Review – Screwed #1

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Screwed #1 Story By Tyler Kirkham & Keith Thomas Art by Keith Thomas & David Miller Letters by Oracle Publisher Zenescope Entertainment Released: 6/5/2013 Verdict: Take It – Great re-imagining of the classic Frankenstein story. Score: 9/10

Marvel and DC both have their takes on the Frankenstein story, hell DC actually uses Frankenstein’s monster as a ‘hero’ in their universe. The problem is while they have tried to give this legendary tale a new 21st century vibe it falls short. Marvel’s recent Frankenstein Circus in Wolverine and the X-Men was especially uninteresting. Have no fear though classic horror fans, those who have been waiting for a good interpretation in comics, it’s finally here. The newest book out of the gates from Zenescope Entertainment and the apparently quite twisted mind of Tyler Kirkham, Screwed is just what you’d expect it to be, fun, gory, mysterious, and interesting.

Screwed isn’t a generic rehash of some old story, it doesn’t start out with a mad scientist reanimating a sewn together corpse. Instead it picks up in a completely different way with a girl who’s forgotten everything being attacked by a large scary looking guy, telling her all kinds of nonsense. From there it quickly goes from kind of strange to crazy weird. As our main character gets away from her attacker revealing he is some kind of monster, and she’s even got a few tricks of her own. She quickly finds out that EVERYONE is out to get her, or are they? Seriously, that’s not one of those rhetorical questions I really don’t know. It’s one of the many mystery that makes this series interesting so far. This first issue was just what an opening chapter to a new story should be. It introduced us to characters and ideas, had some fun and gory action scenes, and left everyone who reads it wondering what the hell is going to happen next. As long as all the pieces of this story can stay together, and get us the answers we’re going to want I don’t see any reason not to keep picking this book up.

Aside from the story, the other major selling point for Screwed is the artwork. Zenescope books generally have great covers, but interiors can be hit or miss, especially depending on your preferred style. For me Screwed had this awesome confused and dirty feel, but everything was very crisp and well defined. I wasn’t looking at it trying to determine what something was, or where one person ended and another began. Even though it was clear what was happening on panel, some of the subtle things done with panel arrangements and design gave the book this muddled confused feel which really helps with the concept of a main character who’s being put through hell and doesn’t know anything, including who she is.

Basically if you’re heading out to the comic shop today and not quite sure what to pick up, give Screwed a chance. it’s something different, even in a world where a lot of companies are doing their own twist on classic stories, none of them have been quite this different. It’s a breath of fresh air from the overcrowded superhero market too, really there’s only so many times I can read about Superman punching something, we get it he’s super-strong, lets forget that stuff and get more books like this on the shelves.

Chris talks a bunch on PodQuest each week. He's also been known to write about stuff from time to time. You can Email Chris or follow Chris on Twitter @Just_Cobb or Facebook

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