Comic-Con 2026 Interview: Discussing CULT-DE-SAC’s HOA and Home Ownership Horror with Cullen Bunn

"Master of Horror Cullen Bunn and artist Fico Ossio reunite to present a chilling new vision of modern terror…the Homeowner’s Association!"

Back in May, we gave Daily Dead readers first details on Cult-de-Sac, so I was very eager to catch up with Cullen Bunn at San Diego Comic-Con to learn more about his latest horror comic book series. Published by Ignition Press, and featuring art by Fico Ossio, I got a preview of what's to come by reading Cult-de-Sac: The Cold Open at the Ignition Pavilion, and now I'm even more excited for what Bunn and Ossio have in store for horror fans. Here's my discussion with Cullen Bunn, talking bug infestations, sinister HOAs, and more:

We're here to talk about Cult-de-Sac, which is probably my favorite comic book title I've seen this year.

Cullen Bunn: Is it? I mean, I like it.

My wife heard someone say it, and she thought they said, "CUL-de-Sac." And when she realized it was "CULT," she was so happy. So do you live on a CULT-de-Sac?

Cullen Bunn: I've lived on cul-de-sacs before, but, about 10 or so years ago, I moved into my first neighborhood with an HOA, so Cult-de-Sac is inspired by my interactions with the HOA.

You draw on what you know... you pull the things that are familiar to you. I think a lot about my HOA, and, of course, because of who I am and the way my mind works, my thoughts always turn dark and bloody. So I'm like, "All right, so let's take it in the worst possible [direction]..."

I read Cult-de-sac: The Cold Open, where there are all kinds of bugs and rats in the house. Was that inspired by any infestation in your home?

Cullen Bunn: It was. Nothing to do with an HOA, but insects tend to surface in my stories a lot. I remember when I was very young and we lived in a very small town in North Carolina. We went somewhere for the day, and when we came back to our house, it was crawling. I call them locusts... I'm not 100% sure they were locusts, but it was crawling with these grasshoppers. Thousands of them had somehow gotten into the house, and I remember my mom sweeping them out in piles. I have no idea where they came from, and it really freaked me out. It really bothered me.

When you move into a new town or new home, you're not necessarily used to the types of bugs you'll encounter. I'm dealing with springtails. I didn't know that was a thing until a couple of years ago. Now I'm an expert in springtail infestations...

Cullen Bunn: I don't know what it is, but I hate that name. I don't like it at all.

They're tiny and they love moisture. They look like little specs of dust and, when you get close, they jump. You don't even notice they're in your home until there are thousands, and if you're not vigilant, they can take over the entire home...

Cullen Bunn: I know exactly what you're talking about. If you have a basement and you don't have someone come out and spray constantly, you're going to get these basement centipedes that look like something out of a Kaiju movie that are going to crawl through your house. A few years back, they didn't get in the house, thank goodness, but we had assassin bugs...

What are those???

Cullen Bunn: You don't ever want to know. They were on our back porch all over the place, and apparently these bugs are called "the kissing bug" because they like to get on your face and they sting you around your mouth for some reason while you're asleep.

No. Fuck that...

Cullen Bunn: I remember this bug; my son and I were like, "We got to get rid of this thing." I've never seen a more resilient bug... they're going to keep coming at you.

Even with the bugs, I feel very thankful. We have our own home. We have our own space, and, thankfully, we don't have an evil HOA to worry about. What can you tell me about the sinister HOA and new homeowners of Cult-de-Sac?

Cullen Bunn: Cult-de-sac follows a family that moves into their dream neighborhood, and they quickly start interacting with the members of the HOA. It starts very small: strange questions, strange requests, strange rules that the HOA is enforcing on them. [The HOA] moves in like, "Hey, your grass is a little too tall." It's little things, nuisances that slowly become more and more sinister, to the point that [the new owners are] just like, "It feels like our HOA are devil worshipers." And spoiler alert: they are! And then it really spirals into this home ownership nightmare that they're dealing with as the HOA becomes more and more sinister and vile.

Even though there are a lot of stories that deal with suburbia, it still feels like fertile ground, focusing on people who want to exert control over their neighbors.

Cullen Bunn: I'm certain there are wonderful homeowners associations out there, but that sense of empowerment for the smallest amount of power that could go to someone's head is what interests me. I like this idea of someone getting a little bit of power, and that turning into something really, really big and really awful.

Can you talk about your partnership with Fico Ossio to bring this story to life?

Cullen Bunn: We worked together years ago on a Hasbroverse series, with Transformers and Micronauts, and he was great. There's so much action, life, and vibrancy in his pages. When I started talking to Ignition about Cult-de-Sac, they recommended him as an option, and I was excited. It's a crazy story and it gets crazier every issue, and what he's drawn is so awesome. He's got a knack for drawing horror. There is a certain talent for pacing the panels and angles and everything, and he's got such a knack for it.

How many issues are planned?

Cullen Bunn: It's a five-issue series, and every issue gets crazier than the last. In the zero issue, like you said, there's a lot of insects and animal horror. And that's still in the series going forward too, but readers are going to have some questions about what's real, what's not, who's behind this, who's not.

So it's got a lot of mystery, it's got supernatural stuff in it, and it's got some fun. And it's got this family drama because new home ownership is a stressful situation. Sometimes that can put you at odds with one another, and I play on that a lot in the series too.

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Cult-de-Sac #1 will be available in comic shops starting on August 12th. Written by Cullen Bunn with art by Fico Ossio, the series features colors by Ulises Arreola and letters by AndWorld Design. When it comes to cover options, the first issue features: "two open-to-order covers from Ossio and Arreola and Ebrahel Lurci (Murder Podcast), along with a retailer incentive cover by Aneke and Patricia Martín (Ripcord) and an Ignition Exclusive variant by Philip Tan (Spawn, Uncanny X-Men)."

Synopsis: "The Hanson family just moved into a new home, and they’re ready to make it all their own. Or so they thought… because in this neighborhood, you don’t want to find yourself on the HOA’s bad side.

Unexplainable and terrifying things happen to those who break the rules, and the Hanson family is about to find out what happens when evil hits close to home in Cult-de-Sac!"

To keep up with the latest on Cult-de-Sac and Ignition Press, visit: www.ignitionpress.com

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