Issue 199: Snake Mountain, the Haunted Tiki Lounge Variant
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Guess who’s getting older?
All of us, that’s who.
Me, it feels, most of all.
Over the weekend, I celebrated… or lamented… another birthday. Time may be an illusion, but my entropic collapse is definitely not. That said, I feel like I made the most out of the diminishing sands over the last few days.
Dinner with my family, breakfast with some good pals, a few Godzilla movies, a little work, and a fantastic tiki-themed celebration of life!
We turned Snake Mountain (the name of my studio, which has no snakes and is in the basement) into a tiki lounge. Low lights. Lots of flickering color. Kitschy decor. Well, more kitschy decor. Tiki music. We brought in an excellent bartender to make us a few drinks. We surrounded ourselves with great friends. A few folks from as far as St. Louis and Kansas City even joined us. We actually didn’t take that many pictures, which I think means we were all having a fantastic time.
I’m not sure, but I may keep a good chunk of the tiki decorations as a permanent part of the studio going forward. Look, if over the years I managed to turn a significant part of my house into an honest-to-Crom tiki room, it wouldn’t be the worst thing!
In the end, 53 years of being Cullen-Fucking-Bunn doesn’t feel that bad, and while the last year has been a little hellish, I’m feeling pretty good about 2024. If nothing else, I’m gonna FORCE myself to feel good about it. There’s too much awfulness, too much doom and gloom, too much dread—and not the good kind—and if I don’t put on my happy Dickies, it’ll crush me.
So… some work updates!
I’ve been cooking up a few projects that are going to be my focus over the next several months. I’ve hinted at them for a bit, and I’m going to hint at them a little more.
We have the books that have already been announced, of course. So, I’m working on INVASIVE and GATCHAMAN and GHOSTLORE. Two of those are close to wrapping up—at least in terms of scripting—and a few other unannounced books, such as PROJECT: HEX, PROJECT: ARCANA, and PROJECT: MONSTER have been completely written as well. I’ve also been working on spinning a few more plates.
I’ve hinted at PROJECT: JUMP, PROJECT: HORROR, and PROJECT MEGA-BATTLE. Those are other top-secret books I am currently writing, and I imagine will be announced in the near future.
There’s also the heretofore unmentioned PROJECT: GARDEN, which is also finished… at least as far as initial scripting.
A few others I’ve hinted at are in weird holding patterns, and I don’t know if they’ll fire back up or not, to be honest.
Let’s throw a few more active projects on the list. These are books that have been approved more or less. I’m going to be writing them, but the outlines either haven’t been given final approval or I’m just waiting for “Go!” There’s PROJECT: NINE and PROJECT: CURSE, both horror one-shots. There’s PROJECT: ED, which I was just contracted to write. There’s PROJECT: YELLOW, which I’ve been working on for a while, but need to get the go-ahead to script. There’s a limited series I’ll call PROJECT: AUTUMN that just got approved, and I’m waiting for approval on another book from the same publisher. There’s the new SIXTH GUN series, which I’m not sure what it will be called just yet.
I have two other pitches that are in the wild that the publishers want to discuss in a little more detail. And I have a couple of other proposals I’ll be sending out soon.
On the “I plan to crowdfund this” front, I’ve been quietly writing a comic I’ve been calling THE FARAWAY, and art for the first issue is almost done. I am also continuing work on CULLEN’S TERROR TRIPLE THREAT. And I’ll be moving some DEEPEST CATACOMBS stuff along VERY soon.
Whew!
But, wait!
I also, just this past week, finished a screenplay for something cool on the horizon.
I have anthologies I’m editing, short stories I’m writing, novels I’m serializing on Patreon.
And there’s another REALLY big announcement on the horizon, one I couldn’t be more excited… and terrified… about.
Stay tuned!
As I mentioned last issue, I’ve been having a bit of trouble writing while at my desk. I’m fine when I’m working elsewhere in the house, but my desk is a no-go of late. So I’ve been trying to find new spots to tell my tales of adventure, woe, and dread. And—wouldn’t you know it—I have a nice recliner tucked into a corner of the studio. I call the area the “Reading Corner” but couldn’t it serve a writing purpose as well? I gave that a try, and it was going swimmingly for a hot minute.
Until…
That’s Greybaby (look how big she’s gotten!) who has decided that the Reading and Writing Corner is also the Cat Snuggling Corner. And, no matter how many times I shoo her away, she keeps coming back, getting right in the way of efficient typing. At one point, she and her sister Jumpscare were Both on me, but there was no way to move for photo-snapping at that point. And, so, I need to devise another plan.
You might have grabbed gHOSTS in a digital format when it first became available. Did you know, though, that if you missed it (or if you want an archival edition) there’s a Zoop campaign underway right now!?
