Howard the Duck MAX

by Steve Gerber, Phil Winslade

Trade paperback collection.

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Satire, Fiction, Superheroes

144 pages, Paperback

First published September 23, 2002

About the author

Steve Gerber graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in communications and took a job in advertising. To keep himself sane, he wrote bizarre short stories such as "Elves Against Hitler," "Conversion in a Terminal Subway," and "...And the Birds Hummed Dirges!" He noticed acquaintance Roy Thomas working at Marvel, and Thomas sent him Marvel's standard writing test, dialoguing Daredevil art. He was soon made a regular on Daredevil and Sub-Mariner, and the newly created Man-Thing, the latter of which pegged him as having a strong personal style--intellectual, introspective, and literary. In one issue, he introduced an anthropomorphic duck into a horror fantasy, because he wanted something weird and incongruous, and Thomas made the character, named for Gerber's childhood friend Howard, fall to his apparent death in the following issue. Fans were outraged, and the character was revived in a new and deeply personal series. Gerber said in interview that the joke of Howard the Duck is that "there is no joke." The series was existential and dealt with the necessities of life, such as finding employment to pay the rent. Such unusual fare for comicbooks also informed his writing on The Defenders. Other works included Morbius, the Lving Vampire, The Son of Satan, Tales of the Zombie, The Living Mummy, Marvel Two-in-One, Guardians of the Galaxy, Shanna the She-Devil, and Crazy Magazine for Marvel, and Mister Miracle, Metal Men, The Phantom Zone , and The Immortal Doctor Fate for DC. Gerber eventually lost a lawsuit for control of Howard the Duck when he was defending artist Gene Colan's claim of delayed paychecks for the series, which was less important to him personally because he had a staff job and Colan did not.

He left comics for animation in the early 1980s, working mainly with Ruby-Spears, creating Thundarr the Barbarian with Alex Toth and Jack Kirby and episodes of The Puppy's Further Adventures, and Marvel Productions, where he was story editor on multiple Marvel series including Dungeons & Dragons, G.I. Joe, and The Transformers. He continued to dabble in comics, mainly for Eclipse, including the graphic novel Stewart the Rat, the two-part horror story "Role Model: Caring, Sharing, and Helping Others," and the seven-issue Destroyer Duck with Jack Kirby, which began as a fundraiser for Gerber's lawsuit.

In the early 1990s, he returned to Marvel with Foolkiller, a ten-issue limited series featuring a new version of a villain he had used in The Man-Thing and Omega the Unknown, who communicated with a previous version of the character through internet bulletin boards. An early internet adopter himself, he wrote two chapters of BBSs for Dummies with Beth Woods Slick, with whom he also wrote the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "Contagion." During this period, he also wrote The Sensational She-Hulk and Cloak and Dagger for Marvel, Cybernary and WildC.A.T.s for Image, and Sludge and Exiles for the writer-driven Malibu Ultraverse, and Nevada for DC's mature readers Vertigo line.

In 2002, he returned to the Howard the Duck character for Marvel's mature readers MAX line, and for DC created Hard Time with Mary Skrenes, with whom he had co-created the cult hit Omega the Unknown for Marvel. Their ending for Omega the Unknown remains a secret that Skrenes plans to take to the grave if Marvel refuses to publish it. Suffering from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis ("idiopathic" meaning of unknown origin despite having been a heavy smoker much of his life), he was on a waiting list for a double lung transplant. His final work was the Doctor Fate story arc, "More Pain Comics," for DC Comics'

Reviews

[Manny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This insanely funny comic book is even better than The Essential Howard The Duck ... to start off with, it's in colour and there's more gratuitous nudity. My favourite bit is where Howard meets God in Beelzebub's Bar, but it's all great.

[Jedi JC Daquis · Rating 4 out of 5]

So... Howard the Duck becomes a rat in his eponymous miniseries published under Marvel's Max Comics imprint. The story begins when Beverly, her companion gets a mysterious job with an unusually high salary. The company turns out to be a front for Dr. Bong's plan of getting Beverly back! And from there, well, things got way out of hand.

