Issue 189: Fog Rolls In…
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Over the weekend, I drove through my old stomping grounds of West Plains and Koshkonong and Thayer, Missouri, where I lived for a few years back in the day. It’s strange. I have driven through those towns a few times before. This time, though, I noticed a couple of things that have escaped my watchful eye during previous trips. The grocery store where I used to work, now some sort of deep discount grocery store. The old auction barn where my family would almost always find itself on a Saturday night, still standing and seemingly still in operation. One of the old truck stops where I ate many a lunch, now shuttered and covered in weeds. The other truck stop—the State Line—where you could get one helluva burger, still standing but modernized a little too much for my tastes.
And the fog.
Oh, man, the early morning fog.
It boils up from the tree, from the hollows, washing across the road, swallowing up your surroundings, bouncing the beams of your headlights back at you, dampening… not just sound…
Dampening the world.
And I loved it.
Driving through those early morning fog banks, through those towns where I spent so much time, I remembered all the stories that I cooked up back in those days. I’m not saying the stories I wrote back then were good. Some were, maybe. Most weren’t. But—lords above and below—I was inspired! Hundreds of stories sprang to life when I lived in that area. CROOKED HILLS is obviously a neighboring town. BLOOD FEUD takes place in a place very similar to Thayer. HARROW COUNTY is as much small Ozarks town as small North Carolina town.
I even used the voice-to-text app to record a few new story concepts and two-sentence stories while my car wound around those serpentine roads.
Maybe it was just where I was at that time in my life. Maybe it was just that I was really just taking my first steps into really trying my hand as a writer. I mean, I was ordering a bunch of really cool small press magazines back then. NEW BLOOD and DEATHREALM come to mind. I was taking my first creative writing classes in college. I was typing Solomon Kane pastiches on my dad’s old typewriter.
Maybe it was the place itself. The dark and tiwsted woods. The dirt roads. The tarantulas and scorpions. The slug-infested, crumbling house near the railroad tracks.
I’m not sure, though, if I’ve ever felt more creative, more inspired, than I did back in those days.
Of course, I don’t think that creativity would remain in that neck of the woods, not for me, not in great supply, not anymore. It was fleeting, even then. It wasn’t long before I was shuffling off to another town, trying to make my way on my own, trying to fend off worries about bills and such. And maybe—just maybe—I knew it was all going to vanish all too soon. Maybe I was trying to catch lightning while I could, before the clock stopped ticking… or started ticking to a different tune.
It was fun, though, remembering those days, remembering those stories—good and bad.
Stories about haunted trash trucks and weird sacrifices on the hill in the dead of night. Tales of flooded towns and cursed manuscripts. Yarns about mutant children in old farmhouses and ghosts hidden deep in lakes.
The Ozarks fog rolled in and the fog of time washed out.
It was nice.
Like all things, though, fleeting.
The aforementioned road trip was thanks to a signing at B&B Collections in Jonesboro Arkansas. I spent almost all of Saturday in the shop, and I had the chance to meet some great folks. Another terrific comic shop where they make a point of knowing everyone who walks through the door, figuring out what kind of books they like, what makes their nerdy hearts beat. I had a fun time. If you’re in the Jonesboro area, you should check it out.
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!
What’s up on Patreon, Cullen?
Well, I’m glad you asked!
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:
Wolves: a Raze short story - a new tale of Siris and Kast.
Witch Marked: the Rift, Part 3 - a new dark fantasy novella.
Collections: a Raze short story - another new Siris and Kast short.
Sneak Peek: No Matter Who Wins, We Lose - a glimpse at art from the upcoming series THE MIDNITE SHOW.
Work Update: August 31 - September 6 - a detailed diary of what I’ve been working on.
Goblinville: The Mother and the Market, Part 17 - the final chapter of the first Goblinville novella.
Witch Marked: the Rift, Part 4 - more of the new dark fantasy novella unfolds!
BLOODBORNE: THE BLEAK DOMINION #1
CELEBRATED HORROR COMICS WRITER CULLEN BUNN AND FAN-FAVORITE ARTIST PIOTR KOWALSKI TEAM UP ONCE MORE! In the plagued city of Yharnam, hunters Gretchen and Abraham search for their missing protégé. Under the blood moon, a scourge of beasts stalk the streets, and a new threat lurks around every corner. The duo must venture deep into the depths of the chalice dungeons in order to find Lucien, but malignant and ancient horrors await them. Will they find him? And what terrifying surprise awaits them if they do?
I‘m thrilled to return to the world of BLOODBORNE for this series! I think it’s gonna be a good one! This series deals with the concept of Chalice Dungeons, which appear in the game. Don’t worry, though! If you haven’t played the game, you can still read and enjoy this book!
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 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.
Damn, that description of the town and the fog is the beginning of a story by itself...
Can't wait to see what that voice-to-text brings us, especially the two-sentence horror which i love (and are really hard to do, I tried and failed).
Thanks for another great newsletter! Your description of early morning fog was so evocative and inspiring, I can see how it helped you decide to become a writer. 😊 I’ve been enjoying your posts about the horror movies you’ve been watching. Glad the signing in Jonesboro was so fun!