There's No Stopping Thomas E Sniegoski...

Television series, novel series and revisiting Vampirella - Thomas E Sniegoski up-dates Remy Dean on just some of what has happened since his last Scrawl interview...

Tom (left) and Kirby (right)

“Thanks for the kind words about my latest Vampirella story.” Thomas E Sniegoski responds with his characteristic energy, enthusiasm and positivity, “It was a blast getting to write her again.”

As you will know from the previous time I talked with Sniegoski for Scrawl, I am a fan of Vampirella and opened by telling him how much I enjoyed On The Side Of The Angels, the collected series of the new Vampirella Strikes that keeps up the quality and spirit of 're-invention' from his earlier Vengeance of Vampirella series... 

There are always rumours of a new Vampirella movie and recently there was some vague talk about a big budget Hollywood one… With the recent ‘glut’ of blockbusters based on superhero comics, it would seem like an opportunity to ‘strike’ while the iron is hot… I am digging here, but Tom has heard nothing solid about any adaptations being currently considered.

Vampirella is On The Side of the Angels

One thing that does seem quite clear is that comics transition to the big screen quite readily – I suppose they are ready-made storyboards...

“When they're done well, they're absolutely amazing,” Tom concedes, “and so far the track record has been pretty good. There have only been few ‘dogs’ here and there. I love the fact that the creators doing these films seem to have a genuine respect for the source material. If somebody had told me thirty years ago that we would be seeing Thor, Captain America and The Avengers on the big screen - and have them be done well - I probably wouldn't have believed it possible… but here we are!”

I wonder what the so called ‘literary’ writer could learn from comics?

“Hmm, that's a tough one…” He ponders, “They're two very different kinds of writing. If I had to say anything, I would say that a comic can teach a literary writer about how to be more succinct in their story telling. You only have so much space to fit in a word balloon, so you have to make the words that you can fit really count. Comics can also help with the visualisation of a story. Breaking down certain actions - be it a fight scene, or a car chase - into panels inside your head can help with laying out a particular scene in a book.”

Tom knows a thing or three about different kinds of writing, he has been writing for comics since the 1980s, has contributed to video games, writes short fiction, novels and series fiction. His writing always seems fast-paced and very visual, does that come from honing his skills with comic scripting?

“I'm sure some of it comes from that,” he agrees.

I get the feeling from the visuality of his written texts that perhaps he imagines the stories and runs them like a movie in his head, recounting what he ‘sees’…

“Yeah, that's a pretty good description. I love movies and television so it's very easy to see it all played out before your mind's eye.”

Yet each format - novel, series fiction, comic, screenplay – are also vastly different. Does Tom’s writing approach vary?

“Completely... Each one is approached differently. Novels are the toughest, and require the most work. Series fiction is pretty much the same thing - if it's in novel form, it's tough. The only difference with series fiction is that you already know some of the characters. Comics and screenplays are a little more ‘loose’ in their execution… and for the finished product you're not responsible for all the work like a novel. With comics, you'll likely be working with an artist, and screenplays, actors, directors and a whole host of other talented folks that are needed to make a movie.”

Is the screen the goal? When Tom is writing series fiction such as The Fallen - which has now been adapted into a five-part television series - is it with a literary, word-based focus or is he really thinking ‘TV proposal’ - are the books some sort of compromise because he does not have a producer lined up for them?

The Fallen # 5

“I love series fiction because it lets me flesh out worlds, and characters to their fullest.  They're always books first in my mind… If the whole TV, or movie thing comes along after, that's cool too, but I never think of these ideas as anything other than books first.”

For any new readers who are unfamiliar with the series, how wold Sniegoski sum up The Fallen?

“The Fallen series is about Aaron Corbet who on his 18th Birthday learns that he is a Nephilim, the offspring of a human/angel pairing, and that because of this, he has made himself the target for a group of angel enforcers called The Powers. The Powers believe that the children of angels, and humans are freaks – ‘abominations’ - and an affront to the Lord God. However, there is a prophecy that a special Nephilim would be born who would redeem all the fallen angels, and allow them to return to Heaven. The Powers don't care for this idea at all, and are attempting to eradicate all the Nephilim, just in case this prophecy happens to be true.

