When I think of Cullen Bunn I think of three things:

1. "Formerly the World's Youngest Hypnotist" (... yeah).

2. The really funny story about when he worked for the Fantasy Shop and was called to the old Saint Charles location by the cops when the security alarm went off in the middle of the night.

3. I can't imagine what it must be like inside the head of a guy who can craft complete worlds with such seeming ease.

One of Cullen's greatest strengths as a writer is that when you read his works you feel like the world is complete, from the ground up, you imagine that he knows the name of all of the characters who wander past in the background and that each of them has their own stories and that one day they might just become the focus of the story and you'll wonder how you never noticed them before. That is the kind of writer that Cullen is though, he crafts these complex and complete worlds and by the time you're finished reading the first issue of his most recent yarn you can't help but want to know everything there is to know about the nooks and crannies of the little lived in world to which he's just finished introducing to you.

It certainly doesn't hurt that he's got the partner in crime that he does. Brian Hurtt has a longer tenure in the comics industry (and if you haven't read his collaborations with Christina Weir and Nunzio DeFilippis or the criminally under-read and underrated Hard Time from DC/DC Focus then you should do yourself the favor and check them out as soon as is humanly possible) but you can tell when he works with Cullen that he does so with the energy of someone who is working on their very first comic, the excitement is clearly visible on the page (and when you're drawing as many characters who wear suits and ties as wander around in a Cullen Bunn penned story you'd better be pretty excited about it). This is also some of the best work of Brian's career as he has really honed in on the character designs, layouts, emotive quality of his characters, and the general cartooning overall. 

But enough about the creators of this work, let's talk about the book itself. Sixth Gun takes place in a Magical American West that we all might wish had been. Enchanted guns, truly mystical tarot decks, undead Generals, haunted gallows tree, and more than you could even imagine. If you tell me that the Pinkertons are going to appear in a comic then you've immediately got my attention but in this book they are more than just a private policing agency, they're so much more. Honestly the book was just incredible, and there is so much about the pacing and the writing and the way that the pages lead you into the next that made me really excited as I was reading this book.

I honestly think that it is probably the duo's best collaboration to date and considering how big a fan of The Damned that I am that is really saying something. It is just a really well crafted story with bits of Cullen's creepy imagination right alongside Brian's great eye for detail. Everything from the characters to the logo feels like it wasn't so much created as found and communicated to us by master story-tellers. I honestly think that this is going to be one of the biggest hits that ONI has had in quite a while and seeing it all in color (and don't even get me started on how great the colors are) will have fans rushing back to the store to get issue #2 when it comes out in July. 

But if you want to talk to the creators themselves then you need not wait too much longer as they will be signing at the Fantasy Shop in South County on Wednesday May, 5th, the Wednesday after Free Comic Book Day! So make sure that you have your copy of Sixth Gun #1 and be ready to jump in with both feet into one of the most surprisingly enchanting comics of the year.

The Knights of Good are coming to your favorite comic store and we'll finally learn how Codex first encountered the World's Most Popular Fantasy MMORPG ... which shall remain nameless ... *wink*. If you're unfamiliar with The Guild then what you should really do is head over to  http://www.watchtheguild.com/ and get started with season one episode one. You won't regret it. Really, go watch. Alright, now that it is several hours later and you've watched all three seasons and probably rewatched a few favorites you probably understand why The Guild has won so many awards (2007 YouTube Video Award – Best Series, 2008 South by Southwest Greenlight Award – Best Original Production, 2008 Yahoo! Video Award – Best Series, 2009 Streamy Awards – Best Comedy Web Series, Best Ensemble Cast in a Web Series, Best Female Actor in a Comedy Web Series [Felicia Day]) and why it's eventual translation into the world of comics seemed so obvious to so many of it's fans.

The series follows Cyd Sherman (a.k.a. Codex), played by Felicia Day who also created and writes the show, as she sits at her computer and plays a Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game with her Guildmates "The Knights of Good " whom (as of the first episode) she had never met in person. The series is incredibly funny and very sharply written with really great and rather memorable characters and even more memorable and great lines and scenes (Doorstep'd).

With the recent Dr. Horrible One Shot that was released from Dark Horse, which also starred Felicia Day, it seemed like only a matter of time before the internet sensation found it's way to either the printed page or the screens of televisions the world over ... but I suppose rather than getting cancelled by FOX that the minds behind The Guild decided that it would be better to just go straight to comics.

The first issue (which comes out tomorrow, 3/24) starts before the events of the series and shows us what Cyd was up to before she became Codex, The Healer. The translation from webisode to comic is nearly seamless as we get the familiar Cyd speaking to Webcam framing sequence from the show (a duty she has been tasked to do by her therapist). Felicia Day also writes the comic and has either read a lot of comics, received some sagelike advice from her former director Joss Whedon (she also starred in several episodes of Whedon's most recent foray into television, Dollhouse), or just has a really good handle on how to write for comics as opposed to for the screen. Along with the really great and funny writing is really spot on art from Jim Rugg (who has drawn several other great comics including: One Model Nation, Plain Janes [and it's sequel Janes in Love], Street Angel, and Afrodisiac) who brings just the right mix of actor accurate representation and really great cartooning. During scenes where the action is taking place in the "Game World" there is an interesting choice made where the characters and backgrounds become even more rendered by Rugg and seem somehow more real than the scenes that take place in the real world. It's a funny device that gives you a good insight into the characters.

This is really one of the more entertaining times I have had reading a comic in a while and by that I mean that I was smiling or laughing throughout most of the reading and am gleefully awaiting the next issue. I don't know if there is a better compliment a book can receive than the reader being really excited to see what happens next, so take that for what you will.

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