Vicious Shivers (Cullen Bunn's Official Newsletter), Issue 92
This is the 92nd 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!
THE PURGE
This week, I’ve been focusing on reorganization. Of my life. Of my work.
At Cindy’s suggestion, I’m throwing away, recycling, or donating five items every day. Not necessarily big items. They can be small. And they can definitely be unimportant, because as I’m writing this I can’t for the life of of me remember what most of them were. Some old t shirts I’ll never wear again. Empty medicine bottles. Ancient charger cables that live in a tangled mess in a kitchen drawer like some sort of rat-king. If I ever get around to cleaning the dead soldiers from the pen cups on my desk, I’ll have items to throw away for weeks.
If I bring something new into the house, I have to get rid of extra items to maintain the balance. So… if I pick up an item at the yard sale I passed on my morning walk, I must dispose of six items (instead of five) when I get home.
I don’t think it’ll be a problem for a long, long time.
I also sat down and took a long look at all the work that is currently on my plate, the work that will be rising to the surface in the days to come, and the work I SHOULD be thinking about. I broke out some magnetic Post-It style notes and some dry erase markers, some index cards, and both my hardcopy and online calendar and started figuring things out.
The magnetic Post-Its are nice, because I can place them on my white board, then move them around… and around… and around… until I figure out the proper order to tackle the work. I wish I could show you a picture of the board, but there are a bunch of unannounced projects on it I can’t tell you about just yet.
I also ordered a hexagonal time management clock. I saw one of these on Kelly Sue DeConnick and Matt Fraction’s newsletter. It looks like this:
Although, looking at this picture, mine has a 60 Minute option, too.
As you may know, I love the Pomodoro method of time management. I used it for years. I may have (also known as definitely have) fallen out of practice in recent months, but this clock will help me get back into it.
It sits on my desk, within easy reach, and when I’m ready to start a burst of writing (where I focus ONLY on writing and nothing else), I roll it to the appropriate countdown. I usually do these “bursts” in hour increments. I call them Power Hours.
I’m very excited to get back to using the timer method once more, and I’ll let you know how it goes.
(And, yes, I pitched an extra item on the day the clock arrived.)
###
Here's a great tweet someone shared with me last week. Hahaha! I love it!
###
As you know, SHADOWMAN is on a break… but is returning in January! The artist for the next arc, Pedro Andreo, shared a tease of his amazing work on Twitter. If this doesn’t get you thrilled for his run on the book, I don’t know what will!
###
And speaking of awesome artwork, here’s a tweet from Arjuna Susini teasing something he’s working on. Pretty rad, right? I bet you’ll be hearing more about it soon.
###
I’m still getting the hang of this new e-newsletter platform. Maybe you haven’t even noticed that I switched things up. I hope you’re digging it. I liked the old platform just fine, but it was getting a bit expensive for me.
IT’S GHOUL SEASON!
If you haven’t grabbed THE GHOUL NEXT DOOR for your kids or for yourself, now is the perfect time of year to do so! It’s creepy, fun, and full of spine-tingling hijinks. You can order it right here:
The Ghoul Next Door: Bunn, Cullen, Farris, Cat: 9780062896094: Amazon.com: Books The Ghoul Next Door [Bunn, Cullen, Farris, Cat] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Ghoul Next Door
QUICK UPDATES
BEYOND MORTAL #1 has gone to the printer and Danny Luckert and I have approved the proof. It usually doesn’t take long for the books to be printed and shipped. My friend JimmyZ (owner of The Little Shop of Comics) is going to help me with fulfillment, and I’ll be heading to his store to give him a hand as soon as the books have arrived!
I spoke with a publisher this week about a new comic book series. They liked the idea enough that they are paying me to write up a detailed pitch and outline. It’s a very different book than I normally work on, but I’m excited by the idea.
I worked out proposals for three new comics. These are part of another shared universe (not the Outland Universe) I’ve been asked to help develop.
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.
NOVEMBER 3, 2021 - HEATHENS, a story of history's worst anti-heroes chasing history's worst "monsters"
DRAGONRING - a new endeavor involving an indie comic that I’ve loved since I was a kid. A new shared universe that I have a stake in.
A 20-page horror one-shot inspired by one of Grimm’s fairy tales will appear in GRIMM TALES FROM THE CAVE.
A horror maxi-series about a mysterious town and mysterious experiments that have played out there.
A return to a world of magicians and family intrigue.
An insane story set in one of the most recognizable comic universes around.(I think this one has been cancelled by the publisher.)A horror OGN where reality and surreality clash in a murderous way.
UPCOMING EVENTS
OCTOBER 2, 2021
I’ll be signing at Chop’s Comics in Kansas City! More details to come!
OCTOBER 9, 2021
I’ll be at the Library Center in Springfield, MO, doing an event connected with horror and THE GHOUL NEXT DOOR! More details to come!
WORK UPDATE
This year, I wrote--
621 pages of comic book scripts (1468 in 2020)
1 feature length screenplay (0 in 2020)
9 short stories (15 in 2020)
0 novellas (2 in 2020)
22 new comic book series proposals (13 in 2020)
5 podcast proposals (0 in 2020)
0 forewords for upcoming graphic novels (2 in 2020)
0 television series proposals (5 in 2020)
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.