It’s 2017, and though a lot of Mike Mignola’s books wrapped up in 2016, there’s still much more to come this year. This week Mignolaversity is talking to various creators about what’s ahead. Today we’re talking to writer Chris Roberson about his many projects set in the Hellboy Universe… and there’re a lot!

Chris, 2016 was a big year for you. Not only was it your debut into the Hellboy Universe, but you hit the ground running with so many different series. One of these, “Witchfinder: City of the Dead” only ended last week. As you know, Sir Edward is a favourite of mine, and I have to tell you I loved this miniseries. So now that you talk freely about it without worrying about spoilers, I’m curious how you pulled this story out of the little fragments of history dropped in other stories. Going into the story, there was already a timeline laid out from “Hellboy: Wake the Devil,” and the “City of the Dead” never felt confined by this.

Chris Roberson: Thanks, glad to hear you enjoyed the series! The little bits of history that were presented in “Wake the Devil” were the seed from which this story sprang. But all that we were originally told about the encounter between Sir Edward and Giurescu fit into a single dialogue balloon from Kate Corrigan. We knew that Sir Edward had written a letter to Queen Victoria on August 8th, 1882 about Giurescu’s plan to establish a ‘secret, evil empire,’ and that by August 19th Giurescu had fled the country. So long as our story threaded through those two dates and those few details, we were safe to explore new territory. And gave us the opportunity to bring in elements from other corners of Hellboy’s world, like Mohlomi, to weave Sir Edward a little tighter into the larger tapestry.

I hope we won’t have to wait too long for more “Witchfinder.” Can we expect to see more of Sir Edward in 2017?

Chris: In the short term there is a Sir Edward story in the forthcoming “Hellboy Winter Special 2017,” drawn by Christopher Mitten, which jumps ahead in time a bit to the Silver Lantern Club days when he was assisted by Sarah Jewell. And there’s definitely plans for more “Witchfinder” on the horizon.

Yesterday “Rise of the Black Flame” came to an end. This was story was a real surprise for me. Not only was it a story I never expected to come along in the first place, it introduced an almost entirely new cast and I grew extremely attached to all of them. This was a story so rooted in the larger mythology of the Hellboy Universe, and yet never overwhelmed by it.

I think if the story had just been about Raimund Diestel, it would have ultimately fallen short because we all know how that story ends, but you gave us much more than that by making him a supporting character and building a strong cast of characters we could invest in.

Chris: That was our intention setting out, so I’m glad to hear that it worked. I agree, if the story had simply been about Diestel, it would have seemed a little perfunctory, since we know how that all works out. But I saw it as an opportunity to explore a corner of Hellboy’s world that we hadn’t really visited before, while at the same time introducing new characters that would later feature heavily in other stories. Mike and I had been talking about Sarah Jewell for some time by that point, with the intention of introducing her further down the road as an associate of Sir Edward’s in “Witchfinder,” but this gave us an opportunity to get her on stage much sooner, but at a different point in her life.

The casual references to the cult seen in “B.P.R.D.: The Black Goddess” were also a really nice way to give the reader a greater sense of what Liz Sherman is without ever addressing it directly.

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I’ve noticed that your stories tend to reference each other in ways that deepen them if the reader is reading everything. Like the way “Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1954—Black Sun” introduced readers to the idea of Shakti, while “Rise of the Black Flame” explored the nature of the black flame itself. And the way “Rise of the Black Flame” explored the Black Goddess while Sir Edward went up against the Black Goddess’s son, Vladimir Giurescu, in “City of the Dead.” It gives the reader to make connections they wouldn’t otherwise make.

Chris: I think that’s one of the real joys about working in a fictional universe as rich and varied as the world that Mike and his collaborators have built over the years. Each story can be read and enjoyed in isolation, but can also be a part of the ongoing whole. So we can do self-contained stories about our heroes fighting monsters or Nazis or cultists, while at the same time build a more elaborate narrative in the background that continues to grow over time.

This year’s “Hellboy Winter Special” features two stories written by you, one of which, as you mentioned above, features Sarah Jewell and Sir Edward. This wouldn’t happen to be the moment glimpsed in a flashback in “Rise of the Black Flame” #1, would it? Or is this something else entirely?

Chris: This is a new adventure, from around that same point in their careers. Sir Edward and Sarah Jewell are partners, operating as occult detectives out of the Silver Lantern Club in Whitechapel, and the story in this year’s “Hellboy Winter Special” is about one of their cases.

The other story is something else entirely, a short story leading into next month’s “The Visitor” with Paul Grist. This is the story of the alien Hellboy found in “Hellboy: Conqueror Worm.” This story’s been sitting on a shelf in Mike Mignola’s brain for a while now. I once spoke to him about it, and he told me how he’d like to do it, but he could never figure it out.

And then you came along and solved the puzzle apparently. Could you tell our readers how you came aboard this series?

Chris: The series came out of a long lunch that I had with Mike and Scott Allie last year. We talked about a number of different projects that we might pursue, and at one point I said, ‘What about that alien guy from Conqueror Worm? What’s his story?’ And Mike got a gleam in his eye. We continued to talk on the phone about him for several months, and the story gradually came into focus. It was clear from the outset that this would be a very different kind of book than the others that we’ve done. Quieter, maybe even a little melancholic, but with some really fun moments along the way.

And Paul, how’d you come aboard? And what was it like to be asked aboard such an unusual miniseries?

