Howard The Duck #11 - A Review

Howard The Duck is dead but the chaos he attracted lives on. Now, as a group of intergalactic content-creators who manipulate the heroes of the universe for their own ends attempt to take control of the situation, Howard moves on to his final rest.

Oh, if only it were that simple...



There is little I can say about this series at this point beyond this: Chip Zdarsky and Joe Quinones have done the legacy of Steve Gerber and Val Mayerik proud.

This Howard the Duck run - too good for one volume - did not try to ape the style of the classic series but it did what the original series did in the 1970's - examine the comic industry and the world at large through the lens of The Marvel Universe and everything that makes them all so gloriously insane. This was no small thing in a year in which Howard The Duck running for President might be seen as the best of all possible options even to those who only know him for "that crappy George Lucas movie" and Marvel Comics became hopelessly devoted to promoting special event after special event.

Yet this book remained free and true to its vision to the very end. More, it proved what wonders can be created when writers and artists are free to create and not beholden to the whims of an editorial team devoted to crafting the next big spectacle, so that they may build audience interest for the next big spectacle to follow.  It is a lesson that will surely be lost upon The House of Ideas but, for a time, at least, the sanity of the everyduck prevailed.

Howard The Duck #10 - A Review

Howard The Duck just learned that his life is The Mojoverse's most popular reality show!  The problem is that this discovery was orchestrated by two alien "content creators"- Chipp and Joe - whom Mojo was paying to introduce random craziness into Howard's life to make things more interesting. Now, Howard is - as usual - caught in the middle of it as everyone is trying to cover up their various misdeeds with as much ratings-rising violence as possible.


With this gloriously metatextual issue, Chip Zdarsky has proven himself the premiere satirist of modern Marvel Comics and  a worthy heir to Steve Gerber's throne. The artwork is equally strong across the board. Still, all good things must come to an end and as much as I want to see how they end it all, I am not looking forward to the series finale.

Howard The Duck #9 - A Review

No sooner has Howard returned home and he's hit with another case. And a case from a big Hollywood actress! Well, so she says. Howard doesn't keep up on hairless ape culture. But his interest is piqued when this Lea Thompson says she's been having dreams of Howard. Dreams that seem oddly close to the events of Howard's life...

The artwork for this issue is more erratic than usual. It isn't bad but there's little sense of visual continuity from page to page. Occasionally, it isn't consistent from panel to panel. Blame it on the four inkers and two colorists.


Thankfully, while the look of this issue may be a little off, the writing is as funny as ever. Chip Zdarsky goes far beyond one could have been a one-note meta-joke in the mystery involving why Lea Thompson is dreaming of Howard. I'll be sad to see this series end in a few months but I'll be laughing every step of the way until the end.

Howard The Duck #8 - A Review

Since Howard The Duck returned to monthly comics, one question has been asked more than any other - who the hell thought it was a good idea to bring Howard The Duck back to monthly comics?! But this issue devotes itself toward answering that next most frequently asked question - whatever happened to Beverly Switzler?

You know?  The gorgeous redhead art model who was Howard's sidekick/best-friend/possible love interest depending on which stories you consider canon?  Lea Thompson played her in the movie? Ringing any bells yet?

*sighs* Well, anyway this issue is about them catching up. And then a Sentinel who wants to avenge his murdered family shows up to kill them.

Oh sure - THAT gets your interest!

While not as political a writer as Steve Gerber, Chip Zdarsky has captured the comedic spirit of Gerber's work and his acerbic wit perfectly when it comes to parodying the outrageous nature of The Marvel Universe. Yet he also manages some honest emotion in the discussion between Beverly and Howard. You really feel for them and Zdarsky does a fine job of capturing a relationship that has faltered despite the best efforts of both parties involved.


The art team proves equally excellent when it comes to depicting the absurd action Zdarky's scripts require. It's hard to pick out any one aspect of it, the whole package is so good. That being said, I do love Joe Quinones design for The Punisher Sentinel.

Howard The Duck #7 - A Review

It's all very simple.

