello from Intergalactic Space!

Hey everyone! Cosmoe the Earth-Boy here. Right now, at this very minute, I’m taking a break from slinging hot dogs, kicking back with a buzzberry shake, and writing on this, right here, my brand spankin’ new blog. How cool is that?!

Since some of you guys are new to the awesomeness that is Galactic Hot Dogs, maybe I should tell you a little about me. Here — check out this rad fact card thingie:




Stuff I think is way cool: Video games (especially Super Moon Ninja Death Jab), hot dogs (duh), Star Wars, my little buddy Goober, getting into fantastic space adventures with Humphree and Princess Dagger

Stuff that stinks like butts: Evil Queen Dagger, General Krax, bounty hunters, mutant worms, Princess Dagger’s chore charts, Humphree’s burps

I’ll be writing here on the regular, so come back often. Matter of fact, this Monday we’ll be starting a reading marathon of my very first book!

Check back here every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday starting 1/26. That’s when the reading marathon starts. I’ll introduce each chapter of the book as we read along together. AND I’ll give you a look at way-cool, never released on Earth, behind-the-scenes art and fun facts!

And on Tuesdays and Thursdays there will be other nifty junk to check out, like trivia, sneak peeks into book #2, and more. You don’t want to miss any of it. Trust me.

Have a great weekend, dudes. I’ll be here on Mowee’s tropical moon, doing my hot dog thing. Unless adventure calls…then who knows!

Keep being awesome,

Cosmoe

Thursday, January 15, 2015