Vicious Shivers (Cullen Bunn's Official Newsletter), Issue 127
This is the 127th 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!
It’s been a busy week in the Bunn house. Hmm. I feel like they’re all busy weeks. The snowball, though, is rolling right along, building mass, building speed. Right now in a big way. Now, I’m not saying it’s been bad busy. Some of it maybe. But a lot has been fun. Still, once we’re past the next month or two, I really want a moratorium on doing… anything at all?
On Tuesday, I spent a little time with my son at Silver Dollar City in Branson. I’ve never been before, and I was surprised how much fun I had. Favorite ride? Hands down, Mystic River Falls. That ride was my speed, big drops and all. As we approached the ride, my son told me it was the weirdest contraption he’d ever seen. I knew nothing about it until the raft left the station, and I loved it.
We had a houseguest come in on Tuesday, too. Our friend Diane came from witch-haunted Salem to help Cindy celebrate her upcoming birthday.
On Wednesday, my son had oral surgery. This was the… not so great part of the week. He was a trooper, of course, but his recovery wasn’t the fastest or the most enjoyable.
Even though he felt like crap, on Thursday he joined us on a ghoust tour of the Pythian Castle. We’ve done the tour before, and he’s captured some really interesting photos. I didn’t spot any ghosts this time around, but I still enjoyed roaming those halls.
Friday night, of course, my son and I set aside some time to watch the final couple of episodes of Stranger Things 4. I enjoyed it. That’s as much of a spoiler as you’ll get from me. Usually, when people who haven’t seen a movie, watched a show, or read a book or comic, I will not even tell them if I liked the material or not. That’s more of a spoiler than I like to give. More than I want to hear. I don’t want people to quote their favorite lines. I don’t want people to say things like “Wait for the scene at the end” or anything like that. Just… keep it to yourself. I don’t really even like knowing there are big moments worthy of being spoiled. I avoided spoilers, but I know some friends who, sadly, got whammied by secrets of the season. We’ll talk more about it after everyone has a chance to see it.
Last night, we had a party to celebrate Cindy’s upcoming birthday. Her actual birthday is tomorrow, but last night we cast our lives back to the 80s to sing some karaoke tunes and to spend time with friends. Yes, our karaoke system was too quiet for the crowd, but it was still fun for me, and Cindy deserves to be celebrated.
Of course, someone pointed out that my Miami Vice stylings made me look more like the Kingpin.
Ouch.
The house is wrecked. Confetti and cups and plates and God-knows-wht stretched from the front yard to the back. I know I have to tackle it when I get out of bed… so I might just… not.
Through it all, I managed to get some writing done. Because of looming deadlines and artists in need of scripts, I’ve had to write scripts in a bit of a piecemeal fashion, which I hate, but it keeps the wheels turning. I also completed a new short story for Outrider’s upcoming Deadlands anthology. The story is titled “The Disobedient Devil Dust-Up at Copper Junction.” I think it is a lot of fun.
***
This week has seen some changes in the comic book industry. When I got my start in this business, it was at Oni Press. James Lucas Jones was right there taking a chance on THE DAMNED. A couple of years later, Charlie Chu joined Oni, but I had known Charlie as a big supporter even before that. It was announced this week that they are both leaving Oni’s hallowed halls. And… I hate it. I really figured I’d be working with those two at Oni for the rest of my days. Nothing, though, is constant in comics. I know James and Charlie have big things ahead of them. I can’t wait to see what they’ll both be cooking up next.
***
I’ve found someone to take over day-to-day operations of my online store and my mail orders. I’m not good at managing those things, so it’s nice to have someone who possesses the right skills and know-how to help me out.
They will also be taking over finishing up fulfillment of BEYOND MORTAL. We just have to get the books home, and we’ll get them taken care of.
We have some exciting plans for offerings going forward. So definitely stay tuned!
***
And, yes, I’m still watching AGT clips and often crying like a baby. Here’s one of my recent favorites. Love the message of the song.
FINAL ORDER CUTOFF ALERT…
Tomorrow is the Final Order Cutoff for both BLOODBORNE: LADY OF LANTERNS #1 and BOOK OF SHADOWS #1. That means this is the last chance for retailers to place orders to make sure they have enough books to meet demand. If you want to make sure you get these books, now is the time to call or visit your favorite comic book store and tell ‘em to add you to the list!
MAY228520 - BLOODBORNE LADY OF LANTERNS #1 FOC YOON CO-PIC (MR) - Previews World — www.previewsworld.com PREVIEWSworld | Comic Book, Graphic Novel and Pop-Culture Merchandise News, Previews, Release Dates and More
MAY221820 - BOOK OF SHADOWS #1 CVR A ALBUQUERQUE - Previews World — www.previewsworld.com PREVIEWSworld | Comic Book, Graphic Novel and Pop-Culture Merchandise News, Previews, Release Dates and More
And here’s a preview of BOOK OF SHADOWS to whet your appetite.
Valiant's Heroes Unite Against a Supernatural Threat in Book of Shadows — www.cbr.com The upcoming Book of Shadows brings Shadowman together with a host of other horrifying heroes to form Valiant's first mystic super team.
NEW COMICS THIS WEEK…
BASILISK #9
This is the beginning of the end! The final arc of Basilisk gets underway this week!
Vanessa and the Five reflect on their strange life as children, the cult, and the truth about the Chimera's nature. Meanwhile Regan remembers the grim role she played in Hannah's greatest tragedy while checking on her, but it's not long before Barret brings her terrifying news of the Chimera...
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.
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.
June - BLOODBORNE, a comic series based on the hit horror video game.
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.
September - SHOCK SHOP, A new series that will allow me to spin many, many horror stories.
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 licensed horror comic series
Another new licensed horror comic series
A horror maxi-series exploring a side of horror you might not expect
A horror/thriller I’m co-writing
A horror limited series I’m working on with one of my best friends and long-standing collaborator
WORK UPDATE…
So far this year, I wrote:
902 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)
6 short stories (13 in 2021)
0 novellas (0 in 2021)
25 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…
Your old pall Cullen could use some positive vibes for the next few weeks. Nothing bad is going on, but my worry and stress levels are going to be at record levels. I can’t tell you what’s going on thanks to NDAs. As soon as I’m allowed, believe me, I’ll tell you. But… I’m gonna need some friendship and support more than ever.
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.