What a bad comic. Whether it’s Mantlo’s rhyming of adjectives and nouns, the lamebrain fight scene, Bev’s silly way of resolving her situation–it’s all bad. It’s all bewilderingly disconnected, not just from the series, but from the other elements of … Continue reading Howard the Duck 31 (May 1979)
Al Milgrom inking Gene Colan. And it’s not bad. It looks like Milgrom does a lot of work on Howard’s face–his lines are smoother than everything else–but otherwise, it’s not a bad job inking at all. Milgrom’s not the only … Continue reading Howard the Duck 30 (March 1979)
Howard is mad as hell and he’s not going to take it anymore. So what does he do? He stops the Circus of Crime. Why? See the first sentence. Is he mad at the Circus of Crime? Not so much. … Continue reading Howard the Duck 27 (September 1978)
Well… last things first. Winda gets assaulted and Gerber shucks it off page. After her startling–and entirely unnecessary–attack, Gerber just mentions her in Howard’s summing up of the issue’s misadventures. Most of the comic involves him running around with the … Continue reading Howard the Duck 26 (July 1978)
Well, Bev’s back this issue and… Gerber has her and her new husband getting it on. He plays it for laughs, starting with Bev complaining about being stuck in a square marriage like her mother’s and ending with the creatures … Continue reading Howard the Duck 25 (June 1978)
I have a lot of fundamental problems with this issue of Howard the Duck. I don’t mind it being great, but I don’t like how Gerber’s not just able to get away with finally addressing the Bev situation he’s also … Continue reading Howard the Duck 24 (May 1978)
I’m seeing the problem with Howard. Gerber is refusing to get Howard into a comfortable situation at all. Bev is still out of the picture, but so is the new girl. Bong is even out of the picture. Howard just … Continue reading Howard the Duck 20 (January 1978)
Howard’s adventures as a human continue, but Gerber sets him down a particular path. Howard ends up at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, which puts him in contact with a particular set of humans and maybe not the most interesting … Continue reading Howard the Duck 19 (December 1977)
Bong’s still a dumb villain, but the rest of the issue is strange enough to get it through. While Bev is off getting married to Bong, Howard has been changed into a human and is escaping Bong’s castle in the … Continue reading Howard the Duck 18 (November 1977)
I don’t like Dr. Bong. It’s a strange misstep for Gerber on Howard. He creates a supervillain who seems like a cross between a Bond villain (he has all sorts of technology and a private island) and Dr. Moreau (he … Continue reading Howard the Duck 17 (October 1977)
I don’t want to call this comic book strange. Instead of a regular, strange issue of Howard the Duck, it turns out Gerber was just too busy to break out an actual plot for Gene Colan so instead he did … Continue reading Howard the Duck 16 (September 1977)
It’s a strangely gentle issue. So gentle I almost went back to check to see if Gerber wrote the thing. Instead, I waited until I finished the issue. Howard is chill. This issue has a chill Howard the Duck. Gerber … Continue reading Howard the Duck 15 (August 1977)
And Gerber is back on with Howard. After being possessed by the Son of Satan’s demon, Howard heads to Cleveland to get revenge on Beverly for not loving him. It’s a lengthy trip, however, with Howard having little moments on … Continue reading Howard the Duck 14 (July 1977)
Maybe Colan drawing Ace Frehley just got me off on the wrong foot with this issue of Howard but it does seem like Gerber’s got way too much going on. He splits the issue between Howard and his new lady … Continue reading Howard the Duck 13 (June 1977)
It’s another great issue of Howard the Duck. I’m even willing to give Gerber a chance to make the hard cliffhanger’s unfortunate corporate synergy guest stars worthwhile next issue. He does such a good job with the comic–this issue has … Continue reading Howard the Duck 12 (May 1977)
It’s Howard without Beverly–in a delirious state he assumes she has run out on him with one of the hairless apes but it’s really innocent (or so we hope)–and that change in balance would be enough to get the issue … Continue reading Howard the Duck 11 (April 1977)
