Vicious Shivers (Cullen Bunn's Official Newsletter), Issue 137
Vicious Shivers is 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!
WELCOME TO ISSUE 137…
It is with quiet and uneasy dread that the aging comic creator contemplates the possibility of after-convention activities.
In days gone by, we looked forward to going out for dinner and drinks after a day at the show. We plotted it. We planned it.
But those days are gone.
Yesterday, I was a guest at Free State Comicon in Lawrence, KS. Other guests included friends like Kyle Strahm, Chris Grine, Baldemar Rivas, Buster Moody, Aaron Conaway, and many others. Going into the convention, I had it in my mind that we’d all go get drinks at the end of the day. As the hours wore on, though, there was no discussion of such festivities. Instead, whenever we talked to one another, there was a glimmer of fear in our eyes.
Who will ask?
Who will bring up old fashioneds and margaritas?
Will it be you?
Will I be lured into a false sense of vitality?
Will friendship betray me?
Dear God.
Will it be me?
It was, in fact, none of us. No one brought up drinks and dinner. Rather than repeating itself, history ground slowly, painfully, to a stop. I said my farewells to my friends, we all packed up, and I headed out the door.
A light rain fell as I loaded up my Jeep.
I am the ancient, and my sorrow is great.
***
Otherwise, the convention was a good time. My son accompanied me to the show. He spent the day behind the table with me. He’s a teenager now, so I’m thankful for any time he wants to share with me. A couple of minutes before the show opened, we walked around, and I found some old role-playing supplements I wanted—including a couple of old Heritage Model adventure packs!
I’ve talked about these things before I’m sure. They were my real introduction to role-playing games, and they are nigh impossible to find (especially complete and not ruined) today.
I already have a copy of the Wizard’s Bane, but I went ahead and got both of these—for a steal. It just started the day off right. My son said he has never seen a grown man so excited about a couple of old games.
***
Tickets for Texas Frightmare Weekend have been secured! Hotels have been booked! I am thrilled to be heading to this convention next year. As I have mentioned before, this is the first convention in decades that I’m attending without plans to do any work! I’m just going as a fan of the horror genre and as a fan of spending time with some great friends. And the convention announced one of their first guests, one of my heroes—John Carpenter! I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw that. It’s several months away, and the anticipation is already killing me.
***
Otherwise… well… this week was definitely NOT uneventful.
Sometimes, my friends, your pal Cullen gets himself into some wild situations. I can’t say much more than that. Not yet. There are still many, many moving parts that need to be addressed. Adventure is afoot. Let’s leave it at that for now. Rest assured, however it ends up—success or disaster—I’ll be sharing the tale with you soon.
LIVE CHAT…
I’m hoping to get back into the swing of doing regular live chats. I recorded one last week. If you missed it, you can check it out here! If there are topics you’d like to see me discuss in future broadcasts, please let me know!
CREATOR-EXCLUSIVE VARIANT COVERS…
I thought I’d give you a glimpse of some of the creator-exclusive variant covers I’ve been cooking up. These are variants of my comics that are printed in limited quantities that you can ONLY get directly from me from my web shop or at conventions.
You already know about Shock Shop #1. These books are available NOW!
But I have a couple of more coming along very soon. Keep in mind, these covers are subject to changes and approvals, but they’e pretty cool.
First up is a Foulness in the Walls by Sami Kivela!
Danny Luckert has done covers for The Chilling Adventures of Salem and Door to Door, Night by Night.
These covers will be going up for pre-order soon, so keep an eye on my webstore!
THE BUNNGALOW…
Another—another!—episode of the Bunngalow has dropped this week! What is the secret of Babybirth, Georgia? This is where all will be revealed! If you like the episode, be sure to like it and subscribe to it. We’ve got more on the way!
The Bunngalow Ep 28: WELCOME TO BABYBIRTH, GEORGIA — nerdylegion.com In this episode Cindy and Cullen come back and talk about the art of Bin Diggin and there lovely finds from their mystery box, What's the happening in...
INTERVIEWS…
I did a couple of new interviews over the week, and I think you’ll dig them.
