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Howard the Duck
Howard the Duck #8 (Jan. 1977), art by Gene Colan & Steve Leialoha.
Publisher Marvel Comics First appearance Adventure into Fear #19 (Dec. 1973) Created by Steve Gerber and Val Mayerik
Characteristics Alter ego Howard Team affiliations Defenders All-Night Party Notable aliases Son of Satan (former) Abilities Master of Quack-Fu

Howard the Duck is a comic book character in the Marvel Comics universe created by writer Steve Gerber and artist Val Mayerik. The character first appeared in Adventure into Fear #19 (Dec. 1973) and several subsequent series have chronicled the misadventures of the ill-tempered, anthropomorphic, "funny animal" cartoon trapped on human-dominated Earth. Howard's adventures are generally social satires, and also often parodies of genre fiction with a metafictional awareness of the medium.

Contents 1 Publication history 2 Fictional character biography 3 Characters 4 In other media 5 Other versions 5.1 Memorabilia 5.2 Toys 6 In popular culture 7 Bibliography 7.1 Comics series and starring features (including guest appearances) 7.2 Collections 7.3 Official published reference works to Howard and cast 8 Footnotes 9 References

Howard the Duck was created in 1973 by Steve Gerber and Val Mayerik in Adventure into Fear as a secondary character in that comic's Man-Thing feature. He graduated to his own backup feature in Giant-Size Man-Thing, confronting such bizarre horror-parody characters as the Hellcow and the Man-Frog, before acquiring his own comic book title with Howard the Duck #1 in 1976.

Gerber wrote 27 issues of the series, illustrated by a variety of artists, with Gene Colan eventually becoming the regular penciller. The series gradually developed a substantial cult following, possibly amplified by Howard's entry into the 1976 U.S. presidential campaign under the auspices of the All-Night Party (an event later immortalized in a brief reference in Stephen King's The Tommyknockers). Marvel attempted a spin-off with a short-lived Howard the Duck newspaper strip from 1977 to 1978, at first written by Gerber and drawn by Colan and Mayerik, later written by Marv Wolfman and drawn by Alan Kupperberg.

Gerber gained a degree of creative autonomy when he became Howard the Duck's editor in addition to his writing duties (as evidenced by the credits on later issues), which was unusual for mass-market comics writers of the time, and the stories became increasingly experimental. At one point, unable to meet the deadline for his regular script, Gerber substituted an entire issue of text pieces and illustrations satirizing his own difficulties as a writer. One of those illustrated text pieces inspired Gerber's Vertigo series Nevada.

In 1978, the writer and publisher clashed over issues of creative control, and Gerber was abruptly removed from the series. This was the first highly publicized "creator's rights" case in American comics, and attracted support from major industry figures, some of whom created homage/parody stories with Gerber to dramatize the case; these included Destroyer Duck with Jack Kirby.

Disney also threatened to sue Marvel for infringing Donald Duck's copyright and enforced a different design, including the use of pants (as seen in the movie and some later comics)^[1].

The series continued for four more issues with stories by Marv Wolfman, Mary Skrenes, Mark Evanier, and Bill Mantlo. Gerber returned briefly to write, though not plot, #29 as part of a contract fulfillment.

Issue #31, dated May 1979, announced on its letters page that it would be the final issue of Howard the Duck as a color comic. Marvel then relaunched the series that year as a bimonthly magazine, with scripts by Mantlo, art by Colan and Michael Golden and unrelated backup features by others; this series was canceled after nine issues. Articles in these issues claimed that Howard was Mayerik's idea, though this is contrary to statements by both Gerber and Mayerik. The second story of issue #9, written by Steven Grant, had Howard walk away from Beverly. Grant followed this with a story in Bizarre Adventures #34, in which the suicidal Howard is put through a parody of It's a Wonderful Life.

The original comic book series reappeared in early 1986 with issue #32, written by Grant. Issue #33, a parody of Bride of Frankenstein, written by Christopher Stager, appeared nine months later, along with a three-issue adaptation of the movie.

