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Howard The Duck
'JUST AN AVERAGE DUCK FROM DUCKWORLD'—or so Howard the Duck thinks. But why does he suddenly find himself rocketed to Cleveland?
Why should Beverley Switzler, leader of the all-female band Cherry Bomb, flip for Howard?
And how can Howard thwart the evil plans being hatched by the Dark Overlords of the Universe?
HOWARD THE DUCK—the movie sensation of the season!
Why should Beverley Switzler, leader of the all-female band Cherry Bomb, flip for Howard?
And how can Howard thwart the evil plans being hatched by the Dark Overlords of the Universe?
HOWARD THE DUCK—the movie sensation of the season!
232 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
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July 13, 2021This is pretty bad, but it IS very unique and interesting for a novelization. And perhaps the description "amazing" applies, which is how it was described in the title of the article that made me want to read the book. But self-indulgent would apply as well.
This is the sentence from that article that made me want to read the book: "We recently reread this 232-page masterpiece and can say without any sense of detatched irony or manufactured whimsy that Weiner’s work would be right at home amongst the work of Douglas Adams, Kurt Vonnegut, and Daniel Manus Pinkwater in the sci-fi/humor section of your personal library."
Now I wish I hadn't. I guess the "right at home" part is pretty accurate, but at the same time, the book is kind of awful. Although the author certainly made the most of a work-for-hire gig by pretty much doing his "own thing." Read Steve Gerber's fantastic run on the comic from the seventies instead.
This is the sentence from that article that made me want to read the book: "We recently reread this 232-page masterpiece and can say without any sense of detatched irony or manufactured whimsy that Weiner’s work would be right at home amongst the work of Douglas Adams, Kurt Vonnegut, and Daniel Manus Pinkwater in the sci-fi/humor section of your personal library."
Now I wish I hadn't. I guess the "right at home" part is pretty accurate, but at the same time, the book is kind of awful. Although the author certainly made the most of a work-for-hire gig by pretty much doing his "own thing." Read Steve Gerber's fantastic run on the comic from the seventies instead.
February 20, 2017
I've heard people say that this movie is absolutely terrible, but I just don't understand that. I love this movie. As a kid it was one of my go to, and I watched it over and over. The storyline of this novelization doesn't change too much. In fact it actually expands on a few things you might not have thought about, like how the company that made the deneautlizer ray was made, in fun ways. It almost made me wonder if the writer was personally a fan of Steve Gerber and trying to interject some of his satirical style into the book.
July 30, 2020
Love the movie ... Hate the book/novelization
April 21, 2012
Like the movie it captured on the printed page, Howard The Duck (ISBN 0-425-09275-5) has been doomed to ridicule. Unlike the movie, however, far fewer people remember it or know that it ever existed in the first place. This is a true shame. As the popular saying goes, one should not judge a book by its cover, and it can be argued that one should not judge a book by its movie, either.
And why not?
Because author Ellis Weiner took the humorous tone of the film (yes, the movie was a comedy, which many people failed to realize) as well as the sarcastic tone of creator Steve Gerber's original comics and turned the dial up to 11, giving us a novelization that, in some ways, is actually better than the movie on which it is based. More to the point, however: it is a book very much worth reading, especially if you could use a good laugh.
Right from the beginning Weiner lets us know this is no ordinary movie novelization. Chapter One opens with a booming narrative in all caps, thundering on about the cosmos, a boiling chaos of matter and energy, when it is suddenly interrupted by normal text (which we quickly discover is a seperate narrative voice) demanding to know what is going on and why this apparent intruder seems to be focusing on anything but Howard The Duck. We come find out that this booming voice is the VOICE OF THE UNIVERSE and for several pages the VOICE and the narrator struggle for control of the book toward which, of course, Howard himself is completely oblivious. Once the narrator wins, the VOICE goes largely silent, but we haven't heard the last from it.
