The Amazing Screw-On Head
Encyclopedia
The Amazing Screw-On Head is the title of a one-shot comic book
written and drawn by Mike Mignola
and published by Dark Horse Comics
in 2002
, starring the character of the same name.
Mignola got the idea from action figures, particularly Batman
ones, which seemed to be exactly the same figurines with different paint jobs. So he imagined a robot
with a head that screwed onto different bodies to suit the occasion, hence "Screw-on Head". An animated pilot
, based on the plot of the comic, was made by the Sci-Fi Channel
in 2006, with Bryan Fuller
as writer and executive producer and Chris Prynoski
as director. Similar in tone and theme to Mignola's better known Hellboy
, The Amazing Screw-On Head is a black comedy
.
. He is summoned by Lincoln to track down Emperor Zombie, an undead
occultist and originally a groundskeeper at Hyde Park. Zombie and his henchmen, the vampire Madam and scientist Dr. Snap, have stolen an ancient manuscript. This will allow him access to the temple of Gung, a warlord who nearly conquered the world over ten thousand years ago with supernatural power gained from "a fabulous melon
-sized jewel
", which Zombie obviously plans to use for himself.
With the aid of his manservant, Mr. Groin, and dog Mr. Dog, Screw-On Head manages to track down Zombie, but not before the villain and his henchmen find the treasure: instead of a jewel, the tomb contains a turnip
with "a small parallel universe" inside. Zombie unleashes the Demigod within, but Screw-On Head manages to defeat it in combat.
) is the first of Screw-On Head's (Paul Giamatti
) manservants, who has turned to evil despite Screw-On Head's advice. Out of revenge for his first defeat, Zombie developed what he refers to as a "petty vengeance fetish", killing the seven replacement servants after him, and before Mr. Groin (Patton Oswalt
), in gruesome ways. Zombie's vampire mistress, now named Patience (Molly Shannon
), is much more talkative; a flashback reveals she was Screw-On Head's former love, until snatched from him by a vampire servant of Zombie. Instead of Dr. Snap, Emperor Zombie's other servants are a monkey named Ricky and two horrible old women named Aggie and Geraldine (both voiced by Mindy Sterling
), one a werewolf and the other a cannibal who apparently takes over Dr. Snap's role as scientist as well.
The pilot begins with the theft of the Kalakistan fragment and Professor Fruen (the only man who can translate it), by Zombie's henchmen. Emperor Zombie smokes Fruen in a giant hookah to gain the knowledge to read the fragment pertaining to Gung's temple. An interlude has Screw-On Head track down Patience in Marrakesh, then torture her to try to find Zombie's whereabouts.
At the conclusion Zombie sinks to the bottom of the Mississippi River
while his henchmen kidnap Mr. Dog by impaling him with an anchor from an air balloon. President Lincoln gives Screw-On Head permission to deal with whatever supernatural things lurk in the western frontier after signing the Homestead Act
.
On July 12, 2006, The Amazing Screw-On Head TV pilot was aired online at scifi.com with a survey to decide whether or not the show goes to series. According to Mike Mignola on the November 29, 2006 Fanboy Radio
podcast, the series was not picked up by the Sci-Fi Channel http://fanboyradio.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=156881. The pilot was released on DVD on February 6, 2007.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
written and drawn by Mike Mignola
Mike Mignola
Michael Joseph "Mike" Mignola is an American comic book artist and writer who created the comic book series Hellboy for Dark Horse Comics. He has worked for animation projects such as Atlantis: The Lost Empire and the adaptation of his one shot comic book, The Amazing Screw-On Head.-Career:Mignola...
and published by Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
in 2002
2002 in comics
-March:* Adventures of Superman #600: super-sized anniversary issue by Joe Casey, Mike Wieringo, and Jose Marzan, Jr. -April:* Batman #600: "Bruce Wayne: Fugitive," part one, 64-page giant, written by Ed Brubaker.-January:...
, starring the character of the same name.
