Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, cullen bunn, dynamite, entertainment, houdini, Matt Brady, the shadow

Cullen Bunn Takes On The Shadow

Published Sun, 01 Jun 2014 19:00:04 -0500

Cullen Bunn is making his Dynamite debut with The Shadow #0 where the classic pulp hero meets the master of escape Houdini. Here the writer sits down with Matt Brady (formerly of Newsarama) to talk about this special issue.

MATT BRADY: #0 issues! Who thought these things up? Big picture-wise, as a writer, how do you see them through your potential customer's eyes? How does that affect the story you tell and the approach you take? For instance, are you telling a story tied to continuity, or it's own little one-off?

CULLEN BUNN: As I see it, Zero issues should be easy jumping-on points for readers. I approached this issue of The Shadow as a stand-alone story—something a new reader could pick up and enjoy without worrying about what has come before or what will come after. At the same time, I don't want to bog the reader down with a bunch of backstory and exposition. I want it to be a good example of what a reader might expect when diving into an issue of The Shadow.

MB: That said, what's responsible for your story? What is, or was the germ of the start of it's origin? Just from the solicit copy, it has a great hook – The Shadow and Houdini! Where did that start in your brain?

CB: Many of my favorite "modern pulps" are almost like team-ups of fictional and real world characters and elements. THE LIST OF SEVEN, THE ARCANUM, THE CHINATOWN DEATH CLOUD PERIL—these are the kind of stories that inspired this story. I thought it made sense that, at some point, the Shadow and Houdini would have crossed paths. That initial idea opened up a lot of possibilities for the story.

MB: You've said that The Shadow was your entry to pulp heroes. In the present day, without the literal "pulp" that they're printed on to help differentiate them, what do "pulp" heroes do differently than say, mainstream superheroes? What stories can you tell with them that perhaps, might be more difficult with other characters?

CB: To some degree, I think the biggest difference is tone. Pulp stories are about grit and shadow, action and violence—and the Shadow represents that world perfectly. Here is a skilled man… far more skilled than any "normal" person… dealing with esoteric orders and exploring places of mystery. His adventures are mysterious and swashbuckling and full of deathtraps and insidious plots and evil occult orders. The Shadow is a perfect example of two-gun cliffhanger adventure, and that's the kind of story I wanted to tell.

MB: Writing Warlord of Mars #0 brought this point home to me again, and left me wondering if it's a universal truth, or still a (somewhat) newbie issue…whittling down to fit the story in the pages. I think what's making it into my issue is about 25-40% of my original plot. Not that I'm not telling a full story, just that the story I told myself was grand and sweeping, and the story that's coming out in July has to fit in 22 pages. Is it still that way for you, or am I just an unrestrained noob?

CB: What you're describing is something I face with every issue I write. Wanting to put too much in a single issue is a constant for me. I typically write an outline of all the scenes I want to include in an issue, assigning estimated page counts to each scene. Once that's all done, I typically find that I've outlined 30 to 40 pages worth of story. At that point, I have to start trimming those scenes, tightening the beats, focusing on the elements that will help me tell the best story. Every outline is an exercise in honing the story to its best presentation.

MB: Again, big-picture, what do you want readers to come away with from this issue?

CB: First things first, I want readers to enjoy the story and have fun with the issue. That's my first and most important goal. There are, however, some elements of the plot (which I won't reveal here) that I think may leave a lasting impression on the reader.

MB: And I'm going to venture a guess here, like me with Warlord, you've got a ton of Shadow stories simmering for when the opportunity next presents itself? Any hints of what you'd like to do one day?

CB: Absolutely I'd love to continue to tell stories of The Shadow. Given the chance, I'd want to continue the story I'm starting in the Zero issue. I think this tale has potential to continue in a big and exciting way. The wheels are turning, and they can't really be stopped.

For more on The Shadow #0, click here.