My Books
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The Sixth Gun Volume 2
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The second volume of The Sixth Gun collects issues 7 - 11 of the series. This volume is now available! More »
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Behind the Scenes: Fear Itself: The Fearless 8
Here’s something I just decided to start doing maybe 3 minutes ago. It might be a terrible idea. It might be a great idea. Either way, I’m just gonna start doing it before I change my mind or turn on the TV and get sucked into Teen Mom 2 or something. When a new book I’ve written comes out, I’m going to post a few behind-the-scenes tidbits about what went into the creation of the work, what I was thinking when I wrote it, and what I think about the way it turned out.
This week, issue 8 of Fear Itself: The Fearless came out, so let’s give it a go!
This issue was co-plotted by Matt Fraction, Chris Yost, and myself. I handled the script. Paul Pelletier and Mark Bagley did the pencils. Danny Miki and Andy Lanning inked the book. Matt Wilson did colors. This is the Part 8 of a 12-issue limited series.
SNIKT!
Wolverine #305
Cullen Bunn (W) • Paul Pelletier (A)
Cover By Jim Cheung
Variant Cover By Steve Mcniven
All New Jumping On Point!
Written By Rising Star Cullen Bunn (Fear Itself: The Fearless, The Damned, The Sixth Gun)
32 Pgs./Parental Advisory …$3.99
Cullen Bunn (W) • Paul Pelletier (A)
Cover By Jim Cheung
Variant Cover By Steve Mcniven
All New Jumping On Point!
Written By Rising Star Cullen Bunn (Fear Itself: The Fearless, The Damned, The Sixth Gun)
32 Pgs./Parental Advisory …$3.99
That’s all I’m saying… for now.
Plot to Script: This is How I Do It
Yeah… Sometimes it feels like that.
I’m frequently asked how I go about plotting and pacing a comic book script. My process has changed over the years, and I continue to shake up my methods and try new things. Still, there are some core steps I usually take that seem to work well for me. They might not work for anyone else, but if you’d like a behind-the-scenes look at how I work, here’s your chance.
What I’m presenting is a glimpse at how I planned issue 5 of The Sixth Gun. Much of my planning, as you’ll see, is done in a Moleskine notebook (sometimes more than one). In the early stages, I’m not concerned about the notes looking neat or being well-organized or even being all that legible. I’m more concerned with getting the pacing right, figuring out dialogue that says a little bit about the characters and moves the story forward, and making sure the issue is going to be enjoyable on its own and as part of the longer story.
In Case You Blinked – 1/17/2012
A new year! And a few new things you might have missed around the web!
- Monster Librarian has chosen Crooked Hills as one of the top reads for kids of 2012. They went so far as to give the book special recognition as being reviewed highly by more than one of their reviewers.
- Broken Frontier has unveiled the winners of the Broken Frontier Awards for 2012, and I’ve been selected as the Best Writer (independent) for The Sixth Gun.
I’m honored that those folks thought so much of my work, and I want to thank everyone who helped make those selections possible!
Captain America and…
Old farts like myself may remember the days of Captain America and the Falcon. Those were just some fine, fun comic books. Well, I’m being given my shot at writing some fun superhero adventures when I take over Captain America and…
And who, you ask?
Well, to start with, it’ll be Captain America and Hawkeye (with the amazing Alessandro Vitti on artistic duties). That story will comprise 4 issues, starting with issue #629 in April. After that, it becomes Captain America and Iron Man. After that, it becomes… shhh…it’s a secret. This series will give me the incredible opportunity to work with a ton of great characters and a ton of great artists. What’s not to love? I hope you folks will follow me on this adventure.
Countless Haints, Pt. 10
Madi thought she was farther away from home than she had ever been before.
That wasn’t true, of course. Every now and then, Pa had taken her into the nearby town of Ahmen’s Landing. Usually, she just waited in the truck while he ducked into the feed store or the hardware supply. She would sit there, watching the townsfolk—the women chatting as they exited the beauty shop, the men gathering outside the diner, the kids her age laughing and goofing off as they strolled past. Once, one of the boys had looked her way and smiled even though he was walking with a girl who must have been his girlfriend. Madi felt her face flush and she gasped aloud. In the instant when their eyes met—in that second before Madi forced herself to look away—she felt like the prettiest girl in all the world… and she was certain that he was the most handsome boy that ever lived. And then he was gone, continuing on his way, throwing his arm around his girl, talking loudly and boisterously with his friends.
A couple of times, Madi had accompanied her father to the grocery. The small store with its crowded, dusty shelves and rumbling refrigeration units seemed like a magical place to the girl. She could have spent hours browsing those shelves, looking at canned food and boxes of cereal and packets of juice mix. The colors and the images amazed her. But Pa always hurried along, like he didn’t want to be seen with her. Madi had to admit, some of the other customers looked at her strangely, not with malice or distaste, but with a glimmer of familiarity. Madi always left the store with a couple of bags of groceries, a tattered paperback book or a few out-of-date magazines, and the distinct the impression that the townsfolk wanted to talk to her… but they were afraid.
The Inner Circle
My pal and co-creator of The Sixth Gun, Brian Hurtt, may kill me for posting this.
