Although it may be hard to believe, it's been nearly one decade and a half since the debut of Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt's The Sixth Gun in 2010, and to celebrate its 15th anniversary, Bunn, Hurtt, and colorist Bill Crabtree are reloading their supernatural Western series with a new three-issue series The Sixth Gun: Battle for the Six. Taking place three decades after the action-packed events of The Sixth Gun 50-issue series, Battle for the Six #1 will take aim on July 24th from Oni Press, following their June 4th release of the one-shot The Sixth Gun: Road to the Six #0!
To celebrate the return of The Sixth Gun, Daily Dead had the great pleasure of catching up with Cullen and Brian in a new Q&A feature to discuss resurrecting their iconic series at Oni Press and to reflect on the early days of The Sixth Gun nearly 15 years later!
You can read our full Q&A with Cullen and Brian below. We have the press release with additional details on The Sixth Gun: Battle for the Six #1 and The Sixth Gun: Road to the Six #0, and we also have a look at preview pages and the cover art for the upcoming one-shot!
Thank you for taking the time to answer questions, Cullen and Brian, and congratulations on the rebirth of The Sixth Gun, which will return this summer via Oni Press, first as the one-shot The Sixth Gun: Road to the Six #0 on June 4th, followed by the July 23rd release of The Sixth Gun: Battle for the Six #1, the first issue in a new three-issue miniseries! When did you both decide to reload The Sixth Gun and bring it to back to life?
Brian Hurtt: The idea came about pretty organically. We were having early conversations with Oni Press about the Kickstarter for The Sixth Gun omnibus collections. Cullen and I both wanted to do something a little special and we settled on doing a few short stories set in the world of The Sixth Gun. It seemed simple enough at first, but once we started brainstorming the stories we couldn’t put the brakes on our imaginations. We got so excited when we came upon a new direction for The Sixth Gun that both honored the original series but also carved a new way forward in the world that existed in the wake of it. We pitched it to Oni and were so thrilled when they immediately said yes!
Cullen Bunn: To some degree, Brian and I always wanted to return to the world of The Sixth Gun. That’s just the way we’re wired. We come up with these big bug worlds, and we want to keep exploring them. Shadow Roads was, of course, a return to the world of the original story. It was never intended to be a pure sequel, though. This is something completely different. We’re fusing the stories of The Sixth Gun and Shadow Roads into something new and exciting. I wouldn't have wanted to move this forward if we weren’t sure about the direction of the story. Once we landed on the general idea of the book, I was all in!
Can readers who are new to The Sixth Gun read Battle for the Six #1 as a good jumping-on point before going back and checking out the rest of the series?
Cullen Bunn: If you look back at the very first issues of The Sixth Gun, we really threw the readers right into the thick of things. We provided some backstory, but we didn't linger on it. We cut right to the chase. With this new series, we’re doing the same. A new reader will be able to follow along pretty easily. They’ll get the scoop on each and every character pretty quickly. It’s going to move at rocket speed, though. I think rolling the story along rapidly, even for new readers, builds a sense of realism and connection. Obviously, I want folks to go back and read the original story, too, and if this new book is the catalyst for that, I’m happy!
As storytellers, was it challenging to return to the world of The Sixth Gun nearly a decade after releasing the 50th issue, or was it reinvigorating to slip back into those well-worn cowboy boots after riding off into the sunset to tell other stories for a while?
Brian Hurtt: I can’t tell you how much fun it was to return to this world with fresh eyes and newfound enthusiasm. The world of The Sixth Gun has never been far from our thoughts—we would regularly discuss returning to it someday. As we worked on the original series, our conversations were always filled with too many ideas, mythos, and world-building for the main story to contain. We only scratched the surface of those ideas through some of our miniseries and the subsequent series, Shadow Roads, but the sandbox that is The Sixth Gun is vast and rich with possibility.
Cullen Bunn: Writing stories in this world, stories featuring characters I love, stories that surprise me even as I’m writing them, it is just exciting and inspiring. I’m thrilled to be telling these tales.
What do you each enjoy the most about the Wild West setting of The Sixth Gun? Do you draw inspiration from any favorite films, TV series, books, comics, or video games that take place in that setting?
Brian Hurtt: I draw inspiration from so many disparate sources for this series. But I was just telling Cullen the other day that a core component of the visual DNA of this series are the films of Ray Harryhausen. There’s something about the color and sense of fun that is, at the same time, wed to horror that really hits that sweet spot. I like to think that if Harryhausen had made a western it would have been very much in the vein of The Sixth Gun.
What types of familiar faces and new characters can readers expect to encounter in the pages of The Sixth Gun: Battle for the Six?
