Rating: 
Summary: Meanwhile, Back in Cleveland...
Review: ...Howard the Duck looks for a good cigar whilst he ponders the significance of Beverly Switzler's latest rantings at him.Howard, see, is from another world where ducks rule and hairless apes, well, they do whatever it is hairless apes do. He fell to earth after he, Man-thing, a sorcerer, and the space princess saved the universe from certain doom. It seems Howard slipped from a dimensional stone of some sort...and after a few months in a fantabulous cosmic descending..
He winds up right in Cleveland, USA, where he fights a Manfrog,
a Count Cow, Pro Rata (he and Beverly are left by Spiderman in a tower of plastic charge cards while the Cuyuhoga River burns--again!), and the Turnip Superhero (Bev's boyfriend, Arthur who may or may not have been fashioned after Steve Gerber himself): he later ends up a "Master of Quack-Fu", he fights alongside the Defenders, he runs for President against Jimmy Carter and is even transformed into a man! Also, there's the time when--well, just let me say the story is entitled "Star Wauughs!" This collection covers the classic Howard stories issue by issue (#1-27) and for new and longtime Marvel Comics fans alike it will surely become one of their favorite anthology style collections. How can you not dig a duck who upon introspection goes--"Who am I kiddin'? I gotta do something!" and winds up saving the universe? One of my favorite scenes/lines is in the aforementioned "Howard the Barbarian" when Howard's ingenuity is able to un-ensnare a gem-key much desired by the nefarious Pro-Rata--at the price of Howie's LAST cigar. "Don't get misty-eyed." Says Bev. "They'll be other cigars." It has a delicioso cover by the great Brian Bolland and the infamous "Deadline" story (#16) with art by the Marvel Bullpen. This is classic Steve Gerber and friends at their best...ya gotta read it!
Rating:
Summary: The Best Comic Series of All Time ?
Review: At least, that verdict is my opinion after thirty years of reading everything from Eisner to Barks to EC to Miller to Lee and Kirby and a whole lot more. Twenty five years after they first appeared, these Howard the Duck stories by Steve Gerber continue to move me like no other comics I have read. Explaining why isn't easy. Certainly what I wrote about the other Howard volume applies equally here: "If I had to list one feature of Gerber's writing that stands out above all others, it would be characterisation. This may be a comic book about a talking duck and his girlfriend, but these two are more vivid and realised than nearly all the characters you'll find in comics, film or TV. However, characterisation is just for starters - Gerber puts more care and intelligence into his comics than you'll find arguably anywhere." But there is so much more: great satiric insight into 1970's America, weird humour and fabulous artwork by Gene Colan. And that still doesn't capture it. Ultimately, I really can't say why Howard the Duck remains so meaningful after all this time - beyond suggesting Gerber exposed something of his soul here in a very special way. The only drawbacks to this volume are that it's not in colour and the great HTD newspaper series does not appear(Marvel take heed!). Very, very highly recommended for anyone who likes comics with thinking - as is the other Howard volume available and Steve Gerber's Nevada.
Rating:
Summary: Buy it, you'll like it.
Review: Forget the movie and enjoy the best comic of the 70's (pick up essential Tomb of Dracula too for another great read and more beautiful black and white Gene Colan art). Only complaint is the reproductions seem almost a tad reduced in size from even the other Marvel essential series trades, or is my mind playing tricks? neez!
Rating: 
Summary: Great book. WAUUGGGHHH!
Review: Howard the Duck. Short. Crusty. Insightful. Fun. Everyman in feathers. How can you go wrong? Steve Gerber's writing will take you to places you'd never imagine, both satricial and down to earth. Parts of the book are a little uneven and I think the first 10-15 issues were far superior to the final 16-27 issues but still, a great read. It makes you understand why George Lucas wanted to make Howard into a film. (Even if it doesn't explain why Lucas [messed] it up so badly.)
