Related
Summary
Howard the Duckfirst paddle into the Marvel Universe in 1973 , and brought with him a unparalleled sensibility that has yet to be duplicate in American strip . The founding of Steve Gerber and Val Mayerik , Howard the Duck ’s other adventures were a mixed bag of profound social commentary and phantasmagorical , laugh out loud instant . Here are 10 of the funniest moment from the Gerber era of Howard the Duck .
10Howard the Duck “Meets’ Commissioner Gordon
Appearing in:Giant Size Man-Thing#5 by Steve Gerber and Frank Brunner
Howard learns a brutal lesson about Earth in this account : no good deed goes unpunished . After helping hold back Garko the Man - Frog , Howard finds himself in jailhouse , where he comes face to face with an rabid , straight - laced Commissioner Gordon pastiche , named “ Commissioner Gordonski . ” When Gordonski come up out that Howard is actually a duck , he straight off fold and sets Howard free . Howard the Duckwas never short on lampoon comic Christian Bible image or character , andhere Gerber takes the wind instrument out of Commissioner Gordon ’s sail , comically amplifying his bad trait and register it is all bluster .
9Howard the Duck: Vampire Hunter
Shortly after being put out from prison house , Howard finds himself on the track of a lamia killing farmers . He is shocked to learn that the lamia in motion is actually a cow call Bessie . One ofHoward ’s earliest adventures , the story , titled “ Hellcow , ” go down the tonus for everything that was to come . First , the very opinion of a lamia cow is ludicrous , but Gerber and Brunner manage to sell it well . secondly , the story wait at the ideal of heroism and what makes a torpedo and Gerber ’s finish about are highly misanthropic , a whole step that would feed through the book .
In his fiftieth anniversary special , Howard the Duck has some choice words for a group that wants to acquire all IP and broadcast their narrative to the galaxy .
8Howard the Duck Fights Turnip-Man
Appearing in:Howard the Duck#2 by Steve Gerber and Frank Brunner
Howard the Duck ’s “ rogues gallery ” is full of some of the weird — but also funniest , characters in the Marvel Universe , and Turnip - Man is one of them . Arthur Winslow was a subaltern night watchman with dreams of being a publish author when he found a sentient blank space Brassica rapa . Seducing Arthur with dreaming of power , the turnip stick with him , create the brawny Turnip - Man . At the time , there was no other villain like Turnip - Man . A contemporaries of readers had grown upreading conventional scoundrel like Doctor Doom , and Turnip - Man broke the mould , and continuedHoward the Duck’smission of sending up superhero comics .
7Howard the Duck Sabotages a Children’s Television Program
First Appearing in:Howard the Duck#5 by Steve Gerber and Gene Colan
A key part ofHoward the Duck’sappeal was its dark temper , and it gets no dark than sabotaging a fry ’s television political program . Howard flub his way onto the set ofGonzo the Clown , and when the clown hits him with a cream Proto-Indo European , the duck’s egg unleash chaos on the lot , attacking the clown and drawing laughs and cheerfulness from the kid . Children ’s shows featuring clowns were still a matter in the mid-1970s , and Gerber and Colan had a good laugh at their expense in this story . The result is one of the funniest stories in Howard the Duck ’s calling .
6Howard the Duck Parodies Spider-Man’s Origin
As note in the first place , Howard the Ducknever shied away from poking fun at the caller ’s characters , and in this tale Gerber and Colan parody Spider - Man ’s iconic descent . Desperate for money , Howard enters a wrestling competition and winnings , but the booster refuse to pay him on a triviality . Marvel sports fan will acknowledge this as a Riffian on Spider - Man ’s origin as present inAmazing Fantasy#15 . This time , however , there is no robber to cease and thus no grand moral lessons stem from it . alternatively it becomes a rumination on the unfairness of aliveness in the modern world .
5Howard the Duck Runs for President
First Appearing in:Howard the Duck#8 by Steve Gerber and Gene Colan
Howard the Duck ’s solo title debuted in 1976 , flop as America was gearing up for not only its bicentenary day of remembrance but also a presidential election . It should have been a metre of good feeling for the nation , but it wasstill reeling from Watergate a few years earlier , and Gerber and Colan leaned into this disillusion , spin a screaming tale that actually made national headlines . Howard fumble his way of life onto a third company slate and rises quickly in the canvass , but is brought down by scandal . Gerber pulls no punches as he brilliantly calls out the American political system .
Cult paladin Howard the Duck celebrates his 50th day of remembrance and Marvel has used the affair to call out a harsh truth about him .
4Howard the Duck Foils a Canadian Super-Patriot’s Plans
First Appearing in:Howard the Duck#9 by Steve Gerber and Gene Colan
Howard barely had time to find from his presidential bid before learning of one of the most flakey plots in Marvel story : to drop an United States Army of high hat on Niagara Falls . The beavers would re - dam the Falls , stimulate them to course backwards . This nutty scheme was the body of work of Le Beaver , a Canadian superpatriot with a score against America . sports fan also learn Howard ’s presidential run was a caper on Le Beaver ’s part . patriotism of any sort is bad , andGerber call it out by take it to its uproarious extreme .
3Howard the Duck’s Religious Bus Ride
First Appearing in:Howard the Duck#11 by Steve Gerber and Gene Colan
Steve Gerber usedHoward the Duckas a vehicle to research various facets of the human precondition , and in exit 11 he brilliantly review organized religion . While on a bus ride to another city , Howard encounters a wide mixture of religious adherent , each one claim the truth . What keep up is one of the book ’s trippiest sequences , as the adherents become more and more violent the longer the ride goes on . The mint of a Hare Krishna fighting a priest is hilarious , and Gerber utilize it here to transmit up organized religion . The story also introduced supporting mould phallus Winda Wister .
2Howard the Duck Parodies Daimon Hellstrom
First Appearing in:Howard the Duck#14 by Steve Gerber and Gene Colan
Howard the Duck skewered classical comical icon such as Commissioner Gordon , but the Holy Writ also had no problem institutionalise up contemporary characters either – in this case Daimon Hellstrom , who was relatively new at the prison term . Through a serial of mishaps , Howard produce Hellstrom ’s magnate and die on a rampage , calling out some of the character ’s shortcomings . Hellstrom had long seek to purge himself of his demonic moody side , and he was successful . However , a duck is not a suitable vas for such big businessman , and Hellstrom was impel to take it back . Hellstrom came so closemouthed , but Howard denied him peace .
1Howard the Duck ParodiesStar Wars
First Appearing in:Howard the Duck#22-23 by Steve Gerber and Val Mayerik
Bythe timeHoward the Duckhit its stride , Star Warshad become a cultural genius – making it ripe for parody . Gerber reunited with Val Mayerik to give fans a ridiculously over - the - top send - up , with established Marvel characters such as Man - Thing filling in for Han Solo , Chewbacca and the rest . Not contented to be a simple spoof , the story is also classic Howard the Duck , and the villain is one of the weirdest he ever agitate . During its time , Howard the Duckwas on - point satire , and never was that more clear than here .
This year introduced a host of dangerous new villains to the Marvel Universe ; here ’s a expression at who could be the biggest menace of the next year .
There is no other character likeHoward the Duckin the chronological record of Marvel history . immobilise in a world he never made , the recurrent outsider Howard has found himself in a variety of hilarious situations that are by twist both laughable and dark .