Paul Grist: Mike just sent me a Facebook message asking if I wanted in. We had talked before (or I’d talked before) about the possibility of doing a Hellboy/Jack Staff team up comic, but that never actually happened so this was my chance to get to draw Hellboy. I’m still waiting for an appropriate point to have Jack Staff walk past in the background.

This is perhaps a slightly random comment, but I have to mention that fantastic logo design. It evokes a sort of “Tales to Astonish” mood while being its own thing.

Paul: Thank you. It was all my own work. I do think logos and lettering are an often overlooked element of the modern comic book.

The Alien’s story spans a considerable time period, from late 1944 to 2001. Even though only two covers have been revealed so far, I’m getting a sense of a series where a single issue could cover as much as a decade. Chris, Paul, could you tell our readers about the kind of challenges “The Visitor” presents for you? I imagine there’s quite a bit of research that goes into getting each era right.

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Chris: I’m something of a nut for history anyway (I minored in History in college), so I really enjoy the research part of the job. But this story was particularly research intensive, and I spent a lot of time making sure I could dig up enough image reference to let Paul know what I was describing in the script.

Paul: Which I then promptly discard and draw something easier instead.

Paul, you’ve got the added challenge of depicting scenes already drawn by Mike Mignola in other stories, but from what I’ve seen you utterly nail it.

Paul: That was the bit I thought was going to be really easy and ended up being the most difficult part of the drawing as I’m basically having to redraw something that Mike has already drawn so perfectly and try to come up with a slightly different take on it. As opposed to just drawing your own scenes where you don’t have to worry about someone else already having done this, and what exactly was that squiggle meant to be anyway?

Chris, there’s a story, “Hellboy: The Nature of the Beast,” the events of which readers later learn in “Conqueror Worm” were witnessed by the alien visitor. “The Nature of the Beast” takes place in November, 1954. Considering you’re currently exploring 1954 in “Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.,” and the effects of “The Nature of the Beast” will likely be felt in that series, I think “The Visitor” is an excellent way to explore those events so modern readers are up to speed. I suspect this was your intention all along, as the timing here is perfect.

Chris: One of the really compelling aspects of the story that Mike and I worked out is that it gave us the opportunity to put a lot of those earlier stories into context, but also tease little glimpses about what we have planned for future stories in “Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.” way, way down the line. And we’ll get to showcase moments in Hellboy’s personal development that we haven’t had a chance to see before now. Seeing Paul’s interpretation of ‘gawky teenage Hellboy’ on the page was a proud moment for me!

In March you’re wrapping up “Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1954” with a two-issue story, “Ghost Moon” with art by Brian Churilla. The solicitation blurb for the first issue bills this as ‘a heavily researched look into the early days of the British spy network in the Far East.’ Are you able to tell our readers about the kind of research you’ve been doing, or would that give too much away?

Chris: The research was largely about the location, Hong Kong in general and Kowloon Walled City in particular, and the elements of Chinese tradition and belief that the story involves. It was my intention to be as respectful and accurate in those depictions as possible, while at the same time telling an engaging and entertaining story.

Brian Churilla: Chris includes a lot of reference images with his scripts, which is great. It definitely makes things a lot easier for me. I still do a lot of image searching and for additional material, but he gives a lot of good direction with that stuff.

“Ghost Moon” takes place in Asia, a part of the world only occasionally explored in the “Hellboy” stories, and yet there are scattered references that Hellboy and the Bureau have visited on numerous occasions. I suppose this story marks the first time though.

Chris: Yes, this is Hellboy’s first time in China, but it definitely won’t be his last.

Brian: Playing with Chinese motifs and iconography was a blast.

So far there have been hints that Agent Susan Xiang’s abilities stem from something in her past. Will we be exploring more of this aspect of the character in “Ghost Moon”?

Chris: Oh, yes, most definitely.

Brian: I got to draw some psychic-psychedelic–psychedelichic—psychichedelic vision montages.

In Mike Romeo’s interview with Mike Mignola yesterday, they discussed the structure of “Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.” in terms of its approach to art, bringing on a new artist for each story. However, it’s possible the series may start retaining some artists in much the same way that “B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth” had Tyler Crook, Laurence Campbell, and James Harren as its regulars, while still having guest artists on shorter arcs. Brian, is there a chance we’ll be seeing you on “Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.” again in future?

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Brian: There’s a good chance. 😉

Chris: I’ve just been absolutely blown away by the work that Brian has done on “Ghost Moon.” The amount of thought that he’s put into each page is just staggering. I’ll be happy to keep collaborating with him as long as we’re able!

Chris, with “1954” coming to an end, what should readers expect in “1955”? Is there a chance we’ll see Hellboy go to Japan to deal with a vampire cat as mentioned in “Hellboy: The Corpse”?

Chris: In 1955 we’re going to continue to explore some of the threads introduced in ’53 and ’54. A number of seemingly minor characters, including a few introduced in “Ghost Moon,” will turn out to be much more significant to the larger narrative than it might have initially appeared. We’re going to be exploring more of the Cold War dynamic of the era, and Hellboy and company’s adventures will gradually take on a more global scale. Also there will be giant monsters, and Hellboy will punch them.

“The Visitor” kicks off with a short story in the “Hellboy Winter Special 2017” coming out January 25, followed by a five-issue miniseries “The Visitor: How and Why He Stayed” starting February 22. “Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1954—Ghost Moon” #1 comes out March 8, beginning a two-issue arc.