Boom! Studios is throwing a party to celebrate the debut of its new horror-comedy mini-series Scream Queen. Written by Brendan Hay with art by Nate Watson, Scream Queen is “the tale of a murderous lunatic who is about to kill his next teenager, but instead falls head over heels in love with her.”
To celebrate the release, Hay will be signing at Meltdown Comics & Collectibles on 4 June starting at 8PM. In addition, there will be free beer (while supplies last). The store is at 7522 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90046; 323-851-7283.
Hay was a writer on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, contributed material to Saturday Night Live and The Colbert Report, and wrote an episode of The Simpsons. Discussing the genesis of Scream Queen in a Newsarama interview, Hay said “writing comedy and horror are surprisingly similar. Both comedy and horror spring from the darkest parts of human fears. It’s just that in comedy, you turn these fears into laughs, whereas in horror you turn ’em into screams. For example: a fear of fatherhood inspired both Knocked Up and Cronenberg’s The Brood. A fear of rednecks inspired both The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and My Cousin Vinny. Hell, fear of sex inspired most of the teen comedies and slasher movies in the 1980s. In both genres, writers transform people’s neuroses into entertainment. So since I’ve earned laughs, now I’m aiming for the screams.
“Plus, I’m a lifelong fan of horror movies, from a straight-ahead serial killer flick to a campy zombie gore-fest. I know what I look for in a good horror story, so hopefully I can bring those elements to Scream Queen. I’m hoping that, tone-wise, it fits alongside movies like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Scream, and Night of the Creeps.”