Cullen Bunn's Blog, page 26

December Pre-Order Drive

Here we are, mid-December… just a couple of weeks until 2012 is a thing of the past! It’s hard to believe this year is almost over, but I’m looking forward to what 2013 holds.

Coming in February of 2013 is The Fearless Defenders, my new ongoing series from Marvel. This is a book I’m pretty excited about. Valkyrie, Misty Knight, Dani Moonstar, and a team of seven other awesome (and unrevealed) female characters will be embarking on some of the most wild superhero adventures artist Will Sliney and I can dream up! I think it’s a book unlike anything else you’ll see from Marvel.

Also in February, The Sixth Gun: Sons of the Gun limited series starts up. Co-written by Brian Hurtt, illustrated by Brian Churilla, and colored by Bill Crabtree, this series will explore some of the most evil characters of the Sixth Gun world. Each issue will focus on one of the four horsemen who appeared in the first arc of the series. Over the course of the series, readers will have a better understanding of these characters!

I want to make one last attempt to spread the word a little about these books. Between now and December 24th, I’m asking folks who use Twitter to post one or both of the following:

I asked my comic book retailer to order THE FEARLESS DEFENDERS! You should too! Please RT #fearlessdefenders

and/or

I just pre-ordered THE SIXTH GUN: SONS OF THE GUN from my comic book retailer! You should too! Please RT #sonsofthegun

That even leaves you a few characters to give the tweets your own spin if you are a creative soul.

Anyone who posts the #fearlessdefenders tweet will be entered in a drawing for an autographed set of the 12-issue Fear Itself: The Fearless limited series. Those who post the #sonsofthegun tweet will be entered in a drawing for an autographed copy of the first trade paperback of The Sixth Gun. Post both and you’ll be entered in a drawing for both!

Sure, there’s no way for me to tell if you really pre-ordered the books or not, but I trust ya. I’m putting my faith in you to support these books. Word of mouth and pre-orders mean quite a bit, and I want to make sure as many people as possible hear about these upcoming titles.

Thank you!

Today…

While my kiddo usually goes to pre-school and the sitter on work days, today he’s with me.

This morning, he went to his annual cleft palate evaluation appointment with his mom and me. This afternoon, for various reasons, he stayed with me. I’ll admit, it’s nearly impossible to get any work done when he’s here. And… yeah… during a busy month, losing a day of work can be extremely stressful.

But today I wouldn’t want him anywhere else.

Today, I’m trying to figure out how I’ll ever drop him off at school (or anywhere else that I can’t protect him) again.

He’s not aware of the tragedy in Newton. If he was, he’d most likely have a thousand questions. And I wouldn’t have a clue how to answer. I can barely wrap my brain around today’s events.

But here’s what I know.

Something’s gotta give. Something’s gotta change. Now, I have friends and family members who will take exception to this. Reading this, you might disagree with me. I can appreciate that, but I can promise you that there is no amount of debate that will change the way I feel. I respect that you might have a difference of opinion, but I’m pretty cemented in my way of thinking.

The very mention of “gun control” can terrify people, but try to understand my position. I don’t think guns are evil. I’m not suggesting that responsible adults shouldn’t own guns.  But I do believe that what we’re doing now as a country isn’t working. The discussion has to start somewhere, and it should have started before now.

This is a link to a petition asking the Obama Administration to “Immediately address the issue of gun control through the introduction of legislation to Congress.” With 25,000 signatures, the Administration is obliged to act on the issue. Certainly, this is something already being considered, but adding your voice to the outcry will not hurt.

You can also  find contact information for your congressional House representatives here.

Find your senators here.

Write to them. Let them know how you feel.

For a little more on this subject, check out what Greg Rucka and Kelly Sue DeConnick have to say.

As I’m sitting on the couch typing this out… trying to figure out the words… trying to make sense of it all, my son just walked over and gave me a kiss for no reason. Whether or not I’m ever able to adequately express my thoughts, that little act put things into very sharp focus for me.

My heart goes out to the families in CT.

Thanks for bearing with me, folks.

This Week’s Interview Round-up!

I probably missed a couple of these. Lately, I’ve been talking a lot. More-so than usual, and that’s one helluva feat for me!  Here ya go!

The Venom Site – Q&A With Cullen Bunn – I answer symbiote-related questions from the biggest Venom fans in the whole world!

Cullen Bunn Talks Fearless Defenders, Valkyrie, and the Need for Female-Centric Comics – I spent a little time with the folks from Cosmic Book News talking about the upcoming Fearless Defenders series.

Geekvolution Episode 140 – I talk about so many meandering subjects on this podcast that it’s hard to keep up. Always a lot of fun talking with these guys, though!

