Cullen Bunn's Blog, page 36

Sneak Peek: Art Adams' Fearless Covers

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a HUGE fan of Art Adams' work. I can clearly remember sitting on the floor reading an issue of Longshot for the first time on a rainy day in North Carolina. So, it is an incredible thrill and honor that he is doing the covers for Fear Itself: The Fearless! Marvel has released a couple of sneak peeks at the covers to issues 4 and 5.

For those of you who thought this book might be boring, suck on this!

Marvel is pleased to present your first look at legendary artist's, Arthur Adams, inked covers to Fear Itself: The Fearless #4 & #5!  The blockbuster creative team of Matt Fraction, Cullen Bunn, Chris Yost, Mark Bagley & Paul Pelletier, hold the Marvel Universe in their hands as Valkyrie searches desperately for the cursed hammers left behind by the Serpent and his Worthy! Taking no prisoners, she must beat her way through the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe to collect them before Sin does! Don't miss how her mission begins, this October, in Fear Itself: The Fearless #1!

Stay tuned to Marvel.com for more on Fear Itself: The Fearless and to see these covers in full color!

Can Valkyrie go up against Earth's Mightiest and make it out in one piece? Join the conversation on Twitter with #FearItself!

Hmm. You think it would cost me an arm and a leg for the original art for one of those covers?

First Look! The Fearless #1!

Here's a first look at Fear Itself: The Fearless #1. The book hits the shelves on October 19!

The hunt is on! Mystical hammers lay strewn across the entire Marvel Universe and in Fear Itself: The Fearless #1 from the blockbuster creative team of Matt Fraction, Cullen Bunn, Chris Yost, Mark Bagley & Paul Pelletier, Valkyrie is off to find them! Her mission is simple – find these weapons of mass destruction no matter what the cost, and no matter who stands in her way…even Captain America & the Avengers! Except while Valkyrie is trying to save the world, Sin is looking to burn it to the ground. No fan can miss Fear Itself: The Fearless #1!

That's right. I brought the Myriad Gallery into the Marvel Universe… and I took it out.

Fearless Teasers!

And if those teaser images don't get your blood pumping, how about these clues to some of the events of the series?

The fate of the Asgardian hammers seen in Fear Itself – REVEALED!
A thrilling, yet desperate search for power across all the hidden corners of the Marvel Universe.
Valkyrie becomes the Marvel Universe's most wanted fugitive, hunted by all the world's super heroes.
Regaining her memories, Sin has the knowledge to activate the Serpent Doomsday Device.
Guest stars Galore: Avengers, Secret Avengers, the X-Men, Namor, the FF, Luke Cage and the Thunderbolts.
Fallen Son Rematch: Wolverine vs. Crossbones Round Two!
No hero leaves unscathed, including dramatic changes for Valkyrie as a result!

Fear Itself: The Fearless comes out in October!

How I Know My Son Will Be A Horror Writer, Pt. 2

I've mentioned that my son (who is now 3) is destined to be the next great horror writer. This week, he took another step down the road of the macabre.

A few nights ago, I took up more than my share of the available parking area in our driveway. I'm sure I was in a hurry and was planning to move the car before my wife and son got home. But I didn't. So, when Cindy and Squish got home after a hard day at work and the babysitter, they had to wedge into the driveway in a catawampus fashion that (if we decorated our yard in such a way) would have meant certain death for garden gnomes and pink flamingos.

I came outside, apologized, and offered to move the cars.

To which Squish replied, "Daddy, you park like a bo-bo head!"

Hmmm. I wonder where he heard that?

Anyway, that was good for a chuckle, and I think that might have been Squish's plan. Make 'em laugh, take 'em off guard, then hit them with the pants-wetting zinger.

The next day, I picked Squish up from the sitter. On the drive home, he called to me from the back seat.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, Squish?" I asked, checking the review to see that he was smiling happily.

"Don't park like a bo-bo head," he said.

"I won't" I assured him.

"If you park like a bo-bo head, I'll be mad."

"Okay, buddy."

"If you park like a bo-bo head, I'll be very mad."

"I get the picture," I said (and I promise there wasn't a hint of annoyance in my voice).

"If you park like a bo-bo head," Squish then said, "I will turn into a SPIDER!"

