Issue 163: Swords, Violins, and Cats

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Lots of cool stuff to discuss this week, though this week was a little bit of a mess for me work-wise.

Early in the week, I had to take a day trip to Kansas City to return violins to a violin shop. Yes—officially—Violin Quest 2023 has been completed! After trying several violins, my son has found a violin he really likes and we purchased it. It was pricey. We took money out of savings and out of our tax funds to pay for it. But he’s proud of the instrument and he’s been practicing up a storm.

The next step, or so I hear, is to upgrade my son’s bow.

Please buy some books.

Anyhow, the Kansas City trip knocked me out from working for a day, but it was a necessity, and it was fun. Josh and I stopped at Back in Time Comics, one of my favorite comic shops, and we were able to steal a little time to have lunch with my arch-nemesis Dennis Hopeless.

After my return home, though, things kind of went downhill for the week.

Our cat Nibbles hasn’t been doing too well. We had a consultation on the books with a new veterinarian, and I think it was just in time, because he took a sharp decline out of nowhere.

Cats… they don’t let on that they’re suffering until the issues are severe.

We’ve taken Nibbles to the vet a lot lately, but no one has been able to figure out what was wrong with him. But this new vet immediately identified the issues, though not the cause. Poor guy is dealing with some sort of chronic bronchitis. We scheduled an endoscopy for Nibbles to try to give him some relief and identify the source problem.

That day, though, Nibbles took another sharp decline. So… before the procedure… we had to rush him back to the hospital for an overnight stay, observation, and oxygen treatments.

Nibbles is back home and he is doing better. We’re waiting on some pathology results, but the vet believes he’s simply suffering from an ongoing respiratory infection. We’re not out of the woods, the cat might be dealing with this forever, but I’m staying hopeful. Nibbles might need to be force fed a pill every day for the rest of his life, but it’s a small price to pay for him to feel even a little like his old self.

Emergency vet visits and endoscope procedures are expensive.

Please buy some books.

With all of that going on, I was just… derailed from writing. I was physically and mentally exhausted, and I just didn’t get much else done.

Today, I’m back on track in a big way.

If I can work up the energy to drag myself out of bed.

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SWORDS IN THE SHADOWS, the first offering from my Outer Shadows imprint, will be launching on Kickstarter next week! Twenty-three sword & sorcery & horror stories from some of the most exciting horror writers in the biz!

Check out this Table of Contents, because it is a monster!

THE ATOLL OF SYRASH
Wile E. Young

THE SHADOW IN THE SWAMP
Brian Keene

RED ROSE REIGN
Glen Parris

THE PRINCE OF DUST AND SHADOWS
Jonathan Maberry

WOLFEN DIVINE
Hailey Piper

THE SEVENTH QUEEN
Heath Amodio

THE 19th LEGION
Josh Roberts

PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN
Allison Pang

DOBROGOST
Jonathan Janz

THE SUTURE KINGS
Mary SanGiovanni

THE CASTLE CAUCHEMAR
L.C. Mortimer

THE BEAST OF BEL’HAMI
Mike Oliveri

SHADES OF RUIN
Scott Schmidt

BONES AND ALL
JimmyZ Johnston

THE DOG IN THE CORNER
Stephen Graham Jones

THE SPIRITUAL OUTCAST OF OSANOBUA’S GARDEN
Justin C. Key

THE SHADOW FROM THE VAULTS
Charles R. Rutledge

THE GOD OF ROT
James A. Moore

THE WAYFARING STRANGER
Steven L. Shrewsbury

TIGER CLAWS AND CROCODILE JAWS
Rena Mason

THE SCORPION AND THE CROW
Aaron Conaway

WRENCH AND SORCERY
Joe R. Lansdale

In addition, my dark fantasy novella RAZE will be offered as a companion piece.

Through the haze of battle, two strangers arrive at the convent’s gates. One is a healer. The other is a warrior. They have treachery, thievery, and murder on their minds. But lies and betrayal and corruption are not unknown to the Sisterhood of Sacred Visitation. The secrets hidden in the depths of the convent have brought death to many who have sought to bring them into the light.

This campaign is a big deal to me. It’s the first Outer Shadows project, so I want it to do well. As you know, success in this will lead to more and more projects down the line.

Head over to the pre-launch page and follow the project so you don’t miss the launch of the campaign!

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Speaking of Kickstarter, REANIMATOR: THE ETERNAL LIE, PART 2 is live! In this tale of terror, Herbert West’s infamous reanimation serum has been stolen, and a terrible cult plans on using it for a cataclysmic purpose. If you missed the first part of the story, you can still grab it as part of this campaign. Jump on over to Kickstarter and check it out HERE!

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I’m feeling a bit of frustration, health-wise. I’ve really been focused on improving my diet. I’m avoiding temptations. I’ve cut waaaaaaay back on sugars and carbs. I’m not snacking all day long. I’m making much better choices with every meal I eat. When I first made these changes to my diet, I dropped a bunch of pounds right away. Since then, though, weight loss has slowed down to… well… nothing. And it makes me wonder if it’s been worth it at all. I had some big goals I wanted to attain by the end of next week. There’s no way I’ll get there, though. I’m not giving up. I’m just disappointed.