Cullen Bunn to Write Ultimate Comics Wolverine – An announcement for the upcoming mini-series, along with a few comments from yours truly.

 

Signing at The Fantasy Shop!

Next week, I’ll be signing books at all four of the Fantasy Shops in the St. Louis area. If you’re in the area, I hope you’ll make time to stop by and say hello. They’ll have plenty of my books on hand (and those books make perfect Christmas gifts if I say so myself) and they’re doing a special drawing for folks who pre-order my upcoming book, The Fearless Defenders!

Here are the dates, times, and locales for the signings:

Ultimate Wolverine

Even though my final issue of Wolverine came out today, I’m not done with the clawed mutant! Coming in March is Ultimate Wolverine, a four-issue series exploring the secret family tree of Jimmy Hudson, the son of Wolverine!

Here’s a few thoughts on the series from a recent Comics Alliance interview:

“In terms of a great comic book story, Jimmy Hudson offers the best of both worlds. He’s the son of Wolverine, so he has a pedigree and a rich history to draw upon. At the same time, though, there’s quite a bit of mystery surrounding his origins. With this series, I have the chance to play those two elements–the pedigree and the mystery–off one another. Once this story is told, Jimmy will have a better understanding of where he came from and a clearer vision of where he’s going.

“But there’s a side to this story that’s very personal for me. While plotting and writing this series, there are some elements that have really resonated with me. So much of this story hinges on Jimmy’s relationship with a mother and father he never knew… and the mother and father who raised him. That’s a story that, for various reasons, hits me where I live.

“I’m also getting the chance to do some things in this mini-series that will impact the status quo of the Ultimate Universe. It’s nice to know what happens in this book will have some lasting effects on the character and on the stories to be told in the future.”

Here’s the solicit information for the first issue!

ULTIMATE COMICS WOLVERINE #1 (of 4)
CULLEN BUNN (W) • DAVID MESSINA (A)
Cover by ART ADAMS
Variant cover by AXEL TORVENIUS
• Jimmy Hudson’s quest to discover the answers about his past begins here!
• What mission was Wolverine on that led to the birth of Jimmy?
• A story that will rock the Ultimate Universe’s family tree forever!

You Know Those Interviews You Were Looking For? They’re Right Here…

Here’s a few interviews I’ve completed in recent days.

X-Position: Bunn Wraps His “Wolverine” Run – This is a feature where fans ask a wide range of questions. In this case, they asked about Wolverine (my issues of which are coming to an end) and The Fearless Defenders.

War Rocket Ajax – On this podcast, I talk about The Fearless Defenders, The Sixth Gun, and the inspiration for The Tooth… among other topics.

Cullen Bunn Talks Sixth Gun and Mini-Marvel Takeover – I talk to the Multiversity Comics folks about… almost everything. The Sixth Gun, Sons of the Gun, Helheim, Wolverine, and Venom–it’s all there!

The Fearless Defenders! Coming in February!

Newsarama has released the exclusive announcement of THE FEARLESS DEFENDERS coming in February as part of Marvel NOW! This is a new team of Defenders gathered under the leadership of Valkyrie and Misty Knight! This is a book I’m incredibly excited about. I’ve been pitching and campaigning to do this book for months.

Of course, it gets announced on a day when I’m insanely busy. So, I’ll leave you with a look at the cover of the first issue and a link to the Newsarama interview.

I’ll be sharing more details soon! In the meantime, if this looks like a book you might like, PLEASE talk about it! Tell your friends on Twitter and Tumblr and Facebook and any other forums you might visit. Talk to your comic book retailer about it. Make sure to pre-order this book!

Fearless…

Video – “Come Again, Halloween”

To celebrate Halloween, I’m posting a reading of one of my short stories. If you’ve got 20 minutes or so, I hope you’ll check it out!

This time around, I’m reading “Come Again, Halloween.” This is a tribute to all the things that make Halloween special to me. This story appears, along with twelve others, in the pages of CREEPING STONES & OTHER STORIES, released just this week from Evileye Books!

It’s been a long time since I did a reading, so I feel a little rusty, but I hope you enjoy it!

If you dig the story, I hope you’ll check out the collection. You can order your copy on Amazon!

Come Again, Halloween from Cullen Bunn on Vimeo.

The Best Costumes Are Homemade (A Mrs. Friedly Story)

I’m posting some old Mrs. Friedly stories in honor of Halloween! If you like these stories, you should definitely check out CREEPING STONES & OTHER STORIES,  a collection of short horror tales that was just released this week! You can order it here.