Gerber returned to Howard with Spider-Man Team-Up #5, around the same time he was writing a "Savage Dragon/Destroyer Duck" crossover for Image. He had the idea to create an unofficial crossover between the two issues, where the characters would meet momentarily in the shadows, but which would not affect either story. Soon after, Gerber discovered that Howard was also scheduled to appear in Ghost Rider vol. 2, #81 (Jan. 1997) alongside Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy, and issues of Generation X leading up to issue #25 and the Daydreamers miniseries by J.M. DeMatteis. Gerber was not pleased with this development, and decided to change the “unofficial crossover” somewhat.^[2]

In the Spider-Man comic, Spider-Man and Howard meet two shadowy figures (presumed to be Savage Dragon and Destroyer Duck) in a darkened warehouse, then leave shortly afterwards. But in the Savage Dragon comic, a villain creates hundreds of clones of Howard during a fierce battle. As Savage Dragon and Destroyer Duck escape the warehouse with a character hidden in a bag, they reveal that they rescued the “real” Howard, while Spider-Man left with one of the clones. Howard has his feathers dyed green, and is renamed “Leonard the Duck,” which is now a character owned by Gerber, who went on to appear in Image Comics and Vertigo comics. Gerber considers this the real Howard, and Marvel's Howard an empty shell.

In 2001, when Marvel launched its MAX imprint of "mature readers" comics, Gerber returned to write the six-issue Howard the Duck miniseries, illustrated by Phil Winslade and Glenn Fabry. Featuring several familiar Howard the Duck characters, the series, like the original one, parodied a wide range of other comics and pop culture figures, but with considerably stronger language and sexual content than would have been allowable 25 years earlier. The series has Doctor Bong causing Howard to go through multiple changes of form, principally into a rat (possibly as a parody of Mickey Mouse, in retaliation for the earlier lawsuit), and entering a chain of events parodying comics such as Witchblade, Preacher and several others.

Howard had cameo appearances in She-Hulk vol. 1, #3 (February 2005) and vol. 2, #3/100 (February 2006, the 100th issue of all the various She-Hulk series). He returned in a series by writer Ty Templeton and artist Juan Bobillo in 2007. This series is rated for all ages, though it has also been published with a Marvel Zombies tie-in cover with a parental advisory claim.

Howard is abducted from his native world and dropped into the Florida Everglades by the demonic Thog the Overmaster of the dread realm Sominus.^[3] After five issues set in Cleveland, Ohio, Howard and Beverly Switzler take to the road, eventually ending up in New York City, where Howard is nominated for U.S. president by the All-Night Party. A doctored-photo scandal leads him to Canada, and the defeat of a supervillain, Le Beaver, who falls to his death. Howard then suffers a nervous breakdown, and after the testimony of recurring foe, S. Blotte the Kidney Lady, he is sent to a mental institution. There he meets Winda Wester and is turned briefly into the Son of Satan. Beverly and Paul Same (an artist for whom Beverly does nude modeling) get them both back to Cleveland. Later, while on a cruise ship, Howard and Beverly are taken captive by the supervillain Doctor Bong, who marries Beverly against her will and transforms Howard into a human. After escaping back to New York and being restored to his natural form, Howard is hired as a dishwasher by Beverly's uncle and namesake, who goes by Lee. After more adventures, he attends a party on Long Island, where he is abducted by the Ringmaster and his Circus of Crime. After defeating them, Howard, plagued by pessimistic dreams, goes his way alone, as he had at the beginning of the series.

Mantlo, beginning with Issue #30, returned the series to its former status quo, bringing Beverly back into the picture and having her divorce Doctor Bong, and getting Paul, who has been shot by the Ringmaster, out of the hospital. Lee Switzler brings everyone back to Cleveland and employs Howard as a cab driver, while Paul, back to being a somnambulist after his release from the hospital, seems to have become Winda's boyfriend. At the end of the magazine series, Howard walks away from Beverly. After that, he meets CeCe Ryder when hitchhiking, and is later offered a genetically constructed mate whom he does not take to.

She-Hulk accidentally pulls him though a cosmic wormhole, and along with theoretical physicist Brent Wilcox, they prevent other universes from crowding out Earth-616. By this point, Beverly is working as a rent-a-ninja.

The sorceress Jennifer Kale, in an attempt to return Howard to his home world, inadvertently teleports Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy into her New York apartment. The disoriented dinosaur rampages through the city before being subdued by Ghost Rider (Daniel Ketch).

After meeting two mutants from X-Men mentor Charles Xavier's Massachusetts Academy, Howard and Beverly (apparently back together with Howard again working as a driver) spend some days at the Academy, becoming friends with the mutants Artie, Leech, Franklin Richards, Synch and Chamber. During a battle with a rampaging Black Tom Cassidy, Howard and some others escape with the help of the Man-Thing.^[4]

Back with Beverley, he undergoes further shape-shifting experiments from Doctor Bong.

