Issue 175: Little Moments of Joy and Distraction
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Hello, my friends! I hope this week has treated you well! It’s been pretty hectic for the Bunn family. In addition to his regularly-scheduled violin activities, my son has had a couple of gigs (one at a funeral, one at a wedding) that we’ve been running him to. We’ve had to rush out to buy new dress shirts, because he is a weed. We’ve had air conditioner/furnace inspections. We’ve had mystery yard flooding. We’ve had to take kittens to veterinary appointments.
And there’s still been plenty of work to do!
So, this newsletter is a little abbreviated. Honestly, I forgot it was Sunday. And I’m still going in a million different directions at once.
Okay. Maybe not a million.
A dozen.
But it feels like a million.
I’ve tried to find ways to hold the stress at bay. Hanging out at the coffee shop. Exercising. Watching some really great bad movies. Last night, as Cindy and I were looking for a place to kill a little time during one of our son’s performances, we just happened to drive by a restaurant and spot a mariachi band carrying their equipment inside. If the FAST & FURIOUS movies were about a middle-aged guy pulling u-turns to see a mariachi band play, I would be the leading man.
And that’s all I can do. That’s the only thing that works for me. Find the little things, the little moments of joy or distraction that keep me upright through the craziness.
Speaking of distraction…
DEATH OF THE VENOMVERSE is coming! In August, Carnage wages all-out war against every Venom in every universe, and the death toll is going to be shocking. I sat down with Timothy Adams at Comicbook.com to discuss the story. You can read the interview here!
Want to see a bunch of Top Secret Sneak Peeks at upcoming projects? I’ve been sharing covers of new (in some cases unannounced) projects over on Patreon. This is in addition to serialized novels, short stories, process discussions and more. Funds generated through Patreon help me launch new creator-owned projects and sometimes simply help me keep the lights on.
I haven’t provided an update on the kittens in a while.
I’m happy to report that, as of just a little later today, all of the kittens have found their forever homes. They’re all healthy and happy. We are keeping a couple ourselves, because we couldn’t help but fall in love with the little monsters. And that means we are now embarking on our next battle… introducing the kittens to the house and the dogs.
What… have… we… done?
Work-wise, I’ve been close to the target with my “6 pages a day” goal. Maybe a few pages off, but I’ve also been outlining several new comics, which will make next week’s writing endeavors go very smoothly. I hope.
I did not, however, make any progress on my prose projects. My lit agent asked me to send him materials for what I had in the works. I did that. And then my motivation to work on those projects took a nosedive. It’s all right. I’ll get back to them soon. Just been a little distracted, I suppose.
I have been quietly working on a project I’m calling (for now) CULLEN BUNN’S TERROR TRIPLE-THREAT. It’s sort of a “for fun” project. Emphasis on the “sort of” because I can’t do many projects purely for amusement right now. But it is coming together in some surprising ways. I have a couple of artists who are interested in the idea, and I’m looking for a third. It’s funny how geeked out I am over it.
It’s going to be an interesting week, I think. Some cool announcements are on the horizon. Stay tuned.
LAMENTATION #2
Trapped within the Requiem Theater, lead actress Jennifer fights for her life and freedom as threats encroach from the real world and within the play. When the mysterious Prince Razide selects her as his bride, new dangers emerge, and she still doesn't know who-or what-lies beneath the prince's mask.
The Haunting of Hill House meets The Phantom of the Opera in this dizzying horror mystery by acclaimed writer of nightmares Cullen Bunn (Harrow County, The Empty Man, The Sixth Gun) and illustrator Arjuna Susini (Made Men, Forever Forward).
This week, I’ve been really into B horror movies, especially B horror movies of the Empire and Full Moon variety. I’ve watched DUNGEONMASTER, DOLLS, GHOULIES, and CRITTERS 1 - 4. I know, I know. The CRITTERS movies aren’t Full Moon or Empire, but they are, to my way of thinking, Empire/Full Moon-adjacent. I just really love the earthy, hand-made style of these movies. I love that they embrace their campiness and just have fun.
I guess this counts as an obsession, too. I got my poster for THE THING framed this week, and I couldn’t be happier with it. It is a really sweet Mondo poster that I picked up at Texas Frightmare Weekend, and I got it signed by John Carpenter, Keith David, Richard Masur, Peter Maloney, Thomas Waites, Joel Polis, and David Clennon. It now hangs in a place of honor in my studio.
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.
JUNE 2023
LAMENTATION #2
GHOSTLORE #2
SWORDS IN THE SHADOWS
RAZE
JULY 2023
LAMENTATION #3
GHOSTLORE #3
DOOR TO DOOR, NIGHT BY NIGHT #7
DOOR TO DOOR, NIGHT BY NIGHT TPB
AUGUST 2023
DEATH OF THE VENOMVERSE 1 - 5 (weekly)
GHOSTLORE #4
DOOR TO DOOR, NIGHT BY NIGHT #8
DISPLACEMENT
MAGIC: THE GATHERING - NOTORIOUS
REANIMATOR: THE ETERNAL LIE, Part 2
SEPTEMBER 2023
OCTOBER 2023
REGRESSION: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION
NOVEMBER 2023
LAMENTATION TPB
PROJECT: MATINEE #1
DECEMBER 2023
PROJECT: MATINEE #2
JANUARY 2024
BEYOND MORTAL Trade Paperback
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.
PROJECT: GALLERY - An RPG project I’ve been quietly developing.
PROJECT: PREHISTORY - More kaiju craziness
PROJECT: MEGA-BATTLE - Even More kaiju craziness
PROJECT: SURGEON - a very dark horror tale
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
COPYCAT - A new limited series from Todd Garner, Heath Amodio, and myself.
BLOODBLADE - An action/horror story of destiny and demonic blood
PROJECT: DUNGEON - A new licensed horror comic series
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
895 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)
10 two-sentence horror stories (10 in 2022)
0 new comic book series proposals (29 in 2022)
0 podcast proposals (0 in 2022)
0 essays (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.
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
AUGUST 19, 2023 - Signing at Distant Planet Comics, Columbia MO
SEPTEMBER 9, 2023 - Signing at B&B Collections, Jonesboro AR
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.
I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised to scroll down and see Cullen's work update. It's a testament to drive, solid foundational support and so many other things... I personally find it inspiring to see a creator and his family tackle lives challenges productively and together! The struggle is real!!! :)