“It was a fun series to write. Originally there were four books, now collected as The Fallen Volume One and Two, and then I was allowed to write three more original novels.

In collaboration with Christopher Golden

Another series of novels that seemed ripe for the screen were the Menagerie series, so what happened with those?

“The Menagerie is another favourite of mine, written with my good friend, Christopher Golden. The Menagerie series is about a team of legendary characters, each with his or her own powers and mystical, mythical origins. Chris and I took characters or concepts from well-known legends and mythology and made them our own. It was sort of like a supernatural Mission Impossible team. There were four books in the series, and there were supposed to be more, but sales weren't what the publisher was hoping for. Some day, Chris and I would love to write a final Menagerie book to wrap up the major story arc which we never got to finish... Some day..."

If someone had never read anything Sniegoski at all, where should they start?

“If nobody has ever read me before I'd recommend that they start with my Remy Chandler books. I like to call them my ‘Big-Boy Books’. The first Remy book, A Kiss Before the Apocalypse, was the first time that I really tested myself as a writer - going places that normally I wouldn't have felt comfortable going to. I think it was a real wake up call for me as a writer.”

Remy Chandler # 1

Is there any particular piece of work that he is either the most proud of, or that means something special on a personal level?

“I'm extremely proud of the Remy books, and they're most definitely the most personal of my work. Though I did write a short story not too long ago for a collection that Christopher Golden was putting together - 21st Century Dead - which I'm extremely proud of. The story was called Ghost Dog and Pup: Stay, and I was really taken aback by how much it affected me to write it. It was an extremely emotional experience doing it. I think it's one of the best things I've ever written, and would love to expand on it someday as a novel... Guess I'll just have to add it to 'the list'."

Sometimes it gets difficult for a successful writer to find the time to read… I wonder if Tom makes time to read books, and what he may have enjoyed recently?

“I just finished Snowblind by Christopher Golden, which was fantastic. Before that, I read The Troop, by Nick Cutter which was one of the best horror reads that I've had in a while. Currently, I'm reading The Language Of Dying, by Sarah Pinborough, which is really amazing so far.”

…and, I should think, he will be having a glance at the continuing Vampirella arc, but what else is currently on Sniegoski’s comics and graphic novels shelf?

“I read quite a few monthly titles still… love some of the new stuff Marvel has been doing - The Avengers titles, Warren Ellis's new Moon Knight, James Robinson's Fantastic Four, et cetera. Fun stuff. Loving all the Dark Horse Hellboy stuff. Image has got quite a few titles that I'm really enjoying... Revival, Black Science, Manifest Destiny, Saga, East of West. The Batman stuff over at DC is quite good. The graphic novels that I absolutely love from Archaia-Boom are Hopeless Maine, Volumes One and Two. They're by Tom and Nimue Brown and they're stunning!”

Enthusiasm and positivity! Tom sounds just as happy with his lot as he did last time we talked...

- you can read his earlier interview here - 

So thank you, Thomas E Sniegoski …now get back to that ‘list’!

Thomas E Sniegoski was talking with Remy Dean

if you enjoyed this interview, you can... 

more info at the

official Thomas E Sniegoski webiste

The Angels & Demons of Thomas E Sniegoski

Thomas E Sniegoski talked to Remy Dean about vampire babes, vampire slayers, hellspawn, writing the TV-tie-in … and being ‘sweet’ (This is an exclusive interview from the Scrawl Archive.)

