Blending giant ape gods, Hanna-Barbera-inspired adventure, and heartfelt character dynamics, Nothing Can Stop…The Ape! is the latest collaboration from acclaimed writers Thomas Sniegoski and Jeannine Acheson. Published through Mad Cave Studios’ Papercutz imprint, the graphic novel channels the spirit of classic animated adventure serials while delivering a modern story about chaos, order, family, and gigantic monsters. Fanboy Factor’s Anthony Andujar Jr. spoke with Sniegoski and Acheson about the long road to bringing The Ape to life, the influence of vintage cartoons like The Herculoids and Jonny Quest, collaborating with artist Craig Rousseau, and why they may not be done with this world just yet.
Nothing Can Stop…The Ape! Tomas Sniegoski & Jeannine Acheson interview by Anthony Andujar Jr 4/27/2026
Q1. From Vampiverse, Pantha, Young Hellboy, The Herculoids, Soul Taker, Vampirella: Dark Reflections; Nira: A Constance Evermore Story; you both have worked together as a creative writing team on comics and novels. When working on a new project, how do you both decide that the concept to run with is the one to pursue?
Tom: Honestly, Jeannine and I are always tossing around ideas—“Hey, what if…” and sometimes these ideas stick, and start to develop into something we just can’t ignore, and actually find ourselves getting excited about.
Jeannine: Frequently on Mondays, when we catch up after a weekend, Tom will say, “I was thinking about [whatever new idea we’ve talked about] over the weekend, and it wouldn’t leave me alone!” Then I usually know that it’s something we’re going to begin to develop in earnest.
Q2. How did your creative meetings lead to the formation of your latest project, Nothing Can Stop…The Ape! What were the inspirations and concepts that you both had brewing that led to this project?
Jeannine: This one was an idea that Tom had from years and years ago, and one day, a few years ago, he sort of threw it into the mix, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Tom: It was a concept that I could never quite get to work. It had many incarnations, but they never really clicked with me. There was always something wrong with the idea, something that didn’t work. And then, one day, while talking with Jeannine about all sorts of crazy ideas, something rose to the surface, and suddenly we had a take that seemed to be the right one for this story about a gigantic ape god!
Jeannine: Yeah, it was around the time when we were having conversations about the Hanna-Barbera cartoons from the late ‘60s and ‘70s (Space Ghost, Jonny Quest, and The Herculoids, to name a few), and about how much we loved them. We felt that vibe was what we were looking for.
Tom: I had always wanted to write a comic series featuring The Herculoids (which, to my great delight, I ended up doing in 2025 for Dynamite Comics!). They were a childhood favorite, and I thought that if this original idea could be molded to fit a kind of story reminiscent of these amazing cartoons, maybe that was the way to go.
Q3. Tomas, you’ve previously collaborated with illustrator Craig Rousseau on Young Hellboy, over at Dark Horse Comics. What was the creative process like working in collaboration now that the team consists of color artist, Tom Gaadt, Letterer, Taylor Esposito, Craig Rousseau, fellow co-creator Jeannine, and you?
Tom: Craig had that perfect style for something that would be modeled after those great cartoons. He gave The Ape that Hanna-Barbera vibe we were looking for. I’d worked with Tom Gaadt before on Bone: More TallTales for Cartoon Books/Scholastic and loved what he did in regard to colors with Jeff Smith’s art. I thought he would be perfect for Craig’s style. And Taylor Esposito is our go-to guy for our projects. We just really love what he does with the lettering.
Q4. What was it about Craig Rousseau’s strengths as a visual storyteller that fit the exact tone that you both (Tom & Jeannine) aimed for on this project?
Jeannine: Craig is amazing! He really nailed the look we were going for, and even though his style may appear simplistic on the surface, there’s a lot more going on than just that — characters are really expressive, and there’s just a cool energy to his pages that we love.
Tom: Craig is a huge fan of comics and a fan of the great Alex Toth, who did many of the designs for the characters in the Hanna-Barbera cartoons. He brought that same sense of style to the characters and the storytelling for our book.