Howard The Duck is a detective. He got hired by lawyer Jennifer Walter (aka She-Hulk) to track down one of her clients. Said client is a high-rolling rich jerk named Gary Stark (no relation, though he pretends there is) who mysteriously disappeared doing high-roller rich jerk stuff.

Howard recruits his "good friend" Spider-Man's boss (aka Peter Parker, but also secretly Spider-Man) to help them with a sting to figure out where Gary Stark went. This attracts the attention of D.A. Matt Murdock (aka Daredevil, but also secretly Matt Murdock), who has his own reasons for tracking down Gary Stark. And when Gary's trail leads to the Savage Land, they all have to go hitch a ride with Steve Rogers (aka The Senior Citizen Formerly Known As Captain America) so they don't violate the UN rules on traveling to The Savage Land!

See!  Totally simple!  It isn't until the geeks with the dinosaur-controlling helmets show up that things get complicated...


Guest artist Kevin Maguire is in fine form here. Nobody draws a great facial expression quite like Maguire and he is given ample opportunity to exercise his gifts for physical comedy throughout the issue. The color-art by Joe Quinones and Jordan Gibson bring the verdant wilds of the Savage Land to life perfectly, resulting in some amazing looking backgrounds.


This may not be a Giffen/DeMatteis comic book, but you'd never know it from the script. Chip Zdarksy's script seems to be a love letter to the BWA-HA-HA! days of comics, with all of the established characters played as overblown parodies of themselves and Howard stuck in the middle as the only sane man, er duck! How much you enjoy this issue may depend upon how willing you are to tolerate Spider-Man telling his amazing friends that they suck but I personally found the whole thing hilarious!

Howard The Duck #6 - A Review

Normally this is the part of the review where I'd summarize the set-up of the issue. Thankfully, I don't have to do that this time around. Howard The Duck does it for me! Yay Howard!


Mere words cannot do justice to the sheer enjoyable lunacy of this series. Ryan North and Chip Zdarsky are to be commended (or is that condemned?) for having raised the bar so high for future comic-writing smart-asses. Trying to detail all of the wonderful witty things in this comic would require me to write an encyclopedia, so I shall instead include a scan of my favorite sight-gag - Punisher with a cart-full of random guns at the same dealership Kraven The Hunter and Rocket Raccoon frequent.


All of this is ably illustrated by a top-notch art-team. That being said, you'd never know that there was a team working on this book because everything fits together so seamlessly. That's surprisingly uncommon on a book with three inkers and two colorists and well-worth praising!


If you haven't been reading Howard The Duck or The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, this Animal House crossover is just the thing to make you realize just what you've been missing. And what have you been missing? Two of the funniest comics in existence, ya goober!

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #6 - A Review

Howard The Duck has a new case! One that will not involve any weirdness like cosmic-powered clothing or alien fanboys trying to abduct him. Unfortunately, his efforts to find a missing cat do lead to The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl.

Why is that unfortunate? Because that also puts him in the path of Kraven The Hunter, who has been hired to abduct him on behalf of a human fangirl. See? That's totally different! And there's nothing cosmic about it!

Now The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl must rescue her new... acquaintance. Thankfully, Squirrel Girl and Kraven have something of an understanding. But even if he is willing to stand aside once his contract is fulfilled, can Doreen Green face the peril of an army of cosplaying Doom-bots?

Is there any story that has been more frequently adapted for comics than The Most Dangerous Game?  Probably not. But Ryan North and Chip Zdarsky manage to build upon the classic concept with a heaping-helping of humor that makes the whole thing new and hilarious. And yes - the Kra-van is indeed the greatest thing to happen to Kraven The Hunter in the last 20 years.


The artwork for this issue conforms to the usual high standard we expect of Erica Henderson and Rico Renzi. We're also treated to a bit of artwork from Howard The Duck artist Joe Quinones, who painted the side of the Kra-Van. Even Chip Zdarsky gets in on the act, providing the artwork for Howard The Duck's card in the Deadpool's Guide To Super-Villains collector card set, which needs ot be a real piece of merchandise ASAP!

Howard The Duck #5 - A Review

The Collector wants Howard for his collection of rare creatures. That hasn't changed.