Sometime later, Howard attempts to register under the Superhero Registration Act, but learns his socially disruptved life has created so many bureaucratic headaches that the government's policy is that Howard does not exist. This lack of government oversight delights him: "No more parking tickets, no taxes, no jury duty." In this story, as well, Howard says he was pressured to give up his cigars.^[5]

Howard the Duck, as his name suggests, is a three-foot-tall anthropomorphic duck. He generally wears a tie and shirt, and is almost always found smoking a cigar. Originally, like many cartoon ducks, he wore no pants; Disney threatened legal action due to Howard's resemblance to Donald Duck, and Marvel redesigned that aspect of character.

Howard has an irritable and cynical attitude to the often bizarre events around him; he feels there is nothing special about him except that he is a duck, and though he has no goals other than seeking comfort and to be left alone, he is often dragged into dangerous adventures simply because he is visibly unusual. His series' tagline, "Trapped in a world he never made", played off the genre trappings of 1950s science fiction. A common reaction to meeting Howard the first time is a startled, "You...you're a DUCK!"

His near-constant companion and occasional girlfriend is former art model and Cleveland native Beverly Switzler. Like Howard, Beverly wants an ordinary life but is frequently singled out for her appearance, though she is a beautiful and sexy woman rather than a duck. Their only other friends are Paul Same (a painter who briefly became a sleepwalking crime-fighter) and Winda Wester (a lisping ingénue with psychic powers); he has also worked with Spider-Man and the Man-Thing and associates on various occasions.

Howard found himself on Earth due to a shift in "the Cosmic Axis". In the black-and-white Howard the Duck magazine series, writer Bill Mantlo theorized that Howard came from an extra-dimensional planet called Duckworld, a planet similar to Earth where ducks, not apes, had evolved to become the dominant species. In 2001, Gerber dismissed this idea, calling it "very pedestrian" and 'comic-booky' — in the worst sense of the term." He believes Howard came from an alternate Earth populated by a variety of cartoon animals.^[6] A panel in Fear #19, prior to Howard's introduction, depicts Howard or someone like him near an anthropomorphic rat and an anthropomorphic dog, in a hypothetical panel about other dimensions.

His antagonists, who usually appear in a single story each, are often parodies of science fiction, fantasy, and horror characters, and sometimes political figures, but also include ordinary people simply making life difficult for Howard. The chief recurring villain, Lester Verde, also known as Doctor Bong - modeled on Doctor Doom and writers Bob Greene and Lester Bangs - is a former tabloid reporter who has the power to "reorder reality" by smashing himself on his bell-shaped helmet; his main goal is to marry Beverly. After several issues, she agrees to marry him to save Howard from Bong's evil experimentation, and remains married to him for some time. Doctor Bong would reappear in issues of She-Hulk and Deadpool in the mid-1990s. Other recurring villains include the Kidney Lady (S. Blotte) who has been convinced by her former lover that the soul is in the kidneys and attacks anything she sees as a threat to them, and Reverend Jun Moon Yuc and his Yuccies, a parody of Reverend Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church "Moonies". Another important villain was the Sinister S.O.O.F.I. (Save Our Offspring from Indecency) organization, whose leader was implicitly Anita Bryant, though she looked like an old, fat Elvis Presley with a smiley face/orange on her head.

Other Marvel Comics characters occasionally appeared, including Spider-Man, Daimon Hellstrom, and the Ringmaster. Also, Omega The Unknown appeared to him in a dream, as did Spider-Man, whom he had previously met for real, unlike Omega.

Seemingly an autodidact, Howard at various times references Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Albert Camus (whose novel The Stranger Gerber considers the principal influence on the series^[7]), the Brontë sisters, and other figures of philosophical and political significance. In a parody of the Marvel comic character Shang-Chi, he was trained in the art of Quak-Fu. In the 2001 miniseries, as a mocking gesture toward Disney's mascot Mickey Mouse, he was turned into various animals, primarily a mouse.^[8]

• In 1986, Lucasfilm and Universal Pictures produced the movie Howard the Duck, starring Lea Thompson, Jeffrey Jones, Tim Robbins, and, as the voice of Howard, Chip Zien. Besides Howard (who was portrayed by an assortment of stunt actors in a duck suit) the only character borrowed from the Marvel Comics mythos was Beverly Switzler, though in this version she was a rock singer. In the film, Howard is brought to Cleveland by a laser experiment gone awry, which also summoned an evil alien called the Dark Overlord of the Universe who was intent on destroying the Earth. The film was widely panned and was a box office bomb.

