The Amazing Screw-On Head

Screw-On Head
Publication information
Publisher	Dark Horse Comics
First appearance	The Amazing Screw-On Head
Created by	Mike Mignola
In-story information
Alter ego	Unknown; it seems likely "Screw-On Head" is his real name
Team affiliations	Abraham Lincoln, Mr. Groin, Mr. Dog., Emperor Zombie, Patience
Notable aliases	The Amazing Screw-On Head
Abilities	Can have his head removed and reattached to any one of a number of robotic bodies, some of which possess such features as projectile grenade fists.

The Amazing Screw-on Head is the title of a "one-shot" comic written and drawn by Mike Mignola and published by Dark Horse Comics in 2002. An animated pilot, based on the plot of the comic, was made by the Sci-Fi Channel in 2006, and may be turned into a series. While similar in tone and theme to Mignola's better known Hellboy, The Amazing Screw-On Head is a comedy.

Plot

The Screw-On Head is an agent for President Abraham Lincoln, fulfilling much the same role as the modern-day B.P.R.D. In the comic (and television pilot), he is summoned by Lincoln to track down Emperor Zombie, an undead occultist. Zombie and his henchmen, the vampiress "Madam" and scientist Dr. Snap, have stolen an ancient manuscript. This will allow him access to the tomb 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 (including his vampire lover) find the treasure: instead of a jewel, the tomb contains a turnip with "a small parallel universe" inside. Zombie unleashes the demon within, but Screw-On Head manages to defeat it in combat.

The Pilot

The pilot differs from the comic mainly in that the characters are fleshed out with backstories, something the one-shot comic hardly needed. Rather than a master of languages, Emperor Zombie was the first of the Screw-On Head's manservants, who turned to evil despite the Head's advice. Out of revenge for his first defeat, he has killed the seven replacement servants before Mr. Groin. Zombie's vampire mistress, now named Patience, is much more talkative; a flashback reveals she was once the Screw-On Head's mortal lover, until snatched from him by a vampire servant of Zombie. Instead of Doctor Snap, Zombie's other servants are a monkey and two elderly women, one of whom is a werewolf and the other being a cannibal.

The pilot begins with the theft of the manuscript, along with the only man who can translate it, by Zombie's henchmen. An interlude has Screw-On Head track down Patience in Marrakesh, then torture her to try and find Zombie's whereabouts before Mr. Dog picks up Zombie's scent. The final battle features another of Screw-On Head's robot bodies, and at the end of the episode, the escaping Patience kidnaps Mr. Dog.

Characters

• The Amazing Screw-On Head (Paul Giamatti) - Literally a screw-on head, apparently made of metal; Abraham Lincoln's top agent in occult matters. Nothing is known about his origins. He bears some similarity to the Homunculi in the BPRD series.
• Emperor Zombie (David Hyde-Pierce) - Highly intelligent and articulate for a zombie; he apparently brought about his own undead state using forbidden Ancient Evil knowledge, out of a lust for power.
• Mr. Groin (Patton Oswalt) - Screw-On Head's butler. Like most superhero butlers he is capable of almost anything, and aids Screw-On Head in many ways, including acting as a surrogate body.
• Mr. Dog - Screw-On Head's dog; in the television pilot, he appears to be a living dog's head attached to a stuffed dog's body. Able to smell evil anywhere in the world.
• Abraham Lincoln (Corey Burton) - The President of the United States and Screw-On Head's boss.
• Madam/Patience (Molly Shannon) - Vampire lover of Emperor Zombie. Named Patience in the pilot, she was the lover of Screw-On Head while mortal.
• Doctor Snap - Emperor Zombie's personal scientist. He wears a brown suit reminiscent of a spacesuit and a helmet with a lightbulb on top. He is turned into a frog-demon at the end of the comic.
• Ricky - One of Emperor Zombie's servants, a crown-wearing monkey capable of operating a variety of firearms with deadly accuracy. (Note: Ricky appears to be based on a character from the Hellboy story Box Full of Evil: in the story a character is transformed into a monkey; he later falls into a pit of treasure, and a crown is seen on his head. The character also uses a gun in the story)

Trivia

• The Amazing Screw-On Head won the 2003 Eisner Award for Best Humour Publication.
• As of July 12th 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.

External links

• Dark Horse Comic's product page
• Sci-Fi Channel's page for the TV show
• The Amazing Screw-On Head at IMDb