Preload JPG/PNG files into a MC

I am currently using a simple load movie command to load my png images into a movieclip …

_root.myMovieClip.loadMovie(“pc1.png”);

Is there a way to load these images while my main swf file loads? There is a delay before the pictures show up because they load right as I go to that movieclip…if anyone can help, I would greatly appreciate it…