Weiner combines thorough descriptions with humorous asides and sarcastic commentary to fully bring the story to life, and the characters are served the same attention. They're given natural-sounding dialogue peppered with amusing irrelevancies and hilarious non sequiturs that keep the laughs coming at a steady pace. Once every so often a chapter is interrupted by a "Coverage-In-Depth Insert" which focuses either on a character or an object that may or may not have any great significance to the plot or the story as a whole, but is always a fun read as it provides an obscene amount of detail that we really don't need to know, though we certainly come away feeling better informed, and also at the very least. One such insert tells us more about Howard's homeworld than Howard himself ever does, while another details the events leading to the invention of a major weapon, giving us the skinny on everything from the scientists' reasons for pursuing the project to what sugary breakfast cereal the President was eating the morning he conceived the device in the first place. Even Howard gets such a profile late in the story, which covers his childhood and shows us how he developed into the duck we all know and love.
The plot, which follows that of the film, revolves around Howard being yanked away from his homeworld and dropped rather roughly on Earth, and his quest to find a way back. Along the way he meets Beverly Switzler (the only other character from the original comics to make it into this book or the film), who becomes his friend and awkward romantic interest. Beverly and Howard have their ups and downs, but they find themselves drawn together and the bond they share plays a big role in the decisions Howard is forced to make throughout the story. Things, of course, grow worse once the threat of a hostile alien invasion rears its head, and Howard finds that the cost of returning home may be a little too high for comfort. But, Howard being Howard, he presses on with his never-say-die attitude, confronting every obstacle with anger, defiance and usually a humorous quip.
Weiner has great fun writing the quiet moments and the truly chaotic ones alike, and even plays little tricks on the reader throughout, such as randomly changing Lieutenant Welker's name to Weber and back, sometimes within the same chapter (some think this was actually a printing mistake, but having read it as many times as I have, I'm convinced it was deliberate), and taking moments out of action scenes to provide us with more humorously over-detailed descriptions ("And then the TV, as though itself disgusted with the unremitting junk of the networks and the locals, blew the hell up!"). We even get a military parody of the Mickey Mouse Club theme song and a book-exclusive surprise or two, such as the form the Dark Overlord starts to take during the final confrontation, which I won't reveal here.
The book may be too goofy for some, and perhaps too detailed for others. For me, it's a classic and an all-time favorite. Anyone who doesn't laugh at SOMETHING in this book is either too serious or too inattentive, or just lacks wit. Whatever the case, this book is comedy gold and, if I had any say, it would be put back into print, because more people should read it. If you're one of those who enjoys a good laugh or three and has some time to kill, it's well worth it to track down and purchase a copy of this book. It has enjoyed a spot on my shelf since 1986, and it will keep that spot in the years to come.
And why not?
Because author Ellis Weiner took the humorous tone of the film (yes, the movie was a comedy, which many people failed to realize) as well as the sarcastic tone of creator Steve Gerber's original comics and turned the dial up to 11, giving us a novelization that, in some ways, is actually better than the movie on which it is based. More to the point, however: it is a book very much worth reading, especially if you could use a good laugh.
Right from the beginning Weiner lets us know this is no ordinary movie novelization. Chapter One opens with a booming narrative in all caps, thundering on about the cosmos, a boiling chaos of matter and energy, when it is suddenly interrupted by normal text (which we quickly discover is a seperate narrative voice) demanding to know what is going on and why this apparent intruder seems to be focusing on anything but Howard The Duck. We come find out that this booming voice is the VOICE OF THE UNIVERSE and for several pages the VOICE and the narrator struggle for control of the book toward which, of course, Howard himself is completely oblivious. Once the narrator wins, the VOICE goes largely silent, but we haven't heard the last from it.
Weiner combines thorough descriptions with humorous asides and sarcastic commentary to fully bring the story to life, and the characters are served the same attention. They're given natural-sounding dialogue peppered with amusing irrelevancies and hilarious non sequiturs that keep the laughs coming at a steady pace. Once every so often a chapter is interrupted by a "Coverage-In-Depth Insert" which focuses either on a character or an object that may or may not have any great significance to the plot or the story as a whole, but is always a fun read as it provides an obscene amount of detail that we really don't need to know, though we certainly come away feeling better informed, and also at the very least. One such insert tells us more about Howard's homeworld than Howard himself ever does, while another details the events leading to the invention of a major weapon, giving us the skinny on everything from the scientists' reasons for pursuing the project to what sugary breakfast cereal the President was eating the morning he conceived the device in the first place. Even Howard gets such a profile late in the story, which covers his childhood and shows us how he developed into the duck we all know and love.