Steve Gerber tears down comics and rebuilds them in this issue of Howard the Duck. Well, maybe just in the first ten pages of the issue. He hangs out in the rebuilt part for the rest of the story. Real … Continue reading Howard the Duck 10 (March 1977)
The cover promises the action of Howard the Duck battling a giant beaver at Niagara Falls. The comic doesn’t disappoint; that sequence, beautifully rendered by Colan and Leialoha, ends the issue. But it comes after an extremely goofy and sort … Continue reading Howard the Duck 9 (February 1977)
This comic is difficult to believe. Not the content of the issue, where Gerber just goes wild with a look at American presidential candidacy, but its very existence. Marvel Comics published a comic about the American public rabidly anticipating the … Continue reading Howard the Duck 8 (January 1977)
It’s an amazing issue. Primarily because it ends with Howard the Duck being made a Presidential candidate, but also because Gerber hits every right note throughout the issue. He introduces politics into the comic after finishing up the previous issue’s … Continue reading Howard the Duck 7 (December 1976)
Part of me desperately wishes Gerber and Mary Skrenes (who helped with plotting) just gave Colan a scary house script and then had the absurdism added later. Because if you took out the word balloons and the narration boxes, it … Continue reading Howard the Duck 6 (November 1976)
If you’re a duck stuck in the Marvel Universe, how are you going to earn some quick cash? Wrestling, of course. Everyone knows fighting crime doesn’t pay and you’ve got to look out for number one! Howard and Beverly are … Continue reading Howard the Duck 5 (September 1976)
Gene Colan pencils this issue and does a good job of it. He’s not a definitive Howard illustrator except he does manage to draw everything besides the duck perfectly. And his duck is really good, it just doesn’t have as … Continue reading Howard the Duck 4 (July 1976)
Gene Colan pencilling Firestorm (Rick Magyar inks). It's strange and utterly awesome, with Conway–this issue assisted by wife Carla–sending Ronnie and Martin on more of a detective outing than superhero action. They stumble upon a strange crime and investigate, having … Continue reading The Fury of Firestorm, The Nuclear Man 19 (January 1984)
Ragamuffins is a very strange comic. It’s unfortunate it’s strange, because in addition to being strange, it’s a lovely effort from Don McGregor and Gene Colan. McGregor writes first person narration to introduce each of the three stories, which start … Continue reading Ragamuffins 1 (January 1985)
Oh, very good news–Val Mayerik is on the pencils (with Frank Bolle in inks). From the first couple pages of Man-Thing, it's clear the art is going to be a lot better. It shouldn't be particularly obvious, as it's a … Continue reading Adventure Into Fear 13 (April 1973)
The headline on the cover promises an "off-beat" story from Harlan Ellison. Off-beat can't have been an intentional euphemism for bad… Ellison writes Batman as an insensitive, ill-mannered, narcissist. On patrol, Batman can't find anyone actually needing his help. Instead … Continue reading Detective Comics 567 (October 1986)
Well, Dusk’s personal story arc for this series sure doesn’t go anywhere expected. Maybe it’s because McGregor didn’t set him up for enough development or maybe it’s because almost a fourth of the double-sized issue is wasted on a poorly … Continue reading Nathaniel Dusk II 4 (January 1986)
McGregor gets to a lot of revelations this issue. Well, more like two. But they’re big ones. One involves the case, one involves Dusk’s involvement with his dead girlfriend’s kids. The case one is particularly interesting because McGregor does it … Continue reading Nathaniel Dusk II 3 (November 1985)
The second issue has a lot of action. The issues are double-sized and McGregor plots them quite well. There are three, maybe four, big action sequences in this one, along with a bunch of scenes involving the case itself, but … Continue reading Nathaniel Dusk II 2 (November 1985)
