Vicious Shivers (Cullen Bunn's Official Newsletter), Issue 121
This is the 121st 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!
Self-doubt has been a cruel companion for me the last few weeks. It struck pretty hard while I was at Planet Comicon. I thought it was just because I was tired. But I haven’t been able to shake it. It lingers. Last night and this morning, it is a beast.
Doubt when it comes to the work I’ve done, doubt when it comes to the business decisions I’ve made.
I look back at the work I’ve done over the last 15 years or so… and there are many, many books I’m not happy with. Stories that ended before their time. Stories that just never came together the way I wanted. Stories that might have been better if I’d just stood up to really bad editorial/publishing decisions. Stories I shouldn’t have even tried to write in the first place.
I think about business-side decisions I’ve made. Publishers I’ve worked with. Publishers I haven’t worked with. Contracts I never should have signed. Bandwagons I should have jumped onto (or jumped off of). Some arguments I shouldn’t have had. Other arguments I should have planted my feet a little more firmly.
I consider my interpersonal interactions with others in the industry, and that’s just a mess. I’m too withdrawn. Too reserved. Too shy. Too consumed with Imposter’s Syndrome. And I know that comes across as being disinterested or aloof or unapproachable. I know this keeps me at arm’s length from others I’d love to talk with, but it’s a damn hard mindset to break.
And don’t even get me started on my personal decisions.
There’s a path through all this, I know. Focusing only on the projects I truly, truly believe in. Only working with publishers and editors and collaborators who truly enhance the books I want to do. Being a better friend and collaborator myself.
The struggle is real, though.
Self-doubt doesn’t go away.
The trick, I guess, is recognizing the doubts that are valid and focusing on making changes that address them.
They can’t ALL be valid, right?
They certainly feel that way.
The other trick is to push past all that self-doubt and just keep working.
I’ve got several new books I’m working on… books I’m excited about and proud of… but I just can’t reveal much about them until the publisher gives me the go-ahead. They’ve been referenced in the “Things to Come” section for some time. I just really want people to know about them!
And there is some big, scary news ahead, too! Big, because it is something I’ve been working on for some time, something that feels almost full-circle for me. Scary because it is completely different than anything I’ve been doing for the past twenty years. Place yer bets on what that might mean!
Bringing it all back to my issues with self-doubt, these are projects I know I can be proud of, that I know I’m doing something special with. They energize me.
ABC.
Always be creating.
***
Tomorrow is my son’s 14th birthday. Just typing that sentence is surreal for me. Here we are during our first moments together as father and son.
And here we are now—
No. We’re not. Because he’s 14 and apparently 14-year-olds, like vampires, don’t show up on camera.
Suffice it to say, he’s no so little. Before the summer’s out, he’ll be much taller than me.
During an interview early in the week, I was asked what motivates me to create. It’s a complicated question. There are many factors. One of them, though, is I want my kid to be even half as proud of me as I am of him.
***
Now’s a great time to catch up on Harrow County (or any of my other Dark Horse work)! Dark Horse is having a big digital comic sale!
Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook Digital Sale | Dark Horse Digital Comics — digital.darkhorse.com Read your favorite titles for only $1.99! No iPad/iPhone? No problem! Read Dark Horse Digital Comics on your Internet-connected laptop and desktop!
***
Emily shared her process for the cover of Tales from Harrow County: the Lost Ones #1. The first issue, featuring the return of Emmy and the Abandoned, came out last week. I loved this cover, loved seeing it come together firsthand. This look into Emily’s work is amazing.
***
Speaking of Harrow County covers, here is a sneak peek at the covers to Takes from Harrow County: the Lost Ones #4!
FOG! Exclusive: Cover Reveal for 'Tales from Harrow County: Lost Ones #4' - Forces of Geek — forcesofgeek.com In the final issue, Emmy has to decide how to stop her supernatural city cousins... but she herself has no magic now... and she doesn’t want to use her powers again. So she is going to need to use her wits and cleverness to stop them with the aid of the Lost Ones.
***
And… a mysterious message from Off the Page Games. Well… maybe not that mysterious. They are making the Harrow County board game, after all.
***
And, lastly, a word about Tremendicon.
In June, I’m a headlining guest at this first-year convention in Springfield, Missouri. I’m also volunteering to help them with the Writer’s Track. The convention is heavily focused on education and helping creators and aspiring creators achieve their goal. They have tracks on game design, writing, comics, and more. And they have some really great guests in attendance. If you’re anywhere near travel distance to Springfield Missouri, you owe it to yourself to visit this show.
Check out their site at www.tremendicon.com for more information.
I hope I’ll see you there!
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.
JUNE, 17 - 19, 2022 - Tremendicon, Springfield MO
JUNE 24 - 26, 2022 - HeroesCon, Charlotte NC
JULY 29 - 31, 2022 - Scares That Care, Willamsburg, VA
SEPTEMBER 24 - 25, 2022 - Memphis Comic Expo, Memphis TN
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.
July - BOOK OF SHADOWS, the Valiant Universe supernatural team book.
August 2022 - UP TO NO GHOUL, a sequel to THE GHOUL NEXT DOOR.
August - PARASOMNIA: THE DREAMING GOD, a story about dreams and loss and adventure.
A LEGACY OF VIOLENCE - A horror maxi-series about a mysterious town and mysterious experiments that have played out there.
A sequel to a story of robotic mischief.
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.
A new series that will allow me to spin many, many horror stories.
WORK UPDATE…
So far this year, I wrote:
625 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)
4 short stories (13 in 2021)
0 novellas (0 in 2021)
20 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)
FINAL THOUGHTS…
As soon as I hit send on this newsletter, I’m opening another window and getting to work on a prose short story I need to finish. It’s a piece for an anthology, based on a piece of art the editor sent me. It’s weird one, about the revolt of our inner organs.
If you enjoy reading about all the nonsense I’m up to, I hope you’ll consider throwing some support toward my Patreon. I post something almost every day, and all the funds earned on that platform go directly into funding more and more comic book work!
If you want to keep the conversation going throughout the week, follow me on Twitter or join my Discord server! Thanks for joining me!
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.