Vicious Shivers (Cullen Bunn's Official Newsletter), Issue 107
This is the 107th issue of Vicious Shivers, 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!
I’ve mentioned in numerous places that Marvel’s MICRONAUTS #7 was the comic that made me love comics, and I stand by that 100%. The world-building in just a few pages of a licensed toy-based comic book… in an issue devoted to the titular characters battling a swamp monster… rivals much of the creativity and imagination seen in sprawling epics today.
That said… there were a few issues of the series that hold really important places in my memory. I remember reading issue 35 over and over and over. In that issue, Prince Argon unleashes a team of evil aliens on our heroes, and the Micronauts unlock the mysteries of their universe. In issue 33, a blinded Acroyear is stalked by Devil on the world of Tropica. I remember sitting in the back of my mom’s car, enthralled by the issue. My mom was shopping, I believe, and it was a hot day, but I wanted to stay in the car and read the issue. Heat be damned. I’ll never forget reading issue 50 for the first time. In that issue, Baron Karza returns and tears through the heroes. It was also an issue I bought at one of the first direct market comic book stores I ever visited.
But… issue 13, the issue in which Bug returns to his homeworld for some mischief… means a lot to me, too. I first read it while on a road trip with my parents. We went on a lot of trips in those days, because of my dad’s work. We bought the book as part of a Whitman 3-pack at a Stuckey’s.
Stuckey’s were roadside paradises of pecan logs and souvenirs.
Whitman 3-packs were glorious.
Three random comics, sealed in a plastic bag. You could see two of the books, but not the third. It was hidden by the other two unless you could sneakily maneuver the bag’s contents for a peek.
In one of those 3-packs, I got a copy of MICRONAUTS #13… and it drove me wild. The story ended on a cliffhanger, and I was in a panic to find out what happened next! I begged my parents to stop at every Stuckey’s we passed so I could search for another 3-pack—I was certain one existed!—that contained issue #14. While they didn’t stop at every Stuckey’s for me, they did pull over at a few. I scrounged through 3-packs like a treasure hunter on a quest, but I never found another 3-pack with that issue of MICRONAUTS.
It was frustrating as Hell… and also one of my favorite comic book memories.
Issue 7 made me love comics. Issue 13 made me love the chase.
Anyhow, I think about this because in the last week or so I’ve started collecting sealed 3-packs, because I absolutely love them as time capsules of an amazing bygone era. I only have a couple of them right now, and I won’t be going crazy when it comes to collecting them… but just looking at them now makes me feel like a kid again.
And you better believe I’m looking for a pack that contains MICRONAUTS 13… and issue 14!
***
It was announced this week that I’ll be writing the new BLOODBORNE comic!
An epidemic is raging in a new Bloodborne comic, and it's up to the Hunters to stop it | GamesRadar+ — www.gamesradar.com Dust off your saw cleaver and blunderbuss, and return to Yharnam in a new Bloodborne comic book series launching this May from Titan Comics.Acclaimed horror writer Cullen Bunn and returning Bloodborne comic artists Piotr Kowalski and Brad Simpson are launching a new Bloodborne series in May - beginning with a free first issue to be offered as part of Free Comic Book Day on May 7.
The first story will appear on Free Comic Book Day… and then the first arc will be released monthly. If you like the game, there will be a ton here for you to enjoy. If you have never played the game, you’ll still like this if you dig gothic landscapes, battle-weary monster hunters, horrible beasts, and horrific action.
***
Earlier in the week, a publisher asked me to send them a few ideas for horror comics. I sat down, put my brainstorming cap on, and came up with eight new ideas to send their way. Usually, when I do something like this, there are a few ideas that are just sort of filler. They’re all right, but I can’t imagine seeing them in print. This time around, through some weird miracle, I loved all eight of the ideas and I think all of them deserve a place out there in the world!
