Hellboy & The BPRD ‘Long Night at Goloski Station’: Talking With Artist Matt Smith About His Hellboy Debut, Plus Preview

Mike Mignola’s Hellboy may be done and dusted in our contemporary timeline, but that doesn’t mean to say we’ve heard the last of him. After all, there’s decades worth of untold tales to tell, such as the upcoming Hellboy and the BPRD: Long Night at Goloski Station with artist Matt Smith making his Hellboy debut on this one-shot, out this week from Dark Horse. Set in an abandoned train station somewhere in Russia in 1967, it seem trouble follows him where ever he goes. I couldn’t think of a more fitting interview this Halloween week than once where we’re discussing all things unholy and supernatural. Happy Halloween, everyone.

Olly MacNamee: Long Night at Goloski Station is a new one-shot featuring Hellboy set somewhere in a very cold Russia in 1967. It’s also your debut into the Hellboy universe, too. Obvious first question, but how did you land this auspicious gig? Did your ‘Hellboy Teen Years’ piece help grease the wheels, maybe?

Matt Smith:  I owe that one to Dan Brereton. Dan has always been extremely supportive of other artists. He took an interest in what I was doing with Barbarian Lord some years back and shared it with Walter Simonson. Walter then mentioned it online, as I think he enjoyed the Norse mythology aspects. As I understand it, Mike saw Walt’s post and I’m pretty sure that was the connective thread. Thanks, Dan!

OM: Matt, taking a look at your website, fantasy, sword and sorcery, and things that go ‘bump’ in the night are clearly an interest to you as an artist. The Hellboy universe certainly suits your sensibilities, but how much of Mignola can you channel into this comic and still maintain your own identity as an artist?

MS: That was tricky. I’m hugely influenced by Mike’s work. I think Mike prefers that artists he works with do their own thing for the most part. However, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t keep a stack of my HB books on the desk while working on this issue and regularly consult them—Did I get the big hand right? Does he look right yelling like this? For me, the trick is having it feel like it sits within the Hellboy world while bringing my own way of working to it. It’s a balancing act and something I see artists like Fegredo, Bergting, and Stenbeck pull off beautifully. I’d like to think I managed it okay, but that is for others to decide.

OM: It’s a fascinating story, and a great addition to the mythos. Set in the one place with limited characters and played out (almost) in real-time, it reads like a macabre and thrilling play, but with plenty of that good old Hellboy action, too. How did it feel upon getting the script for the first time?

MS: Over the moon! Getting to work on Hellboy was thrilling enough, but then realizing I was getting to pitch in for this particular story—I felt very lucky. I still feel very lucky.

OM: What notes did Mike give you on characters and/or maintaining a particular look for this book, if any? 

MS:  In general the notes were fairly minimal. Yad Tovich, the werewolf hunter, had a hat in the original sketches. Mike said something along the lines that Yad was too tough to need a hat. I liked that. I wish I was that tough.

OM: I can count the number of memorable characters created over the past few decades on probably one hand, so what is it about Hellboy that makes him such a standout star? What’s the secret of his longevity? 

MS: Oh boy. I can only speak to what works for me. There is a similar combination of what I love in the medieval Icelandic Sagas also in Hellboy’s voice—which is a straightforward, unvarnished tone paired with the epic and fantastic. Wherever he goes and whatever he encounters, Hellboy will approach things in that way that is unique to him and, I think, we all love that about him.

OM: What’s been your own relationship with the Hellboy comics over the years? I started off strong, but admittedly faded away over the years. But, I’m currently enjoying re-reading the stories I missed by picking up the amazing Hellboy Library hardback volumes. Pricey, but worth every penny.

MS: It’s really the only title that I regularly pick up to this day. I hooked my sister on to Hellboy some years back, so that also creates a nice reason to get together — go get a coffee and pick up the latest.

OM: I must admit, Long Night at Goloski Station is a beautiful looking book. And, something of a departure from your usual style. Will we be seeing more of this, or was it a style adopted principally for this one-shot? 

MS: Thanks very much! It was definitely a conscious effort to make it look like it belongs in the Hellboy world. How I’m working on Folklords currently is more my default mode, which is a bit more cartoonish and closer to what I was doing with Barbarian Lord. If I’ll be working on more Hellboy down the road, I’d like to bring some of that back. Loosen up a little while still keeping in mind that I’d like it to feel like Hellboy. Again, this is something I really appreciate a good deal in the work of other artists who work in the Mignolaverse.

OM: Matt, thanks for taking the time to answer these questions and all the best with Long Night at Goloski Station and your forthcoming book with Matt Kindt, Folklords. It’s another comic that looks pretty great too.

MS: Thanks very much, Olly!