YES! Evil defeated! (plus top-secret book 2 art!)

Hot smudge, you guys! I can’t believe we’re on the very last chapter of Galactic Hot Dogs Book One. Our reading marathon is over as of today, and I would be a little sad… except I have some awesome junk in store for you that I’m completely psyched about!

First, let’s read our last chapter, The End. We blew up The Ultimate Evil, but we weren’t out of danger yet. That fuzzhead Krax still had it in for us. Find out in Chapter 26: The End who unexpectedly saves our butts, and then crashes our beach party later!

Now I have one last super cool sketch for you today for our…

On Monday, April 6 — that’s 12 days from today — chapter one of Galactic Hot Dogs Book Two debuts online! I’m SO EXCITED! And this art from book two will give you a ginormous hint about the plot…

Say hello to the Clown Bots! Yup, book two involves the space circus! You guys aren’t going to believe the adventures me, Humphree, and Princess Dagger get ourselves into.

And until book two debuts, I’ve got some cool stuff coming your way on this here blog, so stay tuned!

Later gators,

Cosmoe

An explosive ending!

Hellooooo from intergalactic space! Humphree, Princess Dagger, and I are having some down time on the ship as we make our way to Waalio. Yep, going surfing beat out rock climbing in the end. Which is good, because rock climbing would remind me a little too much of my Cosmoe cliffhanger on The Ultimate Evil’s planet-egg thing. I’m not ready to relive that!

Speaking of Evil, today we’re reading the second-last chapter in our reading marathon, where we were literally inside The Ultimate Evil. 

When we left off, Humphree had hurled his hot hot sauce into The Ultimate Evil’s big, slimy heart — but nothing happened! I had to figure out how to detonate the barrel of sauce and keep that creep Krax off my back. Read Chapter 25: The Heart to see how it all turns out!

And now for our…

Today I’ve got my last Galactic Hot Dogs poster for you: It’s the Neon Wiener!

I love this ship. Seriously, it’s the absolute bomb. And guess what? When my print book comes out on May 5, you’ll get to see the inside of the ship and all the awesome junk it has! I wish I could show you now, but the book people say it’s totally top secret.

I’ll see you guys tomorrow. This week I’m interviewing Nichole Kelley, the other illustrator of Galactic Hot Dogs. She’s awesome!

Later dudes,

Cosmoe

My crazy plan to defeat The Ultimate Evil!

Hey all! Today’s our last day camping on Xtar 9. We’ve made a boatload of spaceos (that’s intergalactic space money) from selling hot dogs, and now we’re going to blast off and cruise around the galaxy for a while.

We’ve been saving up to go on an adventure and now we have to pick: Learn to surf on Waalio, which has amazing waves, or go rock climbing on Ooglan 2, which is a lot like Earth’s Grand Canyon. Decisions, decisions…

Now for our latest reading marathon chapter: Entering the Ultimate Evil… and I’m not kidding. My crazy plan is to destroy the monster from the inside! Can we keep that goober Krax from blasting us to bits, and if so, will my plan work? What are you waiting for — go find out!

And now it’s time to check out…

Since we’re all into The Ultimate Evil right now (like, actually INTO the creature), I thought these sketches would be cool to show you:

Two versions of the monster's face...

The final product. Yikes!

I think the GHD illustrators really nailed the scariness of the monster. I mean, it’s not like I had time to take any pictures of the thing while we were fighting for our lives, so the artists were just working off of me and the crew’s descriptions. Pretty awesome, huh?

Oh, one more thing: I can’t believe it, but our book one reading marathon is almost over — and soon we’ll be starting BOOK TWO! Chapter 1 of my next book debuts online on Monday 4/6. Stay tuned for some sneak peeks into what’s coming. Book two is beyond way cool!

Later gators,

Cosmoe

What does hot hot sauce have to do with The Ultimate Evil?

Hey everyone. I'm gonna be brief today because oh man, I think I ate too many s'mores yesterday. Today I am one sick space dude. My stomach is revolting like that time I tried raw arakzid legs doused with Humphree's hot hot sauce. Not good, people. Not. Good.

