"Beware, Emperor Zombie, we are coming for you!"
One-shot
comic book by
Mike Mignola. Published in May 2002 by
Dark Horse Comics. The story seems to be a bit of a
prequel to Mignola's popular
Hellboy series -- prevention of outbreaks of
supernatural threats remains a primary
plot element, but, where the Hellboy series starts during
World War II, this tale is clearly set in the
1860s. But the primary
difference between Screw-On Head and Hellboy is this: Screw-On Head is very, very
silly.
"It's not a jewel... It's a dirty old piece of crap..."
Our story begins as President
Abraham Lincoln gets on the fancy
videoscreen (Yes, I know, and yes, that's just the beginning) and calls Screw-On Head, who is quickly
revealed as a
shiny robotic head with a big
screw in place of his neck. He can
bounce around without assistance, but he has a number of
mechanical bodies that he can screw himself into when he needs to go on
adventures.
"It's a turnip, but my instruments indicate that there's a small parallel universe inside!"
Anyway,
Honest Abe reveals that the
dastardly and
undead Emperor Zombie has stolen the
infamous Kalakistan Fragment from the
Museum of Dangerous Books and Paper. Since the Fragment reveals the location of an
ancient jewel that can be used to
conquer the world, Head and his
assistants (the unfortunately-named
Mr. Groin and a
computerized
stuffed dog named
Mr. Dog) must travel to the
Aswam Valley, which Head explains is "generally considered to be
the worst place on Earth."
"We must be close. He smells the evil."
Can Screw-On Head
foil the evil plans of Emperor Zombie, his
minions, and the
horror he unleashes? And will we learn the
secret origin of Screw-On Head, or will we have to settle for pictures of
three horrible old women and a monkey?