About
Cullen Bunn Presents: A Passage in Black Graphic Novel
$23,105
388
A PASSAGE IN BLACK is a mature readers graphic novel anthology, presenting eleven tales of horror. More than 120 pages of terrifying stories await you in this collection!
As a kid, I often went fishing at the creek with my old man. He had a nice fishing boat, lots of expensive rods and reels, and he often took the family out on ocean fishing excursions. But he still liked taking old fashioned cane poles out to the creek to fish for catfish. I went with him frequently. (One of his favorite fishing spots was near a country club, and we often squeezed through a break in the fence and crept across the golf course to get there.)
For some reason, I always took a big stack of horror comics with me to read on the muddy bank. House of Mystery, Ghosts, House of Secrets, Creepy, Eerie, Haunted Library, you name it. I never brought superhero books. Only horror tales seemed right while sitting in the eerie, early morning light.
I loved those anthologies so much. They absolutely played a big role in the writer I would become. Over the past couple of decades, I’ve written many short horror stories. Many of those prose stories were collected in the book A PASSAGE IN BLACK from OmahaBound. That book, if you haven’t read it yet, has some of my earliest work in it, but I wanted to showcase everything so readers could see who I am and where I came from.
And now—right here!—I’m announcing that my love of horror comic anthologies and my love of horror short fiction is coming together like peanut butter and jelly! This book will feature comic book adaptations of some of my short horror stories from the prose collection.
I have brought together an amazing group of writers and artists to bring these stories to life.
Just check out the list (and the awe-inspiring artwork)!
Cindy Bunn and Baldemar Rivas - “Why Sing the Sirens”
Kevin Watkins and Adam McLaughlin - “School for the Dead”
Anton Kromoff and Bob Freeman - “Dance, Dance, Upon the Night of the Ball”
Heath Amodio and Daniele Sera – “Last Night of the Fair”
Josh Roberts and David Moscati – “Feast of Crows”
JimmyZ Johnston and Isaac Crawford - “Piasa Dreams”
Jeff Lawler and Fran Strukan – “Still Waters”
AE Steuve and Arjuna Susini – “For Her Love”
Sonica Ellis and Rowan MacColl – “Someday Dolls”
Tim Mayer – “A Passage in Black”
And yours truly working with Marcos Marz on something new! A short story (and intro to something bigger?) titled "Dead Vein"
With special appearances by Blacky Shepherd!
A logo designed by the Kucharek Brothers!
And a cover by Kyle Strahm!
I want this book to represent amazing talent that readers might not be familiar with, and I think these folks have accomplished something beautiful and scary and fun. They took these prose stories and ran with them. They made them their own and did something special with them. This book is a showcase of different approaches to the horrific... and I think you're gonna love it!
OmahaBound is helping with the design and printing of the project, so I’m confident it is going to be a fantastic book!
And here’s some more exciting news!
Assuming the Kickstarter is successful, I plan on making this an annual project/event. The next volume, though, will feature all new stories by the various collaborators (and myself). This will be a way for me to contribute to the legacy of horror anthology comics in my own way.
CULLEN BUNN PRESENTS A PASSAGE IN BLACK is my Creepy, my Eerie, my House of Mystery. We’re on the verge of something exciting here. I hope you will all join me on this journey!
As we reach stretch goals for this campaign, we will be offering various enhancements to the book.
$25,000 - When we reach this goal, we will add an introduction/foreword to the book.
$35,000 - When we reach this goal, we will add five one-page/splash page story introductions/interludes by artist Blacky Shepherd. These pages will be in the tradition of the horror host story introductions of classic horror comics!
$45,000 - When we reach this goal, we'll add a pin-ups section to the book, treating readers to all manner of ghoulishly gruesome horror imagery!
$55,000 - When we reach this stretch goal, all print trade paperbacks will be upgraded to hardcover editions!
$65,000 - To be announced!!!
$80,000 - To be announced!!!
At the end of the campaign, you will have the opportunity to select add-on items to your order. Some of these items include--
A PASSAGE IN BLACK T-SHIRT - $25
This exclusive t-shirt features the logo from the book.
A PASSAGE IN BLACK PROSE COLLECTION - $15
This collection features 27 short stories and illustrations from Tim Mayer. The stories that inspired the graphic novel collection are presented here, too!
Risks and challenges
This is my second Kickstarter project. I've learned a lot while running the first project. I recognize the value of working with great folks to make the book come to life, and I have partnered with experts in book production and delivery.
ALL of the artwork for this graphic novel is completed, and the book is being lettered as this campaign runs.
This means that we will be delivering this book very quickly. Digital versions of the book will deliver to backers almost as soon as the campaign funds (we'll need just a little time to finalize the "Thank You" page and any Stretch Goal additions), and the book will be sent to the printer for hard copy production immediately.
My primary goal is getting this book into the hands of our readers, so we're focusing on that! I have a team ready to manage the logistics of shipping the books out as soon as they are ready to go!
I'm teaming with one of the biggest and best crowdfunding companies in the industry: BackerKit. Through BackerKit we'll easily be able to manage add-ons, surveys, address changes, and fulfillment.
There are always surprises and curve balls along the way, but we are positioned to manage those as they arise.
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Funding period
- (30 days)