It's said that a great horror writer can give you nightmares. Congrats, Squish, that little conversation did the trick!

Nothing But The Tooth

From the archives!

Here's a letter that never saw publication in The Tooth letters column. The letter (and the response from all three Tooth creators) only surfaced yesterday. It is printed here for the sake of expanding the rich history of this great horror classic.

Dear Nothing But The Tooth,

Try as I might, I have yet to find issue #41 of   The Tooth , so I must ask my burning question directly!  Back in issue 36, Graham mentioned he could taste the gore when the Tooth returned to his mouth!  In issue 38, the Tooth then fought Vampires!  Now, frequently, people are turned into vampires by drinking the blood of a vampire (well, in the movies at least), and the last issue I could find, it was still the same night as the vampire fight.  Come the next morning, did Graham find the sun unbearable because the Tooth unwittingly caused him to ingest Vampiric essence?!

–'Molar' less at the end of my wits over this 'cavity' in my knowledge, please 'fill' me in

In response, Matt Kindt writes:

Finally somebody's asking the right questions!!!!!!

Shawn Lee writes:

Dear Molar,

The Tooth wasn't back in Graham's mouth until after the titanic battle with the reanimated Dragon of Ares. A more sensible question would be "Is the God of War's prize pet now an undead vampire dragon?!?" Wait, that's not sensible at all. What writer would dare pen such a ludicrous concept? Put your hand down, Cullen Bunn!

And I throw my bloody two cents in:

Dear Molar,

One can only assume you are consulting a magic eight ball in order to divine future Tooth story-lines. Your prophetic powers are well-honed, my friend, because the story "This Tooth, This Vampire!" was published in a crossover event with The Tooth's sister publication, Mr. Morbid's Mag-GHOUL-zine! Sadly, that story is almost impossible to find. Some believe it never really existed at all. Still, some collectors are willing to dig up family plots and pry gold fillings from their dead Uncle Mortimer's skull in order to pay for that hard-to-find collectible. 

There you have it–a bit of history, a piece of the puzzle that might help to solve some of the mysteries surrounding The Tooth! If you uncover additional "lost" letters, please send them in so we can share them here!

While individual issues of The Tooth may be hard to find, you can still order them from your local comic shop or online.

An Angel or a Demon?

On the shelves this week

A couple of my books hit the shelves tomorrow! Head to your local comic shop and pick them up!

The Sixth Gun #14

Drake has faced strange enemies, but none more enigmatic than Asher Cobb! What's the secret of his powers? How did he become the living dead? And what did he pass on to Drake at the end of last issue? Cullen Bunn and special guest artist Tyler Crook (B.P.R.D., Petrograd) answer these questions and more!

Here's a preview!

Fear Itself: The Deep #3

FEAR ITSELF TIE-IN In the midst of FEAR ITSELF, anything goes! Just as the unlikely team of Namor, Dr. Strange, the Silver Surfer, the Savage She-Hulk, and Loa band together, they're torn apart by a nightmare from the depths. And now each of these heroes must face an almost unstoppable enemy–and crushing fear–alone!

Here's a preview!

It's Showtime for The Damned

I've been sitting on this for some time, but now it's time to share some big news regarding my demon-meets-gangster graphic novel, The Damned!

Showtime has put a series into development based on the book.  It will be written by feature writer David Hayter who has co-penned several big-screen comic book adaptations – X-Men, X2 and Watchmen. The show is being described as a modern adaptation of the comic. It will revolve around Eddie, a cursed man, who is stuck in the middle of a turf war in modern day Chicago where mobsters are demons. Eddie must play all the angles to keep the warring families at bay while trying to reclaim his soul.

I've been privy to some of what is planned for the series, and I gotta tell ya, it is gonna be awesome!

For the official announcement, check out Deadline.com.

While you're at it, now would be a great time to ask your local comic shop or bookstore to order the book for you… or you can order it here.

Countless Haints, Pt. 7

Madi knew those woods just as well as she knew her own bedroom. She'd been exploring the wilds all her life—the hollows where she chased squirrels, the muddy swimming holes where she cooled off on hot days, the brooks where she skipped stones on lazy afternoons—but the places she knew seemed a distant memory. Now—in the dark… with her father chasing her… with her father possibly wanting to kill her—nothing seemed familiar.