Brian is one of those guys that, no matter how awesome he is, he always thinks he can do better. And–yeah–he’s grown a lot as an artist in the 17 years since he did this work, but it’s still pretty great stuff! When I uncovered the artwork in some old files, I just knew I had to share.
This was technically my first collaboration with Brian… not in comics… but in board games.
Years ago, small group of people, including myself, decided to put together a horror-themed board game called The Inner Circle. I believe we called ourselves “Thieves Guild Games.” The game itself was a lot like Arkham Horror, I guess, with each player taking the role of a character (vampires, werewolves, witches, ghosts, and other supernatural types) and moving around the game board (which looked like a city), collecting cards, and trying to reach the Inner Circle to accomplish some individual goal. We had the rules figured out, the characters created, and we just needed artwork. Brian was among the small group of artists we contacted to bring the game to life.
He was tasked with creating artwork for game cards with names like “Ankh” and “Shaman” and “Directive From Below” and “Blood-Sucking Lawyer.” Below are just a few of the pieces he did. I have some of the artwork that others contributed, too, but I don’t know how to reach any of the artists. Brian’s the only one who stuck with me after all this time.
Sometimes I think that if the game had been in development now, during the age of Kickstarter, it might have actually reached publication. Alas, it’s now just another one of those things that might have been, having fallen victim to lack of funding, inter-personal drama, and other idea killers.
Still, a fun walk down memory lane. Hope you enjoy.
“Diabolical, Fanatical Occultist,” “Atlantean Crystal,” and “That Mobster Guy”
Fear Itself: The Fearless Covers
Here are a few new covers for Fear Itself: The Fearless by the amazing Art Adams! Issue 6 comes out this week!
Issue 6 – Does Val need the Avengers? Or do they need her?
Issue 7 – Claws vs. a mean streak a mile wide
Issue 8 – Bring on the bad guys!
Where did the time go?
2011 was a big year for me. I was finally able to give my dream of writing full-time a go. The time flew by, and sometimes I need to stop and think about all the projects I worked on. I’m sure I’ll miss some things, but here’s how I spent my time over the past year:
- Scripted 12 or so issues of The Sixth Gun.
- Scripted 4 issues of Fear Itself: The Deep.
- Scripted 2 Fear Itself tie-in issues: Fear Itself: FF and Fear Itself: Black Widow.
- Scripted 12 issues of Fear Itself: The Fearless.
- Scripted the Spider-Man: Season One graphic novel.
- Scripted a few books for SmarterComics.
- Scripted 2 issues of a new limited series for Oni Press (to be announced soon).
- Scripted 4 issues of a new limited series for Marvel (to be announced soon).
- Scripted 4 issues for other Marvel projects (to be announced soon).
- Started work on Crooked Hills Book 2.
All in all, not a bad year. I’m greedy, though, and I want to do MORE! Sprinkled throughout 2011 was a lot of brainstorming and daydreaming and outlining for new projects. I just want to tell stories… in whatever form they may take.This year, I’m hoping to do as much (if not a little more) in comics AND focus on prose a little more. I’ve been away too long.
Of course, I’m going to have to make some sacrifices. I’m going to go back to writing late at night a little bit again. That means watching less TV and fewer movies. I’ll give myself a night or two, but that’s it. I’m going to work a little more on the weekends, too. I’ll also need to really evaluate the conventions I can go to. This year, I expect to go to fewer shows than last year. Not only are they expensive, but they take time away from writing. I love meeting fans and talking comics, though, so I can’t go cold turkey.
This isn’t really a resolution. I’m not sure resolutions work (although Mike Oliveri posted a great article on the subject here.) But I believe in goal-setting. This year, I’m gonna knock down goals like a toddler demolishing a building block tower. Not even the end of the world will stop me.
Here’s to kicking ass this year, folks!
In Case You Blinked – 12/29/2011
Here are a few items that have popped up around the web that might be of interest.
- Comic Book Resources has posted a new interview with me about Fear Itself: The Fearless.
- I spoke with Mark Justice and the Pod of Horror about Crooked Hills, The Sixth Gun, Fear Itself: The Fearless and a bunch of other stuff.
- I also spent some time talking about writing and The Sixth Gun on Fictional Frontiers.
Now… from the realm of brutal honesty and “It’s about damn time”…
It’s that time of year when “Best Of” Lists start popping up all over the internet. I’m not going to be modest here. I think The Sixth Gun got robbed of many a nod last year. I’ve seen a bunch of lists that have popped up this year that are woefully forgetful of my little western/fantasy mash-up. I’m proud of the book. I believe it’s one of the best on the market. I could be more humble, sure, but where has that gotten me so far?
Way back during the 1986 Oscars, Paul Hogan made a speech that has stuck with me ever since. Here it is as a point of reference:
Anyhow, this year, the super-keen website Four Colors & The Truth has posted a list of the Best Comics of the Year and the Best Graphic Novels of the Year. Take a look. The Sixth Gun and The Tooth both make an appearance. Also, CBR is counting down the Top 100 Comics of the Year, and The Sixth Gun comes in at #28! There are some pretty great books on the list, and it’s nice to be ranked among them!