Speaking of Humphree's hot hot sauce, it's going to be a key player in how we defeat The Ultimate Evil. How are we going to do it? And why is that lame-o Krax shooting at us when we're trying to save the galaxy? Check out Chapter 23: Epic Space Battle Hour to find out how the heck we're going to get rid of this:

And now let's get into...

This is our last DJ Zee Zee Jak scene, and it would have appeared in the book right about now:

That DJ dude isn't always my favorite but at least he gave me props for being right about The Ultimate Evil!

Since this art was never finalized, it's not 100% perfect -- and I see an oops. Do you see the missing word? What word would you fill in?

Okay you guys. It's back to bed to me. Cosmoe the Earth-Boy signing off until next time, when hopefully my stomach will be back to full strength!

Stay awesome,
Cosmoe

How do I get out of a real cliffhanger?!

Hey everyone! I’m writing to you from our camping tent on Xtar 9. It’s a warm planet that’s covered with forests. The trees are ginormous — like those redwood trees in California. The tree trunks are bigger than our ship!

The Princess has never been camping and she is totally digging the whole experience. Oh, and you know how lots of Earth people are scared of bugs? Well, Dags sure isn't an Earthling because she's the total opposite of scared. She’s wondering which ones could make good hot dog toppings. Barf! But Humphree agrees, ‘cause aliens like that stuff. I’ll stick to ketchup and mustard, thanks.

Anyway, today’s reading marathon chapter is mega action-packed. How could it not be, when the last chapter ended with a real cliffhanger?! Obviously I got out of that situation, since I’m here writing to you… but who rescued me? And what did The Ultimate Evil actually turn out to be? Go find out now in Chapter 22: Crack!

And now for…

Here’s a new DJ Zee Zee Jak scene!

When I saw this I was like, what the fuzz, dude? Earthlings do not “cry, cry, cry” about everything. And obviously I’m the type of Earth kid who marches forward and fights space jerks in all their many forms. That’s my thing! And anyway, I’d like to see that bearded, multi-armed Zee Zee Jak take on The Ultimate Evil like this space kid and his crew did. Never gonna happen, I’ll tell you that!

See you back here tomorrow — I’ve got something fun for you on the blog!

Stay awesome,

Cosmoe

Confronting the Daggers—and The Ultimate Evil!

Aw, smudge, you guys. I totally wiped out while I was ice boarding on Moorg’s mountains yesterday. I twisted up my ankle real good. The aliens on Moorg have a great hospital and super amazing technology, so they were able to pretty much zap away the sprain. But they couldn't zap away how dumb I felt after my boarding blow up. I think I’ll just chill out with my hot cocoa on the ship today while Dags and Humps go ice fishing. Sigh.

Let’s get into one of my all-time favorite chapters: Chapter 21: Descent! I was burning mad when we touched down on the big, empty, evil planet. I was ready to give those crummy Daggers a piece of my mind — but I wasn’t ready for what happened next! Check out the chapter and see the mess I end up in!

And of course, here’s today’s…

Here’s the next DJ Zee Zee Jak scene that got cut from the book:

Cool, huh? I have to admit, I wasn’t too bummed out that Kaff Fiend got taken out by a space shark. That dude was bad news and totally had it in for me!

All right, you guys, have an awesome weekend. We’ll be leaving Moorg soon for a nice, warm planet called Xtar 9. Lots of trees. Reminds me of Endor, the Ewoks’ forest moon in Star Wars. We’re going camping — can’t wait for the Princess to experience tent living!

Later gators,

Cosmoe

From betrayed to mad to spooked!

Hello from ice Planet Moorg! What a super cool place this is. Everything is covered in fresh snow that tastes like candy! The aliens who live here are used to it, but Humps, Dags, and I can't stop eating the sweet stuff. And yesterday we got to go ice boarding. It's like snowboarding, but on ice-covered mountains, and your board just barely skims the surface while you kind of control it with a remote in each hand. It's way cool!

