Posted 27-MAR-2006

Tim Lebbon just completed the Hellboy original novel, "Unnatural Selection." You can read his biography here (taken from Odder Jobs). Visit Tim's website at www.timlebbon.net.

Well, from the synopsis on your website, it sounds like, quite literally, all hell is breaking loose. What's in store for Hellboy on this adventure?
Well, Hellboy and his friends and colleagues are getting busy. In a big way. Reports are coming in from all over the globe about mythical and cryptozoological creatures causing havoc. Abe is sent to Venice to tackle a giant alligator, Liz Sherman takes on a phoenix on a small Greek island, and Hellboy has his ass kicked by a dragon roosting on the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio.

After that, things start to get really bad.

Sounds like someone left the cages open at Hell's zoo. The title, "Unnatural Selection" is obviously a nod to Darwin's "Origin of Species." Is mankind next on the extinction checklist?
Well there's always that chance... But it's more about the dominance of species. The novel features a 'mad scientist' character - although he's much more complex than that - who sets certain process running that threatens much of what we know in the world.

Liz and Hellboy were the main characters in your Odder Jobs short story, "The Glass Road", and you got to explore Liz's inner turmoil a bit. Who is next to go under the microscope in "Unnatural Selection"?
Well I actually create a BPRD character of my own, called Abby Paris. Like all BPRD, she has something ... different about her. Something involving the full moon, and fur, and long teeth. She's a complex character, saved from suicide by Abe Sapien in Paris (hence her name), and she's very involved with everything that's going on in UNNATURAL SELECTION. I like her a lot.

Ah, a werewolf, eh? What are some of your favorite werewolf influences in books and/or film?
Book-wise I'm a huge fan of Strieber's THE WOLFEN, often underrated but one of the defining werewolf novels. And in movies, there's no one who doesn't love AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON. Many horror films have since tried to match that perfect blend of humour and horror, but none have succeeded.

You've been spending quite a bit of time on the "Noreela" stories (DUSK & DAWN), and now I see you have a serial novella that will be available for free at www.noreela.com. What is Noreela, and what can we expect from "The Bajuman"?
Noreela is the world where DUSK and DAWN is set. It's a huge island, and most of its inhabitants regard it as the whole world. Anything beyond Noreela is ... vague. You can find out all about this place by visiting www.noreela.com and, of course, by reading the books. It's a world I'm hoping to build and expand upon over the years as I write more fiction set there.

And 'The Bajuman' is one such piece of fiction! It's set 100 years before the events of DUSK, and I guess it's something of a fantasy-noir. I'm very excited about it, partly because it's the first e-serial I've written. It'll be downloadable from www.noreela.com starting on 1st May, appearing in six weekly installments. Then later it'll see print with Necessary Evil Press.

Many thanks to Tim Lebbon for contributing this interview.