First up, I joined Jimmy Gaspero for a discussion about comics, horror, conventions, and more. It was a heartfelt conversation about my
CCC Podcast | Comic Book Yeti — www.comicbookyeti.com Comic creator interviews with Comic Book Yeti editors, Byron O'Neal and Jimmy Gaspero.
And… of course… I talked Shock Shop, this time with the Ginger Nuts of Horror!
THE SHOCK SHOP IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS, AND INTERVIEW WITH CULLEN BUNN Ginger Nuts of Horror is honoured to bring you an exclusive interview with the comic book legend Cullen Bunn. Cullen Bunn has created horror comics such as Harrow County, Death Follows, The Empty Man, and more. This fall he has a new horror anthology s
WHERE TO BUY MY NONSENSE ONLINE…
My good pal Josh is busily creating multiple venues for readers to find my work online! He has created two outlets you should really check out—The Shock Shop and the Vault!
The Shock Shop is focused on variant covers, hard-to-find items, autographed books, and more. This is the place to go if you want to get one of the exclusive variant covers that are only available directly from me!
Cullen Bunn's Shock Shop — cullenbunn.bigcartel.com
The place to shop for limited editions, rarities, variant covers, signed comics, and more. Some of the items you’ll find here are ONLY available from Cullen!
If you’re looking for books from my archive—single issues and books to help fill holes in your collection—we’ve also launched an eBay store that is going to be packed with books from throughout my career!
The Vault of Cullen Bunn | eBay Stores — www.ebay.com Finally, Cullen Bunn has opened his personal archives!! This store is chock full of single issues, variant covers, graphic novels, hardcovers, and prose novels of Cullen's work, spanning his entire career. New items will be added almost daily, so check back often, save us as a favorite seller, and keep your want lists handy!!
NEW BOOKS THIS WEEK...
Two new books drop this week, the continuation of Bloodborne and the conclusion of Godzilla Vs. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers!
BLOODBORNE: THE LADY OF THE LANTERNS #2
NEW COMIC SERIES BASED ON THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED GOTHIC GAMING HIT, BLOODBORNE!
Enter the city of Yharnam through the eyes of its citizens, when new hunters take to the streets to fight against the cruel and unusual epidemic that has gripped the city. In the black of the night, families and faith will be tested...
GODZILLA VS. THE MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS #5
Godzilla and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers have faced a host of terrible foes. Now, though, they face their greatest challenge—the mighty King Ghidorah! Can the “teenagers with attitude” and the King of the Monsters put aside their differences long enough to survive an attack from the three-headed tyrant? Find out in the bombastic conclusion to the most colossal crossover event of the year!
WEEKLY OBSESSIONS…
Here are some of the new things I’ve been obsessed with this week.
Still a little behind on… everything… but I did watch the first three episodes of She-Hulk, and I really dug those. I love the half-hour sit-com setup of the show.
I also (finally) started watching the current season of What We Do in the Shadows. Fun stuff, as always.
When I get home tonight, I’m digging into the new season of Cobra Kai.
And (I think) I’m going to see Barbarian sometime in the next several days if time allows.
EVENTS…
Keep in mind, these days, "finalized" doesn't mean as much as it once did. All events are subject to change.1
SEPTEMBER 24 - 25, 2022 - Memphis Comic Expo, Memphis TN
FEBRUARY 4, 2023 - ArtCon, Neosho, MO
MARCH 17 - 19, 2023 - Planet Comicon, Kansas City MO
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.
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.
THE CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SALEM - A one shot following Sabrina’s mischievous cat on a wild adventure.
DOOR TO DOOR, NIGHT BY NIGHT - A horror/comedy series about a door-to-door sales team that moonlights as monster hunters.
A FOULNESS IN THE WALLS - A horror one-shot about loss and grief and guilt.
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 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
An action/horror story of destiny and demonic blood
A horror prose anthology I’m editing
A survival horror series that sets up a whole world of apocalyptic nightmares
WORK UPDATE…
So far this year, I wrote:
1290 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)
29 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)
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
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.