Thomas Sniegoski And Anton Talk ‘The Herculoids’, Inspirations, And More

Welcome to the table,

 

One of my earliest memories is trying to launch wads of brown paper towels out of a papertowl tube in the early morning light of a house who’s locations is long lost to me. I was maybe 3 or 4 years old and all I can really remember was that the light was amber in color as the first rays of dawn were breaking through the blinds, everything had a weird wood paneling look to it, and on the TV was the reason for my fascination: the explosive energy rock shooting, heavily armored four-horned rhino triceratops hybrid with ten legs that could stretch to impossible lengths named Tundro. Tundro was a member of The Herculoids, a team of cartoon heroes who defended the alien world of Quasar (I would later learn it was originally called Amzot) from various threats.

The Herculoids is a classic American Saturday morning cartoon designed by the legendary Alex Toth and produced by Hanna-Barbera productions focusing on the space barbarian family of Zandor, Tara, and their son Dorno along with some fun alien creatures who aided them in protecting the world from threats above and below.

This series was in syndication when I was a kid and I always delighted when it came on, so when I found out that Dynamite Entertainment was publishing The Herculoids comic, I knew I had to sit down and talk to writer Thomas Sniegoski, the mind behind this epic endeavor:

Anton: Thank you so much for taking the time to sit down and talk to me, I have been a fan of your work for a while having Hellboy: The God Machine, and Grim Death & Bill the Electrocuted Criminal on my shelf. Before we dig into The Herculoids, a book I am double delighted about, can you tell our readers a little bit about yourself? 

Tom Sniegoski: You are so welcome! It’s nice to do an interview when somebody is familiar with my work.

Here’s a bit of a bio – I’m a New York Times best-selling author who has written for children, young adults, and adults, and has also worked extensively in the comic book industry, for nearly every major comic publisher, and has scripted such characters as Batman, The Punisher, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Teen Titans Go!, Vampirella, Pantha, Hellboy, and Young Hellboy.

I’m the only writer ever to have been invited to work on Jeff Smith’s international, award-winning series Bone, working with Smith on Bone: Tall Tales, and an original Bone trilogy, Quest for the Spark, as well as Bone: More Tall Tales, which was released in September 2023, and the winner of 2024’s Ringo Award for Best Humor Comic.

I’m also the author of the young adult book series The Fallen, which was transformed into a series of movies for television. Some of my other novels include The Demonists, Savage, and Grim Death & Bill the Electrocuted Criminal with Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, which is currently being adapted as a dramatic podcast by the content studio, Echoverse. I’m also the author of the popular urban fantasy series featuring angel-turned-private eye Remy Chandler, beginning with A Kiss Before the Apocalypse.

Currently, I’m working with my writing partner, Jeannine Acheson, on the first book in a new urban fantasy series, Nira: A Constance Evermore Story, from Bad Hand Books.

I was born and raised in the Boston area, where I still live with my wife LeeAnne and my French bulldog, Harvey. Phew!

 

A: Wow! That is a lot. So I’ve been a fan of The Herculoids for as long as I have had conscious thought. One of my earliest memories was trying to launch wads of paper towels through a paper towel tube like Tundro. What drew you to work on such an iconic property like The Herculoids? 

T: I’ve been a fan of the Herculoids since I first watched them in 1967 as a wide-eyed five year old, camped out in front of the black-and-white television watching Saturday morning cartoons. There was just something about these amazing characters that I never forgot. When I first started working in comics my question to every editor that I worked with was, “Do you know who has the Herculoids license?” So, even way back when, I wanted to write these characters!

A: Are we going to see the full lineup of main characters from the show represented in the comic?

T: For sure! It wouldn’t be The Herculoids without Zandor, Dorno, Tara, Igoo, Tundro, Zok and Gloop & Gleep! I’m totally looking forward to writing each of these amazing characters, and fleshing them out even further.

A: With The Herculoids‘ diverse cast of characters being both human and fantastic space creatures, what were some of the biggest challenges in translating their personalities and unique communication methods from the animated medium to comic form?

T: When I first found out that I was going to be writing the book, I actually panicked a bit, realizing that a large portion of my cast didn’t speak! There was a bit of a freak out until I calmed myself down, and put the old thinking cap on and determined how I would handle this. It really wasn’t much of a problem, especially since I’m treating the more monstrous members of our cast with great intelligence, and the ability to understand one another. Some nice narrative captions, from the point of view of our creature friends, help me get my story across.

A: There are tons of memorable episodes with really cool villains like the Mindbender and his brothers who we never saw out of their sleep pods, the Buccaneer and the Space Pirates, the Snake Riders and their weird king, or Gantron the Greedy and his Raider Apes. Will we see any of these classic creatures make returns in this series?

T: We’ll definitely see some of the villains and races from the original series, but I also wanted to work toward introducing these characters to comic’s fans that may not know who they are, and what they’re all about. I think there will be a nice balance between the old and the new.

A: Now, the planet Amzot has a rich lore hinted at in the original series. Can you share any teasers about new secrets or stories we’ll learn about The Herculoids’ homeworld?

T: One of the main questions that I had while re-watching the old episodes was, what makes the planet Amzot so darn special? Why was it constantly being invaded? This is something that I touch on in the first two issues of the series. I also wanted to play with the identity of our characters. Who are they? Why are they there? What connects these three humanoid characters to the more bestial ones? That’s actually the mystery that runs through the first year, the answers being more fleshed out at we reach issue number twelve and its thrilling resolution.

A: It feels like with Dynamite Entertainment being the home for the epic Space Ghost comic, it was only a matter of time for the Herculoids to show up as the two had crossed over back in the Space Stars Saturday morning days. Is there any chance we may see these characters crossing paths in the near future? 

T: I would love to do a crossover series. David Pepose and I have already talked and if Dynamite is interested, then so are we!

A: Outside of the original series, comics, and collectables, what would you say were your influences when pulling this series together? Was there a particular musical styling, or film genre you were hoping to capture when framing the tone of the story?

T: Hmmmmm. That’s a really good question. I’m a huge fan of Jack Kirby’s work, so I most definitely wanted to give it that big, over-the-top comic book feel. When it comes to our creature characters, I can’t help but think of those amazing movies from my childhood with special effects by Ray Harryhausen — The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, 20 Million Miles to Earth, Clash of the Titans, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. That stuff is still a huge inspiration to me. And a far a musical stylings? Hmmm. A nice John Williams or Hans Zimmer soundtrack would be fitting.

A: So, with everything going into this book, what are you most excited for fans, new and old, to discover as they dive into this series?

T: I’m very excited for people to see how cool these characters [are]! I want the folks who remember the cartoon show to be hooked not only by the nostalgic elements, but also with the idea that these characters, this world, is being expanded upon and that they’re going to learn all sorts of new stuff. And I want new readers to just go for the ride, and hopefully be totally entertained. There’s a rock ape in the book! A rock ape! How could you not want to read this?!!!

A: Before we wrap up, I wanted to thank you for taking the time and helping such an epic book come to the table. Where can our readers keep up with you to stay in the loop on everything you are working on?

T: Thank you so much for letting me ramble about The Herculoids! People can follow me on Facebook – Thomas Sniegoski, Instagram – Thomas Sniegoski, Threads – @TSniegoski, Blue Sky – @tomsnig.bsky.social, Twitter – @TomSniegoski

Anton: Thank you so much once more and I can’t wait to see what the series brings! 

T: Thank you again, and please let me know what you think of the first issue of The Herculoids when it’s released on February 19th!

Until next time, Bleep!!!