Q5. This book centers on Maxwell Morgan, who is caught in the struggle between the deities of order and chaos, Ghragg’endah and Thunna. What makes Ghragg’endah intriguing in contrast to Thunna? As Maxwell is the lens character, what themes emerge about how the two deities parallel and complement each other?
Jeannine: I find the parallels between Thuuna and Ghragg’Endah interesting because while they started out as such polar opposites in the beginning times, they sort of end up taking up each other’s mantles. Thuuna’s frustration with today’s civilization prompts her to do things she would never have done, while Gragg’Endah is also manipulated into a role he never played—or wanted to play—as a kind of hero. It’s neat to see them swap positions (hero and villain) and see how that works out for each of them.
Tom: I really enjoyed flipping the characters’ functions. What I mean is, a Goddess of Order was actually behaving chaotically, and a god of Chaos was acting more as a force for order… but neither of them is aware that they’ve switched. I love how this plays with the audience’s preconceptions of what is good and what is evil.
Q6 What new creative insights did you discover as a writing team? How did you collaborate to fully realize the collective vision, and what story ideas did you explore compared to past projects?
Jeannine: I feel like this project was probably the best version of our collaboration yet. In many of our other projects, Tom took the lead, but for The Ape, I think my years of being a middle school teacher and a mom helped us develop the characters and their relationships—specifically Maxwell and his mother, Professor Adeline Morgan—more fully. I can’t say I had a lot to add when it came to Harvey, but Tom had that covered.
Tom: Where Jeannine was focusing on the more human aspects of this story, I was allowed to go wild with the French bulldogs and the giant ape gods!
Jeannine: It’s all about the balance!
Q7 Were there any different iterations of Ghragg’endah and Thunna that were explored before ultimately deciding on the versions that made it into the final cut of the book?
Tom: Since this original idea was so old, there were some other interpretations of these characters. In my original take, Ghragg’Endah didn’t have a name and was a much more monstrous character, and Thunna’s name was Amara. The initial idea had a much more horror-story-type feel, with some super-heroic elements sprinkled in to make the idea more ‘commercial.’
Q8 What was the most challenging part regarding developing the book? What were the hurdles that the team had to overcome to see the book to publication?
Tom: The biggest hurdle was getting the idea to click inside my head. Like I said, this was an old idea that I could never get to work, but once we hit upon the whole Hanna-Barbera homage angle, everything went like gangbusters!
Jeannine: For me, the most challenging part was the size of it! Previously, I had only written 20- or 22-page comics with Tom, but this was a full graphic novel, which I found extremely daunting. But once I wrapped my head around it and realized that it was really just eight 20-something page scripts, that made it easier to handle. We developed a schedule (which I love!) with our editor, and we stuck to that, turning in a script a month for about eight months.
Q9: Is there any interest in exploring more stories that expand on this world of Nothing Can Stop… The Ape? And will there be more of Harvey the dog?
Tom: YES! We would love to come back to this universe. I don’t think we’re quite done yet with Ghragg’Endah and even more so, Harvey the dog! Hopefully, we’ll get that chance to show some more of what we can do.
Jeannine: Oh, for sure. I feel like some of the characters’ stories aren’t quite finished, and there have to be more adventures for Maxwell, Harvey, and The Ape!
Q10 Where can readers purchase the book, and keep an eye out for upcoming projects?
Jeannine: Nothing Can Stop . . . The Ape! is available directly from Papercutz/Mad Cave Studios, as well as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and fine book and comic book stores everywhere!
Tom: Go to your local bookstore or comic book shop and tell them you want . . . THE APE!
Jeannine: We have a number of other projects coming up, yes! We’ve got a couple of novellas coming out from Bad Hand Books, and some comic projects further down the line. Folks can find us on our social media and websites:
Tom
Website: www.sniegoski.com
Facebook.com/Thomas Sniegoski
Instagram: @tsniegoski
Threads: tsniegoski
Twitter: @TomSniegoski
Bluesky: @tomsnig.bsky.social
Jeannine
Website: www.jeannineacheson.com
Facebook.com/Jeannine Thomas (Jeannine Surette Acheson)
Instagram: @jsuretteacheson
Threads: jsuretteacheson
Bluesky: @jsuretteacheson.bsky.social
Sean Isaacs 
Dan Kleiner