Hanna-Barbera produced a cornucopia of cartoon creations in the 1960s, from Space Ghost to Jonny Quest to Scooby Doo, all TV series that have echoed in our collective pop culture memory for decades. Hanna-Barbera’s bread-and-butter was taking unique concepts and straightforward plotting that didn’t talk down to viewers. We were all in the stories together and made an agreement in accepting a certain shared reality.
That’s why it’s been so much fun to see Dynamite Comics reimagine some of those Hanna-Barbera properties for a new generation, while still keeping what made those concepts so popular in the first place. And next February, Dynamite is continuing that trend by throwing its efforts at The Herculoids. Written by Thomas Sniegoski with art by Craig Rosseau and based on the 60s cartoon, The Herculoids follows an alien family and their Herculoid creature compatriots as they attempt to live together and face off a multitude of threats to their world. A mix of sci-fi and adventure and space barbarians, The Herculoids was a wild ride of a cartoon and Sniegoski and Rosseau are sure to follow suit.
I spoke with Mr. Sniegoski recently about the conceit of The Herculoids, his love of the property, working with artist Craig Rosseau, and the joy he has working on the comic.
Dynamite’s other Hanna-Barbera, Space Ghost and Jonny Quest series, have been fabulous, engaging reads, being true to the franchises while surprising fans in ways that they (myself included) couldn’t have imagined. Thomas Sniegoski is a nimble writer who has a tight storytelling sensibility that allows him to spin solid tales that are brimming with joy for his subject matter.
HERCULOIDS #1 Cover A by Francesco Mattina
FreakSugar: Before we get into the book itself, what is your personal history with Herculoids?
Thomas Sniegoski: First off, thanks for letting me babble about the Herculoids. Folks usually run and hide when I start talking about them. HA!
Okay, personal history . . . The Herculoids was a massive part of my early childhood. I can distinctly remember camping out in front of the television in 1967 to watch them. I was five, and they were a huge part—along with Jack Kirby comics, the Universal Monsters, Godzilla, etc.—in shaping me into the weirdo that I am today.
FS: For folks who might not be familiar with the Herculoids and the family, what can you tell us about them?
TS: Oh wow, those poor souls who aren’t familiar with them. I feel bad. The Herculoids are this bizarre alien family consisting of three humanoids—Zandor, the father figure, Tara, the mother figure, and Dorno, the child. They’re sort of like space barbarians, dressed in loin cloths and funky jewelry and they live on this planet called Amazot (Quasar in episodes made later in the 80’s, but I’m going with Amzot in my comic!).
And, along with this family of humanoids, we have these five creatures . . . now, I don’t want to insult these beings by calling them animals, because I think they’re way smarter than that. These creatures are made up of, Zok, the laser dragon, Tundro, who is sort of like a triceratops that shoots explosive projectiles from a horn in his head, Gloop and Gleep which are these two protoplasmic shape-changing creatures that can absorb and deflect energy blasts, and last but not least, Igoo, the rock ape and that’s pretty much all you need to know about him! He’s a freaking rock ape! Awesome!
FS: Where do we find the cast at the beginning of your Herculoids book?
TS: We find our strange cast of characters as they often were in their show, defending their world against an invading force. Amzot is pretty darn desirable.
FS: When working on a beloved property like Herculoids, how do you balance being faithful to the Herculoids’ world with your own flourishes and storytelling?
TS: That was one of the things I really needed to think about before plotting out the first year, and writing the first issue. I think it’s super important that you stay faithful to what made this show have such a lasting impact on our young minds back when it aired in the sixties, and then the eighties . . . but I also think it’s crucial that you expand on those things that were so exciting to us—take the characters, ideas and concepts and put a fresh, and unexpected spin on them to show their enormous potential.
FS: Following up on that, what are the talks like with Dynamite and Warner Bros. concerning the direction of the series?
TS: Those have all been great . . . we were pretty much all on the same page from the beginning which was incredibly exciting.
FS: Craig Rousseau’s early artwork is phenomenal, blending an old and new feel. What has the collaboration process been like with Craig?
TS: Craig is just an amazing collaborator, and was the first person that I thought of when making suggestions on art for the book. He and I had worked together on Young Hellboy, which was a blast, and we’re also working on a new, unannounced graphic novel project for Papercutz (which is part of Mad Cave Studios) so Craig and I know how each other work, which is incredibly cool and cuts down dramatically on my stress levels. HA!
FS: What’s been your favorite part of working on the project so far?
TS: Hmmm. I think just seeing this thing gradually come to life . . . from the rough plots, to the page breakdowns, to the actual scripts . . . and then to see the art? It’s just incredibly exciting, and gratifying. Dream come true.