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This week, I’ll be attending Planet Comicon in Kansas City, Missouri. It’s usually a fun and busy show for me. I’ll be at Table/Both 422.

• I’ll sign 5 books (non-CGC) for free.

• After that, I charge $5 per signed book.

• All CGC-verified signatures are $20.

• Anything you buy from my table, I’ll sign for free (of course)

I have a couple of panels I’ll be participating in:

• Friday, 5 - 5:50 — Comics Come from Everywhere with Cullen Bunn, Bill Morrison, Megan Levens, and Freddie Williams II (Room 2505B)

• Saturday, 11 - 11:50 — Happy Hour: Comics, Cocktails, and Cryptids (Room 2503A)

This will be the official kick-off to convention season for me, and I hope you’ll stop by and say hello if you’re in the area!

I’ve definitely been on a collecting tear this week. I’ve picked up a bunch of classic Dungeons and Dragons material for the horde.

Pretty great finds, if you ask me, and it got me thinking about running a D&D campaign again. I put the wheels in motion to make that happen in the next few weeks.

I watched POSSESSION (the 1981 supernatural possession thriller) and have been haunted by it ever since. It is a disturbing flick, part family drama, part cosmic terror, complete mind-bender. What I love about it is the writers and director didn’t fall into the trap of trying to explain the horror. Or anything. The viewer is plenty capable of filling in the blanks in terrible ways.

I also watched KNOCK AT THE CABIN, and while I like the book better, I loved the acting in the movie, especially Dave Bautista in the role of Leonard. Now, as my pal Josh suggested a couple of nights ago over drinks, I want to see KNOCK AT THE CABIN IN THE WOODS… where Leonard and friends arrive at a cabin… just as a group of doomed kids awaken one of the horrors from the basement.

And (of course) I watched SCREAM 6 this week. I enjoyed it. Not my favorite SCREAM movie, but I had fun watching it. I’m already excited for the next one. My official SCREAM movie rankings go like this:

1. SCREAM (96)

2. SCREAM 2

3. SCREAM 4

4. SCREAM (22)

5. SCREAM 6

6. SCREAM 3

But I like them all in different ways.

I’m currently reading DON’T FEAR THE REAPER by Stephen Graham Jones and loving it!

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.

• REANIMATOR: THE ETERNAL LIE - Part 2 of the Herbert West epic

• GHOSTLORE - A horror maxi-series exploring a side of horror you might not expect

• LAMENTATION - A horror limited series where reality and surreality clash in a murderous way

• BLOODBLADE - An action/horror story of destiny and demonic blood

• BEYOND MORTAL - Finishing up the horror/superhero epic

• THE CULT OF THAT WILKIN BOY - An Archie horror one-shot

• SWORDS IN THE SHADOWS - A swords and sorcery and horror fiction anthology I’m editing

• I’LL KILL YOU LAST - An 80s action/horror fiction anthology I’m editing

• RAZE - A dark fantasy/horror novella

• PROJECT: BOT - A sequel to a story of robotic mischief

• PROJECT: WATER HEATER - An apocalyptic horror/fantasy maxi-series

• PROJECT: DUNGEON - A new licensed horror comic series

• 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: 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: RUSH - A horror prose anthology I’m editing

• PROJECT: GALLERY - An RPG project I’ve been quietly developing

• PROJECT: CARD - A magical one-shot

• PROJECT: ARCANA - a dark fantasy series

• PROJECT: BUSINESS - a new horror/action/comedy series

• PROJECT: HOAX - a horror limited series

• 405 pages of comic book scripts (1710 in 2022)

• 0 feature length screenplay (0 in 2022)

• 0 half-hour comedy pilot (1 in 2022)

• 0 short film script (1 in 2022)

• 0 short stories (9 in 2022)

• 0 novellas (0 in 2022)

• 4 two-sentence horror stories (10 in 2022)

• 0 new comic book series proposals (29 in 2022)

• 0 podcast proposals (0 in 2022)

• 0 essay (0 in 2022)

• 1 foreword for upcoming graphic novels (0 in 2022)

• 0 television series proposal (0 in 2022)

Keep in mind, these days, "finalized" doesn't mean as much as it once did. All events are subject to change. I hope to be adding more conventions in the near future! Stay tuned!

MARCH 17 - 19, 2023 - Planet Comicon, Kansas City MO

MARCH 24 - 26, 2023 - Fan Expo Cleveland, Cleveland OH

APRIL 28 - 30 - Oz Con, West Plains MO

JUNE 16 - 18, 2023 - Heroes Convention, Charlotte NC

JUNE 24, 2023 - Route 66 Toy and Comic Convention, Lebanon MO

JULY 7 - 9, 2023 - Tremendicon, Springfield MO

AUGUST 5 - 6, 2023 - Fountain City Con, New Century KS

SEPTEMBER 16 - 17, 2023 - Extremicon, St. Roberts MO

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.

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