Cullen Bunn's Blog, page 24
May 30, 2013
Fearless Defenders Interview
After the revelations of last week’s FEARLESS DEFENDERS #4AU, I spoke with the folks at Comic Book Resources about Hippolyta, Caroline LeFey, and the left half of Ares. There are hints aplenty about what I have in store for the series… and a few pages of preview art from our next issue… so check it out here when you have a chance.
May 20, 2013
X-Position – 5/13/2013
Lots of stuff going on the past week, so I forgot to post this!
I spent a few minutes answering questions regarding THE FEARLESS DEFENDERS, DEADPOOL KILLS DEADPOOL, and ULTIMATE COMICS WOLVERINE. Give it a read here.
May 18, 2013
The Sixth Gun Hardcover! Coming in October!
I’ve been getting a lot of questions about THE SIXTH GUN hardcover edition. Well, I’m happy to announce that the Deluxe Hardcover edition of Volume 1 has now been solicited. This beautiful mammoth edition collects the first 11 issues of the series!
From the solicit….
During the darkest days of the Civil War, wicked cutthroats came into possession of six pistols of otherworldly power. In time, the Sixth Gun. the most dangerous of the weapons, vanished. When the gun surfaces in the hands of an innocent girl, dark forces reawaken.
Vile men thought long dead set their sights on retrieving the gun and killing the girl. Only Drake Sinclair, a gunfighter with a shadowy past, stands in their way. But the guns have a power… and a destiny… more terrifying than anyone imagines.
Collecting the first 11 issues of the critically-acclaimed comic book series.
Item Code: JUN131225 (Give this code to your comic book retailer and they’ll order it for you!)In Shops: 10/2/2013May 17, 2013
If I Knew Then…
It’s no secret. It took me forever to break into writing comics professionally. And once I did manage to start writing comics for a living, the learning curve was pretty slippery for me. All along the way, I made more than my fair share of mistakes. I gave into frustration, anger, and fear. I mismanaged my schedule. I overestimated how much time I would have in a day. I overate and gained weight. I freaked out and panicked.
Now… I needed to go through all of those obstacles to get where I am now. I had to learn through experience. And every day brings a new batch of mistakes that will… hopefully make me a better creator in the future. But I often wonder… What could I have done differently? If I could go back in time and give myself one piece of advice about working in comics for a living, what would it be?
I figured most other creators have wondered the same thing, so I asked a few writers and artists to think about advice they wish they had been given when they were just starting out. Here is some of that advice. Some of it is thought-provoking. Some of it is funny. Some of it may not apply to you. And some of it will sting a bit.
Buckle up.
Don’t presume to know what your demographic will be. You’re the least qualified person to guess who will like your stuff and who won’t. In practical terms? Never say anything that might alienate a segment of the readership, because that segment might be YOUR readership.
Chris Schweizer
Cartoonist, THE CROGAN ADVENTURES
The most important part is to always be having fun with comics. If you can do that, skill inevitability comes with time.
Nick FilardiColorist, HELHEIM 1. In the beginning you’re going to do a lot of stuff for free an that’s okay. You’re cutting your teeth. 2. You might always have a day job. 3. As an artist, you’ll start getting good around your 500th page. 4. Don’t put all your eggs in the comic industry basket. Diversify. 5. Don’t subscribe to google alerts. 6. The comic industry is a horrible, shrinking industry. You may want to rethink this. 7. Publishers are not your friend. They are a client. 8. See #6Brian ChurillaArtist, THE SIXTH GUN: SONS OF TH GUN; Writer/Artist, THE SECRET HISTORY OF D.B. COOPER If I could go back in time, I’d tattoo onto young Jamie’s forearm the phrase, “BE YOUR OWN ENGINE.” Too often as artists and writers, we wait for validation or permission, from publishers or editors or whoever, instead of just carrying on with our work. This leads to a lot of time being wasted, time that could be spent filling a page with words or drawings. Generate your own momentum and maintain that, because no one else is going to clear the way for you. Be your own engine.Jamie S. Rich
Writer, IT GIRL AND THE ATOMICS
Concentrate on being the best writer/artist you can possibly be. Work at your craft. People respond to good, interesting work and to be one of those guys sets you apart from all the generic mess that’s out there.Trust your gut; when something isn’t working, your gut will let you know, even if your brain tries to fight it. Keep experimenting and analysing your work. The moment you become complacent is the moment your work starts to go downhill.
Be professional with your editors; get your work in on time. It makes their lives easier which means they’ll really value your work ethic.