The Best Costumes Are Homemade
By Cullen Bunn

Mrs. Friedly had been feeling quite festive, but the children were raising such a fuss that she was growing cross. She took a deep breath, though, and reminded herself that it was, after all, her favorite holiday. She refused to let it be spoiled. She picked a piece of candy from the bowl on the kitchen table and plopped it into her mouth. She instantly felt better.

But the children still whined and mewled.

“Now, now, my sweet ones,” Mrs. Friedly said, “I’m afraid this really is a necessity. I know you love the costumes we’ve made, but it is simply too cold out, and you must wear your jackets.”

The children moaned and sighed, whimpered and cried. Mrs. Friedly clucked her tongue as she gathered their jackets.

“Now, now. I know what you think. We worked very diligently on those costumes, and they are very scary. I realize you think that wearing a coat will ruin the illusion, but I can’t imagine your parents will approve if you come home with colds. I mean, look at you. You’re already shivering, each and every one of you.”

She offered the first of the children—Sara—her coat. Sniffling, the little girl slipped into the garment and shuffled off.

“There you are,” said Mrs. Friedly, “and you still look quite frightening!”

She handed jackets to little Billy and Gretchen and Scotty. The children screeched with disappointment as they pulled their jackets on.

“Now, that’s just about enough of that,” Mrs. Friedly said. “It’s Halloween, and you should be happy to go trick-or-treating. I still have to finish costumes for the other children.”

Mrs. Friedly looked over her shoulder. In the living room, the other children in her care—the children from the “wrong side of the tracks”—waited patiently while watching Charlie Brown. Misshapen shadows from the flickering TV screen danced across the walls.

“You know they are less fortunate than you,” Mrs. Friedly said, lowering her voice, “but you don’t see them complaining. Now, off you go!”

She ushered the whimpering children towards the door.

“Have fun!” she called, but she could hear them crying as they shuffled down the walkway.

Shaking her head, Mrs. Friedly shut the door and returned to the kitchen to finish the costumes for the other kids. The floor, she noticed, was a mess, covered in puddles of spattered gore and tracked around in four sets of bloodied footprints.

Those really were frightening costumes, she thought to herself. Perhaps I should have put plastic down. Oh, well. No use worrying over spilled milk now.

She sat at the table and set about stitching and patching together the four new Halloween disguises. Normally, she would have taken the time to clean the table up a bit before she got started. She, like her mother before her, had always been a clean-as-you-go kind of woman. But she could hear Charlie Brown coming to an end in the next room, and she knew the children would soon grow restless. She worked around the oozing, dripping blood and promised herself she’d make the entire house spotless once the holiday was over and done.

After a few minutes, she sat back and surveyed her handiwork. The new costumes were ready and—if she did say so herself—they looked terrific. She called to the children in the other room.

The kids shuffled and loped and slithered into the kitchen. Their teeth and fangs and mandibles clicked together with anticipation. They could already taste the treats they’d receive tonight, and saliva oozed down their chins, dripping to the bloody floor with all their other ichors and bodily secretions.

“Here you are.” Mrs. Friedly held up the first of the costumes for one of the children. “Tonight, you’ll be going as Sara.”

The child took the fleshy, sticky costume and pulled it on over its chitenous, roach-like shell.

“And you,” Mrs. Friedly said to the next child, “will be Billy.”

The second child took the costume, sniffing it hungrily.

“It’s not for eating,” Mrs. Friedly said, “at least not until after you’re done trick-or-treating.”

The third child wore the Gretchen costume, although Mrs. Friedly had to cut additional holes into the face for the extra set of eyes.

The final child had never dressed up for Halloween, but the Scotty costume Mrs. Friedly had made fit perfectly over his twisted, scaly body.

Mrs. Friedly clapped her hands together excitedly.

“Oh, don’t you look wonderful!”

Before her stood Sara, Gretchen, Billy, and Scotty, albeit stitched and bloodied versions of said children. They looked grotesque, that was for certain, but far less so than usual.

“And isn’t that what Halloween is all about?” asked Mrs. Friedly. “Pretending to be someone you’re not.”

She handed each of the children a plastic jack o’lantern and each, in turn, a slip of paper. On each scrap of paper was written an address.

“Sara’s home, and Scotty’s, and Gretchen’s, and Billy’s. I think their parents will be most thrilled with your costumes. Oh, how I wish I could be there to see the looks on their faces.”

The four costumed creatures shuffled out the front door—none of them wearing a jacket. They croaked, “Trick or treat! Trick or treat!” as they moved along the walkway.

“Would you look at that,” Mrs. Friedly called from the doorway. “Someone left you some treats right in the front yard.”

Four crumpled, bloody, skinless figures were sprawled in the yard. Blood had soaked through their jackets, ruining them.

End