HOWARD THE DUCK #1

Capsule Review

I fell like a killjoy by not liking this. Writer Chip Zdarsky and artist Joe Quinones have put together what seems like a fun book. Or maybe it just seems like they had fun putting it together, I dunno. I’m old enough to remember Steve Gerber’s Howard the Duck for rapid-fire and biting social commentary, and while it is entirely possible I’m seeing the past through the wrong end of the telescope, I found this Howard a pretty weak reflection of the original. Here Howard is a private detective who is sick of his life and solicits the help of Doctor Strange to return to his old world, which entails a road trip to Florida punctuated by multiple scene-setting flashbacks (none of which, amazingly, clue the reader into the basic how-and-why of a talking duck in the Marvel Universe). This Howard has plenty of heart, but he has lost his teeth. The in-joke Marvel gags are just OK, and the book’s one political joke is a soundbite-driven showdown with a redneck truck driver that’s intended to be a roundhouse punch, but lands like a feather pillow. Waugh!

Approachability For New Readers

Poor. The book starts with a flashback to an event that is never explained or put in context, and you’ll have to rely on Wikipedia to learn the basics of Howard himself.

Read #2?

No.

Sales Rank

(#28 November)

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