In the world of contemporary horror comics, few writers are as prolific as Cullen Bunn. His creator-owned horror titles include The Sixth Gun, Harrow County, Bone Parish, and The Damned. Bunn’s comic The Empty Man was adapted by filmmaker David Prior into a critically acclaimed feature film. He has also written comics for DC, Valiant, and Marvel, including the hits Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe and Deadpool Kills Deadpool, among many others.
Now Bunn has launched a video podcast series on YouTube called The Cullenoscopy. On the podcast, he’ll explore horror in comics and other media, one specific topic or subgenre at a time. The premiere episode aired, appropriately, on Friday the 13th and featured special guest Rebekah McKendry talking about horror in comics. McKendry is a writer/director whose hit horror series Barstow was published by Dark Horse Comics. Mainstream publisher Simon and Schuster will soon publish her graphic novel series Pretty Evil.
Horror is, of course, everywhere these days, in comics, novels, TV, movies, and real life. The television broadcasting genre formerly known as “the news” now seems as horrific than any Stephen King novel or Blumhouse feature film. One theory frequently employed to explain why fans gravitate to horror is that in troubled times (think: the Great Depression, the Covid pandemic, etc.), it offers a safe outlet—a way to confront the real horrors around us in a controlled environment. A viewer can walk out of a theater, turn off the TV, close the pages of a comic or a novel, in effect deciding when to experience the horror and when to escape it. Real life doesn’t always offer that option.
When asked about his new podcast series, Bunn said, “One of the questions I’ve heard over and over again—and I’m sure anyone who writes the kind of stuff I tend to write has heard it, too—is ‘why horror?’ And I get it! Why spend so much time wallowing around in darkness and fear? Why am I so preoccupied with sinister forces and evil acts we perpetrate against one another? It’s not an easy question to answer, actually. With The Cullenoscopy, though, I am giving shape to that answer. Over the course of the series, I think viewers will understand exactly why I love the genre. At the very least, they’ll know how much I love it!”
The Cullenoscopy will be released on YouTube every two weeks on Tuesday, beginning June 24th, with a wide variety of horror experts and practitioners serving as co-hosts and guests.
Now Bunn has launched a video podcast series on YouTube called The Cullenoscopy. On the podcast, he’ll explore horror in comics and other media, one specific topic or subgenre at a time. The premiere episode aired, appropriately, on Friday the 13th and featured special guest Rebekah McKendry talking about horror in comics. McKendry is a writer/director whose hit horror series Barstow was published by Dark Horse Comics. Mainstream publisher Simon and Schuster will soon publish her graphic novel series Pretty Evil.
Why Horror? Why Not?
Horror is, of course, everywhere these days, in comics, novels, TV, movies, and real life. The television broadcasting genre formerly known as “the news” now seems as horrific than any Stephen King novel or Blumhouse feature film. One theory frequently employed to explain why fans gravitate to horror is that in troubled times (think: the Great Depression, the Covid pandemic, etc.), it offers a safe outlet—a way to confront the real horrors around us in a controlled environment. A viewer can walk out of a theater, turn off the TV, close the pages of a comic or a novel, in effect deciding when to experience the horror and when to escape it. Real life doesn’t always offer that option.
When asked about his new podcast series, Bunn said, “One of the questions I’ve heard over and over again—and I’m sure anyone who writes the kind of stuff I tend to write has heard it, too—is ‘why horror?’ And I get it! Why spend so much time wallowing around in darkness and fear? Why am I so preoccupied with sinister forces and evil acts we perpetrate against one another? It’s not an easy question to answer, actually. With The Cullenoscopy, though, I am giving shape to that answer. Over the course of the series, I think viewers will understand exactly why I love the genre. At the very least, they’ll know how much I love it!”
The Cullenoscopy will be released on YouTube every two weeks on Tuesday, beginning June 24th, with a wide variety of horror experts and practitioners serving as co-hosts and guests.