FS: You mentioned in the announcement for the book that working on the series is a career highlight? Why is that? What does this project mean to you, personally and professionally?
TS: Honestly, I’ve been writing comics, and novels for good many years and it’s all super fun and rewarding, but every once and awhile a project comes along that has a special energy and vibe to it and the Herculoids is that for me. I can remember back when I first started working in comics, I would often wonder who held the licensing for these characters, and would it be possible for me to get my hands on them so I could write them. Honestly, I didn’t think it would ever happen, but it never took any enthusiasm away for how I felt about this strange group.
FS: Do you have a favorite Herculoid?
TS: I really do love them all, and I think that Alex Toth’s design work on the show was brilliant, but I am totally fixated on the amazingness that is Igoo the Rock Ape. That design is so simple, and yet so totally cool. I just adore him . . . and writing him has been an extra special treat because I don’t want to write him as just a stupid animal . . . there’s more going on there, as there is with all the more monstrous of the Herculoids. That was actually one of the biggest attractions for me when writing this series.
FS: What are you reading right now?
TS: Oh boy, that’s a question! You’d probably be better off asking me what I’m NOT reading. HA! I read alotta stuff. Off the top of my head, I’m digging the Batman books over at DC, loving Tom King’s Wonder Woman . . . anything from Mignola and the Hellboy universe . . .Space Ghost is an absolute blast from Dynamite . . . the Ghost Machine stuff over at Image is really, really great . . . loving The Deviant from Image also . . . enjoying Moon Knight from Marvel . . . man, I’m sure I’m forgetting a ton of stuff. Let’s just say I’m loving many, many comics from many, many different creators . . . and it gives me hope for the industry that there are this many incredibly good comics out there for me to read with my breakfast.
FS: Do you have any other projects you’re working on that you’d like to talk about?
TS: Got a buncha stuff, but some stuff hasn’t been announced yet. I’ve got another Hellboy project with Craig that Dark Horse hasn’t announced yet, a new Vampirella series that was announced a ways back, but is just now coming together, a graphic novel project with Craig and my amazing writing partner Jeannine Acheson, and a new Frankenstein miniseries with Christopher Golden over at Dark Horse which was just solicited. Jeannine and I also have a few book/novella projects that we’re working on as well over at Bad Hand Books. The first of these is Nira, a new urban fantasy series with illustrations by the fantastic Tom Brown, and the further adventures of Grim Death, which will be new adventures spinning out of my novel with Mike Mignola Grim Death and Bill the Electrocuted Criminal. Mike, Jeannine and myself will be plotting these bad boys, and Jeannine and I will be writing them. I think we’ll see the first new Grim Death book sometime in 2025. Phew!
FS: Can you tease anything about what we can expect to see in the series? What are you most excited for fans to see?
TS: When I realized that I would actually be writing the Herculoids, I went back and watched all the episodes again with a curious eye. What were the things that piqued my curiosity? What did I absolutely love that maybe needed to be further touched upon? These kinds of things will be the focus of the first year of stories. Who are the Herculoids exactly? Why is Amzot so coveted in the universe that various alien races want to come there, and steal from it? Basically, I’m layering something that was already pretty awesome to begin with and hoping to make it even more awesome. That’s what I’m hoping anyway.
FS: If you had one final pitch for the book, what would it be?
TS: The Herculoids . . . everything that you LOVED about the cartoon series, and MORE! How’s that?
The Herculoids debuts Wednesday, February 19, 2025, from Dynamite.
From the official issue description:
Building on the success of the critically acclaimed and bestselling Space Ghost series, Dynamite Entertainment is proud to bring another beloved Hanna-Barbera classic to readers this February – The Herculoids!
Hidden in the furthest reaches of space, the planet of Amzot is legendary for its fabled riches – and for the terrible fates that befall anybody who seeks to exploit them…
Those who survive their encounters tell blood-chilling tales of horrific, imposing monsters that guard the mysterious world – yet the lure of its abundant resources is too great to resist. Raiders and pirates continue to come from across the galaxy, and there is only one force strong enough to stop their constant attacks – The Herculoids!
But as strong as these defenders are, a recent battle may have pushed Amzot to its limits – and awakened a sleeping darkness within the planet itself!
Written by TOM SNIEGOSKI (Vampirella, Hellboy) and drawn by CRAIG ROUSSEAU (Batman Beyond, Gotham Adventures), The Herculoids #1 features a wealth of covers from some of the galaxy’s most talented artists, including FRANCESCO MATTINA, JOSEPH MICHAEL LINSNER, BJORN BARENDS, FELIPE MASSAFERA, and the legendary creator of Hellboy, MIKE MIGNOLA!