Without spoiling anything (like how Howard became a duck), I'd say this whole miniseries is a tome of satire and parody. Elements of pop culture, religion, television media and even comic book references are here seen, discussed and portrayed in different levels of ridicule. The main story, though still being felt is being sidelined by tons and tons of metajokes and commentaries.

And you really should not care about the story, because the jokes are really hilarious. The farces are unexpected and smart. Though not as crazily far as South Park in the "how controversial can you go" department, Howard the Duck's satiric setpieces and black comedy dialogues are not for everybody. This material gets as explicit and as offensive as it can go.

[Jerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this quite a while ago, and don’t remember enjoying it this much. I expect that it helps to have read more of the comics he’s making fun of, and knowing what Alan Moore looks like.

Back in the original Howard the Duck, Steve Gerber wrote:

“Characters who cannot change as rapidly, as often, as mercurially as I do anesthetize me. Characters can become institutions devoted to making vegetables out of writers.”

In this six-issue series, Howard’s DNA is altered and becomes unstable. He may actually be changing as rapidly and as mercurially as Gerber himself.

This is probably the most non-PC version of Howard. Gay middle-aged men are mostly, if not all, sexually aroused by prepubescent boys. COEXIST is a conspiracy to make all religions violent. Oprah is a cult leader and her viewers mindless cult members. God is a creator whose work is nothing more than inspired work-for-hire.

Worst of all, the Endless are nothing more than whiny goths who never actually do anything.

Because this book doesn’t focus just on wider cultural issues. It also takes on everything from Sandman and Hellblazer to Transmetropolitan and Witchblade. And Huey, Dewey, and Louie.

And while the caricatures of Hellblazer and Transmetropolitan fall a bit flat because they were themselves already somewhat satirical (at least at the start), it’s all quite funny, even the parts that should enrage me. Gerber has a tendency to hide his subtle satirical content (look at the evolution of the bearers of the Amulet of Pazuzu) behind utterly outrageous satirical content (the way Dr. Bong rates potential boy bands), and to soften it up by mixing in pop-culture caricatures. Something that probably inspired my own sporadic attempts at satire.

This makes a very fitting conclusion to the Gerber-written Howard the Duck stories, which from my experience are the only ones worth reading.

[Joel Kirk · Rating 1 out of 5]

A blurb on the back of the graphic novel says: "Before it was a bad movie, Howard the Duck was a great comic book."

Ironically, as bad as the movie was, the graphic novel itself has no real story; just weird, random things happening to our 'heroes' throughout. They - the heroes - face troubles that have no rhyme or reason; either due to bad luck, or twisted realities. Howard even changes to a mouse at one point.

Oh, it starts off with some semblance of a story. For example, sexy redhead Beverly Switzler and her partner, the anthropomorphic duck Howard, live in a little scrapheap of a place - literally in a trash dump area - where Howard works as a security guard. Beverly who is in the midst of looking for work finds a job as a supervisor for a marketing company. An odd company which literally produces boy bands in tubes. And, the marketing seems to be directed to not exactly girls, but grown men and their sexual reaction.

Howard and Beverly find out that a Dr. Bong (a guy with a bell for a head and a arm for a bell hammer, the arm and head used in conjunction if he wants to incapacitate someone with a loud ring) is behind it all. After of the boys has escaped from the lab and runs into Beverly, that’s when she gets wind that something is awry - as if the weird marketing didn’t already clue her in.

And then it - the ‘story’ - gets lost:

Howard and Beverly's home is destroyed after being demolished by a girl scout leading a SWAT team through their house in search of a terrorist. It's not explained how this young girl is the head of this SWAT team, it's just some random thing that gets Howard and Beverly out of their place.