Cullen Bunn: I’m treading carefully here, because I don’t want to spoil some of the major surprises that await. It’s safe to say that you’ll be seeing the cast of Shadow Roads in the book. Beyond those characters, we’re introducing some major new villains. Will we see other familiar heroes and villains? I’m not saying a thing about that just yet!
Colorist Bill Crabtree is also returning for the rebirth of The Sixth Gun. How important was it for you to bring Bill back to help maintain that visual consistency from the original series?
Brian Hurtt: From my point of view, my collaboration with Bill is integral to the look and feel of The Sixth Gun. From the moment he was brought on to help with this series, he and I have had a creative brain-meld about how this world should look and feel. He gets what I’m trying to go for and he brings his own brand of magic to the table. He elevates my work and I can’t imagine doing The Sixth Gun without him!
The upcoming one-shot The Sixth Gun: Road to the Six #0 will include new stories featuring key characters from the original series. How important was it for you to spotlight some of these characters from the original run and show readers what they've been up to?
Cullen Bunn: For me, it was less about showcasing specific characters and more about showing the scope of stories that could be told under the banner of The Sixth Gun. So, we have mysteries. We have adventure tales in far corners of the world. And we have stories of battles fought during medieval times. These are the types of stories you might not expect from a western, even a supernatural one.
Last year, The Sixth Gun Deluxe Omnibus Library was a huge success on Kickstarter, far surpassing its initial funding goal. What was it like to see such a positive reaction from readers after all these years, and what types of perks have supporters been able to enjoy through that Kickstarter campaign?
Cullen Bunn: The support for The Sixth Gun has been a constant for me throughout my career, an island even when stormy waters are rising. The response to the Kickstarter just helped bring that home. Supporters of that campaign were treated to variant covers of comics, limited edition versions of the collection, and some editions of comics that we’ll never see anywhere else. That said, Brian and I have some pretty exciting perks on the horizon for fans of the book. We’re going to celebrate this return in some fun ways!
What has it been like to work with the team at Oni Press for the return of The Sixth Gun?
Brian Hurtt: I’ve been blown away at the level of excitement and professionalism across the board at Oni. It was their enthusiasm for The Sixth Gun that drove the success of the Kickstarter, reignited that fire under Cullen and I, and got us to dream big Sixth Gun dreams again.
The Sixth Gun: Battle for the Six was initially announced as a three-issue series, but do you have plans to continue this story beyond three issues if the opportunity arose?
Brian Hurtt: Please. And absolutely.
Cullen Bunn: Oh, to my way of thinking, this is just the beginning.
It's hard to believe, but this May will mark 15 years since the debut of The Sixth Gun in 2010. Looking back to your days working on those early issues, what are some of your favorite memories from creating this series that continues to enthrall readers deep into the 2020s?
Brian Hurtt: The inception of this book took place while Cullen still had a full-time corporate job. I still remember being so excited about how it was all developing that I went to his work in the middle of the day, shut his office door, and commandeered his whiteboard so that we could continue brainstorming.
I remember that feeling just a few issues into the series when we realized that we were going to get to continue it past the first arc and that we could probably keep doing this series for as long as we wanted to.
I remember the excitement I felt with every twist and turn of the story we took along the way! From the haunted swamps of Louisiana in the second arc, to the undead train robbery in the third arc. From nine-foot tall mummies to armies of snake men to dragons to the end of the world. I was never bored!
Cullen Bunn: Those were indeed fun times! Brian and I used a lot of whiteboard space in those early days. In addition to working at my day job, I remember getting together many times at Brian’s apartment or at my house to work through the story. And there are some INSANE versions of the story out there. Watching the various versions of The Sixth Gun change and grow was pure creative joy.
In addition to the June 4th release of The Sixth Gun: Road to the Six #0 and the July 23rd debut of The Sixth Gun: Battle for the Six #1, what other projects do each of you have coming up that you can tease for our readers?
Cullen Bunn: I have several new projects in the works right now, including a prose horror novel titled Bone of Our Stars, Blood of Our World that will be coming out in November 2025. Many of my upcoming comic projects haven’t been announced yet, but more information is coming soon!
Brian Hurtt: I’ve got a larger project coming up in 2026 that I think Sixth Gun fans will also love, but I’ve got to hold my tongue for a few more months yet!
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Below, we have the press release with official details on The Sixth Gun: Battle for the Six #1 and The Sixth Gun: Road to the Six #0, and we also have a look at preview pages and the cover art for the upcoming one-shot!
