Nightmare Fuel, Issue 237

Nightmare Fuel, Issue 237

ISSUE 237: STARTING OVER

Here we have a photo of Brian Hurtt, Matt Kindt, and myself enjoying a Friday afternoon on the patio of a Mexican restaurant in St. Louis. From my earliest days as a writer, these two have been right there for me. In fact, on the first day I went full time as a writer, they took me out for margaritas at a Mexican restaurant. Which is one of the reasons the photo above is so important to me. 

It’s because history is repeating itself.

For most of this year, I’ve talked about big changes on the horizon. I think some of those changes are here, and I feel like I’m starting over in many ways. 

Look there… in that photo… in my eyes.

Do you see the terror?

Maybe I’m too damn old to start over, but I’ve survived as long as I have because I’m always willing to shift gears and diversify and try some new things every now and then. In the last few months, I’ve added “bet on myself” to the mix, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. 

Maybe it’s not terror in my eyes. 

Maybe it’s excitement.

Or margarita salt.

Same difference.

I’ll share some more details with you as soon as the ink dries on the contracts. Until then, know that I’m cooking up some new hotness; I’m still on the wood side of the shovel; and gravity, friction, and faith are keeping this train thundering down the tracks. Praise, Leviathan. 

I was in St. Louis over the weekend to attend an amazing convention—Authorcon IV. It’s a charity-based, horror-centric, author-focused event put together by the folks at Scares That Care. It fit right in with my feelings of “starting over” for a lot of reasons.

When I was first trying to “break in” as a writer, I was attending horror conventions like the World Horror Convention and Horrorfind Weekend. I loved those events. I loved the sense of friendship and community found therein. As I moved more and more into the world of comics, though, my convention attention shifted toward comic conventions.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the community at comic conventions, too, but they definitely feel different for me. I know who I am at a comic convention. I’ve been doing comics a long time now. I’ve been attending these conventions and I know the fans and comic creators pretty well. I’ve built lasting friendships and even made a couple of bitter enemies among those folks. But, while I was forging those connections in the comic world, all my friends in the horror world were doing the same thing at their events. 

So, yeah, it feels a bit like I’m starting over, especially since I’ve been working on BONES OF OUR STARS, BLOOD OF OUR WORLD. That said, the horror community is just as welcoming as they were way back when. I reconnected with some old friends, made a few new ones, and discovered a ton of new writers. 

A terrific, energizing, inspiring time!

Also… while I was visiting Brian and Matt’s studio this week, I saw this image in one of Brian’s many amazing sketchbooks. As you know, I talk about the X Lazer Knights a lot. Nice to see someone as talented as Brian bringing one of them to life.  

THE AUTUMN KINGDOM #2

The deadly dark fairy tale from masters of folk-horror Cullen Bunn (Harrow County, Invasive) and Christopher Mitten (Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.) writes a frightful new chapter . . . Sisters Sommer and Winter are shaken and bewildered in the wake of a goblin horde smashing apart their family’s vacation cabin and absconding into the night with their parents. But the mysterious, jagged, hulking sword they stumbled on as they fled into the forest offers the young girls surprising strength, agility, and a vicious means to fight back. When they seek shelter with an old couple in the woods, they learn the truth behind the monsters, the fairies, the withering realm known as the Autumn Kingdom, and the deadly sacrifice it requires . .

I’ve been so happy with reader reaction to this book! And the story gets even more fantastical, terrifying, and wild with our second issue!

Banner - things to come

I’m gonna make my Weekly Obsessions a little more photo-driven going forward. This time around, I simply must share Brick River’s Pumpkin Spice Cider. I was skeptical, but this stuff (seen here with a shot of Fireball) is fantastic, especially for this time of year. 

Banner - events

All events are subject to change at a moment’s notice, but here is where I’ll be appearing in the next several months!I 

Banner - where to find me

CULLEN'S AMAZON STORE - Listen! If you have a local comic shop or bookshop, PLEASE visit them and order your books from them. If you don't have a shop, though, or if you can't get my books from your local bookseller for some reason, this Amazon shop has tons of options. 

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