EVERY STORY STARTS SOMEWHERE
In 2018, a friend, and writer himself, Chris Halliday, sent me a special gift “just because” in the form of a graphic novel. What an awesome friend! This gift was particularly pertinent because, as a Mum of 5 French Bulldogs at the time, its concept was a French Bulldog trying to take over the world! Something I could definitely see happening in my own little pack of miscreants!
After I fell in love with Kirby, the lead-pooch, Chris introduced me to Atomic Frenchie’s artist, Tom McWeeney and writer Thomas E. Sniegoski… it was the start of a great friendship that included lots of real-life stories about cheeky little dogs! Kirby was Thomas’ own French bulldog!
Learning more about Thomas, I found that I’d met the creator Thomas Sniegoski before the person himself! As a big Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan and of comics generally, Thomas has dipped his paw into many great franchises as well as creating his own!
Riff & Respawn: What was the comic or story that first made you think, “I want to write things like this”?
Thomas: Great question! Hmmmmm. With comics it was when I read DC Comics The Saga of Swamp Thing #21. The story was called The Anatomy Lesson and it was written by Alan Moore, and drawn by Stephen Bissette and John Totleben. I was on a bus, coming home from Boston and I can remember being absolutely riveted by the story and art. I’d been reading comics forever, and loved them dearly, but this was the first time a comic story had ever affected me. It was a glorious experience. I think I read the comic two or three times in a row, on that bus trip home. It really changed how I thought about comics, and storytelling. Gives me the chills even thinking about it now.
And, with books . . . I think it was when I’d read the most recent novel of one of my favorite authors and it just wasn’t any good, and that shocked me. It felt as though he was just going through the motions on this particular novel. I remember reading it and thinking, damn, I could do this . . . and better. But I think that was the beginning of the spark that made me sit down and write my first novel.
SIT. STAY. RULE THE WORLD.
I fell in love with Kirby, a tiny dog with an ENORMOUS ego, because that’s exactly what French Bulldogs are and why I’ve owned 6 over the years! They’re compact little clowns but when I’m walking Mara, she’s ready to take on anything from cars to Clydesdale horses and she fully believes the world is made for her and everyone else around her is the chorus. She’s probably not far off…
Thomas watching Kirby and imagining what was going on behind those big beady eyes is something I think we’ve all done as dog owners but especially as Frenchie parents. With seemingly blank expressions but a little mug that says so much is going on behind them…. it’s probably very true that they’re thinking of world domination, starting with how to get you to fill their food bowl and give them tummy rubs! “Human, you were made to meet my needs!”
From my own little family, I think Leia was the most likely to become the supervillain, although the gang would have to overcome sleeping constantly to get anything done! She once ate the pages of an antique illustrated Bible (Mum was thrilled as you can imagine!), so if that doesn’t strike you as villain-esque, I don’t know what does! My rescue, Vader, who Mum always said reminded her of Marty Feldman (his eyes…) only had three legs and was always wanting to get into mischief but he’d have definitely been given away by his truffling for snacks and wouldn’t have been very successful!
Atomic Frenchie is so clever because not only is it the story of a supervillain, you don’t lose ANY of the affection behind the mischief. You can feel love around his antics, a beloved dog becoming a character with adventures of his own.
Riff & Respawn: Atomic Frenchie is my favourite of yours, and it’s how we first connected because I have a Frenchie myself! What inspired you to turn one into a supervillain intent on ruling the world?
Thomas: Atomic Frenchie was totally inspired by my own French Bulldog at the time, Kirby (named after God-like comic creator, Jack Kirby!) He was such an amazing dog. There was just something about him that made you believe that he was always thinking, working on the solution to some sort of problem. It wasn’t much of a stretch to suddenly believe that he was thinking of a way to conquer the world. HA!
Riff & Respawn: My Frenchie, Mara, certainly has enough personality to carry her own comic. How much of Kirby’s behaviour came from watching real dogs, and what’s the most ridiculous thing that made it onto the page?
Thomas: It wasn’t that I was watching other dogs, I was just watching Kirby. He was totally unique. There was just something about him—he was so busy, and calculating. You could almost imagine him going off to a secret laboratory someplace to work on his plans when nobody was looking.
Tom McWeeney was the incredible artist and co-writer on the Atomic Frenchie adventures and nothing really came across as ridiculous—everything looked just awesome. If I had to pick one thing it would have to be in Book 2 (The Cow With the Nuclear Heart) when Kirby takes on a motorcycle gang in the desert. It just has to be seen to be believed. Incredible stuff.
INTO THE BUFFYVERSE
Buffy the Vampire Slayer holds a special place in my heart for several reasons; not only because Christopher Golden’s were some of the first “young adult” books I read at school for “reading time”
I was happiest disappearing from melancholy life into titles such as Halloween Rain, so seeing Thomas mention Christopher Golden - whose name was on those childhood reads - as his best friend and frequent writing partner brought another personal connection to this interview. Those books gave me more time with characters I already loved, an escape from school and the excitement of another creepy adventure!
