Tom Sniegoski

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Tom Sniegoski wrote Vampirella from her early Harris days right up to the dramatic (and favourite with the fans) Death of Vampirella. A formidable stint, including the classic retelling of Vampi's origin in the 6-part Mystery Walk saga that was published in the middle of the Vengeance of Vampirella series.

Although some of the earlier stories tend more towards a 'superhero' approach, Sniegoski built a tremendous tension as the stories progressed towards the inevitable showdown between Vampi and Mistress Nyx. Although he was partnered by a number of artists in his earlier stories, he seemed to gel most with Amanda Connor and Jimmy Palmiotti as he reached his zenith in Vampirella: Death and Destruction.

Much of his work, as with Grant Morrison, Steven Grant, Mark Millar and Dave Conway in Vampirella Monthly, contained very obvious Christian symbolism and downright religious emphasis. Vampi fought angels, visited Heaven and even saw the Hand of God as she struggled to come to terms with the revelations of her new origin.

Death of Vampirella

The Death of Vampirella was his swan song. Amazingly he was able to pull off the death of the main character in a way that still held us involved, even though we all knew that somehow she would return.

Eventually he moved on (or was replaced) by the newer writers who grabbed the readership by the throat with a new direction, new characters, savage stories and a dramatic switch of style as we were all led into the most exciting roller coaster of a ride for Vampirella, goddess, alien and vampire. But Tom Sniegoski started it all off.

Tom Sniegoski contacted me in April 2001 because he had seen my web site and especially seen my page devoted to him. I grabbed the opportunity to do an interview with him, which is written below:

Mike: How did you start writing for Vampirella?

Tom: I had met the editor of Harris Comics (Meloney Crawford Chadwick) at a New York Comic convention and dazzled her with my knowledge of the old Warren Publishing properties which Harris acquired at a bankruptcy auction. Harris got their hands on Vampirella, Creepy, Eerie and The Rook as a result of this auction. I was pitching her some idea for series featuring characters that had originally appeared in the Eerie magazine. She liked what I had to say and said that she would contact me as soon as she returned from a trip to Europe. Not too long after that she called me up and asked what I would do with the character of Vampirella if I had the chance. I guess I said the right thing because she offered me the gig right there on the phone.

Mike: What attracted you to the character (if anything?)

Tom: I think one of the biggest things was pure nostalgia. I can remember being fascinated with the Vampirella magazines when I was really small. I think some of those covers helped me with puberty. What also attracted me was the chance to put a fresh spin on an already established character.

Mike: Was she an easy character to write?

Tom: Not right away. I really had to dig deep to give her a certain personality. I didn't just want to write her as she was written before. I wanted her to have a little more depth. By the time I was doing Vengeance of Vampirella I think I really had started to understand her, so it became easier.

Mike: How much of her 'new origin' in the Mystery Walk was from you?

Tom: That was all me. I really wanted to give her an origin that wasn't so hokey so I took what we thought we knew about her and put a quirky spin on it. I think there are Vampi fans out there that are still mad at me for that.

Mike: How did it feel, being involved in restoring a character after 10 years?

Tom: It was great. What I really enjoyed was introducing new fans to her. Because of the kinds of stories I was telling we had lots of new readers trying the book and character out for the first time. It was cool to think that 'my' take on the character was some reader's first introduction to Vampirella.

Mike: What was it like, working for Harris Publications?

Tom: Meloney Crawford Chadwick was an absolute dream to work for. She just wound me up and let me go. All I got was encouragement from her. She was the best editor I ever worked for.

Mike: What is your favourite Vampirella story of the ones you wrote?

Tom: I really loved the Mystery Walk storyline just because of the fact that it was so epic in size and that it redefined the character quite a bit. I also liked the first Passion storyline. I really wanted to do a mini series with her but it just wasn't in the card. But, if I had to pick one story as my favorite, it would have to be "A Trolls Tale." I'm not sure of the number but it was drawn by artist Ed Mcguines (Superman) and it just came out really cool.

