Cursed Pirate Girl Comic Returns in The Devil's Cave
Jeremy Bastian's cult hit comic book is returning to Boom! Studios with Cursed Pirate Girl: The Devil's Cave. This beloved black-and-white series began at Boom! Studios back in 2012 with Cursed Pirate Girl, including a graphic novel that collected the first three issues and later an annual issue in 2015 that served as the fourth issue. It's been over five years since the last new tale of Cursed Pirate Girl was told, and now it's returning again under the Boom! Studios' imprint Archaia, which has published such graphic novels as Mouse Guard and Slaughterhouse-Five.
Beginning in 1728, Cursed Pirate Girl revolves around the daughter of Port Elizabeth's governor, Apollonia, who meets the Cursed Pirate Girl. The titular character is on a journey to get her lost father, the Dread Pirate Captain Douglas, back. Before being published by Boom! Studios, the first three issues of the comic were published by Olympian Publishing back in 2009. The multi-talented creator of the series, Jeremy Bastian, handles not only the writing but also the art and letters. His creative relationship with Boom! Studios includes variant cover work on their comics Judas and Jim Henderson's Labyrinth: Under the Spell #1.
The Boom! Studios press release announced the return of Bastian's Cursed Pirate Girl as well as shared the cover of The Devil's Cave and ten single interior pages along with a two-page spread. This is a self-contained story about her parrot Pepper Dice telling the Cursed Pirate Girl that she can get her father back. But in order to do that, she needs to escape the Sea King's Palace and go to The Devil's Cave. She's also being pursued by Devil Jonah and his lackeys.
When talking about this new entry of Cursed Pirate Girl, Bastian said: “THE DEVIL’S CAVE is the best work I have done yet, and I’m very excited to share it with you. In this long-awaited chapter, Cursed Pirate Girl visits the wonders of the Omerta Seas and faces even more bizarre characters in her quest to be reunited with her father. If you thought the previous chapter of her story was something special, just wait ‘til you see this one!” A huge draw of the book is Bastian's unique art style, which is inspired by 15th-century engravings. The press release also sings the art's praises as well, mentioning that the "intricately detailed illustrations [are] evocative of Arthur Rackham and Gustave Dore’s fairy tale depictions." The artwork is truly striking and very much unlike anything else on the shelves right now.
The fifth story in the Cursed Pirate Girl saga, The Devil's Cave will be released in comic book stores in January 2022 with a $9.99 price tag. For newcomers who want to delve into the series, Boom! Studios is re-releasing the Cursed Pirate Girl graphic novel for the first time ever in softcover format rather than its previous hardcover format released back in 2012. The softcover version will be available in December 2021 for $19.99.
Source: Boom! Studios