Buffy and Giles, have a special place in my heart because later in life I became friends with the late, great, Anthony Head himself. Another connection thanks to my French Bulldogs! Sarah, Anthony’s partner, also sadly passed, was an animal trainer and practitioner in Tellington TTouch. We first met through horses and then I would visit her at Tilley Farm with my own Frenchies where she introduced me to Anthony. They gave me a tour of the farm and talked about the wonderful work they did and shows their horses had been in, including I remember being told that Anthony rode one of their own horses in an episode of Buffy!
Anthony had time for everyone. He and Sarah were some of the most genuine and loving people I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. To find out that Thomas brought his character of Giles to life in comics AND games, alongside Christopher, was even more cool!
Riff & Respawn: I knew Anthony Head, so Buffy has a personal place in my heart. When you were writing Giles, how did you capture the voice and mannerisms Anthony brought to him?
Thomas: Anthony Head was an amazing actor. I loved his work. I only got to meet him briefly one time at San Diego Comic Con, but I believe my frequent writing partner and best friend, Christopher Golden had spent more time with him and said he was just a fabulous individual.
When writing an established character, you have to be able to remember things about their performances, how they move, how they speak. There’s a lot of trial and error as you’re writing them. There’s often quite a bit of reading the dialogue that you’ve written out loud (while attempting to do your best impersonation!) to try and fine-tune/capture the actor/character’s voice.
Riff & Respawn: Was there a side of Giles you particularly wanted to explore that you felt we hadn’t seen enough of on screen?
Thomas: It was a long time ago, but Christopher Golden and I wrote a Giles one-shot comic for Dark Horse (drawn by the amazingly talented Eric Powell!) that tapped into some aspects of Giles’s past. That’s what always fascinated me about him. There were so many different facets of the character that could have been explored. I would love to explore the character further.
Riff & Respawn: What’s the hardest part of stepping into a world like Buffy or Angel, where readers already know exactly how the characters should sound?
Thomas: That’s really the hard part. Once the characters are firmly established in people’s heads you really have to work extra hard to make sure that you’re ‘getting’ them right. My very first novel was an Angel novel—The Soul Trade—and I had to write the character of Doyle, who had a bit of an Irish brogue and a specific way of talking. That one was especially tough because it was my very first novel, and I was super fixated on getting all the voices right.
THE ART OF MONSTERS
From Kirby’s plans for world domination to the darker territory of Vampirella, Thomas’s work gave me plenty of room to ask about two things I love seeing together: horror and humour.
Riff & Respawn: You’ve written everything from Atomic Frenchie to Vampirella. What changes in your writing process when you move from something funny and mischievous into something much darker?
Thomas: You know what? Things don’t really change all that much. It’s all about telling the best story as possible and amusing yourself as well as your readers. Even in my darkest stuff you’ll find kernels of weird humor, and vice versa with my funny stuff—there’s some dark, creepy stuff in there as well. Basically, what it comes down to is me amusing myself. If I’m not feeling it, I don’t think my readers will be feeling it either. I have to be enjoying myself so that’s why I often put aspects of all the things I like—humor, horror, etc.—into the work.
Horror, to me, is comfort in the escape as well as getting to experience fear with an ending. Humour added to that recipe can take you on a real journey. It can feel wrong to laugh along with but I think characters like Art the Clown in Terrifer work so well because of this.
Riff & Respawn: Horror can be comforting even when it’s full of monsters. What do you think draws people towards those worlds, and what draws you back to them?
Thomas: I think horror is the perfect escape from a really scary world. We can become immersed in the world of monsters, ghosts and all manner of things that go bump in the night knowing that once we’ve experienced the horror there will be some sort of finish—some sort of release. Horror is very cathartic. We experience fear and the sheer terror, and then we can let it go. The horrors of the real world don’t go away as easily. They always seem to be there when you wake up, especially these days. Give me a big ass monster any day over that! HA!
Riff & Respawn: When you’re working with an artist, what’s it like seeing something that only existed in your head become a character or scene on the page? Have they ever taken it somewhere you hadn’t imagined?
Thomas: That’s one of my favorite things about working in comics. The artists that I work with take my descriptions, and my ideas that I’ve put down in words and bring them to life visually. It’s really, really exciting—and I’ve worked with some of the most talented people in the business and I’m super proud that they chose to work with me. Seriously, there’s nothing better than imagining something, and then seeing that the artist has taken my words and created something even more spectacular than I originally imagined.
THE SOUNDTRACK TO WORLD DOMINATION
Seeing an artist bring your ideas to life is one part of the process but what’s playing in the background while those ideas take shape? With Riff & Respawn, I was always going to ask about the soundtrack…
Riff & Respawn: Music is a huge part of Riff & Respawn. Do you write with music on, and is there a band or album that you associate with a particular character or book?
Thomas: I’m a HUGE fan of motion picture soundtracks. I usually put on something that sort of fits the mood of what I’m writing. I can’t write to music with lyrics. The words from the songs get in the way of the words I’m trying to put on the page, if that makes any sense. Classical music is always very cool to write to—Mozart, Beethoven, Handel, Bach, Vivaldi—the big dogs. Movie scores? I love the work of Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Ennio Morricone, Danny Elfman, Michael Giacchino.
