Westfield: What can you tell us about the genesis of Snaked and who are the main characters?

Clifford Meth: One of the first things Dave Cockrum and I collaborated on was a short story titled Snakes, which was published with half-a-dozen of his illustrations. I went on to develop the main character for another story called Snaked but my new relationship with IDW led me to realize how perfectly suited the story was to sequential art... The main character is Bill Timmons, a man with snake-like abilities that he's had from birth. How and when these characteristics appear and precisely what he does with them are all part of his story. The other main characters are the people that you would expect to see in anyone's life - a wife, an ex-lover, co-workers, relatives... but we're never quite certain which of these characters are genuine and which ones are, you'll excuse the expression, "snakes." They stand in stark contrast to Timmons, an honest man who lives in a dishonest world - much like the one we live in. But for Timmons, the contrast becomes too intense. Let's say he's a conservative who can literally bite your head off.

Westfield: You're working with artist Rufus Dayglo on the series. What do you feel that he brings to the book?

Meth: Ted Adams, IDW's founder and CEO, has a great nose for talent. He introduced me to Rufus. Everyone at IDW expects him to be a rising star and Ted wanted to give him something important... I've found Ruf very adaptable, very perceptive and Snaked needs that kind of flexibility because it's by no means a straight horror or straight action story - it's complex. I'm in New Jersey and Ruf's in London but I plan to travel there soon and hoist a few with him. I think creative collaborations are best sealed with a lot of beer.

Westfield: Are there any other projects you're working on that you'd like to mention?

Meth: IDW will be publishing my illustrated fiction collection One Small Voice soon - I believe it's scheduled for January release. The book features a cover by Neal Adams and art by Gene Colan and Alex Toth. I'm also working with the greatest writer of the 20th Century, Harlan Ellison, on his collection Yr. Pal Harlan as well as editing Robert Silverberg's Nightwings and Bill Messner-Loebs' Journey collection, all for IDW. So I'm a busy bee these days, but it's all rather exciting.