Mike: You are responsible for killing Vampirella in Entropy - have you any regrets over that?

Tom: Entropy? Christohper Golden and I killed her off at the end of Vampirella:Death and Destruction. And as far as any regrets? None really, they wanted to make the book more of a T&A title and this series gave me a chance to wipe the slates clean. Everything that I created I destroyed in that series - - and that was just the way the new powers that be over at Harris wanted it.

Mike: Anything you want to add?

Tom: Only this, having done so much in comics since leaving Vampi, and grown (at least I think I have) as a writer - - I wonder what I could do with the character now? Now that's a real mystery.

Below is a list of Tom Sniegoski's stories and the comics they have appeared in

The Dracula War 2: City of Love	Vampirella 1st Series #2: 1992-95 Vampirella The Dracula War (TB)
The Dracula War 3: Revelations	Vampirella 1st series #3: 1992-95 Vampirella The Dracula War (TB)
The Dracula War 4: Conclusion	Vampirella 1st Series #4: 1992-95 Vampirella The Dracula War (TB)
Vampirella Zero	Vampirella 1st Series #0
Link 1: Ties that Bind	Chains of Chaos #1
Link 2: Unchained Heart	Chains of Chaos #2
Link 3: Never Break the Chain	Chains of Chaos #3
Return of the Jackass	Hyde-25 #0
Creatures of the Night 1	Vampirella Shadowhawk Book #1
A Troll's Tale	Vengeance of Vampirella #21
Bloodshed Part 1	Vengeance of Vampirella Bloodshed (TB) Vengeance of Vampirella #1
Bloodshed Part 2	Vengeance of Vampirella #2 Vengeance of Vampirella Bloodshed (TB)
Bloodshed Part 3	Vengeance of Vampirella #3 Vengeance of Vampirella Bloodshed (TB)
Wake the Undead	Vengeance of Vampirella #4
Danse with the Undead	Vengeance of Vampirella #5
Vengeance is Sweet	Vengeance of Vampirella #6
The Red Death Part 1	Vampirella vs Haemorrhage #1
Evil from the Head of a Pin	Vengeance of Vampirella #7
Though the Brightest Fell	Vengeance of Vampirella #8
To Be More Than Human	Vengeance of Vampirella #9
Bad Jack Rising	Vengeance of Vampirella #10
The Pitz	Vengeance of Vampirella #11
Passion Play	Vengeance of Vampirella #12
The Poison of Loss	Vengeance of Vampirella #13
Mystery Walk: A Novella	Mystery Walk Ashcan
Mystery Walk 1: Prelude to the Walk	Vengeance of Vampirella #14
Mystery Walk 2: First Steps	Vengeance of Vampirella #15
Mystery Walk 0: Walking Off Camera	Vengeance of Vampirella #00
Mystery Walk 3: Pursuit	Vengeance of Vampirella #16
Mystery Walk 4: Light Dawns	Vengeance of Vampirella #17
Mystery Walk 5: Into the Breach	Vengeance of Vampirella #18
Mystery Walk 6: Paradise Found	Vengeance of Vampirella #19
Mystery Walk Epilogue: Walking into the Sunset	Vengeance of Vampirella #20
The Prize 1	Vampirella Strikes #1
The Prize 2	Vampirella Strikes #2
Here There be Dragons	Vengeance of Vampirella #22
Strange Days Coming	Vengeance of Vampirella #23
Hell in a Handbasket	Vengeance of Vampirella #24
Vampirella's Doom: Welcome to my Nightmare	Vengeance of Vampirella #0.5
Vampirella's Doom: What the Cards Hold	Vampirella Wizard Mini Comic (gold stamp edition)
The Beginning of the End	Vengeance of Vampirella #25
The Dying of the Light	Vampirella Death & Destruction #1 Vampirella Death & Destruction (TB)
The Nature of the Beast	Vampirella Death & Destruction #2 Vampirella Death & Destruction (TB)
Entropy	Vampirella Death & Destruction #3 The Death of Vampirella Vampirella Death & Destruction (TB)

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