Tom Sniegoski has been a consistent creator of – and contributor to – comics for more than 20 years, since his baptism into the medium in 1988 with the premiere issue of Steve Bissette's ‘underground’ title, Taboo. A panel from his Teeth story is shown above. He then worked through a variety of independent projects for Caliber Comics until he started writing the adventures of Vampirella in 1992. He made such an impact with these contributions that he was taken on to write Vengeance Of Vampirella for its entire twenty-five issue run as well as the many crossovers and spinoff titles that Harris Comics produced at that time. Sniegoski re-invented the vampire heroine of the title and transformed the comic from super-hero cheesecake into an intelligent action story with a completely new and cohesive virtual reality that combined contemporary culture, cyberpunk, folklore and superstition on a biblical scale. Vampirella was cited as one of the major influences upon the huge television phenomenon of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Since leaving Vampirella, he has worked on many and varied characters for just about every publisher in the industry. Some of these titles are, Shi, Razor, Avengelyne, Star Trek, Batman, The Punisher, Jeff Smith's Bone, Jade and both Buffy and Angel…

You are credited (by the fans) as being the (re)creator of Vampirella, how did it feel to let other writers continue with what you set up?
“It's funny, I never really felt that what I did was all that well received. The writers that followed me kept some of the concepts but discarded others. I should probably feel proud that they kept at least some of the changes I made to her origin.

How did you get involved with Vampirella?
“I had met Meloney Crawford Chadwick at a convention in New York and dazzled her with my rather extensive knowledge of the stories and characters that had appeared in some of the other Warren comic magazines – Creepy and Eerie. In case you aren't aware, Harris Comics bought the rights to all the Warren Publishing properties - Vampirella, Creepy, Eerie, The Rook - at a bankruptcy auction.
“I guess she was impressed and when they were looking for a writer to take Vampi in
a new direction she called me up. I'll never forget the phone call. I was working at a college in Boston as the Financial Aid Director and the call came through. I was thrilled to hear from her thinking that she was calling about some of the other ideas that I had pitched to her. All Mel said was, ‘Hey Tom, if given the chance – what would you do with Vampirella?’ The gears immediately started clicking and I rattled off some pretty basic stuff. It must have been what she was thinking as well because she offered me the gig right off.”

Were you happy with how your writing was finally visualized?
“Most of the time I was really happy. But, as with most monthly titles, you're working on a really tight schedule, so every once in a while you don't quite get what you're looking for. It's just something you grow used to with comics.”
How much of what you wrote made it onto the page - how heavily was it edited? Was there anything that was 'cut' for reasons other than editing to fit the page?
“When working with Meloney, almost everything that I came up with, no matter how outrageous, made it into the comic. I think there was only once scene that took place in a funeral home involving a bunch of monsters sitting around a table and eating the dead body of a teenage girl – the undertaker slicing off pieces of flesh as if the girl was a turkey – that she asked me to cut because she thought it was tasteless.”

What is it like working within the constraints of characters and scenarios created by others – especially when those characters are already very developed and very well known by the audience?
“It's not that difficult. When you approach an established character you kind of know the baggage that comes with it. You just look at the established continuity as the tools you can work with to tell your particular story. Every once in a while you're given an opportunity to add to that established continuity – like Vampirella and the Marvel Knights version of the Punisher that I did with writer Christopher Golden.”

How did your involvement with Buffy come about, did you pitch an idea to 'them' or did 'they' come to you?
“Actually, my involvement came as a result of my work with Chris Golden. He had kind of established himself as the writer of the Buffy characters and I was kind of pulled along, due to the fact that we had worked together in the past, and the editors liked the sound of what we had done together.”

Tell us about your first tie-in novel for Angel.
“It's called Angel: Soul Trade and it's my attempt to tell a really cool, hard-boiled detective story – only with monsters. A little girl's soul has been stolen and it's up to Angel and the gang to try to bring it back to her. As they pursue the case they come to the horrific realization that there is an entire black market set up that involves the sale of human souls. I really don't want to tell too much more, because I don't want to spoil it. Hopefully the fans of the show will dig it.”
What sort of involvement did Joss Whedon and the story editors have in the writing?
“They would read the outlines before allowing me to start the book. Once the chapter by chapter was approved, I was allowed to write the book. After the manuscript was delivered, they went over it and gave me some minor revisions to do. I really had very few problems with them creatively.”

How did you approach the task of writing for a TV tie-in title? I'm guessing you were already familiar with the show?
“Oh yeah. I love the show, so it really wasn't that difficult - especially since I had been writing the monthly comic for Dark Horse with Chris Golden.”

