Comments on: 365 Reasons to Love Comics #155

By: Brad Curran

Brad Curran — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 03:10:03 +0000

I picked up the Essential years back and loved the humor and satire. It’s still one of my favorite comics ever, even though I haven’t read it in years. I imagine it will hold up when I do, since it worked for me the first time despite all of the dated ’70s Marvel stuff (and me not getting at least half of the references). Always wanted to read those newspaper strips, so thanks for the link, RAB.

By: RAB

RAB — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 22:44:30 +0000

Bill, the MAX Howard series was really excellent. You know how sometimes when a creator returns to his best-known creation after a lengthy absence and tries to recapture the old magic, but it comes across as a pale imitation or self-parody? This ain't one of those times. Gerber proved his version of Howard could still work in modern comics. (Pity Marvel had to be complete dicks about the way they treated him.) The MAX series also included some wonderful zingers at DC's Vertigo line -- Gerber's take on Spider Jerusalem from Transmetropolitan is a thing of beauty -- and the ending turns out to be surprisingly touching and empathetic, especially for a comic whose stock in trade is dyspeptic skepticism of bathos and sentimentality. Graeme Burk, you (and anyone else whose interest is piqued by Graeme's mention of the HTD newspaper strip) might want to look here.

By: Ben Herman

Ben Herman — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 16:29:52 +0000

A very nice package.

I love how Richard described the Marvel Treasury edition reprinting stories from Giant-Size Man-Thing as “a very nice package.” Yes, I’m sure it was

By: hifidigitalboy

hifidigitalboy — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 16:00:43 +0000

I was so excited about the Howard the Duck movie coming out that I bought the novelization of the movie. I don’t remember much of it. All I recall is that it referenced Smurfberry Crunch in it. Ah, youth and stupidity.

By: DanCJ

DanCJ — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 15:51:32 +0000

Good call on Howard. Thank god War week is over.

Much to my shame, I actually enjoyed the Howard The Duck movie

I loved that film at about 12 or 13 years old when I saw it in the cinema.

I tried to watch it again at about 20 and found it unwatchable.

By: Reality Check

Reality Check — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 15:25:10 +0000

Man, suddenly the theme to that Howard the Duck movie started playing in my head. 80′s theme stick to your head.

And oh, btw:

MarkAndrew said
Oh yeah. I bought the Treasury Edition a year or so ago after tearing mine to shreds as a youngâ€™n.

Frank Brunner art at triple size is about the coolest thing ever.

Mr Mark Andrew, I posted a question for you on your previous post, in case you haven’t been checking. An answer is very much appreciated. Thanks.

By: The Mutt

The Mutt — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 14:45:05 +0000

When the Howard the Duck movie was in full pre-release hype, I sold his Man-Thing appearences and Howard #1 to a rabid fanboy for 100 bucks. What do they go for these days? Three for a dollar?

By: Scavenger

Scavenger — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 14:23:50 +0000

Howard teamed with She-Hulk durring Gerber’s run on the 80′s book for a crosstime adventure.

Michael, how can this be disturbing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PY6R192cL4

By: Richard J. Marcej

Richard J. Marcej — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:28:03 +0000

During a time when all comics was nothing more than super heroes, monsters or fantasy, the original Howard the Duck series was a breath of fresh air.

(and I agree, the short lived comic strip also drawn by Colan was great!)

By: The Kirbydotter

The Kirbydotter — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:22:13 +0000

What!?
Your first duck isn’t Uncle Scrooge!???!

I appreciate Howard’s importance in comic book history (for the huge popularity he had in the 70′s and the creator’s right thing that gave us Stewart the Rat and Destroyer Duck). But when he came out I didn’t like mixing up a cartoon character with the “serious” world of Marvel super-heroes. And, at the time, I was probably too young to get and apprecite the political satire.

I know I should try the Essential one of these days…
But Howard still doesn’t have any appeal for me…

By: Mike Loughlin

Mike Loughlin — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 12:50:31 +0000

Howard the Duck, under writer/ creator Steve Gerber, was among the best comics ever. Gerber brought humor, passion, and sincerity to his stories that you can’t find in other mainstream comics.

One of the forces behind Gerber leaving the book was Marvel’s shoddy treatment of Gene Colan. They deferred payment on Colan’s work for the newspaper strip. Since Colan had to drop a comic book to do the strip, he was losing money. Gerber lobbied for Colan, but was unsucessful. I could be off in my memory of a years-old interview, so feel free to correct me.

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 06:26:42 +0000

As horrible as the movie was, the monster at the end was pretty cool. PLEASE–do not rent or buy the movie to check. There’s got to be some images of it floating around without having to watch the rest of it.

By: MarkAndrew

MarkAndrew — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 06:01:56 +0000

Oh yeah. I bought the Treasury Edition a year or so ago after tearing mine to shreds as a young’n.

Frank Brunner art at triple size is about the coolest thing ever.

By: Richard

Richard — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 05:55:21 +0000

My first exposure to Howard the Duck was the Treasury Edition they put out in 1976. It reprinted his stories from GIANT-SIZE Man-Thing, the first issue of his comic-book and had a new story featuring the Defenders, which Gerber was writing at the time.

A very nice package.

By: The Mad Monkey

The Mad Monkey — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 05:45:42 +0000

Yes…Howard’s movie…
A single feather on Howard’s lower abdomen suggesting to the audience that he was…ummmm…aroused…
Good times not had by all.

But still, Howard has always been an underdog (underduck?) favorite of mine. His story in the Civil War mega-crap-series was perhaps the best part of an otherwise complete letdown.

By: Ben Jacobson

Ben Jacobson — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 04:41:52 +0000

What about Savage Dragon/Destroyer Duck, wherein the persona of Howard the Duck was stolen via an unofficial crossover with, I believe, Generation X? If I remember correctly they recreated a scene in each comic where the Marvel Howard was replaced with an impostor and the real Howard got a dye job and a name change (Leonard, maybe?)and was thus saved from his copyright holders. I always thought that was a cool idea. However, I don’t think it went much farther and it was definitely before that MAX series.

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 03:16:52 +0000

“first exposure to howard was in generation X and he had a great role in that for a short stint. why he hasnt done naything for a while has he? Im really surpised he hasnt thurned up in slottâ€™s she-hulk or thing.”

He showed up in one panel of Slott’s She-Hulk. He was suing George Lucas for not delivering on his promise of a complete film trilogy (and prequels).

By: stephen cade

stephen cade — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 03:04:13 +0000

My favorite was Star Waugh!
With NAACP-30

and the classic line about dress codes-
“Secret messages exchanged by clothing?”

It was my introduction to the character.

By: Ian Astheimer

Ian Astheimer — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 03:01:49 +0000

Howard the Duck is, I swear to God, my dad’s favorite movie of all time.

I got him the Essential Howard trade one year for Christmas (or some other gift-giving occasion), but I don’t know that he ever cracked it open.

Alack.

By: Graeme Burk

Graeme Burk — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 02:42:21 +0000

Oh, fun fact you don’t mention: Howard the Duck not only had his own comic in the 1970s, he actually had his own Syndicated Comic Strip as well. I read it quite faithfully when it appeared in The Toronto Star around 1978 or so.

In some ways, it was a phenomenally far-sighted move as it probably predated Bloom County’s mix of anthropromorphized satire and high melodrama by a good six years. Shame it didn’t catch on.