Rating:
Summary: Howard the Duck is unleashed on the Marvel universe
Review: I have to admit that I was sort of expecting to find that someone had gone back over the original artwork by Frank Brunner, Gene Colan, and others for the issues of "Howard the Duck" collected in this Essential Volume 1 and drawn pants on the fowl trapped in a world he never made. But only in the cover art by Brian Bolland does Howard wear pants, a move mandated, as I recall, by a lawsuit dealing with copyright infringement because of another white skinned duck and his extended family who went without pants. Next thing we know, Howard is being sued for public indecency by some guy named Wally Sidney, and ever since then Howard wore pants. The conceit of Howard the Duck was fairly simple. The foul-mouthed fowl accidentally slipped through a dimensional warp in "Fear" #19 (December 1973), where he had a nice little adventure with the Man-Thing. Unable to get back to the Duckworld, Howard was trapped here with the hairless apes and forced to deal with a world of superheroes instead of the funny animals that most cartoons ducks have to deal with. Howard made something of a splash in the Marvel universe, and in January 1976 he got his own comic books. The common denominator of the stories was writer Steve Gerber, who created the character as a joke (it topped a barbarian eating peanut butter) and then made Howard the Duck the premier social satire comic book. Okay, so there was not a lot of competition for the title, but it was still very good. Val Mayerik did the initial art for Howard in "Fear" #19 and "Man-Thing" #1, but then Frank Brunner did the first four memorable solo adventures for Howard until Gene Colan became the definitive artist, especially when it came to drawing the lovely Beverly Switzer. The hype was all about the werid villains like the incredible Cookie Creature, Kong Lomerate and Dr. Bong, as well as Howard's run for the Presidency against Ford and Carter in 1976, but at its heart this story was about Bev and her ducky. The only thing you need to be worried about is trying to remember what was going on a quarter of a century ago to figure out who and what Gerber is lampooning or skewering at any given moment. Sometime the fun comes just from something as simple as having Howard join the Defenders, just to have the Hulk scratch his head in amazement and Dr. Strange say things like "Behold, Duck--the Orb of Agamotto!" Otherwise, you just think of Howard as the closest thing in comics to Groucho Marx this side of Lord Julius in "Cerebus" (duh) and enjoy the one Marvel comic that was consistently a funny book. As for the movie version, I though the casting of the humans was excellent, especially Lea Thompson as Beverly, and I really liked the title song played by Cherry Bomb at the end, but they would have to really improve the script for it to just stink.
Rating:
Summary: Howard the Duck is unleashed on the Marvel universe
Review: I have to admit that I was sort of expecting to find that someone had gone back over the original artwork by Frank Brunner, Gene Colan, and others for the issues of "Howard the Duck" collected in this Essential Volume 1 and drawn pants on the fowl trapped in a world he never made. But only in the cover art by Brian Bolland does Howard wear pants, a move mandated, as I recall, by a lawsuit dealing with copyright infringement because of another white skinned duck and his extended family who went without pants. Next thing we know, Howard is being sued for public indecency by some guy named Wally Sidney, and ever since then Howard wore pants. The conceit of Howard the Duck was fairly simple. The foul-mouthed fowl accidentally slipped through a dimensional warp in "Fear" #19 (December 1973), where he had a nice little adventure with the Man-Thing. Unable to get back to the Duckworld, Howard was trapped here with the hairless apes and forced to deal with a world of superheroes instead of the funny animals that most cartoons ducks have to deal with. Howard made something of a splash in the Marvel universe, and in January 1976 he got his own comic books. The common denominator of the stories was writer Steve Gerber, who created the character as a joke (it topped a barbarian eating peanut butter) and then made Howard the Duck the premier social satire comic book. Okay, so there was not a lot of competition for the title, but it was still very good. Val Mayerik did the initial art for Howard in "Fear" #19 and "Man-Thing" #1, but then Frank Brunner did the first four memorable solo adventures for Howard until Gene Colan became the definitive artist, especially when it came to drawing the lovely Beverly Switzer. The hype was all about the werid villains like the incredible Cookie Creature, Kong Lomerate and Dr. Bong, as well as Howard's run for the Presidency against Ford and Carter in 1976, but at its heart this story was about Bev and her ducky. The only thing you need to be worried about is trying to remember what was going on a quarter of a century ago to figure out who and what Gerber is lampooning or skewering at any given moment. Sometime the fun comes just from something as simple as having Howard join the Defenders, just to have the Hulk scratch his head in amazement and Dr. Strange say things like "Behold, Duck--the Orb of Agamotto!" Otherwise, you just think of Howard as the closest thing in comics to Groucho Marx this side of Lord Julius in "Cerebus" (duh) and enjoy the one Marvel comic that was consistently a funny book. As for the movie version, I though the casting of the humans was excellent, especially Lea Thompson as Beverly, and I really liked the title song played by Cherry Bomb at the end, but they would have to really improve the script for it to just stink.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Judge A Book By Its Movie!