The music helps establish the mood of the written piece, and the characters are shaped by the mood, so there isn’t any specific piece of music that inspired a character . . . though there is a song by Brandi Carlile called The Story that makes me think of my main character Remy Chandler.
I always listen to music when writing for Riff & Respawn. It can really help my inspiration. If I’m writing about a certain artist then I’ll put them on or if I want to capture a theme or mood in my piece then I’ll put music on that will naturally help me lean into that emotion. I really feel it helps my work!
Game and film soundtracks can help you take a step into that world. I always listen to the World of Warcraft music Invincible and feel as though I’m in the icy winds of Northrend, honouring Arthas’ noble steed!
Riff & Respawn: Are you a gamer, and if you could turn any of your own stories into a game, which would you choose and how would it play?
Thomas: I’m not much of a gamer, though Christopher Golden and I wrote the two Buffy the Vampire video games, so that might give me some gamer cred. HA! Personally, I think Atomic Frenchie would make an amazing video game. It would just be pure insanity as you either try to stop Kirby from taking over the world, or you help him! That would be amazing!
I think Atomic Frenchie would make a fantastic video game! I’d be first to sign up for playtesting! I would definitely want to play AS Kirby and cause havoc… I think I’d have a lot of fun playing AS a Frenchie rather than catering to my real-life one’s every whim for an hour! I think his supermove or “Ult” would have to be noxious gas… that’s very true to life! 100 percent critical hit chance!
WHEN THE SPARK NEEDS REST
Riff & Respawn has given me purpose, excitement, confidence and connection after a long time literally rotting in bed alone. My nickname is “100mph Cari!” however and often my ideas outpace my energy. It can feel as though I’m trapped behind a wall, knowing there’s something really cool the other side but not being able to do anything about it. I beat myself up about that a lot but have gotten better at pacing myself of late.
With my neurodivergence I find taking breaks really difficult as I’m always hyper functional, if I’m not actively DOING or preparing to DO then I feel as though I’m failing and it builds like a pressure until I’ve actually pushed through doing it, come hell or highwater.
Riff & Respawn: As someone rebuilding a creative life around disability, I’m interested in how other writers keep going. What has helped you through times when your confidence or creative energy has taken a knock?
Thomas: This is a super important topic, I think. One’s mental health is SO important to the creative process. I think most creative people struggle with some form of mental health issues, be it depression, or imposter syndrome. Some, of course, way worse than others. But it’s very important that we recognize this in ourselves and seek some sort of help. It’s a terrible way to feel, and does not lend itself to creativity. I think realizing that there might be an issue is the first step in solving the problem. Seeking out professional help is the next.
There are some days when you’re just not feeling it. I always recommend taking some time off—read a good book, or read some inspiring comics or watch a favorite movie or television show, go out for a walk, hang with some other creative type friends. All of these things have helped me in the past to recapture that creative spark.
I think that’s the part I’m still learning: enjoying a book, watching a film or taking some time away can be part of a creative life too. “100mph Cari” might need reminding that she doesn’t have to be doing 100mph every day!
THE NEXT CHAPTER
Having explored the stories that first inspired Thomas and the character that brought his work into my life, I wanted to finish by looking ahead. What’s next from the imagination behind all these monsters and mischief-makers?
Riff & Respawn: You always seem to have something new on the go, and I want to give that some space too. What are you working on now, what can you tell us about it, and where should readers go to keep up with you?
Thomas: Oh boy, I’ve got all kinds of cool stuff that I’m working on, some of it with my writing partner, Jeannine Acheson (You should interview her! She’s brand new to the crazy world of comics and writing crazy stuff! I bet she’d have an interesting perspective to share about all this stuff!)
Let’s see, I’m currently writing a new Vampirella series for Dynamite Entertainment called Vampirella Paradise, I’m finishing up the new Frankenstein New World series (I don’t think that’s been announced yet). Jeannine and I are getting ready to start writing a new Grim Death novella called The Clock Strikes Murder! Grim Death is a character created by me and Mike Mignola (the creator of Hellboy!).
There are some other things, but I can’t talk about them yet because they haven’t been officially announced. Let’s just say that I’ll be busy and hopefully staying out of trouble—hopefully.
Thomas has given me permission to share the news that he’s finishing up a new Frankenstein New World series! I’m delighted to include that little look ahead here at Riff & Respawn.
What started with a gift from a friend and a French Bulldog plotting world domination has led to friendships and connections I couldn’t have imagined back in 2018! From the Buffy books I disappeared into at school to the stories Thomas is still bringing to life, there’s been something really special about joining the dots through this conversation.
A huge thank you to Thomas for his time, his honesty and all of the wonderful mischief and for letting me share a glimpse of what’s coming next.
And if that Atomic Frenchie game ever happens, you know where to find your first play tester! Team Kirby, sorry, humanity.
PLAYER TWO: YOUR TURN
Which fictional world first made you fall in love with reading? Tell me in the comments and if your pet were a supervillain what would their special ability be?
Another great read! Thoroughly enjoyable, and now I want to watch Buffy again 😁