The Cult of That Wilkin Boy

by Cullen Bunn, Dan Schoening (Artist), Ben Galvan (Artist)

Bingo Wilkin is not just a world-renowned musician. He’s an icon. An iconoclast. A legend. A leader. He’s also a master of manipulation with fans and followers willing to do his bidding, no matter how evil it may be. Is too much ever enough when it comes to celebrity? The team behind The Chilling Adventures of Salem return with this psychological thriller about fame and fandom.

Genres: Horror, Comics, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Fiction, Horror Thriller

26 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 19, 2023

About the author

Cullen grew up in rural North Carolina, but now lives in the St. Louis area with his wife Cindy and his son Jackson. His noir/horror comic (and first collaboration with Brian Hurtt), The Damned, was published in 2007 by Oni Press. The follow-up, The Damned: Prodigal Sons, was released in 2008. In addition to The Sixth Gun, his current projects include Crooked Hills, a middle reader horror prose series from Evileye Books; The Tooth, an original graphic novel from Oni Press; and various work for Marvel and DC. Somewhere along the way, Cullen founded Undaunted Press and edited the critically acclaimed small press horror magazine, Whispers from the Shattered Forum.

All writers must pay their dues, and Cullen has worked various odd jobs, including Alien Autopsy Specialist, Rodeo Clown, Professional Wrestler Manager, and Sasquatch Wrangler.

And, yes, he has fought for his life against mountain lions and he did perform on stage as the World's Youngest Hypnotist. Buy him a drink sometime, and he'll tell you all about it.

Visit his website at www.cullenbunn.com.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a real soft spot for Archie Horror.
That means I'll pretty much read anything the label puts out.



Bingo Wilkin, a somewhat obscure Archic comic character, is Jughead's cousin who has a garage band called The Bingoes and a longtime girlfriend named Samantha.



In this, Bingo has made a deal with a devil at the crossroads to gain fame and fortune as a singer.
Fast forward 7 years, and now it's time to pay up and fork over his soul.
But when the devil comes to collect, Bingo decides to renegotiate the contract.



Small complaint here, but the Bingo Wilkin on the cover actually looks like an updated version of the old Bingo Wilkin.




It just made it a bit odd to open it up and see a completely different Bingo on the inside.



The execution of this one was just sort of meh.
It all sounds good on paper, but the plot is thin. But if you're like me, that won't deter you from reading it anyway.
Recommended for fans of Archie Horror.

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cullen Bunn farts out another horror comic without an original idea or anything remotely scary.

This is supposed to be a horror comic about a cult, but it seems to be written by someone who doesn't know what a cult actually is, how a cult actually works, and most importantly, doesn't seem to know what makes a cult scary.

There is no cult horror here, just some very tepid supernatural horror at best.

[Elizabeth (Miss Eliza) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mean it’s just a story about cheating the devil of his due due to a psychotic fan base. Plausible yet somehow hollow, did he really love fame that much or was it the thought of death that pushed him. Needed a little more depth of character.

[Ame · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so thrilled that Bingo Wilkin (and soon Lil Jinx) get to have a taste of the Archie Horror treatment. Hoping this trend continues, because I'll read any and all of them! Imagine a Katy Keene horror comic!

[Leslie Carnahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who doesn't read a lot of current Archie, I felt a little lost. But overall, it was a good enough spooky story.

[BookwormBrodz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t really like this one as much but that might just be because I have no idea who bingo Wilkins is.

[Gem · Rating 2 out of 5]

My least favorite of the one shots. I don’t think there was enough there to warrant the story.

[Robin Versloot · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's your classic "will do anything for fame" story, but better!!

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not sure why the newer Archie Horror comics are just not as interesting to me as the first 2 I read. This was good, but not as scary as I hoped.