The plot, which follows that of the film, revolves around Howard being yanked away from his homeworld and dropped rather roughly on Earth, and his quest to find a way back. Along the way he meets Beverly Switzler (the only other character from the original comics to make it into this book or the film), who becomes his friend and awkward romantic interest. Beverly and Howard have their ups and downs, but they find themselves drawn together and the bond they share plays a big role in the decisions Howard is forced to make throughout the story. Things, of course, grow worse once the threat of a hostile alien invasion rears its head, and Howard finds that the cost of returning home may be a little too high for comfort. But, Howard being Howard, he presses on with his never-say-die attitude, confronting every obstacle with anger, defiance and usually a humorous quip.
Weiner has great fun writing the quiet moments and the truly chaotic ones alike, and even plays little tricks on the reader throughout, such as randomly changing Lieutenant Welker's name to Weber and back, sometimes within the same chapter (some think this was actually a printing mistake, but having read it as many times as I have, I'm convinced it was deliberate), and taking moments out of action scenes to provide us with more humorously over-detailed descriptions ("And then the TV, as though itself disgusted with the unremitting junk of the networks and the locals, blew the hell up!"). We even get a military parody of the Mickey Mouse Club theme song and a book-exclusive surprise or two, such as the form the Dark Overlord starts to take during the final confrontation, which I won't reveal here.
The book may be too goofy for some, and perhaps too detailed for others. For me, it's a classic and an all-time favorite. Anyone who doesn't laugh at SOMETHING in this book is either too serious or too inattentive, or just lacks wit. Whatever the case, this book is comedy gold and, if I had any say, it would be put back into print, because more people should read it. If you're one of those who enjoys a good laugh or three and has some time to kill, it's well worth it to track down and purchase a copy of this book. It has enjoyed a spot on my shelf since 1986, and it will keep that spot in the years to come.
April 9, 2017
Better than the movie, which admittedly isn't saying much as it is generally believed that everything from a nice sandwich to accidentally finding yourself dating a neo Nazi with a hump, syphilis, and a shrine to Donald Trump after a failed attempt to drink an entire bottle of Absinthe is better than the movie.
Written almost as if they realised that nobody would ever read it so let's have some fun pointing out how unlikely it is that a microlight, an axe, and a Neutron Disruptor just happening to be lying around waiting to be used to stop any random lovecraftian entity that just happens to be passing through and including all the funny bits he had left hanging around waiting to be used somewhere at some point when the writers block really starts to kick in an end he had finished weeping at the fact that he had agreed to try and make that movie look good, this is best enjoyed by pretending the movie never existed and this is just a piece of eighties fan fiction that somehow escaped into the wild to live out its lonely existence on forgotten bookshelves waiting for a copy of the novelization of Superman 3 it can meet over a crowded shelf, slowly fall in love and have little crossover comics with.
Written almost as if they realised that nobody would ever read it so let's have some fun pointing out how unlikely it is that a microlight, an axe, and a Neutron Disruptor just happening to be lying around waiting to be used to stop any random lovecraftian entity that just happens to be passing through and including all the funny bits he had left hanging around waiting to be used somewhere at some point when the writers block really starts to kick in an end he had finished weeping at the fact that he had agreed to try and make that movie look good, this is best enjoyed by pretending the movie never existed and this is just a piece of eighties fan fiction that somehow escaped into the wild to live out its lonely existence on forgotten bookshelves waiting for a copy of the novelization of Superman 3 it can meet over a crowded shelf, slowly fall in love and have little crossover comics with.
July 15, 2020
I'll usually pick up a movie novelization because I have fond memories of the film, want a little hit of nostalgia, and am curious to see the differences between the book and the film. I don't expect much from them so they don't disappoint. This one was an exception. The cynicism and snark which I imagine was intended to reflect Howard's outlook on life reads less like humor and more like an author trapped into writing a book he didn't want any part of. The 'inserts' while clearly intended as funny asides like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy are clearly just there to pad out the page count. Skip this one and stick with the film.