Mignola got the idea from action figures, particularly Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
ones, which seemed to be exactly the same figurines with different paint jobs. So he imagined a robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
with a head that screwed onto different bodies to suit the occasion, hence "Screw-on Head". An animated pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
, based on the plot of the comic, was made by the Sci-Fi Channel
Sci Fi Channel (United States)
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
in 2006, with Bryan Fuller
Bryan Fuller
Bryan Fuller is an American screenwriter and television producer.Fuller graduated from Clarkston High School in Clarkston, Washington in 1987...
as writer and executive producer and Chris Prynoski
Chris Prynoski
Chris Prynoski born November 1, 1971, is an American animator, director, and producer.Prynoski was born in Trenton, New Jersey and grew up in Bordentown, New Jersey. He graduated from the School of Visual Arts in 1994. He then spent several years working in the industry in New York, mostly on his...
as director. Similar in tone and theme to Mignola's better known Hellboy
Hellboy
Hellboy is a comic book superhero created by writer-artist Mike Mignola. The character first appeared in San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2 , and has since appeared in various eponymous miniseries, one-shots and intercompany crossovers...
, The Amazing Screw-On Head is a black comedy
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
.
Comic
Screw-On Head is an agent for President Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. He is summoned by Lincoln to track down Emperor Zombie, an undead
Undead
Undead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...
occultist and originally a groundskeeper at Hyde Park. Zombie and his henchmen, the vampire Madam and scientist Dr. Snap, have stolen an ancient manuscript. This will allow him access to the temple of Gung, a warlord who nearly conquered the world over ten thousand years ago with supernatural power gained from "a fabulous melon
Melon
thumb|200px|Various types of melonsThis list of melons includes members of the plant family Cucurbitaceae with edible, fleshy fruit e.g. gourds or cucurbits. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit...
-sized jewel
Gemstone
A gemstone or gem is a piece of mineral, which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments...
", which Zombie obviously plans to use for himself.
With the aid of his manservant, Mr. Groin, and dog Mr. Dog, Screw-On Head manages to track down Zombie, but not before the villain and his henchmen find the treasure: instead of a jewel, the tomb contains a turnip
Turnip
The turnip or white turnip is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, bulbous taproot. Small, tender varieties are grown for human consumption, while larger varieties are grown as feed for livestock...
with "a small parallel universe" inside. Zombie unleashes the Demigod within, but Screw-On Head manages to defeat it in combat.
TV pilot
The 22-minute pilot differs from the comic mainly in that the characters are fleshed out with backstories. Rather than a master of languages, Emperor Zombie (David Hyde PierceDavid Hyde Pierce
David Hyde Pierce is an American actor and comedian best known for playing psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom Frasier, for which he received many accolades including four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.-Early life:Pierce, the youngest of four siblings,...
) is the first of Screw-On Head's (Paul Giamatti
Paul Giamatti
Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti is an American actor. Giamatti began his career as a supporting actor in several films produced during the 1990s including Private Parts, The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, The Negotiator, and Man on the Moon, before earning lead roles in several projects in the...
) manservants, who has turned to evil despite Screw-On Head's advice. Out of revenge for his first defeat, Zombie developed what he refers to as a "petty vengeance fetish", killing the seven replacement servants after him, and before Mr. Groin (Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor and voice actor. He is best known for portraying Spencer Olchin in the popular sitcom The King of Queens, voicing Remy from the film Ratatouille and Thrasher from the Cartoon Network original series Robotomy.-Early life:Oswalt was born...
), in gruesome ways. Zombie's vampire mistress, now named Patience (Molly Shannon
Molly Shannon
Molly Helen Shannon is an American comic actress best known for her work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1995–2001 and for starring in the films Superstar and Year of the Dog. More recently, she starred in NBC's Kath & Kim from 2008–2009 and on the TBS animated series Neighbors from...
), is much more talkative; a flashback reveals she was Screw-On Head's former love, until snatched from him by a vampire servant of Zombie. Instead of Dr. Snap, Emperor Zombie's other servants are a monkey named Ricky and two horrible old women named Aggie and Geraldine (both voiced by Mindy Sterling
Mindy Sterling
Mindy Lee Sterling is an American actress. Although she had worked in film for over 30 years, she only began to garner attention after playing Frau Farbissina, the diminutive and domineering Germanic cohort of Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers series of comedy films, and has a recurring role as Ms...