• Howard the Duck was seen on Beast's shirt on the animated series X-Men (The Phoenix Saga Part 2). Aside from this, Howard never appeared in animation.

• In Savage Dragon/Destroyer Duck #1 (Nov. 1996), Gerber claims that Howard and Beverly Switzler changed their names to Leonard the Duck and Rhonda Martini, remained in the Image Universe and "were last sighted in Chicago boarding the Amtrak for Buffalo" while the duck who returned to Marvel is "only an empty trademark, a clone whose soul departed him at the corner of Floss and Regret".^[9] This was done because Tom Brevoort invited Gerber to write the comic, claiming he was the only one to write Howard, then Gerber noticed the Howard guest appearances in Ghost Rider and Generation X and felt as though he had been tricked.^[10]

• An alternate version of Howard the Duck appears in Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness #2-3, when the infected zombie duck is swiftly killed by Ash Williams of the Evil Dead series and the Scarlet Witch after Howard ate the brains of that alternate-reality's Ash.

• Howard appears on a mid-1970s painted drinking glass from 7-11 convenience stores.

• A Howard the Duck action figure is sold together with Toy Biz's Marvel Legends Series 5 Silver Surfer figure. The only such figure as of 2007, it uses the original, pant-less version of the character.

• In Philip K. Dick's book The Transmigration of Timothy Archer, published in 1982, one of the characters (Angel Archer) reads a current issue of Howard the Duck.
• In Stephen King's novel The Stand, a character reads a Howard the Duck comic and is bewildered by the concept. In the 1990 reissue of the book, the comic was changed to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
• On the rock band The Pretenders' first album, 1980s Pretenders, the song "Precious" contains a brief reference. Songwriter Chrissie Hynde, a native of Northeastern Ohio, uses Cleveland as the backdrop for the song, which includes the lines:

          And Howard the Duck and Mr. Stress  [a long-time local bar band ]  both stayed
          Trapped in a world that they never made
          But not me, baby, I'm too precious.

• Adventure into Fear #19 (Dec. 1973)
• Man-Thing #1 (Jan. 1974)
• Giant-Size Man-Thing #4-5 (April-Aug. 1975)
• Man-Thing #22 (Oct. 1975)
• Howard the Duck (1976 series) #1-31 (Jan. 1976 - May 1979)
• Marvel Treasury Edition #12 (1976) (between issues #7 and #8)
• Howard the Duck Annual #1 (May 1977) (between issues #14 and #15)
• Crazy Magazine #36, 50, 51, 53, 54, 59, 63, 65, 66, 68, 69, 71, 72, 74, 75, 77, 82 (April 1978 - Jan. 1982)
• Marvel Two-in-One #46 (Dec. 1978) (kid show host named Mr. Waddles that looks like, but is probably not, Howard)
• Marvel Team-Up #96 (Aug. 1980)
• Howard the Duck (black-and-white magazine) #1-9 (Oct. 1979 - March 1981)
• (Marvel) Fun and Games Magazine #4 (Dec. 1979)
• What If? #34: (Aug. 1982)
• Bizarre Adventures (color, comic-size last issue of black-and-white magazine) #34 (Feb. 1983)
• Marvel Fanfare #9 (pin-up), 25 (pin-up), 56 (pin-up, with Dagger) (June 1983 - April 1991)
• Howard the Duck #32 & 33 (Jan. & Sept. 1986)
• Marvel Age #43 (Oct. 1986)
• Marvel Comics Super Special (magazine movie adaptation) #41 (Nov. 1986)
  • reprinted in part as Howard the Duck: The Movie #1-3 (Dec. 1986 - Feb. 1987)
• What The --?! #5, 11, 21 (July 1989– Sept. 1992)
• Web of Spider-Man Annual #5 (Aug. 1989) (Retrospective: "Spider-Man's Most Dubious Allies")
• Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #6 (Aug. 1989) (Rintrah disguised as Howard)
• Cerebus High Society #1 (Feb. 1990)
• Sensational She-Hulk #13-17 (March-July 1990)
• Marvel Tales #237 (May 1990) (guest in Spider-Ham story)
• Marvel Illustrated: Swimsuit Edition #1 (Jun. 1991) (pin-up)
• What If vol 2 #34 (Feb. 1992)
• Slapstick #1 (Nov. 1992)
• Silver Surfer vs. Dracula #1 (Feb. 1994) (reprint)
• Marvels: Portraits #3 (May 1995) (pin-up)
• The Savage Hulk #1 (Jan. 1996)
• Generation X #20-23, 25 (Oct. 1996 - March 1997)
• Savage Dragon/Destroyer Duck #1 (Nov. 1996) (Leonard the Duck)
• Spider-Man Team-Up #5 (Dec. 1996)
• Ghost Rider vol. 2, #81-82 (Jan.-Feb. 1997)
• Howard the Duck Holiday Special #1 (Feb. 1997)
• Lobo the Duck #1 (June 1997)
• X-Men #minus 1 (July 1997) (one panel cameo in Marvel offices in present-day frame story)
• Daydreamers #1-3 (Aug.-Oct. 1997)
• Man-Thing vol 3 #5-7 (April-June 1998)
• J2 #11 (Aug. 1999)
• Top Ten #8 (Jun 2000)
• Fantastic Four vol 3 #50 (Feb 2002) aka #479 (cameo)
• Howard the Duck (Marvel MAX) #1-6 (March-Aug. 2002)
• She-Hulk #8-9 (Dec. 2004 – Jan. 2005)
• She-Hulk vol 2 #3 (Feb. 2006)
• Civil War: Choosing Sides (Marvel Civil War Tie-in) One-shot (Dec. 2006) reprinted with new cover Feb. 2007
• Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness #2-3 (Jun.-Jul. 2007)
• Howard The Duck vol. 3 #1-2 (Oct.-Nov. 2007)