Be nice to everyone and help someone else out if you can. None of us got anywhere without a little help, so spread it around if you can.
Declan ShalveyArtist, VENOM, CONANYou will draw belt buckles and boots five hundred thousand times.Will Sliney
Artist, THE FEARLESS DEFENDERS; Writer/artist, CELTIC WARRIOR
It’s easy to look at creative work and say ‘I could do it better’. Proving that with quality, consistency, and professionalism is the hard part.Jim ZubWriter, SKULLKICKERS, PATHFINDER There was actually a bit of advice I was lucky enough to come across right as I was first starting to write professionally, and I wish that I had heard it sooner. This comes from Alan Moore’s afterword to his “Alan Moore’s Writing For Comics,” which was published as an article in the 80s and then reprinted by Avatar in 2003. I find it helps to remind myself of this sentiment often:
“It is much more exciting and thus creatively energizing if you are attempting something where you are uncertain of its outcome, where you don’t know if it will work or not. And this is only the beginning. Eventually, increasingly confident of your talents to make a workable story out of most anything, you will come to regard being merely unsure of a work’s outcome as far too facile an approach. Instead, you may graduate to only attempting works which you privately suspect to be impossible. This is no bad thing, and if rigorously applied would weed out a great many dull and repetitive creators from the world while at the same time increasing the world’s relatively meager cache of genuine unexpected marvels.”
Chris Roberson
Writer, EDISON REX
Level out from internet comments, count the responses and then subtract them from the number of readers. The remainder is generally a ton of opinions you’ll never know.
Jason Latour
Writer, WINTER SOLDIER; artist, SLEDGEHAMMER ’44
You will spend more time doing the other stuff (marketing, editing, financial housekeeping, etc) than you will doing the actual writing. This is what makes it a job.
Justin Jordan
Writer, THE STRANGE TALENT OF LUTHER STRODE
Do not trust other writers, or editors, with ideas you plan on using in the future. Keep it to yourself. People steal/take consciously and unconsciously all the time. Get used to it.
When you innovate and succeed, people will ape you. Your only solution is to keep innovating. Keep reinventing. Never become complacent in one style. You will fail for years and years, and how many times you get back up and push the mother fucker forward will determine if you achieve your goal. It will also help you hone your craft. No work is wasted if you do your best on it. Always do your best on every single issue. It’s someone’s first experience with your work. Rick RemenderWriter, UNCANNY AVENGERS, CAPTAIN AMERICA
Quitting your day job is an awesome feeling and fortune favors the brave… but (at least try to) save (some of) your money!Joe HarrisWriter, GREAT PACIFIC, THE X-FILES: SEASON 10
When I first started drawing comic art or just really trying to illustrate in general for money I had what I call “know it all” disease. No matter what people told me I thought I knew it all. I had been there done that and no one could tell me different. Then one day I realized I knew nothing at all and a new world of possibilities opened up for me. Take it from me, you only know about 10% of what you think you know and you could learn something new everyday. Be confident in your ability but be open to critiques, advice, and guidance from creatives (artist, writer, and editors) that just want to help you succeed or improve.Drew MossIllustrator, COLONIZED
Don’t skip steps in the process. The part you’re good at will come out a lot better if you force yourself to work through all of the other parts. I prefer scripting over plotting so I always want to skip straight to the script. That’s always stupid (for me anyway). Here’s what I recommend instead: Write a loose plot.Write a tight plot.Write a page by page breakdown.Write a rough draft.Polish the rough draft.Polish it again. Dennis HopelessWriter, AVENGERS ARENA, CABLE AND THE X-FORCE
Put everything in writing. EVERYTHING. Especially the money bits.
Mike Oliveri
Writer, DEADLIEST OF THE SPECIES, THE PACK: WINTER KILL
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May 16, 2013
Uncle Creepy Says Hello!
When I was a kid, the only place to find CREEPY and EERIE magazines in my home town was Eckherd’s Drugs. While my mom went shopping, I would sit on the floor in front of the magazine rack, paging through those black and white tales of terror. And if those stories didn’t grab my attention, the ads for CREEPY and EERIE in the back of my other favorite magazine–FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND–sealed the deal. Those covers! They told such awesome stories all on their own. (There was one, featuring a ghoulish baseball player throwing a live grenade, that I still think about often.) Needless to say, I was hooked!
So that’s why it is such a thrill for me to see my name listed in the credits for an upcoming issue of the Dark Horse iteration of the classic magazine!
