Christopher Golden and Thomas E. Sniegoski team up once again for a new Hellboy project, this time an audio story from GraphicAudio called Hellboy and the B.P.R.D: The Goddess of Manhattan.
Written exclusively for GraphicAudio and produced with a full cast of actors, sound effects, and cinematic music, The Goddess of Manhattan connects Hellboy: A Plague of Wasps and the Lobster Johnson story Lobster Johnson: The Proteus Club in a fun-filled, almost six hour long Hellboy audio adventure.
We spoke to Sniegoski about the challenges of writing an audio story and getting to return to his favorite universe in this exclusive interview.
You have worked in the Hellboy Universe quite frequently and have said “There is no other character universe that I enjoy playing in more than the Hellboy universe.” What is it that makes it so appealing?
Tom Sniegoski: That’s a great question. Hellboy, and the universe that he lives in, just speaks to me. It’s everything that I love in movies, television, books, and comics. It’s as if Mike has taken everything that screams ‘Tom!’ and threw in a great big cauldron, added whiskey, stirred it liberally, and come up with the greatest meal that somebody like me could imagine. And that’s what Hellboy is to me, a delicious meal. Boy, that’s quite the answer! HA!
You co-wrote the audiobook with Christopher Golden. What is that process like in terms of sharing the narrative? Do you plan it out ahead of time?
Sniegoski: Chris and I are really good friends, and have worked on a number of different projects together so we have a weird kind of short hand for our projects. Basically, what we did here was that Chris came up with the initial premise, while concocting the other two GraphicAudio books, and when it was decided that I would write this one with him, he handed that over to me for my two cents. After I’d had my say, we discussed it a little more, then did a chapter by chapter breakdown of the basic story and its beats. We then divvied up the chapters and got started.
You get to incorporate multiple characters and aspects of the Mignolaverse in the Goddess of Manhattan. Is there one that stands out as your favorite to write?
Sniegoski: Hmmmmm. I LOVE writing Hellboy, that gruff sarcasm and humor is an absolute joy to come up with. Abe was really fun to write this time as well. He’s so normal . . . for a fish guy. HA!
You get to use Lobster Johnson in the story as well. How do you approach a classic pulp-style character like him?
Sniegoski: Well, we got talk about the Lobster because of his connection to our story from elements contained in his own GraphicAudio adventure, Lobster Johnson: The Proteus Club. Chris wrote that one on his own, and I’m still mad at him about it. HA! I LOVE Lobster Johnson and his whole pulp sensibility. I wish Chris had asked me to work on that one with him, too, but I guess he wanted the Lobster all to himself. Though I did write a Lobster Johnson novel a few years back, The Satan Factory. That was insanely fun and I got to tap into my love of all things pulp.
In a completely different universe, recollections about your time on Vampirella?
Sniegoski: Ah, Vampirella! As you could probably guess, I love her as well! There’s a lotta love coming from me these days! HA! Yeah, Vampirella was my first real foray into comic publishing when I wrote her monthly series, and various mini series for Harris Comics in the 90’s. And I’ve since come back to her, working on a number of different series for Dynamite Comics. She’s a terrific character that I never get tired of writing. There’s always something new and fresh that I can explore with her.
You also recently wrote a few stories featuring Young Hellboy. What was it like telling stories from a much earlier period in Big Red’s life?
Sniegoski: That was a total blast. It’s Hellboy, but from a much earlier point in his life. He’s still an innocent . . . wide-eyed with wonder. He’s very excitable and hasn’t seen anything too terrible yet. It’s really cool writing Hellboy this young. You can be a little goofier with the character.
Upcoming projects?
Sniegoski: Let’s see, what can I talk about . . . fans of Hellboy and his creator Mike Mignola should be on the lookout for Grim Death & Bill the Electrocuted Criminal–a new dramatic podcast produced by Echoverse based on the novel written by Mike and me. It’s going to lead into a whole new slew of Grim Death adventures by Mike Mignola, me and the amazing Jeannine Acheson, coming sometime in 2025 from Bad Hand Books.
I’ve got some new Vampirella stuff cooking that I can’t quite talk specifics about yet, but be on the lookout for that next year, and, also coming in 2025 The Herculoids, a new comic book series from Dynamite based on the Warner Brothers/Hanna Barbera animated show from the 60’s and 80’s. I’m wicked excited about this one, and I hope it shows.
Hellboy and the B.P.R.D: The Goddess of Manhattan is currently available to download directly from GraphicAudio and other online book sellers.