October 4, 2025
If the novelization is essentially a lost art form at this point, then that goes double for the novelization that actively goes about pointing a spotlight on and exploring at length the plot holes and inconsistencies of the script they are ostensibly adapting - yet another luxury of our age not appreciated until it's loss. All in all surprisingly fun given the infamously doofy source film, although as someone whose Howard the Duck Topps trading cards were among their most prize possessions circa age 5, I suppose I had this date since the beginning. The endless barrage of dad-grade bird puns throughout does get more than little wearying, but since these include direct burns on Bill Buckley and Ayn Rand, I reckon it gets a pass.
April 6, 2024
The story lacks depth, which makes the novel mercifully short. I have only vague memories of watching the terrible film, so read this in case it was much better. Maybe it is? But after crashing to earth, Howard is still in the same alley he landed in, after about 20 pages. And there are numerous, inconsequential 'vignettes' peppered throughout, that I simply stopped reading, as they were poorly written, contributed nothing, and I suspect were only added to bulk out the book, which barely scrapes by 200pgs.
September 4, 2019
As far as movie novelizations go, this isn't bad. Overall, it's better than the movie it's based off of. Some scenes are much more enjoyable in the book than they were in the movie and other scenes played out better on screen than in the book. Very interesting to see some of the differences. This book is also ridiculous, with the added humor, sarcasm, and cheekiness that the author gives, sometimes adding and sometimes detracting from the story.
February 11, 2025
I don't know why I tried. The first chapter is packed with annoying duck puns. There is a little more background on Beverly (not the same when a young Lea Thompson doesn't portray the character) and it pretty much follows the movie. I got about a third of the way in and DNF'd this one. I really don't know what I was thinking in trying to read this.
January 15, 2024
The movie was so much better 😮💨 I usually love digging into all the extra details in a novelization that there’s no time for in the movie, but I just felt that none of the additional material added to the story. I’ll just enjoy the movie again lol
April 21, 2012
Like the movie it captured on the printed page, Howard The Duck (ISBN 0-425-09275-5) has been doomed to ridicule. Unlike the movie, however, far fewer people remember it or know that it ever existed in the first place. This is a true shame. As the popular saying goes, one should not judge a book by its cover, and it can be argued that one should not judge a book by its movie, either.
And why not?
Because author Ellis Weiner took the humorous tone of the film (yes, the movie was a comedy, which many people failed to realize) as well as the sarcastic tone of creator Steve Gerber's original comics and turned the dial up to 11, giving us a novelization that, in some ways, is actually better than the movie on which it is based. More to the point, however: it is a book very much worth reading, especially if you could use a good laugh.
Right from the beginning Weiner lets us know this is no ordinary movie novelization. Chapter One opens with a booming narrative in all caps, thundering on about the cosmos, a boiling chaos of matter and energy, when it is suddenly interrupted by normal text (which we quickly discover is a seperate narrative voice) demanding to know what is going on and why this apparent intruder seems to be focusing on anything but Howard The Duck. We come find out that this booming voice is the VOICE OF THE UNIVERSE and for several pages the VOICE and the narrator struggle for control of the book toward which, of course, Howard himself is completely oblivious. Once the narrator wins, the VOICE goes largely silent, but we haven't heard the last from it.
Weiner combines thorough descriptions with humorous asides and sarcastic commentary to fully bring the story to life, and the characters are served the same attention. They're given natural-sounding dialogue peppered with amusing irrelevancies and hilarious non sequiturs that keep the laughs coming at a steady pace. Once every so often a chapter is interrupted by a "Coverage-In-Depth Insert" which focuses either on a character or an object that may or may not have any great significance to the plot or the story as a whole, but is always a fun read as it provides an obscene amount of detail that we really don't need to know, though we certainly come away feeling better informed, and also at the very least. One such insert tells us more about Howard's homeworld than Howard himself ever does, while another details the events leading to the invention of a major weapon, giving us the skinny on everything from the scientists' reasons for pursuing the project to what sugary breakfast cereal the President was eating the morning he conceived the device in the first place. Even Howard gets such a profile late in the story, which covers his childhood and shows us how he developed into the duck we all know and love.