), one a werewolf and the other a cannibal who apparently takes over Dr. Snap's role as scientist as well.
The pilot begins with the theft of the Kalakistan fragment and Professor Fruen (the only man who can translate it), by Zombie's henchmen. Emperor Zombie smokes Fruen in a giant hookah to gain the knowledge to read the fragment pertaining to Gung's temple. An interlude has Screw-On Head track down Patience in Marrakesh, then torture her to try to find Zombie's whereabouts.
At the conclusion Zombie sinks to the bottom of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
while his henchmen kidnap Mr. Dog by impaling him with an anchor from an air balloon. President Lincoln gives Screw-On Head permission to deal with whatever supernatural things lurk in the western frontier after signing the Homestead Act
Homestead Act
A homestead act is one of three United States federal laws that gave an applicant freehold title to an area called a "homestead" – typically 160 acres of undeveloped federal land west of the Mississippi River....
.
On July 12, 2006, The Amazing Screw-On Head TV pilot was aired online at scifi.com with a survey to decide whether or not the show goes to series. According to Mike Mignola on the November 29, 2006 Fanboy Radio
Fanboy Radio
Fanboy Radio is a comic book related radio show and podcast. Hosted by Scott Hinze and Oliver Tull, Fanboy Radio has been broadcasting live comic book creator interviews, commentary with an attempt at humor and live listener callers....
podcast, the series was not picked up by the Sci-Fi Channel http://fanboyradio.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=156881. The pilot was released on DVD on February 6, 2007.
Cast
- Screw-On Head (Paul GiamattiPaul GiamattiPaul Edward Valentine Giamatti is an American actor. Giamatti began his career as a supporting actor in several films produced during the 1990s including Private Parts, The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, The Negotiator, and Man on the Moon, before earning lead roles in several projects in the...
) - Literally a screw-on head, apparently made of metal; Abraham Lincoln's top agent in occultOccultThe word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
matters. He was well over a hundred years old at the time of the American Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Nothing is known about his origins.
- Emperor Zombie (David Hyde PierceDavid Hyde PierceDavid Hyde Pierce is an American actor and comedian best known for playing psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom Frasier, for which he received many accolades including four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.-Early life:Pierce, the youngest of four siblings,...
) - Highly intelligent and articulate for a zombieZombieZombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
; he apparently brought about his own undeadUndeadUndead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...
state using ancient, forbidden knowledge, out of a lust for power.
- Mr. Groin (Patton OswaltPatton OswaltPatton Oswalt is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor and voice actor. He is best known for portraying Spencer Olchin in the popular sitcom The King of Queens, voicing Remy from the film Ratatouille and Thrasher from the Cartoon Network original series Robotomy.-Early life:Oswalt was born...
) - Screw-On Head's ninth manservantButlerA butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its...
. Like most superheroSuperheroA superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
butlers he is capable of almost anything, and aids Screw-On Head in many ways, including acting as a surrogate body.
- Abraham Lincoln (Corey BurtonCorey BurtonCorey Burton is an American voice actor, perhaps best known as Count Dooku, Ziro the Hutt and Cad Bane in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Brainiac in the DC animated universe and Spike Witwicky and Shockwave in the Transformers universe...
) - The President of the United States and Screw-On Head's boss.
- Patience (Molly ShannonMolly ShannonMolly Helen Shannon is an American comic actress best known for her work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1995–2001 and for starring in the films Superstar and Year of the Dog. More recently, she starred in NBC's Kath & Kim from 2008–2009 and on the TBS animated series Neighbors from...
) - Vampire lover of Emperor Zombie. Re-named Patience in the pilot, while mortal she was the only woman Screw-On Head ever loved.
- Aggie and Geraldine (Mindy SterlingMindy SterlingMindy Lee Sterling is an American actress. Although she had worked in film for over 30 years, she only began to garner attention after playing Frau Farbissina, the diminutive and domineering Germanic cohort of Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers series of comedy films, and has a recurring role as Ms...
) - Two of Zombie's servants. One is a werewolf, the other a cannibal who takes over Dr. Snap's role from the original comic.
Awards
- The Amazing Screw-On Head won the 2003 Eisner AwardEisner AwardThe Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
for Best Humour Publication.