Okay, reading marathon time! In the last chapter, the GHD crew was having a pretty rough time. I was feeling big-time betrayed by the Princess, Humphree was trying to rally me, and poor F.R.E.D. got fried. Things were looking bleak, dudes. Really bleak. Can I pull it together? Will F.R.E.D. recover? And what does The Ultimate Evil have in store for us? Find out in Chapter 20: Destination Ultimate Evil!

And now let's get into...

I had to get special permission from the book people to show you today's awesomeness. This is one of the pieces of art that got cut from the print book. Even though it's totally rad, they couldn't fit every single thing into the book. Just not enough room, you know? But now I get to show it to you! Meet DJ Zee Zee Jak:

DJ Zee Zee Jak is the most popular DJ in the galaxy. Aliens totally love him, but I think he's annoying. I mean, the dude totally amplified my broadcast mess-up about "the map to the most amazing treasure of all time" to the entire galaxy! What a fuzz head. Anyway, the art is super cool, and I have three more DJ Zee Zee Jak thingies coming your way in the next week or so!

Okay, people, I gotta run. The hot dogs are ready to serve up to all the goofy, hungry aliens waiting in line. Tomorrow I'll have part two of my Rachel interview! You can check out part one here if you missed it.

See you then,

Cosmoe

Time for the chapter I don't like talking about...

Hey everyone! I hope you had a great weekend! You’re not going to believe this, but we had a come-from-behind winner in the first official Neon Wiener Videogame Tournament: Humphree! How the fuzz did he beat me?!

Dags came in third place by just a tiny bit. To be honest, I was pretty annoyed that I lost. I mean, I'm the kid who won Videogame Apocalypse! I guess you can't win them all. Smudge.

Okay, back to our way-cool reading marathon. Today's chapter is a tough one for me. I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that it’s filled with lots of action and friendship stuff, and I’ve got a big decision to make. So go read Chapter 19: Say What?! to see what happens.

And now let's check out

Guess what's coming your way? A 2016 Galactic Hot Dogs calendar! Here's a sneak peek of some of the images from the calendar:

My calendar cover!

How cool is it to see this scene in color?!

The calendar is loaded with full-color illustrations from the book. So. Awesome. You're going to love it!

See you guys here tomorrow — I’ll post the first part of my interview with the main illustrator of my book, Rachel Maguire! You’ll gonna love her!

Smell ya later,

Cosmoe

Game over! Awesome! Or… maybe not.

Ohhh, you guys. I totally kicked butt at Hyperspace Heroes, so I'm not losing the Neon Wiener Videogame Tournament anymore! But, well, I'm not winning, either. Because the Princess also kicked butt at the game. And so did Humphree.

Now Dags and me are tied and Humphree is just a little behind. Who's going to win? The champion will be decided today over a long game of Space Warrior Escape. Humphree is playing Dags right now, and you could cut the tension in this ship with a giant space pirate zombie knife. It's crazy! So I got the heck out of the gaming area to chow on some hot dogs and blog in peace.

Today's reading marathon chapter is a big one. Like, really, really BIG. Videogame Apocalypse ends, the map-o-sphere gets put together… and then Evil Queen Dagger fuzzes things up. Argh! You have to read Chapter 18: Game Over to see what happens!

And now let's check out

Today I've got this awesome Galactic Hot Dogs poster for you!

The GHD artists made this (and this one, too) to hang on the walls of my ship! If you want, you can make it your computer’s wallpaper — it’s so much better than the standard lames-ville options that come with your computer.

Okay, I gotta go. I hear Humphree hollering that it’s my turn to play him in Space Warrior Escape. Getting my game face on. I’m completely going to videogame that dude, as the Princess would say. Ha.

See you Monday,

Cosmoe

Battling to the digital death!

Hey everyone! Guess who’s winning the first official Neon Wiener Videogame Tournament? That’s right, yours truly!

Yesterday I demolished Humphree and the Princess at Super Moon Ninja Death Jab. It’s wasn’t even close. But I’m holding off on my victory dance (which I have to say, is pretty freaking awesome) because today we’re playing a new game that F.R.E.D. downloaded for us: Space Race Cars II. I can’t wait!

