I think we need a thread praising Cullen Bunn for all he’s done with the X Men!

[Mia]

I like Bunn a lot. I don’t think I’ll ever understand airing ones issues out on social media though.

That being said, I’m sure it’s very anxiety inducing to not know for sure that you’ll be invited back to write for a company. I mean for years he was writing for marvel then suddenly he wasn’t renewed. Job uncertainty is a big source of anxiety. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be working hard for a company and every few years you just may or may not get invited back.

This is just me speculating baselessly but I can’t help but wonder if marvel snubbed him because he went on record numerous times saying he didn’t want to write xmen blue (or the cast anyway) but he did it because it’s all that was offered to him. Regardless of how valid the opinion is, I can’t help but wonder if the powers that be found it offensive.

Regardless, I will be sorry to see him go. Thanks for the enjoyment mr Bunn and I hope the closing door leads to an even better open one.

If that's the case it's a real shame. He's one of the best writers Marvel has and one of the few writers in the biz whose stuff I can actually re-read. That being said the comics industry is notoriously buddy-buddy and people don't get jobs based on talent and professionalism. If you ask me Red should be taken away from Tom Taylor and given to Bunn. Bunn is far the superior writer.

[Disciple of Redd]

Cullen Bunn has been consistently good to great, even with characters he didn't want to write, which is something we can't say for everyone.

[Purplevit]

I like Cullen. I hope he will return to X-Books and this time Editors will alow him to write characters that he likes and want to write.

[Mia]

Cullen Bunn has been consistently good to great, even with characters he didn't want to write, which is something we can't say for everyone.

Emphasized for truth. That's the mark of a great and exceptional writer. Not all writers are able to do that.

[MarvelMaster616]

I agree. Cullen Bunn has done a lot for the X-books, going back to his run on Magneto's solo series. He succeeded in a critical way with X-men Blue. He brought together the many dangling plot threads and streamlined them. On top of that, he added some badly-needed drama with the characters to the mix. I've seen in his other books that he's a very character-focused writer. He doesn't try to dumb anything or anyone down. He makes the personalities of each character feel real and understandable. I think that's a big reason why his take on Magneto is so powerful. I think Bunn has done more for Magneto than any writer since Chris Claremont. He has set him up in a major way for future X-books.

I hope Bunn writes another X-book down the line, but I think his run has been one of the best we've seen in years. For that, he deserves the praise and thanks of X-men fans.

[WhiteQueenEmmaFrost]

I can't.


His work on Deadpool was really good.

But Blue was an absolute mess. There was a lot of editorial interference and I can't separate what bad parts of the run were his and which were theirs.

[yogaflame]

I think that's a big reason why his take on Magneto is so powerful. I think Bunn has done more for Magneto than any writer since Chris Claremont.

Balderdash! To me, it was like Bunn watched the Nazi-hunting scenes in X-Men First Class and decided it would be cool to do that over and over again for 20 issues. Magneto the serial killer was a perversion of the character, and certainly not in the realm of what Claremont did for him back in the day(where he elevated a Silver Age caricature into a nuanced, flawed but honorable human being). It will be interesting to see where Claremont takes the character in X-Men Black after all of this.

I think Bunn has some chops, he can construct a story, but he relies too much on graphic violence, and overall, his contributions to the X-Lore are fairly thin. Compared to other writers of late, I can see how people would flock to him, but in the grand scheme of things he was just barely serviceable.

[salarta]

There are a lot of things Bunn could've done with Blue even with editorial interference, or even in spite of editorial interference. The things I've said regarding Lorna's treatment on Blue are my big complaints because I'm a fan of her, but they're not everything.

I do think he put in a little effort toward doing better by Lorna. I think Bunn listening to complaints on some issues saved her dynamic with her father. If a writer wants to write her with Magneto, it's still workable. It hasn't been spoiled, and I can even see an argument that where he left off with their dynamic is a good starting point for future writing. Bunn found what doesn't work and ended with a bit of what does. In its own way, that kind of work from Bunn can prove valuable.

I feel that was only one of four things Lorna really needed from Bunn on Blue, though. One, she needed Havok kept away from her so who she is as her own character could be better established. Two, she needed something to make up for how Havok got to hijack X-Men Blue #9, which was presented as if it would be her big return. Three, her history with Iceman and Jean needed to be explored via their teen versions. Not dominating the entire book, obviously, but a page or a few panels here and there out of the 572 pages (I'm sloppily estimating) he had to work with would've been possible. Missing three out of four things isn't a very good track record IMO.

Also, I don't hold the godawful cover of X-Men Blue #28 against Bunn, I'm assuming that cover was more or less forced on him. But it really didn't help perception of his writing. People judge books by covers. A bad cover is seen by a lot of people as a warning that the story inside is bad too. That means even a great writer has to overcome any negative views people already have before they read a single inside page.