It was also just… fun… coming up with these new ideas. I’m always kicking around one concept or another, but just sitting down and dedicating some time and focus to idea development is the absolute best.
I’ve decided that I’m going to write up at least one new idea every day. These ideas might be good… They might be bad… but they’ll also be written down, which makes them a little more real to me. So far, I’ve come up with three more ideas for the list.
I want to come up with a way to share those concepts (aside from getting them published) but I’m not sure what that might look like.
INTERVIEWS…
Cullen Bunn, Brian Hurtt, and Tyler Crook Discuss “Manor Black: Fire in the Blood” – Multiversity Comics — www.multiversitycomics.com Cullen Bunn, Brian Hurtt, and Tyler Crook discuss their upcoming miniseries “Manor Black: Fire in the Blood” from Dark Horse Comics
PATREON...
A couple of new posts hit Patreon this week.
First up, we have THE TOOTH - COMPLETE SCRIPT … the massive script for the original graphic novel from a few years back.
And I’ve decided to post commentary tracks for all of my newly released comics. COMMENTARY TRACK: BASILISK #7 was posted yesterday, and another commentary track for MANOR BLACK: FIRE IN THE BLOOD will be posted tomorrow.
If you’re not familiar with my Patreon, please check it out. On that site, I post behind-the scenes info, comics, short stories, serialized novels, an ongoing script archive, and much more.
THIS WEEK’S OBSESSIONS...
For the most part, this week looks a lot like last week in terms of my book, comic, game, movie, and TV consumption. More GAME OF THRONES with my son. More DR. WHO. We once again played THE THING with a big group of people (the things won… twice… and the Earth died screaming). I did finally start watching RICK AND MORTY in earnest, and I like it a lot more than I thought I would.
EVENTS…
Here are the events I have finalized for the coming days. Keep in mind, these days, "finalized" doesn't mean as much as it once did. All events are subject to change.
APRIL 22 - 24, 2022 - Planet Comicon, Kansas City
JUNE, 17 - 19, 2022 - Tremendicon, Springfield MO
WORK UPDATE…
So far this year, I wrote:
197 pages of comic book scripts (938 in 2021)
0 feature length screenplay (1 in 2021)
0 short stories (13 in 2021)
0 novellas (0 in 2021)
12 new comic book series proposals (25 in 2021)
0 podcast proposals (5 in 2021)
1 forewords for upcoming graphic novels (0 in 2021)
0 television series proposals (0 in 2021)
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.
February 2, 2022 - MANOR BLACK: FIRE IN THE BLOOD, a return to the world of magicians and wild magic.
March 2022 - GODZILLA VS. THE MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS, a big crossover comic that no one will be expecting but that makes complete sense.
May 7, 2022 - BLOODBORNE kicks off with a Free Comic Book Day issue!
August 2022 - UP TO NO GHOUL, a sequel to THE GHOUL NEXT DOOR.
A sequel to a story about dreams and loss and adventure.
A sequel to a story of robotic mischief.
A horror maxi-series about a mysterious town and mysterious experiments that have played out there.
A horror OGN where reality and surreality clash in a murderous way.
An action/comedy thrill-ride. unlike anything else I've ever written.
An apocalyptic horror/fantasy maxi-series.
A horror one-shot about loss and grief and guilt.
A new action/horror series I can’t tell you much about just yet.
FINAL THOUGHTS…
As I write this, I’m trying to work up the energy, courage, and conviction—the gravity, friction, and faith—to trudge to my office and finish a script that is due. I’ll make myself get to work, but some days are much easier than others. I hope the week ahead is a good one for you!
If you want to keep the conversation going throughout the week, follow me on Twitter or join my Discord server (see below)! Thanks for joining me! See you next time!
WHERE TO FIND ME ONLINE...
WEBSITE - If you haven’t been there lately, you should check it out. I’ve started posting a lot more content and news on the site.
TWITTER - This is the best place to interact with me online. My handle is @cullenbunn
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.