Cullen Bunn has published books at Oni Press, Boom! Studios, IDW, Dark Horse, Marvel, and DC, among many others. It is an impressive list for the now veteran comic writer who looks to add a new title and publisher to his resume with the release of “Regression” from Image Comics. No stranger to the horror genre (“The Empty Man,” “Harrow County,” “Wolf Moon”), Cullen explores “past lives, demonic forces, fractured perceptions, and supernatural conspiracies” with this new series. Along with artist Danny Luckert (“Haunted”) and colorist/letterer Marie Enger (“Pistolwhip,” “2 Sisters”), “Regression” brings to life the waking nightmares of Adrian, who attempts hypnotherapy as a possible means to an ends. However, he is met with something else entirely.
We are lucky enough to be able to speak to Bunn about his new series.
When anyone asks me for a horror comic recommendation my first choice is “The Empty Man” with “Harrow County” not far behind that. You have seem to have a good understanding of how to get the most out of the medium when it comes to the genre. What is your approach to horror in comics?
Cullen Bunn: First of all, thank you! It’s important to talk about the books you like and make suggestions to new readers, so I greatly appreciate that!
My approach to horror in comics is pretty similar to my approach in prose. Character is of the utmost importance. If the reader can identify with the characters and their arc, it’s much easier to build horror elements. Mood and tone are also very important. You can’t get “jump scares” in a comic, but you can build a sense of dread and terror.
I also think it’s a good idea to vary the tone and pacing of the issue. Slow, deliberate scenes followed by frantic, thrilling scenes. Lighthearted and even humorous scenes, lulling the reader into a false sense of security before –bam! — everything goes terribly wrong.
There are nods to concepts of past lives, hypnosis, and even regression therapy in this series. How do all of those come together to make this story? What made you want to tell this story?
CB: I’ve had a version of this story in my head for a long time. I’ve always been fascinated by past lives and I’ve wanted to tell a horror story centered around the concept. There are many horrific elements in the book — demonic entities, terrible waking nightmares, slashers, cults, sorcery, conspiracy — but they are all tied to the idea of past lives. I find that having that one concept to tie everything together makes it much easier to balance the different ideas.
Still . . . I think no one will guess where this book goes before the end!
Have you ever participated in hypnosis? Was there research done into hypnosis or other themes you touch on in the series?
CB: Oh, no. I’m way too much of a control freak to let myself be hypnotized.
For the most part, I drew on my personal experiences and exposure to hypnosis. My father was a professional stage hypnotist for many years. Even after he stopped performing on stage, he would often conduct private group sessions. This is where he would often conduct past life regressions, and I’ve been fascinated by them ever since.
The first issue showcases some pretty gruesome and unsettling images. As the writer, how much goes into laying out what you want for Danny and Marie and how much freedom does the team have to bring these nightmares to life?
CB: My scripts typically describe the gruesome scenes in quite a bit of detail. When writing those bits, I flex my descriptive prose muscles. My hope is that I can use descriptions like that to inspire the artists. But, of course, they have tons of freedom to go their own way. It’s a collaboration, after all.
How important do you find the artist to be to this particular genre and what have Danny Luckert and Marie Enger brought to this title?
CB: Art is an essential part of any comic, but I think it is even more important in a horror book. I think what’s great about Danny and Marie is that they ground this crazy story in a very real, very approachable world. They don’t try to mask anything in sketchy art or murky color.
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Adrian, the main character has a lot going on in his head. How do you approach writing someone like that and what can you tell us about some of the characters in the book?
CB: Adrian is absolutely messed up, and I try to draw on times when I feel overwhelmed and frantic and frightened and unsure of the world. Those times occur a little too frequently for my tastes, but I try to imagine how it would be to feel like that every second of every day, to constantly be looking over my shoulder, constantly afraid of some terrible thing that’s about to happen. That’s how I approach poor Adrian.
Adrian’s friend, Molly, is a little more upbeat. She’s a breath of fresh air, but she’s genuinely worried about her friend.
Detective Graymercy (who shows up in issue 2) is sort of a cool, collected investigator, but I also wanted to give him a bit of a backstory where he was a normal kid, maybe even a bit of a geek, who grew u into this confident, slick man we’ll meet.
And Gregory Sutter, the villain . . . I should probably not say much about him. He has a much more complex role in the story than you might expect.
You are pretty deep into the Marvel U now. How important are books like “Regression,” or your other independent work, to you? How does it effect your progression as a writer? Do the two types of work overlap or influence each other?
CB: I feel like everything I write, creator-owned or otherwise, influences everything else. You learn from every project. Writing Marvel characters is a joy because I love these characters and the world, and I enjoy contributing to the mythos in some way. But I would never give up on my creator-owned books. They satisfy a different kind of creative urge, one that I find necessary to address.
I like to think that people who read my Marvel stuff might check out my creator-owned stuff, too.
I was shocked when you announced this to be your first book at Image. What has it been like working with Image for the first time and why is now the right time? Why is “Regression” the right story?
CB: Working with Image has been great. I’ve actually been talking to them about various projects for some time. I have several other books in the works with them, but “Regression” is the first to get far enough along to be announced and released. We’re pretty far ahead on this title, which is a great feeling.
For those familiar and, maybe by their own gross failures, unfamiliar with you work, what do you hope they get out of “Regression?”
CB: I hope that readers can enjoy this as a straightforward creep-fest, but I also hope they can appreciate the world-building that is going into this series. I think it will really surprise them before it’s all said and done. “Regression” starts off as one kind of story, but it is something completely different by the end.
“Regression” #1 starts on May 10, in comic shops and online.