They - Beverly and Howard - go to live at a residential hotel that doesn't require cash or credit, allows rodents and pitbulls. Since Howard changes into a rat, this works.

This residential hotel has residents who are in their own realities in their respective rooms where one lives in his/her dreams. For example, Beverly dreams about a hunk that she wears out sexually and Howard dreams about a buffet that he wears out in his own way (i.e. ingesting it all at once).

And the story - or lack thereof - just goes on with references to Witchblade, Oprah, Constantine....but not really making much sense or having a point.

Howard eventually changes back to a duck and talks with 'God' and the story ends with us not getting any closure on Dr. Bong and his boy band assembly lab.

Now, while I did laugh at the wackiness of some scenes, I don’t see myself really recommending this graphic novel unless one is a Howard the Duck fan, or one wants to complete his/her collection, or just curious.

While slightly better than the 1980s film - emphasis on ‘slightly’ - I don’t see myself coming back to this graphic novel. Even as a fan of Howard the Duck.

[Kirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

A duck-man turned moose-fish living with a woman who was married to a guy with a bell for a head. A plot to convert young women into political zombies via test-tube boy bands. The holy trinity on a several decade binge in some hole-in-the-wall bar. And of course, every DC/Vertigo character lodging in hell's finest establishment.

This was a strange read, and that's exactly why I liked it. As a fan of the DC/Vertigo line, I really loved the depiction of Hellblazer as a drunken sod whose characterization relied heavily on his overblown accent. Spider Jerusalem is depicted as a drugged up journalist with an inflated ego whose powers of observation are relatively amplified because everyone else in his world is blind. Wait. Was this parody? Because that's exactly what they are in the DC/Vertigo lineup.

If nothing else, Gerber's tale offers us a glimpse into the realm of character generation. With a few shifts, he takes the flawed characters we love and boils them down to formulaic simplicity, which only made me love them even more. However, I'm not sure about the alleged biting social commentary. Yeah, there are boy bands being mass produced in protein tanks, but the target audience already recognizes the parallels between this and the real world most likely. So I guess some of the themes and elements of plot in the story act more as a validating pat on the back for the reader than exposure to social phenomena we're too blind or sidetracked to see going on before our very eyes.

But there's nothing wrong with a validating pat on the back every now and then. And there's nothing wrong with laughing at the things we love from time to time, and in turn, laughing at ourselves.

[Kalle Vilenius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steve Gerber and Howard the Duck are indispensable to and inseparable from one another. At no point is Gerber’s satire more biting than when he is writing Howard, never is Howard worth paying attention to unless written by Gerber. This series is outstanding. The artwork is provided by Phil Winslade, who previously teamed up with Gerber for their Nevada series at Vertigo, with one fill-in issue drawn by the series’ regular cover-artist Glenn Fabry. The art is always gorgeous. This being a MAX-title, there’s more cursing, gore, and nudity than you’d expect from a Marvel comic, and all are used to hilarious effect.

Some spoilers to follow.

At the start of the story, Howard and Beverly are living in a literal garbage dump. Their life is at a low point, and Bev goes out looking for a job. She finds one, in a company that creates focus group -tested boy bands in vats. Sounds about right for a Gerber story, and he brings back an old villain from the series’ past to get the ball rolling. A new status quo is established for the comic, with Howard turning from a duck to a rat (a mouse, he insists), shortly followed by the couple losing their home and wandering around town, getting into various strange encounters that take up the bulk of the story. Quite frankly the beginning of the story has almost nothing to do with where it goes, Gerber is being highly unpredictable here, keeping the reader guessing and making it very difficult to stop reading.

It must be said that the casual attitude this comic has toward sex is refreshing. There’s no drama about it, Howard and Beverly have been together so long they treat nudity around one another as completely casual, they shower together and there’s hardly much reaction when accidental, transformation-induced cunnilingus begins. Later Bev has sex with another man, apparently on the same bed Howard is gorging himself on. They’re extraordinarily comfortable around each other, showing the difference between an actually mature book and one that reaches for “maturity” through titillation.

