| Screw-On Head | |
|---|---|
 Art byMike Mignola. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Dark Horse Comics |
| First appearance | The Amazing Screw-On Head |
| Created by | Mike Mignola |
| In-story information | |
| 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 aone-shotcomic book written and drawn byMike Mignola and published byDark Horse Comics in2002, starring the character of the same name.The Amazing Screw-On Head stars a robot living during theLincoln administration whose head can be attached to different bodies with different tactical abilities, and who functions as an agent of the U.S. government.
The idea for the character was inspired byaction figures, particularlyBatman ones, which seemed to Mignola to be the same figurines with different paint jobs. Mignola imagined arobot with a head that screwed onto different bodies to suit the occasion, hence "Screw-on Head". An animatedpilot, based on the plot of the comic, was produced by theSci-Fi Channel in 2006, withBryan Fuller as writer and executive producer andChris Prynoski as director.
Screw-On Head is an agent for PresidentAbraham Lincoln. He is summoned by Lincoln to track down Emperor Zombie, anundeadoccultist 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 fabulousmelon-sizedjewel", 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 aturnip with "a small parallel universe" inside. Zombie unleashes the Demigod within, but Screw-On Head manages to defeat it in combat.
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 Pierce) 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. The pilot also featuredMolly Shannon,Mindy Sterling, andCorey Burton in various roles as well. On August 20, 2006,The Amazing Screw-On Head TV pilot was aired online at scifi.com with a survey to decide whether or not the show went to series. The series was not picked up by the Sci-Fi Channel.[1] The pilot was released on DVD on February 6, 2007.
The Amazing Screw-On Head won the 2003Eisner Award for Best Humor Publication.[2]
