Issue 145…
Vicious Shivers is a (mostly) weekly newsletter for fans of my work. Thank you for subscribing. Please share it with others if you think they might be interested!
Just a few minutes ago, my amazing wife Cindy said the cruelest, the most hurtful, the most insulting thing I can imagine a wife saying to a husband.
“Maybe you’re getting too old to host haunted houses.”
How can she be so heartless?
I mean, she’s not wrong. For the past several years, we’ve run a haunted house in our garage on Halloween night. This year was our biggest production yet. Three different rooms/scare zones, numerous animatronics, five live actors. I played a pig-man butcher who offered our guests a taste of “Pa’s Barbeque” as they passed through a sinister slaughterhouse. It was a tremendous success!
And for the past week I’ve barely been able to move. The pain in my back has been… something else. Worth it? Sure! Do I want this pain to exit its prison of my flesh? Yes! Do I ever want to experience this again? Hell, no!
Next year, I think, my son is going to do most of the work on the house itself. I’ll just supervise. It’s time to pass the torch.
The joke’s on Cindy, though! My back’s been hurting so badly, I haven’t been able to deconstruct the haunted house. Jason Voorhees stands in the garage, waiting for her every time she drives into the bay. She’s threatened me with a grim fate if I don’t remove him soon… but you don’t face Jason with a bad back.
Regular readers might notice that the format of this issue looks a little different than previous installments. That’s because, after a year of using Revue to host the newsletter, I’m shifting to Substack. This is a change I’ve been considering for a bit. Now, with all the chaos that surrounds Twitter, it’s time. I’ve heard Revue is about to be discontinued anyhow, which doesn’t surprise me. I hope you like this format and platform. Let me know what you think! If you do enjoy it, make sure to share it with your friends!
How’s the writing been going?
I’m glad you asked!
Monday and Tuesday were kind of a bust, writing-wise. Halloween and recovery from Halloween tend to do that.
In terms of comic books, the rest of the week was all right, but not as good as I wanted it to be. I’ve worked in fits and starts, without any significant momentum. The most important piece was a script for a 30-page comic (Project: V) that I finished up.
I have a script for a new unannounced project—Project: Ghost—that I have to work on and have turned in by tomorrow. The fire beneath me has been lit in that respect. And I have two other scripts (one half-finished, the other not started beyond the outline phase) due in the days immediately following.
A general lack of motivation when it comes to scripting/creating comics is something I’ve been struggling with for a while now. It’s not burnout. Not exactly. It’s more of a sense of… distraction. I was talking to a couple of other creators who are experiencing the same thing. We’re all trying to get through it, but it is a slog!
I’ve got… four pitches for new series out in the wild right now… and just seconds ago I sent off some rough notes for another pitch for a comic or TV show… or both.
As you know, I was in California working on a TV show over the summer. At long last, it looks like that is moving on to the next stage of development, so I’m going to be working on some scripts for my episodes! Very exciting!
My real progress has been on the novel I’ve been writing, GOBLINVILLE. I have made a commitment to myself to have a ROUGH draft finished by the end of the year. It’s a lofty goal. I’d say I’m a third of the way there, maybe a little more. I’ve written a couple of more chapters, 3,000 words or so, over the last couple of days. I’m not really participating in NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month). At least, not officially, but I’m using it as some motivation. Early chapters of the novel are being posted on my Patreon, if you’re interested!
On the non-writing side of writing, I’ve been working on several projects. I’ve launched a new version of my web store The Shock Shop. I’ve been playing around with a revision of my Patreon. And I’ve been preparing to launch the next Kickstarter for DEMOCRITUS BRAND AND THE ENDLESS MACHINE. Oh… and I’ve been messing around with this newsletter!
All in all, I’m keeping plenty busy. I just need to figure out how to do a better job balancing the writing-adjacent work with actually writing.
Reader Questions…
I got a question from Phil Butehorn about how I write through issues in my scripts.
