Issue 190: Half-formed, Often Ugly, Always Hungry
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Sometimes, the ideas will not be denied.
I have a lot of work on my plate, especially right now, especially when I need to make sure projects that pay immediately are being tackled with enthusiasm and abandon.
New ideas are always nibbling at my brain.
Always.
Half-formed, often ugly, always hungry.
Usually, though, I can stave them off, jotting a note to myself to revisit them when the time is right.
And then there are those really stubborn concepts that won’t take “later” for an answer.
One of those hit me a few days ago. I was at the coffee shop, planning on outlining a couple of “paying” projects, when an idea rushed unbidden into my brain, screaming “Look at me! Look at me! Look at me!” And, when I looked, I found myself mesmerized.
I spent the rest of the time at the coffee shop typing furiously, unwilling to even open Word, scripting directly into Notes, and before I knew it, I had written a nearly complete issue of a dark epic horror fantasy.
I’m not sure just yet what I’m going to do with it. It is a story I’m very excited about. I’m just not sure where to take it. Do I approach a publisher? Do I plan on crowdfunding? And, of course, I need to think long and hard about who should draw this thing. I have the visual tone in my head. I just need to find the right partner.
And still the idea calls to me.
“Write the next issue!”
“Build the world!”
“Create a marketing plan!”
I won’t lie. It’s fun. I love when ideas strike like that. THE SIXTH GUN was like that in many ways.
But the need to pay bills looms like the alien queen from the steam.
We’ll see which of those titans—the need to eat or the need to follow the idea down the rabbit hole—wins out.
That idea came to me out of nowhere. While I was at Extremicon this past weekend, I set a challenge for myself to come up with a bunch of other ideas that I could develop. I was shooting for ten. Occasionally, I can force ideas into existence. This time, it was a little more difficult. I came up with five usable concepts, maybe another five titles that have no associated story but just sound cool.
That’s not a bad bit of work.
They definitely didn’t spring fully-formed into my head, though.
While at Extremicon, I also learned that Missouri once again has an official chapter of the Horror Writer Association! Apparently, there are almost fifty members! I’ll be reaching out this week to get involved. A couple of decades ago, I was part of an official chapter called the Midwest Writers of Horror, and I loved it. Sadly, it fell apart after a few years. I’m glad to hear something new has risen to take its place.
Over on Daily Dead, they have posted a sneak peek at the awesome variant covers for INVASIVE #1, which is a nasty little horror story I’ve got coming up in November. The covers themselves should give you the shivers. Check them out!
I spent a big chunk of last week working on the Kickstarter page for CROOKED HILLS! That’s right! CROOKED HILLS, my middle ages Ozarks horror novel is returning, updated and improved! It will be released by Outland Entertainment as part of the Outer Shadows line. I’m also thrilled to say I’m hard at work at the second book in the series! Stay tuned! The Kickstarter will launch officially in early October!
A few days back, I set up a Guest Book here on Substack. I thought it would be a fun way to build the community a bit and get to know each other. If you haven’t had a chance to ‘sign” the Guest Book, and love it if you took a few minutes to say hello!
More than ever, I’m viewing Patreon as a vital piece of my goals of making comics, telling stories, and paying my bills. I use the platform to share serialized prose and comics, behind-the-scenes secrets, sneak peeks at upcoming projects, and much more.
Here are a few of the items posted in the last few days:
Behind the Scenes: Chainsaw Witches, Part 2 - More amazing concept art from this upcoming project!
Witch-Marked, Part 6 - Continuing the new fantasy epic.
Witch-Marked, Part 5 - Continuing the new fantasy epic.
DEATH OF THE VENOMVERSE #4
CARNAGE UNLEASHED! CARNAGE continues his savage rampage throughout the Multiverse, obliterating as many VENOMS as he can! Do AGENT VENOM and what's left of her team even stand a chance? Or is Carnage destined to win?
Someone told me this one came out in digital last week and in print this week. So, if you read your books digitally, you may have already read this one.
This week, I finally finished reading DON’T FEAR THE REAPER by Stephen Graham Jones and I loved it. The book went hard and fast and the final scenes are wild!
I also read NOTHING BUT BLACKENED TEETH by Cassandra Khaw. A terrific novella with absolutely beautiful… and often ghastly writing.
I’m listening to John Carpenter’s LOST THEMES while working at the moment.
I’ve been watching horror movies every night (assuming I’m not traveling to signings and conventions) and documenting them (as time allows) on my website. Here are those I’ve documented so far:
Here is a quick and dirty list of upcoming projects. In most cases, I’m only listing projects that are definitely on the schedule with a published. Oftentimes, I will not be able to share much information, but I can at least tease the future! Everything here is, of course, subject to change.
THE UNKNOWN FUTURE…
PROJECT: JUMP, a new comic book series in the Beyond Mortal Universe.
PROJECT: HEX, a supernatural/horror thriller.
PROJECT: HORROR, a licensed horror comic.
I’LL KILL YOU LAST - An 80s action/horror fiction anthology I’m editing.
GALLERY OF WHISPERS - An RPG project I’ve been quietly developing.
PROJECT: PREHISTORY - More kaiju craziness
PROJECT: MEGA-BATTLE - Even More kaiju craziness
PROJECT: BOT - A sequel to a story of robotic mischief
PROJECT: WATER HEATER - An apocalyptic horror/fantasy maxi-series
PROJECT: RUSH - A horror prose anthology I’m editing
BLOODBLADE - An action/horror story of destiny and demonic blood
PROJECT: CONVOY - A horror/thriller I’m co-writing
PROJECT: ARCANA - a dark fantasy series
PROJECT: MONSTER - a new horror/action/comedy series
PROJECT: HOAX - a horror limited series
PROJECT: DEAD - a short comic story
PROJECT: VARIANT - a really cool one-shot project
PROJECT: G - a new ongoing series
SEPTEMBER 30 - OCTOBER 1 - Cowtown Comic Convention, Fort Worth TX
THE SHOCK SHOP - My online store, where you can find exclusive covers you can only get directly from me!
TWITTER - This is the best place to interact with me online. My handle is @cullenbunn
TIKTOK - A fun spot for quick videos about writing, comics, and collecting
PATREON - Here, I post a serialized novel, a serialized comic book, short stories, and other cool materials.
THE CULLEN BUNN DISCORD SERVER - A place for fans to hang out and talk about comics, books, movies, games, collecting, and whatever else strikes their fancy.
THE BUNNGALOW - Cindy and I talk about life, hot button topics, pop culture, being married to a comic book writer and EVERYTHING in between.
Ah, the lure of the unexpected idea! It's always a killer especially when you've got enough on your plate.
Would love to hear about how you 'force yourself' to come up with ideas. I always hit a wall when I sit down and try to come up with stuff. It always happens when I'm doing something else!
I think every creative person regardless of medium or expression can relate to the invasive idea that *needs* to be recorded before any other work can be done. Lol Those Invasive covers did indeed make me shiver. Thanks for another great newsletter!