Celebrating the 50th anniversary of his first appearance, Marvel Comics has put out a special, multiverse hopping, “Howard the Duck” anthology one-shot.
Cover by Matt KindtWritten by Chip Zdarsky & Joe Quinones, Daniel Kibblesmith, Jason Loo, and Merritt K
Illustrated by Chip Zdarsky & Joe Quinones, Annie Wu, Derek Charm, and Will Robson
Inked by Jordan Gibson
Colored by Stacey Lee, Ian Herring, Dee Cunniffe, and Pete Pantazis
Lettered by VC’s Travis Lanham2023 marks fifty years of the Marvel Comics character known as Howard the Duck. The humanoid duck man private eye from another planet has been a main character and supporting role across the comics, as well as in film, starring in his own, bizarre and mostly hated 1986 feature film, and then of course making a few appearances across the Guardians of the Galaxy films within the MCU. Now, Marvel has seen fit to bring together some of the best and brightest in the comics industry to give us a wacky adventure across the multiverse as Howard finds himself in some mixed up adventures throughout time and space.
But, is this special one-shot worth your time and hard earned money? With a fun framing device created by Chip Zdarsky and Joe Quinones, Howard finds himself amidst the Great Hero War VII in New York City. As the battles rage on and heroes are injured and lost, Howard and Tara Tam get pulled into an absurd multiverse story through the eyes of The Peeper! The Peeper is the sloppy cousin of Uatu, The Watcher and with his peeping powers, he can peep into other universes to see just what Howard is up to there. Very dumb and pretty funny, this opening to the issue is one of the better, if totally nonsensical sequences. We also get some action from Giant Man, Spider-Man, and Hawkeye, and those are characters who are always good to see, even in a jokey off shoot like this.
As The Peeper peeps through time and space to see if he can give Howard clues as to how to fix their current universe, we get three different “What If,” excuse me, “Waugh If” tales to please and delight. What if Howard (and the All-Night Party) had won their infamous bid for the presidency (by Kibblesmith, Wu, & Herring), or became an X-Man (by Loo, Charm, & Cunniffe), or became the new Star-Lord (by K, Robson, & Pantazis)? If any of these questions are of interest, then you have found the right comic book for you. Throwing Howard into these various scenarios, like most “What If” comics, are fun exercises in changing things up, exploring the zany and silly side of Marvel Comics, and allowing for creatives to create with much less restraint. However, if the cranky, and increasingly goofy antics of Howard have never really been your thing, this comic probably won’t be the thing to change your mind. And it probably shouldn’t have to be that. Long time fans will probably get a kick out the issue and I’m sure it will usher in some newbies as well, but unfortunately I am not the audience this is aimed at and found the majority of the issue to be nothing more than a way to pass time.
This truly is not a knock on the talent behind the book. They have all brought some really clever writing and truly excellent artwork on every single page, but the stories did little for me. I also picked this up believing it to be the start of a new “Howard the Duck” series – expecting a standard, but possibly updated take on Howard and his misadventures. That said, I was a little disappointed to find yet another “#1” was just another anthology. I went into it with an open mind and tried to connect on some level with it, especially after seeing some of my favorite creators had their hands in it, but after the framing story, and a few other bits, I had a hard time keeping my interest up for most of the issue. A silly alien invasion story, Howard being given Mutant powers by an annoyed Proteus, and Howard becoming the new Star-Lord and leading the Guardians of the Galaxy into another insane escapade.
Continued belowThere is nothing wrong with any of these stories, though the alien one gets a bit thin very quickly. There simply wasn’t much meat to any of them for me sink my teeth into. Again, the writing is decent for what these are and the artwork is nothing short of very good and even reaches some great heights – especially with the framing and Star-Lord stories. There aren’t any punches pulled or weak links here, I just have to come to terms with Howard the Duck and his brand of humor not being for me when it comes to these comics. I also rarely find myself wanting to indulge in a “What If” issue, so there’s that too.
A pretty, and pretty silly issue from top to bottom with some shining moments. Ummm…
Final Verdict 5.0, It’s fine, but it won’t make a believer out of the uninitiated.
