The following is an interview with Emmy Award-winning animation director Roy Burdine (Grimsburg, Stillwater, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Ultimate Spider-Man, The Adventures of Puss in Boots) regarding Monster Forge Productions’ new audio storytelling label, Monster Forge Radio, and its first original release, The Horror Eternal. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Burdine about his shared creative process in developing the scripted audio drama, what he is most excited for listeners to experience, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Monster Forge Productions recently announced the debut of their new audio storytelling label, Monster Forge Radio, and their first weekly serialized storytelling podcast, The Horror Eternal. What can you share with us about the genesis behind this spine-tingling new series?
Roy Burdine: I’ve always been drawn to the magic of audio storytelling—building entire worlds with nothing but sound and imagination. A few years ago, I created MINDRAKER with my friend, Sean Schemmel, and it reignited my love for the medium. When it was time for something new, I wanted to dive deeper into pure storytelling—intimate, immersive, and unfiltered. Horror and science fiction were natural choices; they’re genres I live in.
This time, I challenged myself to not only write but perform, training my voice to carry the menace and mood the stories demand.
As I was gearing up to launch, I connected with Shannon Denton at Monster Forge— we’d just collaborated on the Forge of Monsters comic—and shared what I was building. The alignment was immediate. That spark became Monster Forge Radio, and The Horror Eternal was born.
BD: The production process for a scripted audio drama is no easy feat. What can you tell us about how the writers and production team came together, as well as your shared creative process in bringing the script to life?
RB: The Horror Eternal is a true storyteller’s podcast—primarily a solo performance, with me as both writer and narrator. It’s a one-man show in spirit, but elevated by an exceptional sound designer, Mark Labib, who layers in chilling ambience and technical polish that make the nightmares feel real.
That said, while the core is single-voice storytelling, I’m planning monthly variations – some full-cast performances, others experimental in structure. The creative process is fluid: I write the tale, record raw narration, then hand it to Mark, who sculpts the atmosphere. It’s a tight, iterative loop—voice and sound in constant conversation until the story breathes.
BD: Each episode also includes cinematic sound design to elevate the nightmarish storytelling. How would you describe the collaborative process for developing the score for each episode?
RB: The soundscape is where the horror truly lives. My son, Ian Burdine, composed the haunting theme (just as he did for MINDRAKER), and he’s created original cues for select episodes. For the rest, I license atmospheric tracks from some of my favorite composers—like Theatre of Delays—through Artlist.
Artlist has been a game-changer. For a single subscription, I get access to world-class, royalty-free music and SFX that feel custom-made for horror. I can’t recommend it enough to fellow podcasters. Between Ian’s originals and Artlist’s catalog, Mark and I have endless tools to dial in dread, tension, and release—episode by episode.
BD: Our readers always like to learn more about creators and what drives and inspires them. Are there any creators or media that greatly influenced your creative process or that gave way to the genesis of this project?
RB: In podcasting, I’m inspired by shows like The NoSleep Podcast, 12 Ghosts, and The Black Tapes—modern masters of audio dread. But my deepest influence is Joe Frank, the radio visionary from NPR. His surreal, intimate monologues shaped everyone who came after, including This American Life. If you’ve never heard him, search his episodes on YouTube—you’ll never listen to storytelling the same way.
In writing, Philip K. Dick is my north star—his paranoia, humanity, and reality-bending ideas are unmatched. Add John Wyndham’s quiet apocalypses, David Lynch’s dream logic, William Gibson’s cyberpunk pulse, Roger Zelazny’s mythic sci-fi, and early Stephen King’s raw, small-town terror. That’s the DNA of The Horror Eternal.
BD: Are there any projects—past or current—that you would like to highlight for our readers?
RB: Absolutely—start with my first audio series, MINDRAKER: Background Anger. It’s a full-cast psychic thriller starring Sean Schemmel (Goku in Dragon Ball Z) as a mind-assassin hunting alien parasites in human hosts. Season 1 is eight episodes of spiritual warfare and psychic combat. We’re currently in production on Season 2: MINDRAKER: Violence Fugue—darker, denser, and more unhinged.
If you love immersive audio drama with high stakes and wild concepts, it’s a perfect entry point before diving into The Horror Eternal.
BD: Lastly, what is the best way for our readers to find more information about The Horror Eternal?
RB: You can find more information on the Monster Forge website, and on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast platforms.
