The Amazing Screw-On Head

MTV showed potential with "Liquid Television" a few years ago (But never realized that potential). David Lynch proved that weirdness could survive at least one season with "Twin Peaks" and now finally animation AND storyline that truly raises the bar. Sure HBO had Spawn and it was edgy but this is the cream.... I would love to see more episodes of course (Mignolia is the new Kirby). What would be really nice is to see this on the big screen, Say before "Hellboy II", Sci-Fi could use this as a great advertising vehicle.

One can only hope that this will lead the vanguard for more interesting projects in animation. I can only dream of a world where "Flaming Carrot" and "The Sandman" are animated fare. Something like "The Invisibles" ,"Preacher" or even the easily contemporary "Transmetropolitan" with Spider Jerusalem tapping away at his powerbook and creating havoc.Sorry, I strayed far....This Mignolia work is amazing and until I can get cable in the alternate universe this will whet my fanboy appetite.

I absolutely love this show! I love the humor and the detail that was put into each character. Emperor Zombie is now one of my all time favorite animated villains, not just for his witty remarks, but he is so excellently drawn! Abraham Lincoln is also an awesome character, along with Mr. Groin, Patience, and Amazing Screw-On Head himself.

This show surprised me. I half expected it to be some odd show that I wouldn't like, but, boy, was I wrong. The show is odd, to be truthful, but it is hilarious! The story and the characters are easy to get into and understand.

This is now one of my all time favorite animated shows! The pilot on July 27th on the SciFi channel was phenomenal. I can't wait for the rest of the series.

This is the story of the Amazing Screw-On Head, a robot that works for Abraham Lincoln and the United States of America circa 1862. He is capable of attaching himself (a head) into various robotic bodies, some humanoid and others far more powerful. He is called to service when his arch-nemesis, Emperor Zombie, has decided to unleash the power of a demi-god.

This short, roughly 24 minutes, cartoon was a pitch for a series for the SyFy network. For reasons unknown to me, it was not picked up and all that exists today is this one episode. Like another series that never took off, "Heat Vision and Jack", I think this was a great mistake on SyFy's part.

Besides a nice limb-beating scene, the cartoon had original and quirky characters with a unique artwork style. Then you add Abraham Lincoln. I think one could compare the style of this roughly to "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" or "The Venture Brothers", both of which were or are quite successful. Compared to the other original crud SyFy pumps out, this would have likely gathered them a respectable audience.

There isn't much point in watching this cartoon with no others to go with it (the story is really minimal), but if you can get your hands on a copy, maybe give it a try. You'll see what might have been...

This is rife with possibilities, showing that contemporary comic book art and stories could move into mainstream visual entertainment. The bizarre title sort of tells it all in that a disembodied robot head can be attached to a host of bodies. There are great villains and the plotsyn are surreal. I am a sucker for this as David Lynch's style is so attractive to me.

If you missed Amazing Screw-On Head from Sci-Fi channel, then rent, buy or download it now! This short animated film is brilliant, hilarious, and perfectly employs the visual textures and grimy, baroque aesthetic of Mike Mignola's world. It uses elements of Lovecraft, Universal Monsters, steampunk mecha, and Wild Wild West to plunge the viewer into a completely absorbing adventure.

Amazing Screw-On Head is stylistically superior to both the 2004 live-action Hellboy and the 2006 Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms. This production has more in common with Mignola's concept work on Bram Stoker's Dracula, Blade II, and Disney's Atlantis. His monsters are both horrific and lovable, his hero is upright (when attached to his body), and his villains are truly sinister.

Attn Cartoon Network and Sci-Fi: Screw-On Head should be a template for future Hellboy and BPRD animated specials.