What The Collector doesn't know is that Howard, in addition to now being a living link to the Nexus Of All Realities, has also temporarily been granted The Power Cosmic! And The Guardians of the Galaxy, Howard's time-displaced female clone, a female clone of Rocket Raccoon, The Silver Surfer, a Galactus groupie known as Scout and Howard's sidekick Linda the shape-shifter are coming to save him and free every other being held captive by The Collector!

Seriously, though - how could he have seen that coming?!


The action of this issue is a glorious train-wreck. That being said, it is an amusing train-wreck. Chip Zdarsky revels in the sheer insanity of The Marvel Universe at large like no one else and turns Howard into the only sane man-er duck capable of telling it like it is.


It is to the credit of the art team that you'd never know there was such a large art team working on this book. Frequently there are obvious differences in style when two inkers or two colorists are at work on a single comic. This issue has no such problems and the whole thing looks wonderful.

Howard The Duck #4 - A Review

Only four issues into its reboot, and Howard The Duck is already too complicated for a critic to explain simply in one introductory paragraph. Good thing the title page does such a fine job of explaining the story so far. Now I don't have to do it!


The plot of this series a forty-car pile-up of unfettered lunacy. It is also one of funniest things I've read in recent memory. Ignoring the tie-ins to The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Guardians of the Galaxy, that oh-so-subtle plug for The Ultimates #2 and the presence of The Silver Surfer (who just got his own series again!), you still have characters like Scout, the Wannabe Herald of Galactus. And, oh yes, Galactus. How Chip Zdarsky balances all this I have no idea, but I'm glad he does it!


The artwork proves capable of capturing the sheer variety of characters and insane action. Both inkers - Joe Rivera and Rick Magayar - maintain a consistent level of shade throughout. And Joe Quinones is a wonder on pencils and colors. Truly this book looks as good as it reads!

Howard The Duck #3 - A Review

The good news is that Howard The Duck has become the living conduit for The Nexus of All Realities! The bad news is... everything else.

Actually, that first part isn't good news either!  Because now Howard is a living portal capable of sending anyone anywhere... except himself. So not only can he not go back to his home dimension but now he's being hunted by every war-mongering race in the universe as well as every self-important cosmic being known only by a vague one-word title.

Also, The Final Gwenpool story ever! (Not really. Probably.)


The main story of this issue is enjoyable but suffers somewhat for burying its lead.  The cover - and the first two pages - feature Howard as The Silver Surfer with no explanation given. The rest of the chapter continues on from where Issue #1 ended, with little progress being made toward the promise of a Metallic Mallard.

This seems to have been a trend in Marvel's humor comics of late, with the new Ant-Man series similarly dancing around the question of just how Scott Lang wound up in prison again. Thankfully, while it seems that Chip Zdarsky is padding things out a bit, the journey toward the end is hilarious. And the artwork by Joe Quinones and Joe Rivera is as good as ever.


The Gwenpool comic at the end seems much stronger. Christopher Hastings - perhaps most famous for his work on The Adventures of Dr. McNinja - is a fine comedic writer who revels in the insanity of a pantless fangirl kicking ass through the sheer confusion of her enemies. The artwork by Danilo Beyruth and Tamra Bonvillain perfectly matches the manic energy of Hastings' script.

Howard The Duck #1 - A Review

Trapped in a world he never made (whatever THAT means?!), Howard The Duck has finally had it. Sure, he's found some limited success as a private investigator. And he has a good pair of friends in elderly widow May Parker and shape-shifter Tara Tam. But he still wants to go back to the universe from which he originally came.

As luck would have it, his recent encounters with The Abundant Glove - an artifact of moderate but ultimately limited cosmic power - may be the key to getting Howard back home. But the way will not be easy, even ignoring Howard's innate ability to find trouble and costumed weirdos no matter how much he tries to live a normal life. Well, as normal as your life can be when you're an anthropomorphic duck trapped on a world full of hairless apes.


If you were enjoying the previous Howard The Duck series (you know - the one that ran for five issues before Marvel renumbered everything? AGAIN?!), you'll enjoy this one as well. Chip Zdarsky is still delivering the funny. And Joe Quinones and Joe Rivera are still making everything look good.