Press Release: PORTLAND, OR (March 20, 2024) SOMETIMES WHAT'S DEAD DOESN'T STAY GONE! Oni Press, the multiple Eisner and Harvey Award-winning publisher of groundbreaking comics and graphic novels since 1997, is proud to announce the long-awaited return to the Eisner Award-nominated world of THE SIXTH GUN this July as acclaimed co-creators Cullen Bunn (Harrow County) and Brian Hurtt (The Midnite Show) usher in THE SIXTH GUN: BATTLE FOR THE SIX #1 – an all-new, self-contained entry point into the acclaimed saga that fantasy icon Michael Moorcock calls "an epic in its own right," as told across three extra-sized and ad-free prestige format issues all summer long!
Coinciding with the 15th anniversary of THE SIXTH GUN's debut and initially teased in the aftermath of last year's blockbuster THE SIXTH GUN DELUXE OMNIBUS LIBRARY campaign on Kickstarter, Bunn and Hurtt's long-awaited return to the powder-burned world of their supernatural Western classic will be preceded by THE SIXTH GUN: ROAD TO THE SIX #0 – a one-shot prelude featuring three all-new short stories spotlighting key cast members from THE SIXTH GUN in the years between the series' epic conclusion with issue #50 and its forthcoming resurgence in THE SIXTH GUN: BATTLE FOR THE SIX #1!
In 1866, out of the ruins of the failed Confederate uprising, a race to claim six objects of unfathomable occult power began ... thrusting the fate of humanity into the hands of an ordinary young woman and a hard-nosed gunslinger who, together, were our last, best hope to forestall Armageddon.
At a terrible price, they prevailed.
But that was then. This is now. Three decades later, as the gears of a new millennium begin to grind on the cusp of the 20th Century, THE SIXTH GUN is about to be REBORN once more – as it has been countless times across the eons. This time, however, a brigade of familiar fighters lies in wait to meet THE SIXTH GUN's nigh-limitless power head on ... alongside a secret cabal that wish to harness its unspeakable power to incept a new century of war, genocide, and suffering.
Only one will survive to claim victory. THE BATTLE FOR THE SIX is about to begin!
The return to one of the 21st Century's first true creator-owned comics classics beginning on June 4 in THE SIXTH GUN: ROAD TO THE SIX #0, featuring covers by Brian Hurtt (Manor Black), Justin Greenwood (Army of Darkness Forever), and Matt Kindt (Mind MGMT) ... and then master storytellers Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt reload the chambers of their occult American odyssey for a brand-new generation in THE SIXTH GUN: BATTLE FOR THE SIX #1 – coming to comic shops everywhere July 23!
“Returning to the world of THE SIXTH GUN has felt like a homecoming!” said co-creator and artist Brian Hurtt. “This series is such a monumental part of my life, and finding a way to spend more time playing in this sandbox that Cullen and I created has been an absolute joy—and I think our shared enthusiasm comes through in this series. I’m so excited to invite readers—new and old—back into this world with us!”
“Sometimes, the world just gets me down, you know. Like…I’m not sure I have the physical or mental fortitude to soldier on. Then…I realize…there’s a new SIXTH GUN series on the way!” said co-creator and writer Cullen Bunn. “With that knowledge, I can face the tempest. I remember, as Drake Sinclair said, the apocalypse can’t stop me.”
"I was fortunate to assist on the final issues of the original run of The Sixth Gun when I first started at Oni Press, and working with Cullen and Brian as they re-enter this fantastical world has been exhilarating," said Oni Press Senior Editor Bess Pallares. "It truly feels like a homecoming to watch them create this new chapter and find myself immersed again in the Battle for The Six. Die-hard Sixth Gun fans and new readers alike are in for a treat!"
THE SIXTH GUN: ROAD TO THE SIX #0 (ONE-SHOT)
WRITTEN BY CULLEN BUNN
ART BY BRIAN HURTT
COVER A BY BRIAN HURTT
COVER B BY JUSTIN GREENWOOD
VARIANT COVER (1:10) BY MATT KINDT
B&W VARIANT (1:20) BY BRIAN HURTT
ON SALE JUNE 4th | $4.99 | 32 PGS | FC
IOC: 4/26/2025
FOC: 5/12/2025
THE SIXTH GUN: BATTLE OF THE SIX #1 (of 3)
WRITTEN BY CULLEN BUNN
ART BY BRIAN HURTT
COVER A BY BRIAN HURTT
ON SALE JULY 24th | $5.99 | 32 PGS | FC
IOC: 5/22/2025
FOC: 6/30/2025
COVER A BY BRIAN HURTT:
COVER B BY JUSTIN GREENWOOD:
VARIANT (1:10) BY MATT KINDT:
B&W VARIANT (1:20) BY BRIAN HURTT:
THE SIXTH GUN: ROAD TO THE SIX #0 | INTERIOR ART BY BRIAN HURTT:
Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
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