Over the course of their journey, Howard and Bev run into another staple of Gerber’s stories, a number of parodies of other comic book titles, like Doucheblade (Witchblade) and a whole boarding house full of expies for various Vertigo characters (including Gerber and Winslade’s previous creation, Nevada). We meet counterparts for The Endless, John Constantine, Cain & Able (are they Alan Moore and Grant Morrison? Who can say!), Wesley Dodds and even Spider Jerusalem. Witchblade is mocked mercilessly for its shallowness (sex and violence), while the Vertigo crowd is more gently ribbed. Of all of them the one who rises to the greatest prominence is “Splatter Gomorrah” (Transmetropolitan wasn’t originally published under Vertigo but Helix), the foul-mouthed reporter who shanghais Howard and Bev into his service as he seeks to take down talk-show hosts.

The most important of these Vertigo send-ups come from Preacher: Deuteronomy (Genesis) and the Saint of Therapists (Saint of Killers), the former being the expected entity born of a union between an angel and a demon, the latter being Sigmund Freud’s ghost, who has some excellent lines (“I was having a flying dream”). Deuteronomy escapes Heaven and finds a new host in such a host, resulting in Gerber’s brutal takedown of the narcissism inherent to these shows.

Here we get to meet the Holy Trinity as well, God and Jesus appearing about how you’d expect them to, but the Holy Ghost having what is without a doubt my favourite depiction of all time: someone in a cheap Halloween ghost costume. Boo!

Howard speaks to God at the end, and while the initial discourse on religion is pretty safe and well-trodden ground, things get much more interesting (and somewhat reminiscent of Douglas Adams) idea of the universe having been put together as work for hire rather than “created”, a concept that sounds very familiar to those comic book readers who have familiarity with the history of Gerber’s struggles with Marvel over the ownership of Howard the Duck (or any number of other creators and their creations, really).

Honestly, I was expecting a more Grant Morrison/Dave Sim sort of ending with Howard meeting Gerber himself, but this is fine as it is. The final message of seeking out your own meaning in life isn’t a controversial or particularly novel idea, but it is an idea Howard needed to hear and one that, perhaps, more people ought to take seriously into account.

All in all, Gerber was on fire with this one and the artwork manages to keep perfect pace with him. I have no complaints whatsoever. The book moves briskly ahead at all times, the jokes are numerous and often far too clever for the usual comic book, Winslade’s art seems to have levelled up from Nevada in the few short years between these two series and the strangeness and biting social commentary that define Steve Gerber are on full display and at their peak.

[Greg Kerestan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first official reboot of Howard the Duck reunites the satiric character with his author/creator Steve Gerber, and it's much better than the second half of the original run. Howard gets back to his parodic and satiric roots and actually feels like a character with teeth again. Unfortunately, they lay the 2000s-era comic parodies on a little thick, with far too much time devoted to spoofing Neil Gaiman's Sandman and other "artsy comics" of the era. The final sequence, in which Howard has a long chat with God about life, religion and the true purpose of the universe, is definitely a highlight, though by then the cynicism is laid on so thick that, like late-period George Carlin, it all but stops being comedy at all.

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ultimately, this could never stand on its own. It's more about the boldness of the attempt than the success.

Each issue is essentially a totally separate parody held together by a very, very thin thread.

Issue 1 attacks boy bands
Issue 2 is the closest it comes to a plot about existing characters.
Issue 3 is about Witchblade
issue 4 is about the Vertigo line of comics
Issue 5 is about Oprah/Dr. Phil (vs. Freud?)
Issue 6 is Gerber's benediction

Most of the parody doesn't really land. And he doesn't have much more to say about these things other than that he doesn't think they're very good. It's not very strong. But you can feel the energy of the blow anyway.