My story, “Deer Crossing,” will appear in the 13th issue of the magazine. Lucky 13! This is a story of a crossroads encounter gone horribly weird and horribly wrong.
The issue goes on sale on August 14th! Make sure you order your copy now!
May 10, 2013
Signing on May 29th at Newcastle Comics
If you’re in the St. Louis area, I’ll be signing at Newcastle Comics & Games on May 29th! Hope to see you there!
May 9, 2013
A Sixth Gun Update
The past few months have been pretty crazy, haven’t they? And the last week has been the nuttiest of all for me as I waited to hear whether or not NBC would green-light a television series based on THE SIXTH GUN. Well, as you may know if you follow me on Twitter, NBC has decided to pass on the show.
I don’t know everything that goes into such a decision. Hell, I’m just a poor country boy who likes to write comic books. If you’re one to read the comments sections of various “news” sites, you’ll see lots of opinions on the subject, most of which postulated by people who know even less about how Hollywood works than I do. The bottom line, the network made the decision they felt was best for them.
I’ll admit, it was a little bit of a surprise. I’ve seen things like this fall apart time and time again, so I try not to get my hopes up. I was doing pretty well with that, too. But then I started seeing footage from the pilot. I started talking to the folks involved in making the show. I visited the set, met the cast, director, and crew. I held both the Fourth Gun and the Sixth Gun in my hands, by God! And it started to feel very, very real. When I first arrived on set, I walked into the Emerald Palace (the brothel Missy Hume owns) and came face to face with a bunch of cowboys and saloon girls… and as far as I was concerned the show was already going full speed ahead. The pilot had a great script. Buzz was good (as it should have been because it was pretty terrific) and everyone involved was pretty optimistic.
So… yeah… I was taken aback and pretty disappointed.
People who know me realize I get depressed about things like this pretty easily. I tend to be crushed by bad news. But I actually took this remarkably well. It might have been because I was surrounded by my amigos, the Disheveled Dilettantes, when the news rolled in. It might have been the delicious margarita I was enjoying. It might have been that I didn’t fully believe what I was hearing.
But what it really boils down to is this: I’m still doing a job that I never thought I’d be able to do. I write comic books for a living! More than that, I still get to focus on writing THE SIXTH GUN comic series. I just finished scripting issue 35, and there are 15 issues to go before the series reaches its conclusion.
And–let’s face it–a book I wrote got the attention of Carlton Cuse, someone I greatly admire. I got the chance to speak to Carlton Cuse about BRISCO COUNTY JR, LOST, and the freakin’ SIXTH GUN!
That’s pretty amazing for the aforementioned poor country boy.
The buzz about a pilot got a few more people to pick up the book. That’s a check for the “win” column. And I think we’ll continue to gather new readers to the fold. Those of you who love the book, keep spreading the word. If you haven’t tried the book, you can read the first issue here without spending a dime. And you can buy the trades at your local comic shop or on Amazon.
I’m very thankful to Oni Press, Closed on Mondays, Carlton Cuse, Ryan Condall, Jeffrey Reiner, the cast, the crew, and all the others who brought me along on this adventure! One thing I’ll say: everyone involved in making the show actually read and loved the book, and it was obvious in the amazing pilot they put together.
Keep in mind, just because NBC passed on the project doesn’t mean it is dead in the water. As Oni’s top dog Joe Nozemack said:
“NBC has passed on picking up THE SIXTH GUN pilot for series. Universal Television, where we have our first look deal and who are our partners on the pilot, are still very much behind the property and series. In the coming weeks we’ll be exploring all the other possible homes and outlets for THE SIXTH GUN. So just like General Hume, we’re not dead yet.”
And as Drake Sinclair said:
“The end of the world can’t stop me.”
There’s a passionate, motivated group of people who still want to see this thing happen.
Stay tuned.
April 12, 2013
Original Brian Hurtt Art For Sale!
If you’re interested in owning a piece of original artwork from The Sixth Gun, now’s your chance. My amazingly talented collaborator, Brian Hurtt, is now working with ComiConArt to make his original artwork available. Check it out and grab up some artwork while it’s hot! While you’re there, buy something for me, too!
February 26, 2013
A New Sixth Gun Trailer
Some amazingly talented people have been sharing their love of THE SIXTH GUN lately, and I couldn’t be more thrilled and thankful. Editor and producer Adam Condal has put together a pretty awesome trailer for THE SIXTH GUN, and I simply had to share. Hope you dig it!
SIXTH GUN TRAILER from Adam Condal on Vimeo.