• Essential Howard the Duck, Vol. 1 (ISBN 0-7851-0831-9)
• Howard the Duck (Marvel MAX series; Marvel, 2002; ISBN 0-7851-0931-5)

• The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #5 (May 1983) (Howard; ½ page)
  • reprinted in The Essential Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Vol. 1 (2006; ISBN 0-7851-1933-7)
• The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe vol. 2, #5 (Apr. 1986) (Howard; 1 page)
  • reprinted in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Volume Three: Galactus to Kang (1986; ISBN 0-87135-210-9)
  • reprinted in The Essential Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe – Deluxe Edition Vol. 1 (2006; ISBN 0-7851-1934-5)
• Official Marvel Index to Marvel Team-Up #5 (Oct. 1986)
• The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe vol. 3, #2 (Aug. 1989) (Doctor Bong; 2 pages)
  • reprinted in The Essential Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe – Update 89 Vol. 1 (2006; ISBN 0-7851-1937-X)
• The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe vol. 4, #2 (Jan. 1991) (Howard; 1 looseleaf sheet; Masters Edition)
• Marvel Encyclopedia Vol. 4: Spider-Man (2003; ISBN 0-7851-1304-5) (Howard; 1/3 page)
• The All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #5 (Jun. 2006)
• Marvel Legacy: The 1970s Handbook (May 2006) (Hellcow; ½ page)
• The All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #5 (May 2006) (Howard; 3 pages)
• The All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update #1 (Jan. 2007) (Garko the Man-Frog; ½ page)
• Civil War: Battle Damage Report (Howard; ½ page, plus a one-panel appearance of Howard's friend Paul Same, a.k.a. Winky Man)

• Don Markstein Toonopedia: Howard the Duck
• The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Howard the Duck
• Marvel.com bio

v • d • e Steve Gerber
Marvel Comics	Man-Thing • Shanna the She-Devil • Sub-Mariner • Daredevil • Crazy Magazine • Tales of the Zombie • Supernatural Thrillers: N'Kantu, the Living Mummy • Marvel Two-in-One • Adventure into Fear: Morbius, the Living Vampire • Son of Satan • Lilith, Daughter of Dracula • Defenders • Howard the Duck • Omega the Unknown • Marvel Presents: Guardians of the Galaxy • Void Indigo • Avengers Spotlight: Hawkeye • The Sensational She-Hulk • Poison • Foolkiller • The Legion of Night
DC Comics	Metal Men • Mister Miracle • Weird War Tales • The Phantom Zone • Doctor Fate • Nevada • A. Bizarro • Superman: Last Son of Earth • Hard Time • Zauriel
Other	Codename: Strykeforce • Cybernary • Destroyer Duck • Eclipse Magazine • Exiles • Sludge
Television work	Thundarr the Barbarian • Dungeons & Dragons • G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero • Mister T • The New Adventures of the Puppy • Star Trek: The Next Generation - Contagion • Superman: The Animated Series • The New Batman Adventures
Adaptations	Howard the Duck (film) • Man-Thing (film)