The Good
Remember when I said "Mignola fanboys unite?" Well, I'm one of them. I love Mignola in the way G-Man loves Michael Allred, in the way Babs loves Namor, and in the way I imagine Tom Pinchuk loves 90s wrestling. He is my favorite artists and one of my favorite writers. He is one of the few talents in the industry who I believe can pull the double duty as a writer and artist. Nevertheless, let's talk about this book. This book is split into seven short stories (Screw-On Head is actually a full-length comic though), some notes about each story, and a sketchbook, all with commentary. The Amazing Screw-On Head story is hilarious. This is the only time I can think of that we've seen Mignola do a flat-out comedic comic, and guess what, it works. There's nothing funnier than seeing President Abraham Lincoln say "Once again the Earth is a safe place for living humans." (It's a lot funnier if you read the book) Aside from this story, we get a few others drenched in folklore. This is what Mignola is great at. All the other stories, even the last bizarre one are a lot of fun and you'll want to read through them more than once. When you pick up this book, you know what you're getting into. The story notes, sketches, and commentary are a real treat for any Mignola fan as well. It's nice to get a peak into a creator's head as he puts together a book.The Bad
Here's the kicker. If you don't like Mike Mignola's work, you're not going to like this book. As for people interested in Mike Mignola, they may not like this as well. This collection feels like it's for the fans more than anything, and while I can sit here all day and recommend the heck out of Amazing Screw-On Head, you're paying $17.99 for just a single issue of a story. This is not a great starting point to become introduced to this excellent creator, but it's something most fans should have on their bookshelf.The Verdict 5/5
It's a tough one for me to say 5/5 and recommend it to everyone because I am such a huge fan of Mignola's work. However, his art style and storytelling are top notch in my book, and he brings fresh elements to the form of comic books. If you're a person who is truly interested in the work of Mike Mignola, I'd recommend Hellboy: Darkness Calls in trade paperback before this, so you can get a feel for his work. If you're a fan of Mignola, this is a must have for your shelf.In addition, which I failed to mention earlier, the Amazing Screw-On Head was actually made into a television pilot for the Sci-Fi Channel (before it was SyFy) back in 2006. It starred Paul Giamatti and David Hyde Pierce. It's based off the comic and Mignola's artwork, but it's only 22 minutes long. If you like the comic, you may want to check that out too. Sadly, it didn't get picked up, but I heard a rumor that Sci-Fi passed on it for Tripping the Rift... I hope that's not true.
