BareBones Comics, April 2026
Writer: Bryan Swann
Artist: Rick Mata
There’s no ambiguity about the thematic intentions of Scream King: Abusement Park. This is a slasher film translated into comic book form, with all the standard indicia: a simple setup, a contained location, and a steady escalation toward increasingly brutal and inventive kills. Whether that works for you depends entirely on your patience for the buildup and how much value you place on spectacle over substance.
Here is the promotional blurb:
Created and written by Bryan Swann, with haunting interior artwork by Rick Mata, Scream King: Abusement Park follows Vincent DeMarco, a man addicted to one thing above all else: the sound of people screaming. When Vincent takes control of a once-wholesome family amusement park, he transforms it into a sadistic playground of terror, where fear is the admission price, and survival is never guaranteed.
A newly hired amusement park employee is revealed to be a serial killer with a very specific vision: turning the park into a deathtrap. Once the plan is set in motion, the exits are sealed, the rides are sabotaged, and the patrons become unwilling participants in a sadistic playground. Inevitably, it leans heavily into the inherent danger of heavy machinery.
Horror motion pictures set in amusement parks are not a new idea. Hell Fest (2018) focussed on a modern horror-themed park where a masked killer blends into the attractions, while The Funhouse (1981) is a classic Tobe Hooper film about teenagers trapped in a fun park. (See otherwise Horror Movies set in an Amusement Park? : r/MovieSuggestions . )This title takes inspiration for at the very least those two movies.
The biggest hurdle is the opening stretch. The issue takes time to find its pace and, at times, gets bogged down in the minutiae of roller coaster operation and maintenance training. This detail isn’t pointless, as it clearly lays the groundwork for how the killer manipulates the rides, but the execution is a slog for readers expecting immediate horror beats. The exposition tests your patience. Some tighter editing would have improved the pacing without sacrificing clarity.
Once the story crosses that threshold, however, it rapidly accelerates. A violent roller coaster incident marks the catalyst for action, and from there the book embraces its identity. The park becomes a closed system, tension rises, and the killer begins methodically picking off victims. The title delivers a sequence of bloody, creatively staged set pieces that feel tailor-made for the genre. The focus isn’t on deep characterization or emotional weight, but on the mechanics of fear and the spectacle of destruction.
Rick Mata’s artwork supports this approach well. The style is sharp and colorful, with a deliberate shift into darker, grittier tones when the violence hits. While the book doesn’t prioritize strict anatomical realism, the panel-to-panel clarity is a major strength. Even in chaotic scenes, it’s always easy to follow the action. That visual readability is crucial in a story that lets the kills speak louder than the dialogue. The level of detail in the environments and machinery adds a layer of grit to the chaos, making the traps feel tangible even when the outcomes are exaggerated.
Obviously, Scream King: Abusement Park isn’t aiming for high-concept storytelling or emotional depth. The writing is a blunt instrument: it does just enough to establish the premise and move the plot forward. The focus is on shock value and the transformation of a familiar, fun setting into something hostile and deadly.