Any advice for the aspiring writer who wants to write a TV tie-in?
“All I can say is, get to know the characters that you're writing about and come up with the coolest possible story that you can think of. You have to catch an editor's eye. Make them say, ‘Hmmm, I never thought of that before’.”

What are your tips for writers wanting to break into the comic genre?
“Surprise me! Make me feel like a kid again like when I was reading Jack Kirby and Stan Lee comics. Bring back that excitement level any way you can. I'm not talking nostalgia here, I'm just talking about solid storytelling. Make me want that next issue really badly.”

Do you have a writing regimen or ritual - any particular time of day, place, etc? Do you write longhand first, directly into a word processor, dictate?
“Let's see… I get up every weekday morning at around five-thirty a.m. and get my wife ready for work – I make her a cup of coffee and her lunch (aren't I sweet?) – feed my dog and get him settled. Then I workout for about an hour or so and then take my shower. From there, I eat some breakfast, take the dog for a longer walk and then return to the house for my work day to begin. It's usually around ten in the morning by then. I sometimes do stuff longhand first and then clean it up as I'm putting it into the computer. In between business calls and calls with Chris, I do my day’s work, usually wrapping up around four-thirty in the afternoon. This is pretty much my daily routine. I sometimes have to do a similar schedule on the weekend.”
How does writing full-length fiction compare with writing for visual media such as comics?
“Comics are much more fun. There is a lot of energy and excitement that goes into producing a comic book. With a comic, I'm not doing all the work. I write the script and then the artist takes over. With a novel, it's all up to me! It's much more time consuming and stressful – but don't get me wrong, there are moments of excitement.”

What is the first book you can recall that really grabbed you and carried you along with it?
“It was probably Richard Matheson's I Am Legend. Scared the crap out of me! Took the whole concept of vampires and put it on its ear. Really great book.”

Do you have a favourite author, and which of their books really stand out for you?
“I think if I was forced to pick a favorite it would have to be Stephen King. The guy is just amazing. The Shining is one of the scariest books ever written. It gets into your head and stays there. I think the Dead Zone and Salem's Lot are really powerful pieces as well.”

Is there an all-time favourite book, one that you keep coming back to?
“There are lots like that. It would be hard to pick just one. One of the few books that I've read more than once is Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. I read it in college and I really had an effect on me. Also, Ernest Hemingway's short stories were pretty influential as well. There are just too many writers to say. Sorry!”

Who would you say were your biggest influences and inspirations on (a) your life and (b) your work?
“As far as comics go, I would have to say Alan Moore. I can remember sitting on a bus reading one of his first issues of Swamp Thing and muttering to myself. ‘Can he do this? I've never read a comic like this before.’ And then I read it again. It was the first time that the writing of a comic really jumped out and whacked me between the eyes. It made me realize that comic book writing might be something I would want to do. As far as my novel writing? I think the best person to blame would be a creative writing teacher I had in high school named Ken Curtis. He'd read what I wrote and toss it back to me with some kind of wiseass comment making fun of it. He was usually right about the work, but it burned my ass. I wanted to turn something in to him that he couldn't make fun of in the worst way. I can still hear his voice when I write something below par. I then quickly delete what I did and start again.
“As far as ‘life in general’, my folks and family have always been pretty supportive. My friends have really been good to me as well.”

Recently you have been writing series fiction for youngsters and young adults aswell as lots more comic stories...
"All in all, I'm pretty busy and damn happy about it!”

- No happier than the awaiting readers!
Thank you, Tom Sniegoski!

Check out the Thomas E Sniegoski official website...

For more on Vampirella have a look at her Official Merchandising Site or go to the comprehensive fan-run site, Vampilore...

Authors: S

William Shakespeare - Good site dedicated to 'The Bard', with extensive links to on-line resources. An excellent starting point for finding all things Shakespearian... And this site offers the Complete Works on-line and downloadable!

Tom Sniegoski - Novelist and imaginative writer of graphic novels, responsible for re-vamping the Vampirella comic series and contributing to Buffy, The Vampire Slayer novelisations.