Cullen Bunn: On Writing Across Mediums
In this interview, author Cullen Bunn discusses the differences between his work in comic books and his new horror novel, Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World.
Cullen Bunn is a comics writer, novelist, and short story writer, best known for his work on Uncanny X-Men, X-Men: Blue, Magneto, and various Deadpool miniseries for Marvel Comics, including the New York Times bestseller Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe, and his creator-owned series The Damned and The Sixth Gun for Oni Press and Harrow County for Dark Horse Comics, as well as his middle grade horror novel Crooked Hills, and his short story work collection Creeping Stones & Other Stories. He also writes Venomized for Marvel, PumpkinHead for Dynamite, Subspecies for Action Lab, Shadow Roads for Oni Press, Regression for Image, Unholy Grail, Brothers Dracul, and Dark Ark for Aftershock Comics, and Harrow County for Dark Horse. He is a Ghastly Award winner, along with being a nominee for the Eisner Award and Bram Stoker Award. Visit him at CullenBunn.com, and follow him at X (Twitter), Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram.
In this interview, Cullen discusses the differences between his work in comic books and his debut horror novel, Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World, his advice for other writers, and more.
Name: Cullen Bunn
Literary agent: Charlie Olsen, InkWell Management Literary Agency
Book title: Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World
Publisher: Gallery Books
Release date: November 11, 2025
Genre/category: Horror
Previous titles: Uncanny X-Men, X-Men: Blue, Magneto, and various Deadpool miniseries for Marvel Comics, including the New York Times bestseller Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe, and his creator-owned series The Damned and The Sixth Gun for Oni Press and Harrow County for Dark Horse Comics, as well as his middle grade horror novel Crooked Hills, and his short story work collection Creeping Stones & Other Stories. He also writes Venomized for Marvel, PumpkinHead for Dynamite, Subspecies for Action Lab, Shadow Roads for Oni Press, Regression for Image, Unholy Grail, Brothers Dracul, and Dark Ark for Aftershock Comics, and Harrow County for Dark Horse.
Elevator pitch: A masked killer stalks the residents of Wilson Island, viciously murdering victims and harvesting organs for an unknown purpose. As the body count rises around her, Willa Hanson begins to wonder if the ongoing slaughter hints at a much more sinister, much older, and much hungrier evil.
What prompted you to write this book?
For quite a while now, I’ve made my living writing comics and graphic novels, but I started out writing prose. Comics are a very collaborative process. I work with editors, artists, inkers, colorists, letterers, and (sometimes) other writers. I wanted to do something that was almost 100 percent me though, and a novel offered that opportunity. I've long wanted to tell a kind of “switcheroo” story, one that starts out one way, then throws caution to the wind and completely changes directions. That’s what I did with this book.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
It’s hard to say, really, because I often have ideas that percolate for years and years (sometimes for decades) before I commit to bringing them to life. For the novel itself (and this was after outlining and planning was done), it took a little under a year to write. That time, of course, reflects that I was also working on several comic book series at the same time. The idea changed a little during creation. Despite my outlines, I found myself wanting to expand on ideas in ways that can’t be done with, say, a comic. Comics are all about economy. I might’ve gotten lost with the power of no constrictions! The story definitely got more and more weird as I wrote it!
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
I don’t know that there were surprises. The publishing process was quite different than working in comics. First and foremost, comics for most publishers, especially the Big Two (Marvel and DC) work on a much faster timeframe. It was nice to have a little more breathing room to tell the story the right way. The editorial process took a little getting used to, with my editor offering amazing notes, some of which dug up more track than I might have liked, but that did vastly improve the story. And that was before the copy editor got involved by also offering great notes and catching tiny little details I had missed. With a comic, if I make a minor mistake, the artist might save the day. With a novel though, I’m on my own. I’m overwhelmingly appreciative of the editorial team for having my back!
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
I’ve challenged myself to write comics, novels, short stories, screenplays, and role-playing games over the course of my career. Each of those mediums have their own quirks. I’m pretty adaptable, but anyone who thinks they can move from one medium to another without some growing pains is fooling themselves. As mentioned earlier, it surprised me how much I wanted to add and expand. Every editing pass, I found myself fighting to stop adding new ideas, new scenes, new characters, and expanded descriptions. If I hadn’t locked it down, I might still be writing an insanely unwieldy and never-ending book.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
My first thought is that I want readers to be entertained. This is a fast-paced story. As I wrote it though, I laced in quite a few mysteries. To my way of thinking, I’ve provided the answers to those mysteries. However, I don’t necessarily spell it out in black and white. That’s not the way horror works. That’s not the way the world works. I’m much more interested in hearing reader interpretations of this story.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Just one piece? That’s tough! Lately, though, I’ve been thinking about creativity. A lot of writers I know spend months or years developing ideas for their story, but they never just sit down and write the thing. Creativity isn’t just ideas. It means actually creating something! I’d rather see someone jump headlong into a story without knowing where they are going, making mistakes along the way, dropping the ball, losing the plot, because fixing something is a lot easier than fixing nothing!