The only real change is that the back-up comics seem to be serialized now as well. In this story by Chris Hastings, Howard is hired by Black Cat to track down a pink-clad mercenary who is unbeknownst to her but knownst to us as Gwenpool!  Yes, there's some universe where Gwen Stacy became Deadpool. And now she's here - cutely and insanely illustrated by Danilo Beyruth and Tamra Bonvillain.

So... yeah. If you're the sort of person who enjoys utter lunacy and the sheer randomness of The Marvel Universe laid bare to be laughed at, then you'll love Howard The Duck. Assuming you weren't already loving it.  Damn renumberings....

Howard The Duck #5 - A Review

Disaster! The rogue Skrull known as Talos The Untamed has gathered the gems need to power The Abundant Glove - an artifact of moderate but ultimately limited cosmic power! Now Howard The Duck and his sidekick Tara Tam must race to get the heck out of there while the real heroes deal with it... or do they?!


Those who are as sick as endless cosmic crossovers as I am doubtlessly find Howard The Duck #5 to be an amusing treat. The whole issue is a send-up of every story-line that holds no other purpose than throwing a bunch of heroes at some random new villain in the hopes that you'll slap down your sheckles for a few pages worth of your favorite hero doing something awesome. And Chip Zdarsky milks the scenario for everything it is worth, complete with caption boxes telling you which comics the characters are referring to in their conversations- some of which are actually real!


This humor continues into the artwork itself.  There's a number of hilarious sight-gags built around various things the "real heroes" are doing in the background while the focus shifts to other characters.  Full praise to Joe Quinones, Joe Rivera, Paolo Rivera and Rico Renzi for a fantastic looking issue!

Howard The Duck #4 - A Review

The good news is that Howard The Duck recovered the necklace he'd been hired to retrieve. The bad news is that his client turned out to be a Skrull and he stiffed Howard on his bill. The printed statement regarding payment for services rendered kind of bill.  Not the duck-bill kind of bill.

But the worse news is that the necklace contained something called an Abundant Gem that could give its barer reasonable cosmic power.  Looks like Howard needs a Doctor. And since that British guy isn't published by Marvel UK anymore, that means Doctor Strange!


Howard The Duck has quickly become one of my favorite titles and this issue is a good example of why. This issue revels in the inherent silliness of classic Marvel Comics, depicting a vapid Johnny Storm who can't be bothered with worrying about having lost a cosmic artifact 10 years earlier and a Doctor Strange who plays poker with cosmic entities. And through it all Howard plays the straight-man to everyone else's insanity.

Chip Zdarsky's scripts are a riot and after this issue I want to see him writing a Doctor Strange series.  Joe Quinones' artwork is brilliant and he does a fine job of parodying Steve Ditko's style in the sequence where Howard steps between worlds. And the colors by Rico Renzi and Rachelle Rosenberg are perfectly chosen.


As usual, the back-up story is also an enjoyable treat. The plot centers on Howard being recruited to steal the secrets of Pym Particles for The White Rabbit. It is to Chip Zdarsky's credit that he managed to get through this story without making a Trix joke. And the artwork by Katie Cook and Heather Breckel is adorably hilarious.

For my money, there's no funnier, finer book to spend your four bucks American on.  And best of all, it's one of the few Marvel titles out right now that isn't part of a crossover!  So if you haven't given Howard The Duck a shot yet, do so!

Howard The Duck #3 - A Review

The good news is that Howard The Duck - Private Eye - was able to safely return to Earth with the stolen necklace he was hired to recover, after an unexpected journey into deep space. The bad news is that just after getting back, he was mugged by an old lady.  But not just any old lady!  He was mugged by Peter Parker's saintly Aunt May!

Not that Howard knows this or would care even if he did. All he wants is the necklace back! But in his efforts to track the sinister senior citizen down, Howard will uncover a dastardly plot that will prove a thankful distraction from the most humiliating stakeout ever.



