Vicious Shivers (Cullen Bunn's Official Newsletter), Issue 98
This is the 98th 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!
In the last week, I bought several productivity tools to help me get my work and life in order. I added datebooks and daily to-do worksheet pads to my workspace in preparation for the new year. I’ve always been a productive guy, but my attention has shattered to some degree. I think everyone’s attention has shattered to some degree.
I was doing some research for a pitch/idea I was working on, and I stumbled onto the idea of Acedia, the forgotten eighth Deadly Sin. It’s the sensation of sameness, of time bleeding together, of melancholy. It’s a mixture of boredom, sorrow, and despair that leads one to a lack of energy and interest. The concept has been discussed more frequently in recent months, thanks to the Pandemic, which has rekindled Acedia. I definitely think I’ve been suffering from it, because there have been so many times where I could be doing something—whether it was working or doing something fun with the family—and I just… couldn’t… force… myself… to… do… it.
But, you know, get thee behind me, Satan.
I’m trying to break that. The last week was more productive. I got a few scripts done and did some other fun things. This week, I hope, will be the same. I’ve got plenty of work to do, my son has his first junior youth symphony concert, and then I’m heading to Chicago.
I’ve got a lot of big writing and personal goals for 2022. I’ll be sharing them all with you before the end of the year. I think some of them will be of great interest to you. Others… you’ll find terribly dull.
***
I mentioned Chicago next week. No, I will not be attending C2E2. It’s weird, taking the trip to the Second City on the weekend of the convention without plans to attend the show. But I have plans with the family that are bringing me out that way, and I’m not ditching them for the convention. These days, I must limit my convention attendance, and one of my guidelines is I cannot attend a show unless they are inviting me as a guest. So… with conventions (maybe) coming back soon, if there is a favorite event you’d like to see me attend, you should let the organizers know!
I will add my convention/event calendar back to the e-newsletter in the next issue or so!
***
Tonight, my son and I are going to go see GREMLINS in the theater. I haven’t seen the movie on the big screen since it first came out (and then a second time when it was brought back for a much-lauded return engagement). It’s a favorite movie of mine, though, and I don’t think my son remembers watching it. It should be a lot of fun.
***
Speaking of watching movies and shows from my past, I’ve started watching some old DR. WHO episodes. When I was in sixth grade, I somehow stumbled onto the Tom Baker episodes of DR. WHO on PBS. They aired in an hour block every night around 6:00. And I loved them. Yes, the production budget was razor thin, but the ideas in those stories and the charm of Tom Baker as the Doctor quickly won me over.
Of course, for me, the monsters/villains were also a big part of my love of the show. Maybe a year or so after I started watching DR. WHO, I went to the North Carolina State Fair. While wandering the fairgrounds, I found a traveling DR. WHO exhibit that I am guessing PBS put together. For a buck, you could walk through the Tardis control room and a short wax museum of all the aliens from the series. I went through so many times that they eventually just let me go through for free over and over again. It was a magical experience.
Anyhow, I started watching the show again, and the nostalgia just came rushing back. I just finished Baker’s first season. I vividly remembered a few of the episodes. It took me right back to those good old days. I’ll start another season soon.
While Tom Baker was my favorite Doctor, watching these episodes has gotten me into watching the series as a whole. I watched several other Doctors over the years, but I’ve missed a lot, especially when it comes to all the Doctors after Eccleston. I reckon I ought to fix that.
Also, now I can’t help but think about a backwoods Dr. Who style character who travels the cosmos battling all manner of galactic threats. Sort of a Silver John with a Tardis.
***
OmahaBound has opened pre-orders on a HELHEIM Creator Curated edition. It’s a pretty sweet edition, signed by Joelle and myself, sketched in by Joelle. And there will only be 11 copies made! Now, that’s limited! Check it out!
https://www.omahabound.com/helheim
***
More sneak peeks at the upcoming SHADOWMAN arc from Pedro Andreo!
***
Until next time, as my college Geology professor used to say, “I love you all… and keep on trucking, my friends.”
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.
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 sequel to a story about dreams and loss and adventure.
A sequel to a story of robotic mischief.
A sequel to THE GHOUL NEXT DOOR.
A big crossover comic that no one will be expecting but that makes complete sense.
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.
WORK UPDATE
This year, I wrote--
850 pages of comic book scripts (1468 in 2020)
1 feature length screenplay (0 in 2020)
12 short stories (15 in 2020)
0 novellas (2 in 2020)
23 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.