It’s a perfect time for that question, really, because I struggled with an emerging issue just this week. I won’t go into too much detail, as the book hasn’t been announced yet and the issue in question would spoil some big surprises. Suffice it to say, I’ve been planning on the book unfolding in a specific way, but realized as I started scripting that I had set up a situation that was so unrealistic that it would kick the reader right out of the tale.
So… what do I do?
First off, I had to accept that some of the work I had finished was just going to go down the drain. This is a big one, because a lot of writers will first try everything in their power, wasting hours and hours, to salvage what has been written. They’ll move Heaven and Earth to make what has not yet been written work with what has already been placed on paper. Sometimes, that can work. Sometimes, that can lead to something interesting. Not in this case, though. It’s an important skill to develop: realizing early on that you might have to scrap what has gone before.
After that, it involves (for me) a lot of pacing. Along with pacing, I talk to myself a lot. More like muttering. Ranting. And, yes, I sound like a madman. And to go along with pacing and talking to myself, I scribble lots and lots of notes. Depending in the situation, that could be writing in a notebook. Or it might be typing into the Notes feature of my iPad. Or it might be scribbling scenes on index cards or Post-It Notes.
(This last one is really great if you’re dealing with the organization of scenes or pages or even panels.)
I don’t worry about those notes making sense to anyone but me. Nothing is off limits here, either. Crazy, outlandish, stupid—those ideas are all fair game, because sometimes they shine light toward a real solution. And I’m usually not planning on transcribing any of them. This is more about the process. The brainstorming. It opens my mind up to the possibilities and almost always helps me figure things out.
Typically, this will help me crack whatever story problems I’m facing. Sometimes, as an added benefit, those brainstorming sessions will also unlock several new ideas for stories to explore in the future.
If you have questions you’d like me to address in the newsletter—about writing, about my books, about the industry, or about any of my other nonsense—please share, either through emails or through the chat function.
Interviews…
A new interview dropped this week. On Blake’s Buzz, I talk all things horror… from PUMPKINHEAD to DOOR TO DOOR, NIGHT BY NIGHT!
New Books This Week…
Here are the comics and books coming out on November 9th!
SHOCK SHOP #3
Cullen Bunn (Harrow County), Danny Luckert (Regression), and Leila Leiz (The Last Book You'll Ever Read) present a brand-new horror anthology flipbook taking place in a haunted comic book shop with a twisted retailer filled with tales of terror sure to leave you with the lights on. Welcome to the SHOCK SHOP!
The horror continues in these two-terrifying tales about woodland campers prey to monsters and a family plagued by powerful beings lurking in the shadows of their house.
GODZILLA VS. THE MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS TPB
The King of the Monsters and the defenders of Earth take on villains from both their worlds in this crossover clash for the ages!
When the evil sorceress Rita Repulsa retrieves the multiversal focus—a gemstone through which all realities can be seen—she sets her sights on an alternate Earth where the Power Rangers don’t exist to interfere with her nefarious plans! But what she finds instead are a race of alien conquerors known as the Xiliens, who are unleashing unpredictable Kaiju in the hopes of defeating Godzilla and taking over the planet. As the two join forces, they find their goals interrupted by the arrival of the Power Rangers! Can they and Godzilla stop the threat before it’s too late?
Collects the five-issue crossover event.
Weekly Obsessions…
Reading of THE SCARLET GOSPELS has slowed just a little. Just been tired and busy. I’ve been forging ahead, just more slowly. I’d say I’m 3/4 through it. Still digging it. Really like the world building, and there’s been some terrific body horror thus far.
I started watching Guillermo Del Toro’s CABINET OF CURIOSITIES. Three episodes in, and I’m enjoying it. It’s pretty, that’s for sure! And the second episode is an adaptation of one of my favorite Henry Kuttner stories, “The Graveyard Rats.” That story was also the inspiration for one of the first pieces of short fiction I ever sold, “Night Lessons,” which appeared in the ‘zine Heliocentric Net.