Today’s reading marathon chapter is all about that time I was gaming at Videogame Apocalypse. I had to win because the trophy had the last slice of the map-o-sphere. And my gamer honor was totally at stake! Right away, a dude named HW-86 blasted me and things didn’t look good. How was I going to survive, let alone win?! Find out in Chapter 17: Black Hole Joystick Battle Heroes!

And now get psyched for…

Today we’re gonna get evil, folks. Here is some never-seen artwork of Evil Queen Dagger!

These are sketches of her that Rachel, my book’s illustrator, did when she was trying to figure out exactly how to draw the queen of mean:

And this is how she turned out:

Yuck. Queen Dagger is the ultimate space jerk. She’s got pure evil pumping through those alien veins. Man, she gives me the creeps. Wherever she goes, we stay far away.

Okay, I’m off to master Space Race Cars II. See you tomorrow — I’ve got a fun Princess Dagger quiz for you!

Stay awesome,

Cosmoe

Videogame awesomeness!

Hey everyone! Today Humphree, Princess Dagger, and I are starting our first official Neon Wiener Videogame Tournament! We’re going play every single game we have on the ship, and then we’re going to have F.R.E.D. download a bunch more. We’re keeping score all week long and I predict that I will CRUSH Humps and Dags! Mwahahahaaa!

I thought it would be fun to have a tournament this week in honor of our reading marathon. We’re getting into the awesome chapters about my completely rad Videogame Apocalypse experience!

I was nervous going into it. I mean, I had to win it to get the last slice of the map-o-sphere. And then I saw I had to be… controller-fied to play?! Whaat?! Find out what happens in Chapter 16: Videogame Apocalypse!

Now it’s time for…

Today I’ve got something pretty cool for you: an original thumb and sketch from the very first pages of the book! Rachel, the GHD book illustrator, told me that the process of creating a chapter’s art starts with a script, then thumbs, then sketches, then ink. So here’s a thumb from Chapter 1:

And here’s a sketch of the first page:

Compare those to the final Chapter 1. Some of the text changed, and so did our faces. Which is good, because my mouth is kind of big in the sketch. I definitely have a big mouth, but not that big. Though the Princess would not agree. Ha.

Okay, off to crush Humphree at Super Alien Brothers. And then the Princess. Victory WILL be mine!

Smell ya later,

Cosmoe

Map-o-sphere slices, video games, and…evil?

Hey you guys! How’s it going? This weekend we’re joining in a spaceship food truck bonanza on Oftar 12’s third moon. It should be pretty cool. When we’re not selling dogs, Princess Dagger is psyched to try different foods from around the galaxy, and Humphree’s going to hunt down some new hot sauce ingredients. Me? I’m hoping to find some adventure, as usual!

Let’s dig into our reading marathon — today we’ve got an action-packed chapter to read! When we left off, Dags froze Krax and we escaped the MWWF arena. Phew!

In Chapter 15: Evil Ways, I try to piece the map-o-sphere together, we find out where the final slice is (it’s completely rad), and the Princess has an unwelcome encounter. Yikes! Find out what happens, and then check out…

Today I’ve got some original artwork that’s never been seen before! These are early sketches an illustrator did of Humphree, Dags, and me. You can see she was trying to figure out exactly how we should look in the book.

I think it’s so cool to see how artwork for a book gets created!

Okay, I gotta run. We’re almost to Oftar 12’s moon and we have a lot of setup to do. I want get it done so we have some time to explore the moon — you never know what you’ll find…

Have a rockin’ weekend,

Cosmoe

What would I do without my best buds?

Hey all. As I’ve been flying around intergalactic space this week with Humphree and Princess Dagger, I’ve been thinking about my cruddy buddies and how awesome they are.

Like that one time I had to fight the Boss Worm, Humps and Dags really were clutch in a tight spot. And then, when Dags pulled a fast one on Krax… well, read about it for yourself in Chapter 14: Cosmoe is Crowned! That’s the next installment in our reading marathon, and it’s pretty excellent.

And now it’s time for…

Today I’m going to school you on illustrations and color. Well, really, Rachel is. She’s the illustrator of my book! Check out the next image. Rachel did it when she was figuring out what we should wear.