Review: If you've ever loved a book and then seen it butchered by a movie version, then you'll understand. What was arguably the most brilliant comic of the 70s, Howard The Duck, was not immune to the Hollywood treatment that most comic-book-- and indeed book adaptations are subject to... As I've said this was a brilliant comic, very adult for its time. Filled with both parody and satire about the times and all time, and funny without being forced, both experimental and freewheeling-- writer Steve Gerber found a singular voice in Howard the Duck, and spewed forth with wit and wisdom rarely seen in comics-- ... This affordable black and white edition collects the complete Steve Gerber Howard The Duck from the 1970's, and includes the debut material from Fear #19 as presented in Marvel Treasury Edition #12 (along with the Treasury's meeting with the Defenders), Giant-Size Man-Thing #4 (Man-Frog) and 5 (Hell cow), Howard The Duck Annual #1, and Howard The Duck #1-27. It's all here in one convenient place! No more searching for back issues in smelly stores. This is a beautiful easy-to-read volume that makes a great story even more of a pleasure to read. Don't let stories about mutated frogs, turnips, and cows bitten by Dracula who rise from the grave to stalk the country-side as vampire-cows stop you from picking this up, there is an undercurrent to the stories that transcends the subject matter and yet never ignores or belittles it. ...Wauuugghhhh!!! You just have to read it for yourself. Artists include: Val Mayerik, Frank Brunner, John Buscema, Gene Colan, Carmine Infantino, Klaus Janson, Tom Palmer and Steve Leialoha. Highest recommendation!
Rating:
Summary: Don't Judge A Book By Its Movie!
Review: If you've ever loved a book and then seen it butchered by a movie version, then you'll understand. What was arguably the most brilliant comic of the 70s, Howard The Duck, was not immune to the Hollywood treatment that most comic-book-- and indeed book adaptations are subject to... As I've said this was a brilliant comic, very adult for its time. Filled with both parody and satire about the times and all time, and funny without being forced, both experimental and freewheeling-- writer Steve Gerber found a singular voice in Howard the Duck, and spewed forth with wit and wisdom rarely seen in comics-- ... This affordable black and white edition collects the complete Steve Gerber Howard The Duck from the 1970's, and includes the debut material from Fear #19 as presented in Marvel Treasury Edition #12 (along with the Treasury's meeting with the Defenders), Giant-Size Man-Thing #4 (Man-Frog) and 5 (Hell cow), Howard The Duck Annual #1, and Howard The Duck #1-27. It's all here in one convenient place! No more searching for back issues in smelly stores. This is a beautiful easy-to-read volume that makes a great story even more of a pleasure to read. Don't let stories about mutated frogs, turnips, and cows bitten by Dracula who rise from the grave to stalk the country-side as vampire-cows stop you from picking this up, there is an undercurrent to the stories that transcends the subject matter and yet never ignores or belittles it. ...Wauuugghhhh!!! You just have to read it for yourself. Artists include: Val Mayerik, Frank Brunner, John Buscema, Gene Colan, Carmine Infantino, Klaus Janson, Tom Palmer and Steve Leialoha. Highest recommendation!
Rating:
Summary: Last page turned all too quickly-Waaaugh!
Review: One might think it's amazing that this brilliant comic only lasted a couple years - but then again, it's so unique that it's equally amazing it was published at all. I remembered this comic from its brief incarnation as a daily newspaper strip. Alas, that's not contained here, but the complete comic-book adventures are. The spine says "Vol. 1," which gives me hope that the newspaper serial might be on its way. After this book came in the mail, I liked it even more than I expected to - this from a 30-something NON-comic book fan. The stories are twisted, laugh-out-loud funny, and even touching in a bizarre way. See below for more detailed reviews.
Rating:
Summary: Last page turned all too quickly-Waaaugh!
Review: One might think it's amazing that this brilliant comic only lasted a couple years - but then again, it's so unique that it's equally amazing it was published at all. I remembered this comic from its brief incarnation as a daily newspaper strip. Alas, that's not contained here, but the complete comic-book adventures are. The spine says "Vol. 1," which gives me hope that the newspaper serial might be on its way. After this book came in the mail, I liked it even more than I expected to - this from a 30-something NON-comic book fan. The stories are twisted, laugh-out-loud funny, and even touching in a bizarre way. See below for more detailed reviews.
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