[Duncan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great book for Howard the Duck fans who were put off by the whole "Duck" part of his character. I read it years ago, but my memory is that I was a little disappointed to put it mildly. Steve Gerber gets a chance to bring his one great Marvel character that he created back to life and for most of the run turns him into a rodent. Cools? Not cool. You do get to see Beverly Switzer's nekked breasts though so this will get two stars for that alone. Also Phil Winslade's art? Not that great. Glen Fabry pencils an issue in the middle of the book so that's cool but overall Howard the Rat is not cool. No thank you.

[Iranoctis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Howards Begegnung mit Gott und die mannigfaltigen Witchblade-, Sandman-, Preacher-, Transmetropolitan-Anspielungen sind grandios und sollte jeder Comic-Fan kennen. Leider ist die Hinführung über den Konflikt mit Dr. Bong nicht ganz so stark und die Story hat so ihre Lücken und billigen Effekte. Trotzdem klare Empfehlung!

[Aivija · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a perfect ending for Howard’s character. I am so glad Gerber got the chance to say farewell to his favourite goober and restore some dignity to the character. It makes me even more upset what marvel has chosen to do with the character ever since, but I am closing my eyes and pretending this is the last appearance of Howard.

[Mik Cope · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up the individual issues years ago and somehow never got around to reading them. And, does it live up to the 70s title? Well, it's a different animal, really. Totally wacky - the Duck becomes a Mouse through genetic modification and ends up in Hell having an existential discussion with the Creator before returning to Cleveland in Duck form. A pretty wild ride, all told.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boring and unfunny,almost ready to give it 2 stars and not finish. Except for the last issue, which was a lot more entertaining.

[Devin Araujo · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the gritty era for sure.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Howard the Duck is a bat-shit crazy tale of a talking duck from another dimension, who gets into all sorts of scrapes with his sexy human friend Beverly. In this limited series from 2002 Howard gets turned into a giant mouse (among other creatures), reconnects with Bev's husband Dr Bong (whose head is shaped like a bell), finds a magic bracelet that increases the breast size of the woman wearing it, discovers a nefarious plot to manufacture boybands, and meets God for a chat about reality. It's a wild, adult ride, and I laughed all the way through.

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gerber starts this collection as if it will be a decompressed modern comic where one story is told over the course of six issues with an eye towards collecting it into a trade and drops that in favor of episodic and craziness aimed at the state of Adult comics and the world itself.

Beverly and Howard are a couple and she's not at all surprised when he touches her while they shower together. I guess Steve really wanted it to be explicit that Bev and Howard are together. She does also have a sexual liaison with a Tarzan stand-in so take that as you like.

[John Kirk · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some interesting ideas in here, basically talking about the ways in which people can accept style over substance. Unfortunately, the same criticism applies to some of this book: there are lots of parodies, but they mostly resort to "reference humour", aka "it's funny because you've heard of it". For instance, there's a John Constantine knock-off called "Hellboozer" (rather than "Hellblazer"). Still, Dr Bong is always a fun character.

[Mark Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steve Gerber's official continuation from the last issue he wrote for the original series. Its slightly less good than the original series, but the freedom the adult oriented MAX line provided is a definite plus. It just feels a bit over written in parts.

[Javi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mi primer tebeo de Howard el Pato, al principio me pareció un tanto flojo. Pero los últimos números son increíbles. Encuentro con DIOS incluido. Completamente genial esa parte. Habrá que leer más cositas de este Pato :)

[Dave · Rating 1 out of 5]

Possibly better than the movie.

[Cem]

Love the parody of the whole Alan Moore spawned British comics writer generation and their characters. Blatantly shameless!

[Timo · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the time balancing on the edge of shall-I-cease-to-read-this-through and man-this-is-good. And this end up being so-so.

[Josef Ploski]

After seeing the movie several times I realized I had never actually read a Howard the Duck comic. It was an eye opening excursion. This was one of the strangest graphic collections I have ever read.

[Kamil Henri · Rating 3 out of 5]

6.5/10