DF Interview: Cullen Bunn & Heath Amodio present a Dark & Twisted tale of murder and the macabre in the ‘Long Haul’ OGN

By Byron Brewer

When Sarah Blake went missing on her way to work, it was too much for her sickly father to handle. His passing, coupled with Sarah's disappearance, left her older brothers Danny and Carl filled with rage and loss. With nothing and no one left to lose, the two men decide to spend whatever time they have left hunting down long haul serial killers, uncovering the truth about Sarah, and taking the murderers out in brutal fashion. During their mission for revenge, they learn about a convoy of sociopathic killers known only as The Nine. One of them stole Sarah from beside her broken down car, and the Blake brothers must violently work their way through The Nine and their protectors until they come to the member who took her.

From Storm King Comics comes the Long Haul graphic novel, a Dark & Twisted tale from scribes Cullen Bunn and Heath Amodio and artist Andrea Mutti. I sat down with my old buddy Cullen, master of the macabre, to chat about the coming comic.

Byron Brewer: Cullen & Heath, tell readers a little about the inspiration for this tale of revenge and family justice.

Heath Amodio: I’m a big true crime fan, and I’d seen a chilling documentary on long haul killers, and it included stats that floored me. At any given time, there are over 700 missing or murdered victims, and over 300 active killers all along the interstates. The real life horror supplied easy inspiration. It was important to Cullen that it had that classic trucker story feel to it.

Cullen Bunn: You have to understand, I traveled a lot with my dad as a kid, and he was huge into the CB radio, which connected us with a lot of truckers. In addition, my uncles Shorty and Billy were both long haul drivers, and they even let me travel with them a bit. I also grew up watching movies like Convoy and Duel, which were hugely inspirational for me. And the music of Dick Curless, especially “A Tombstone Every Mile”, was playing on repeat while this was being written.

Byron: Before we talk Blake brothers, can you give us a little background on their causes: sister Sarah and their father?

Heath: With their mother long dead and their father sick, Sarah has taken it upon herself to care for the three men in her life. Despite the fact she’s the youngest, she very much plays the role of matriarch. She finally decides to branch out and do her own thing, and she’s met with disastrous results. Her father is very sickly when we’re introduced to him. Basically living for his children. When Sarah’s disappearance stretches on without answers, it proves too much for him. The killer(s) that took Sarah stole the two most important people to the Blake brothers. They want to find retribution and the truth about Sarah.

Byron: Who are Danny and Carl Blake? Could you tell readers about their relationship before their family tragedies and a little about how they will be carrying out their new mission in life: hunting down long haul serial killers and uncovering the mystery of their sister’s disappearance?

Heath: They were blue collar brothers. They woke up, went to a very hard day’s work everyday, and settled with some cold brews on the front porch every night. Simple guys that put their family first. Their methods will be extremely violent.

Cullen: In a lot of ways, you might say this is a story about “black hats versus black hats.” Because of what they have been through, Danny and Carl have turned cold and heartless, vicious. They are going up against some tough-as-nails enemies. It takes a certain level of ruthlessness to deal with the ruthless.

Byron: Who are The Nine?

Heath: They’re based on a real crew of long haul trucker serial killers and traffickers that would pass victims between one another.

Cullen: Inspired by real-life serial killers, yes, but we’ve definitely taken them in some very comic book directions. They aren’t super-powered by any means. Unless being awful is a superpower. But each of The Nine has unique characteristics, unique… dare I say… tastes that make them engaging and horrifying. 

Byron: Will this revenge saga also have a detective element in it that may allow readers of the graphic novel to discover clues and put together the pieces of Sarah’s disappearance as Danny and Carl do?

Heath: To a certain degree. We’ll follow the brothers as they torture and hunt their way to answers, but it’s more about the action than the investigation.

Cullen: The brothers aren’t necessarily detectives in the truest sense of the term. You know how sometimes Batman just has to beat information out of some bad guy? Well, they’re good at that part of the job.

Byron: Talk about the awesome art of Andrea Mutti and how it works to strengthen this great OGN.

Heath: It’s my first time working with Andrea. The quality of his beautiful (bloody) work, and the speed in which he’s able to do it are outstanding. He’s also the most energetically positive person I’ve ever met. (laughs)

Cullen: Andrea and I have worked on a few comics together at this point, and we’re already cooking up something new! I’m thrilled that he is a part of this project, because he has such a knack for real world horror. Heck, he has a knack for all sorts of horror.

Byron: Just for fun, describe a little of the process of how you two worked together to create this OGN.

Heath: I’ve said it numerous times, but Cullen has made me a more structured writer. We tend to break a story very quickly. Then it comes down to an outline, fleshing it into a full pitch, and breaking a script down by page numbers. Finally, we duel with knives about which pages we most want to write. Most blood drawn wins their choice. The scripting is based on Cullen’s format.

Cullen: I don’t know that Heath thinks I’m fun to work with. As much as my outlines and scripts are very structured, I’m a very scattered and disorganized person. Couple that with my need to be a control freak, and I’m sure Heath wanted The Nine (or the brothers) to come after me!

Byron: Heath and Cullen, tell us about any upcoming projects you can talk about.

Heath: Through our Hustle & Heart Films endeavor, we launched a Zoop campaign for our collaboration with producer Todd Garner (Mortal Kombat). It’s a series entitled Copycat (zoop.gg/copycat). We also have comic book projects in development with Katee Sackhoff (Mandalorian), Kristin Kreuk (Smallville), and Bobby Moynihan.

Cullen: As you know, I’m always cooking up dozens of projects. When I slow down, it means I’m dead. The best way to follow all my work is to visit my website (www.cullenbunn.com) and subscribe to my e-newsletter (https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/743034/108714177329104883/share)!

Dynamic Forces would like to thank Cullen Bunn & Heath Amodio for taking time out of their busy schedules to answer our questions. The Long Haul OGN from Storm King Comics is slated to be on sale Feb. 21!

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