When Mike Mignola came to Disney, some of the first things he saw were several of his past comic-books being consulted by artists. "As well as HELLBOY, they were using titles like FAFHRD AND THE GREY MOUSER (Mignola's take on Fritz Leiber's famed fantasy heroes) and my version of BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA. They included some of my favorite past work, though I think my style is more refined now. It was odd to see Disney using comics like FAFHRD, which hadn't sold very well and were long out of print!"
These days, being out of print is not a worry for Mignola. His profile in the comic world is sky-high, thanks to a certain big, red superhero who doesn't need a costume to be recognized. Before HELLBOY, Mignola had worked on a wide range of titles, including the swashbuckler IRONWOLF and GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT, an acclaimed Gothic reworking of the BATMAN legend. "I'd heard rumblings I was popular with animators," said Mignola; "that animators were copying bits of my style for this or that project. However, the first people who bothered to call me and ask for input were Disney. It was kinda nice!"
How aware was Mignola of Disney? "I had seen Disney films as a kid, of course. Curiously enough, shortly before I got the call from Don Hahn, my three-year-old daughter had been going through a phase of watching Disney videos, sometimes five times a day! I was watching them with her, rediscovering them from my own childhood. When Don called, it was startling, a strange coincidence."
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