I’ve been very fortunate to consider a number of folks in the comic industry as friend.
And two friends who are also two of my very favorite creators, Tom Sniegoski and Craig Rousseau have proven in their first collaboration, Young Hellboy: The Hidden Kingdom that they are the Reese’s candy of comics; two great talents that make magic together.
Tom and Craig took some time out of their very busy schedule to discuss their comic, which comes out today. So when you’re done reading, run, don’t walk to your local comic shop to pick up a copy!
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FOG!: How did you get involved with this project?
TOM SNIEGOSKI: Chris Golden, myself, and Mike went to lunch during one of the last FanExpos and the rest is history!
CRAIG ROUSSEAU: I’ve been a fan of Hellboy (and Mike) from the very beginning… and I’ve known Chris and Tom (as well as loved their work) from the local Boston comics scene for years (decades?!) as well…
A few years back, we were all guests at a Boston convention and it came up that they thought I’d be a good fit for something in the works… I chalked it up to “aw, that’s nice of them to say… but I’ve been down this road before, so I’ll believe it when it happens…” and … it happened.
I’ve always loved stories of Hellboy during his formative years. Can you discuss, without revealing any details, where Hellboy is in the beginning of the series vs where he’s headed?
CRAIG: This series is all wide-eyed optimism and unbridled sense of adventure of youth.
TOM: This story takes place in May of 1947, before the events of. It’s around this time that the Professor fears that he has been ignoring Hellboy and has determined that he should perhaps be spending more time with his charge. So, he is planning on taking young Hellboy to an archeological dig in South America, so that they may bond some more.
Might we see a certain crustacean inspired crime-fighter in this series?
CRAIG: Not unless I change the script they gave me.
TOM: Nope, though he is mentioned. There’s this whole, wonderful pulp fiction connection to this whole series that I just loved.
Already in the first issue there are such wonderful pulpy nods such as Giant Crabs, an Ape God, a Jungle Girl. Knowing both of you personally, I know that this is the kind of stuff you love. Was there anything in either the writing or within the art that you felt the need (or were told) to reign it in?
TOM: HA! We’re working with Mike Mignola! There’s no reining stuff in. Every bit of craziness that was thought of went into this wonderful series. It was an absolute joy to work on this book.
CRAIG: No kidding, right? Talk about a book in my wheelhouse… It just gets weirder and wilder after the first issue…
This is the first time you’ve collaborated together. What unique skills do you think each other brought to the project?
CRAIG: First (but hopefully not last)… Mike and Tom gave me free rein with the art, and gave me so much fun stuff to draw, I just tried to bring the same energy to the page. Once I got past the “oh, crap… this is HELLBOY!” and “I hope Mike doesn’t hate this!” stage, I felt like I found a groove… it feels like a Hellboy story, in MY style… (oddly, I didn’t specifically set out do “kid friendly” art, but the clean lines and unusually bright colors from Dave Stewart really have that all age-appropriate style…)
TOM: I’ve known of Craig’s stuff for years, and absolutely loved it, but the funny thing? We’re both Massachusetts boys, but we’d never met!
It was that actual FanExpo where the whole germ of Young Hellboy: The Hidden Land was grown that we first got to meet each other.
There’s an complex simplicity to Craig’s work . . . not a wasted line anywhere. It’s really amazing to look at and I think he knocked it out of the park with this one. He made stuff look way better than what I imagined.
What do you have coming up that readers should be aware of?
CRAIG: Besides the rest of this series, I’ve got the trade for the recent Killing Red Sonja with Mark Russell and Bryce Ingman coming soon from Dynamite… and Todd Dezago and I are mighty busy with The Perhapanauts at Black Caravan and Scout Comics (getting it back into print in new trades – each with a new short story – heck, we’ve got Kickstarter RIGHT NOW! – as well as working on new graphic novels)
TOM: I’ve got a ton of really exciting things happening that I can’t talk about yet! GAAH! But, I promise to talk about them as soon as I am able . . . so you’ll have to interview me again. What I CAN talk about is . . . my continuing work with Vampirella on Vengeance of Vampirella for Dynamite and I’ve just finished a new novel with my extraordinary writing partner, Jeannine Acheson which is currently in the editing stage, before going to my agent . . . so there’s that.
What are you geeking out over?
TOM: Y’know what’s wild? I’ve has a super difficult time concentrating on anything since this whole pandemic nonsense has begun. I find it incredibly hard to get into anything . . . haven’t watched a movie, or TV series in a long, long time. Tons of stuff I want to watch, but my brain just won’t let me. I’ve been losing myself in work and reading some comics and books, but that’s about it. Just read Christopher Golden’s Red Hands and that was pretty spectacular. And, as far as comics? Loving Donny Cate’s Thor, Tom King’s Batman & Catwoman, the stuff the Eric Powell is doing over at Albatross Funnybooks and what BOOM! is doing with Once and Future, and Something Is Killing The Children.
CRAIG: Loving the new releases from Weezer, Matthew Sweet and Foo Fighters (it’s like the 90s all over again)… and can’t get enough of WandaVision. And we’ve made watching Buffy and Angel family TV time during the pandemic (just got to seasons 6 and 3 respectively)… I just finished the audiobook of Charles Soule’s Anyone, and next in the queue is the latest from Chris himself, Red Hands.
Thanks again, fellas!
Young Hellboy: The Hidden Kingdom #1
is available in comic stores and digital today