From the press release:
If you’re a fan of pop culture today, you’d be hard pressed NOT to have run across the work of the team behind Monster Forge Presents: gHosts. Did you enjoy The Suicide Squad? Get a rush from HBO’s Winning Time? Are you a fan of cosplay? Actor David Dastmalchian (The Suicide Squad, Ant-Man), Executive Producer Rodney Barnes (Winning Time, American Gods, Killadelphia), and cosplay legend Leanna Vamp lend their character creations to this multi-versal crossover.
The team on writing and art duties is equally as impressive. Written by Cullen Bunn (X-Men, Venom) and Shannon Eric Denton (Founder, Monster Forge Productions) with art by David Hartman (Rob Zombie, Phantasm Ravager) and Chynna Clugston Flores (Scooby Doo, Lumberjanes), this one shot is a story eerily well suited for the horror of Halloween.
About the book:
Investigator Nita Hawes is drawn into a decades old missing child case when she’s sent a mysterious VHS tape featuring horror hosts Count Crowley, Vamp, Doctor Fearless, Desdemona, Uncle Monster and Ms. Halloween. The hosts do what they can to guide her recovery mission but even with their help, Nita may find herself lost in a Halloween nightmare if she can’t solve this case!
Supporters of the campaign are in for massive treats, as there are opportunities for signatures, sketches, and more from this incredible lineup of talent! This Zoop campaign is the only place you can get physical copies of this killer crossover!
Monster Forge Founder Shannon Eric Denton shares, “Monster Forge could not be prouder to team up with all these fantastic creators for our first Halloween Special. Here’s to the magic of Halloween!”
But WAIT!
That’s not all on the Zoop front!
Sarah, a talented ER nurse, has the unique ability to diagnose her patients with just one touch. Unfortunately, her power comes at a painful cost, as she suffers the same agony as those she cares for. When a mysterious woman named Emma dies in her arms, Sarah inadvertently leaches Emma’s extraordinary superhuman ability to fight. Sarah is then hunted by Emma’s killers, forced to leach more and more powers from an onslaught of superhuman assassins to stay alive. With any luck, she’ll survive long enough to solve Emma’s murder, and bring them all down.
The series is based on a concept by producer Todd Garner (Mortal Kombat, Tag) and will be produced by his company Broken Road Productions. The series is written by Hustle & Hearts Films’ duo of Heath Amodio (The Heathens and Foretold) and New York Times bestselling writer Cullen Bunn (Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe, 6th Gun). Elmer Cantada (Masque, Big Jack) provides the line art, with colors by Gabe Contreras (Datura, Witchblood) and letters by Dave Lentz (Good Boy, Curse of Cleaver County).
For fans of Atomic Blonde and John Wick.
You can follow the pre-launch page HERE to be notified when the project officially launches!
Want to hear me talk about Godzilla? Who doesn’t? We recorded a new episode of Comicon.com’s Happy Hour, during which we discuss Godzilla, kaiju, and King Kong’s punk-ass moves.
Authors Brian Keene and Mary SanGiovanni are opening a bookstore! Vortex Books & Comics will be opening in the spring of 2024. I couldn’t be more excited for them. If you’ve been reading this newsletter, you know that I’ve long had the dream of opening a bookstore/comic shop/coffee bar/tiki bar/barcade for a good long while. I love seeing others pursuing their own version of that dream.
They are giving the public a chance to contribute to this dream, and if you want to help them out, you can do so HERE.
I think it’s always a good time to help someone open a new shop!
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 MYSTERIOUS FUTURE…
PROJECT: JUMP - a new comic book series in the Beyond Mortal Universe.
PROJECT: HEX - a supernatural/horror thriller.
PROJECT: HORROR- a licensed horror miniseries.
PROJECT: GARDEN - a horror novella.
PROJECT: NINE - a horror one-shot.
PROJECT: CURSE - a horror one-shot.
PROJECT: ED - a licensed horror miniseries.
PROJECT: AUTUMN - a horror/fantasy miniseries.
PROJECT: YELLOW - a book I don’t think readers will expect from me.
THE SIXTH GUN NEW SERIES - awwww, yeah!
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.
THE FARAWAY - a dark fantasy series.
CULLEN’S TRIPLE THREAT OF TERROR - three gruesome one-shots.
DEEPEST CATACOMBS - A return to the world of the RPG that never was.
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: ARCANA - a dark fantasy series
PROJECT: MONSTER - a new horror/action/comedy series
PROJECT: HOAX - a horror limited series
I’ve been reading a bit… revisiting WATCHERS by Dean Koontz, forging ahead on THE ANGEL OF INDIAN LAKE by Stephen Graham Jones.
I’ve been listening to a LOT of tiki music and a LOT of Gunship.
I watched a few more old GODZILLA flicks.
I started playing D&D again after a week off, and that’s been a blast, and I got some old DRAGON magazines for my birthday, and I’ve been reading those.
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.
Happy birthday!! Looks and sounds like you had a blast 🙂. If you ever make it to Vortex books, it would be great to meet you there. I live less than 30 minutes away. I have already signed up to receive the store emails regarding signings, etc.
Happy Birthday, Cullen!