This weekend, my son played violin as part of the Western Missouri All-Region Orchestra. One of the pieces they played was 221B Baker Street by Jeffrey Bishop. The music so perfectly captures the imagination, the adventure, and the mystery of the Sherlock Holmes stories that I found myself wanting to dig out all my old Holmes ‘zines (I have a bunch of them from back in the day stashed somewhere), read the stories and novels again, and watch the Jeremy Brett TV series. So… there will likely be a lot of Holmes mentioned in this section in the future.
Halloween is over, and—yes—I’m a little sad about it. Here is a list of the movies I watched for the season… in order. Why this order? Why these movies? I have no idea. I just followed my gut. Maybe next year I’ll have more of a plan.
Phantasm 2
Hellraiser
My Best Friend’s Exorcism
Crawl
Hellbound: Hellraiser 2
Poltergeist
The Cabin in the Woods
Halloween
A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
Werewolves Within
Hellraiser (2022)
Friday the 13th
Behind the Mask: the Rise of Leslie Vernon
Phantasm 3: Lord of the Dead
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers
Halloween Kills
Halloween Ends
Deadstream
Halloween 4
Halloween 5
Malignant
Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight
Hereditary
Bodies Bodies Bodies
Hellraiser 4: Bloodlines
Werewolf by Night
Nightbreed
Nope
Barbarian
Shakma
Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth
Things to Come…
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.
DOOR TO DOOR, NIGHT BY NIGHT - A horror/comedy series about a door-to-door sales team that moonlights as monster hunters.
A FOULNESS IN THE WALLS - A horror one-shot about loss and grief and guilt.
NIGHTWALKERS - A survival horror series that sets up a whole world of apocalyptic nightmares.
RED ZONE - An action/comedy thrill-ride. unlike anything else I’ve ever written.
BLOODBLADE - An action/horror story of destiny and demonic blood
PROJECT: BOT - A sequel to a story of robotic mischief.
PROJECT: MASK - A horror OGN where reality and surreality clash in a murderous way.
PROJECT: WATER HEATER - An apocalyptic horror/fantasy maxi-series.
PROJECT: DUNGEON - A new licensed horror comic series
PROJECT: GHOST - A horror maxi-series exploring a side of horror you might not expect
PROJECT: CONVOY - A horror/thriller I’m co-writing
PROJECT: MATINEE - A horror limited series I’m working on with one of my best friends and long-standing collaborator
PROJECT: SWORD - A horror prose anthology I’m editing
PROJECT: V - A return to a fan-favorite character I haven't written in quite a while.
PROJECT: PREHISTORY - More kaiju craziness.
PROJECT: MEGA-BATTLE - Even More kaiju craziness.
PROJECT: LAST - A horror prose anthology I’m editing.
PROJECT: RUSH - A horror prose anthology I’m editing.
PROJECT: GALLERY - An RPG project I’ve been quietly developing.
PROJECT: CARD - A magical one-shot.
Work Update…
So far this year, I wrote:
1520 pages of comic book scripts (938 in 2021)
0 feature length screenplay (1 in 2021)
1 half-hour comedy pilot (0 in 2021)
1 short film script (0 in 2021)
7 short stories (13 in 2021)
0 novellas (0 in 2021)
8 two-sentence horror stories (0 in 2021)
29 new comic book series proposals (25 in 2021)
0 podcast proposals (5 in 2021)
1 essay (0 in 2021)
1 foreword for upcoming graphic novels (0 in 2021)
1 television series proposal (0 in 2021)
Events…
Keep in mind, these days, "finalized" doesn't mean as much as it once did. All events are subject to change.1
FEBRUARY 4, 2023 - ArtCon, Neosho, MO
MARCH 17 - 19, 2023 - Planet Comicon, Kansas City MO
JULY 7 - 9, 2023 - Tremendicon, Springfield MO
Where to Find Me Online…
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.