Witch Doctor co-creator/writer Brandon Seifert has landed a new gig as the man who opens the doors to insanity. In the fall of 2012, he will pen pages as a scribe for BOOM! Studios Hellraiser comic book, and we suspect it will be a job he shall eat with zest, labeling such fine dining as finger-licking good. Brandon took time to talk to us about his upcoming storyline, and what he hopes to achieve as a new accomplice to Pinhead.

PREVIEWSworld (PW): How did you land your latest writing gig on Hellraiser for BOOM! Studios?

Brandon Seifert (BS): BOOM! approached me back in January to do a story for their Hellraiser Annual. I ended up having a really good time working with it, and they were happy with what I did with the story — so they asked me for more Hellraiser ideas! Of the stories I pitched, Hellraiser: The Road Below was the one I really wanted to write — so I’m really glad they liked it, too.

(PW): What kind of research/reading have you done to prepare your script for Hellraiser?

(BS): Lots of stuff! I went back and watched the first four Hellraiser films — anything past that, I’m not really willing to sit through! I also re-read a bunch of Clive’s books — I was a big fan of his work in high school, but some of them (like Everville) I hadn’t read since I was a teenager. I also caught up with the Hellraiser comics, both the BOOM! ongoing title and some of the old stuff Epic Comic did. I do a lot of research for anything I wrote, so I ended up reading a lot of stuff online about various topics too — including “cenobites” (the real-world ones, the kind of monks who live in groups rather than the monks who live on their own) and blood feuds.

(PW): What's your personal goal for writing Hellraiser?

(BS): My goal for writing Hellraiser is pretty much the same as my goal for writing anything: I want to write the kinds of stories that I, as a reader, would be into. In the case of Hellraiser, there were aspects of the characters and the series mythology I’ve always wanted to see explored, and ramifications of events from the ongoing comics series I’ve wanted to see taken to their logical conclusion.

(PW): Is there any particular writer(s) who has been an influence on your style and syntax?

(BS): I’ve been influenced by lots of writers, in various ways. But if we’re specifically talking about the stylistic stuff in my writing, a lot of its Joss Whedon, a lot of its Warren Ellis — plus other people like Steven Moffat, Douglas Adams, and Neal Stephenson.

(PW): Who is the artist working with you on the series, and how would describe the relationship between you two?

(BS): Hellraiser: The Road Below is being drawn by Ibraim Roberson. Ibraim’s done a lot of work for a bunch of people, especially Marvel — he’s done a whole lot of X-Men books, including Generation Hope with James Asmus. I really like Ibraim’s style; it’s realistic and there’s a “grit” to it, without being your stereotypical “grim and gritty” comics art. Ibraim’s an experienced professional, so mostly I’ve tried to do my job and stay out of his way — but he knows that if he’s got any questions about the scripts, he can contact me.

(PW): How is it different doing work for BOOM! as opposed to working over at Skybound?

(BS): They’re really two completely different animals — but that’s less because of the companies themselves, and more because of the kind of work I’m doing.

Hellraiser is a licensed series from a popular, long-standing franchise — while my medical horror series Witch Doctor at Skybound is something I co-created.

I’ve got a lot more control over Witch Doctor — if I want to do crazy things with the characters or change the series completely, I’ve got that freedom. But doing a book like Hellraiser lets me play with a world I’ve loved for decades, which is rewarding in a completely different way.

(PW): One of your contemporaries, Joe Casey, has said "you wanna make the comics industry better? Make better comics." Do you see yourself subscribing to that mantra? And if so, how do you see yourself making better comics?

(BS): I think that’s simplistic — there’s lots of things that could change in this industry that would make it better, and plenty of them have nothing to do with the quality of the art and writing being produced. But there’s only one thing I, personally, have control over — and that’s the comics I write. So I agree with it from that angle. I feel my job as a comics writer is to write the best possible comics I can write. That’s my contribution to the industry.