Rachel did those less-detailed drawings to play with the colors more easily when she was getting Goober's coloring and Dags' dress right. Get this: The clothes we wear in the book show off our unique personalities. How cool is that?

I wear a red shirt in the book because I’m all into adventure and excitement. And jeans because I’m an Earth kid from the USA — what’s more American than jeans, right?

Humphree’s like the voice of reason of our crew. So he’s wearing mellow colors that show he’s usually a calm sort of dude. Usually.

And Princess Dagger? Well, she’s smart, digs adventure, is kind of girly, and can be a teeny bit bossy. (Don’t tell her I said that.) So turquoise is a perfect color for her. 

Pretty cool, huh? I didn’t know how important color is in illustrations! I’m going to be interviewing Rachel soon, so if you’re into drawing and art, you’re going to love what she has to say.

See you here tomorrow for part two of my Max interview!

Stay awesome,

Cosmoe

F.R.E.D. to the rescue!

Helloooooo from outer space, everyone! After a long stay on planet Grenzo, the Galactic Hot Dogs crew is back to flying around the galaxy. It’s pretty rad to be back in space, seeing planets and moons from far above. And it’s definitely way cool to go to sleep with a view like this:

photo credit: Cosmic Conifer via photopin (license)

That view last night was courtesy of F.R.E.D. He can always direct us to the best star-gazing views to zonk out to! Speaking of F.R.E.D., in today’s GHD reading marathon chapter, my little robot friend seriously saves my butt. When we left off, I was in a really tight spot. The Boss Worm was squeezing the whats out of me! The situation was grim, people. Find out how I get out of a jam in Chapter 13: Ding!

And now it’s time for…

Let’s talk robots today. Specifically, my favorite flying robot: F.R.E.D.! 

You know that F.R.E.D. is super helpful. But did you know these fun facts about the little guy? He can:

• Be a flashlight
• Give directions, like a GPS
• Become a video game system
• Hack into computers
• Toast hot dog buns
• Speak to other robots in 10,010 languages
• Be a TV or radio
• Do pretty much anything!

I don’t know what I’d do without F.R.E.D. I just wish he were a little better at cleaning. If I never had to clean the ship again, I’d be one happy Cosmoe!

Have a great day you guys,

Cosmoe

When Mutant Worm Wrestling goes very, very wrong

Wow, you guys. It’s been quite a day here on Grenzo. Get this: A vacationing alien who was chowing down on hot dogs insisted that Humphree’s hot sauce wasn’t hot enough. He kept adding more and more helio jalapeños to his hot dog.

Humps tried to warn the dude to ease up, but he wouldn’t. One thing led to another, and, well, let’s just say the alien found out the hard way that too many jalapeños can have some, um, internally explosive side effects. Good thing the dude has five stomachs. Yikes.

So, our next chapter in our GHD reading marathon is all about that one time I went to a Mutant Worm Wrestling match as a spectator — and then I ended up being a participant! That doofus Krax electrozapped me and threw me in the ring with the Boss Worm, whose tagline is, “After he beats you, he eats you.” Whaaaat? How am I NOT going to get devoured by a mutant worm? Read Chapter 12: The Boss Worm to see what happens!

And now it’s time for…

Since we had a pretty wacked-out alien encounter today, I thought I’d tell you a little about the aliens that appear in the book. Check this out:

Some of them look familiar, right? You can find a bunch of these guys in the book. The illustrators did a lot of careful work to get them right.

Out here in space, most aliens don’t have two eyes, two arms, and two legs like us. Their planets have totally different atmospheres and environments from Earth, which means aliens evolved differently.

On our planet, walking around on two legs makes sense. But where Nitrams come from (Alien “A” above), having multiple legs makes sense. Our little human feet would just stick to the ground on a Nitram’s planet, but Nitrams can easily scurry along. Seems weird to us, but Earth would seem weird to them!

Have a great weekend, everyone. I’ll be here on Grenzo for a little while longer, warning other goofy aliens not to lose a stomach from too many helio jalapenos!

Stay awesome,

Cosmoe