Chip Zdarsky continues to roll out the funny. The main story is a laugh-riot and I refuse to reveal the hilarious truth behind how Aunt May become one of NYC's Ten Most Wanted. Nor shall I spoil the hilarity of the back-up tale, in which Howard is hired to find the missing and presumed dead Wolverine by a Wolverine cosplayer whose business is rather dependent on the hairy Canadian being alive and well. Just know that of you like to laugh, you will love this book.


The artwork for this book is just as good as the writing.  Joe Quinones, Joe Rivera and Rico Renzi continue to be a terrific trio on the main story. And Jason Lafour proves to be their equal in his work on the back-up tale.

Howard The Duck #2 - A Review

Trapped in a prison he never made, Howard The Duck seems doomed to be a part of The Collector's collection!  Luckily, Howard is locked up with Rocket Raccoon and the rest of The Guardians of the Galaxy are ready to spring their pal while The Collector is away on important business (i.e. attending a Con). Unluckily for Howard, they may get him killed long before he ever sees Earth again, much less gets paid for his current case!


Not surprisingly, Chip Zdarksy's script for this issue proves as hilarious as the first. Curiously, less of that humor is born of Howard himself and more from the sheer insanity of the Guardians of the Galaxy, such as Rocket's shaving a totally unnecessary treasure map into his fur. There's an equally funny back-up story where Howard is sued by Iron Fist and Power Man over the right to use the phrase "hero for hire" in his advertising.


The art team deserves just as much praise for their contributions to the book.  Rob Guillory's amazing facial expressions add to the fun of the back-up story. And Joe Quinones is to be commended for how many little sight gags he fits into every panel of the main feature.

Howard The Duck #1 - A Review

Trapped in a world he never made, Howard The Duck didn't think his life could get much worse. The public is alternatively scared and/or distrustful of him. The police think he's a trouble-maker. And the superhuman community don't have much use for him either. He can't even afford a real secretary! Still, the duck detective finally has a case he can sink his bill into. Now, if he could only get a clue...


Newcomers to Howard The Duck (i.e. everyone who only knows Howard from his cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy and that other movie we do not speak of) will be relieved that there is no cumbersome backstory to be made aware of in this first issue.  Howard is a talking duck. He's trapped on Earth. He's not happy about it. Neither are any of the stupid hairless apes who make Howard's life even more difficult. That's all you need know. A quick reference is made to there being a woman in Howard's past but the matter is quickly dropped as Howard is in no mood to discuss it.

Thankfully, for us old-timers, there are a number of references to Howard's past adventures even though this book gives him a fresh start. For instance, Howard is sharing an office building with She Hulk - an arrangement neither of them is particularly happy about, save when Howard needs someone to bail him out of jail. These nods to the past add to the humor of the issue, of which there is a considerable amount. And of course there's an obligatory first issue cameo by Spider-Man. And a training montage!


Chip Zdarsky's hilarious script is well met by the artwork of Joe Quinones and Rico Renzi.  Quinnones's style is reminiscent of Mike Allred's with simple character designs and a dynamic sense of motion between panels. His design for Howard himself is notable, being a nice compromise between Howard's film appearances and his original appearance in the comics. Ironic really, now that they don't have to worry about a Disney lawsuit...

Captain Marvel #11 - A Review

It is a rare thing for bad artwork to spoil my enjoyment of a well-written comic book.  Yet Filipe Andrade has managed that feat and as a result I'm dropping Captain Marvel from my subscription.  Andrade's artwork is so awful I can't even bear to feature any more of it on my blog than I have to - hence the scan of this issue's far superior cover below.   


To my mind, this image is above is how Captain Marvel should be presented.  Strong.  Capable.  Tough.  At the very least, she should appear to be a human female and not evoke thoughts of the super-skinny aliens from the movie A.I. as Andrade's characters do.  To describe the figures he depicts as freakishly skinny would deny me the opportunity to use a number of ten-dollar words such as emaciated, malnourished and anorexic.    


I wish I could stay for the excellent writing of Kelly Sue DeConnick and Christopher Sabela.  There's a good story underneath all this about Carol Danvers coping with a medical problem that leaves her unable to fly and dependent on a SHIELD-issue flying motorcycle.  However, I fear it's not worth the aggravation of trying to interpret what I'm looking at on every page.