The ground dipped and rolled, and Madi tripped through the thickets as she pressed on at a breakneck speed. The darkness was as thick and syrupy as tree sap, and the sweet smell of honeysuckle was redolent of decaying funeral wreaths. She crossed a fallen, moss-covered tree and skirted a dry, winding creek bed. She wasn't sure where exactly she was heading. She only knew that she had to get away… away from her father and all the other men and women who had gathered under the blight-ridden oak tree to proclaim her a witch and decide her fate.

"The girl must die," they had said.

Hearing movement in the brush behind her, Madi quickly hunkered down behind a tree trunk to spy the source of the sound. Peering out from around the tree trunk, she saw nothing. But she knew that someone—something—scrabbled through the woods after her. She heard the snap of breaking twigs, the rustle of something passing through the underbrush, a stirring among the branches.

In the satchel at her side, the boy's skin squirmed and wriggled as if wanting to crawl out on its own.

Madi clutched the bag tight, and the boy's hide grew still.

She waited, holding her breath, watching.

Whatever it was, it loped through the woods in a kind of herky-jerky gait, stopping and keeping still for several seconds at a time, then lurching forward without caution. Something about its movement reminded Madi of a spider, lying in wait upon its web, still as death in anticipation of a fly crossing its path, then pouncing with ruthless speed.

Not her Pa…

At least, she didn't believe so.

Whatever followed her, it moved like an animal—like a predator tracking prey.

And then, just as she thought she might have spotted a shadowy form moving through the brambles, the sound stopped. The forest was still once more. Madi's eyes darted back and forth as she tried to once again discern the strange, crouched shape she had seen just seconds earlier. Whatever she had seen—or imagined she had seen—it was gone now. Shadows rushed in like black, freezing water to obscure Madi's vision.

She was alone.

"Not… alone…"

The voice, little more than a feeble hiss, came from the satchel, from the skin within.

"I know," Madi said. "I know. You're here, too, for all the good it does me."

"Not alone."

She wondered if maybe it was the boy's skinless body that was following her through the forest. The thought did little to comfort her.

Knowing her Pa was somewhere out there, maybe not too far behind her, Madi didn't wait long before setting out again. She knew he'd find her soon enough. Pa was an excellent hunter and tracker. He'd find her trail if he hadn't done so already, and—

Startled by a sudden commotion, birds—sparrows and towhee—erupted out of the brush and took flight through the darkness. Something crashed through the trees. At first, Madi thought her father had found and was leaping through the foliage to grab her up. She realized soon enough, though, that the sound was moving away from her.

"Not alone," the boy's skin rasped once more.

"That was you," Madi said to the haint, "wasn't it? I mean, it was the other you. And it's making another trail for Pa to follow. It's covering my tracks."

The haint released a rasping sigh.

"Hhhhhhhh…"

"How did you… how did it know what I was thinking? How did it know I was worried about Pa tracking me?"

But the haint did not respond.

Confused and frustrated, Madi set out through the woods once more. Her surroundings grew more and more strange, more foreboding. The air smelled of rich, earthworm-ridden soil freshly turned for a crop, but Madi couldn't imagine anything wholesome growing in this place. The trees were tall and twisted and clustered together in gnarled tangles, the trunks knotted with fat, black growths and veined with pale vines.

She moved past the trees the way a small child might move through a room full of tall strangers. She watched the them nervously, as if she feared they might reach out, snatch her up, and rip her to bits with their gnarly branches.

Her foot struck something hard, and she tripped, sprawling to the ground. The fall knocked the wind from her lungs, and it took her a moment to recover. She pushes herself up and brushed her hands clean. She looked to the ground, and saw a chunk of white rock jutting up out of the leaves and pine straw. Turning, she realized she had entered a small clearing, and she saw dozens of taller stones all around.

 "Not alone," the boy's skin hissed.

Dozens of grave markers stood before her.

She had stumbled into a cemetery.

Of Valkyries and Vampires

Here's a look at the gorgeous cover of Fear Itself: The Fearless #2! That image pretty much sums up the awesomeness that awaits within the pages of the book. Issues 2 and 3 come out in November!