The plot, which follows that of the film, revolves around Howard being yanked away from his homeworld and dropped rather roughly on Earth, and his quest to find a way back. Along the way he meets Beverly Switzler (the only other character from the original comics to make it into this book or the film), who becomes his friend and awkward romantic interest. Beverly and Howard have their ups and downs, but they find themselves drawn together and the bond they share plays a big role in the decisions Howard is forced to make throughout the story. Things, of course, grow worse once the threat of a hostile alien invasion rears its head, and Howard finds that the cost of returning home may be a little too high for comfort. But, Howard being Howard, he presses on with his never-say-die attitude, confronting every obstacle with anger, defiance and usually a humorous quip.
Weiner has great fun writing the quiet moments and the truly chaotic ones alike, and even plays little tricks on the reader throughout, such as randomly changing Lieutenant Welker's name to Weber and back, sometimes within the same chapter (some think this was actually a printing mistake, but having read it as many times as I have, I'm convinced it was deliberate), and taking moments out of action scenes to provide us with more humorously over-detailed descriptions ("And then the TV, as though itself disgusted with the unremitting junk of the networks and the locals, blew the hell up!"). We even get a military parody of the Mickey Mouse Club theme song and a book-exclusive surprise or two, such as the form the Dark Overlord starts to take during the final confrontation, which I won't reveal here.
The book may be too goofy for some, and perhaps too detailed for others. For me, it's a classic and an all-time favorite. Anyone who doesn't laugh at SOMETHING in this book is either too serious or too inattentive, or just lacks wit. Whatever the case, this book is comedy gold and, if I had any say, it would be put back into print, because more people should read it. If you're one of those who enjoys a good laugh or three and has some time to kill, it's well worth it to track down and purchase a copy of this book. It has enjoyed a spot on my shelf since 1986, and it will keep that spot in the years to come.
And why not?
Because author Ellis Weiner took the humorous tone of the film (yes, the movie was a comedy, which many people failed to realize) as well as the sarcastic tone of creator Steve Gerber's original comics and turned the dial up to 11, giving us a novelization that, in some ways, is actually better than the movie on which it is based. More to the point, however: it is a book very much worth reading, especially if you could use a good laugh.
Right from the beginning Weiner lets us know this is no ordinary movie novelization. Chapter One opens with a booming narrative in all caps, thundering on about the cosmos, a boiling chaos of matter and energy, when it is suddenly interrupted by normal text (which we quickly discover is a seperate narrative voice) demanding to know what is going on and why this apparent intruder seems to be focusing on anything but Howard The Duck. We come find out that this booming voice is the VOICE OF THE UNIVERSE and for several pages the VOICE and the narrator struggle for control of the book toward which, of course, Howard himself is completely oblivious. Once the narrator wins, the VOICE goes largely silent, but we haven't heard the last from it.
Weiner combines thorough descriptions with humorous asides and sarcastic commentary to fully bring the story to life, and the characters are served the same attention. They're given natural-sounding dialogue peppered with amusing irrelevancies and hilarious non sequiturs that keep the laughs coming at a steady pace. Once every so often a chapter is interrupted by a "Coverage-In-Depth Insert" which focuses either on a character or an object that may or may not have any great significance to the plot or the story as a whole, but is always a fun read as it provides an obscene amount of detail that we really don't need to know, though we certainly come away feeling better informed, and also at the very least. One such insert tells us more about Howard's homeworld than Howard himself ever does, while another details the events leading to the invention of a major weapon, giving us the skinny on everything from the scientists' reasons for pursuing the project to what sugary breakfast cereal the President was eating the morning he conceived the device in the first place. Even Howard gets such a profile late in the story, which covers his childhood and shows us how he developed into the duck we all know and love.
The plot, which follows that of the film, revolves around Howard being yanked away from his homeworld and dropped rather roughly on Earth, and his quest to find a way back. Along the way he meets Beverly Switzler (the only other character from the original comics to make it into this book or the film), who becomes his friend and awkward romantic interest. Beverly and Howard have their ups and downs, but they find themselves drawn together and the bond they share plays a big role in the decisions Howard is forced to make throughout the story. Things, of course, grow worse once the threat of a hostile alien invasion rears its head, and Howard finds that the cost of returning home may be a little too high for comfort. But, Howard being Howard, he presses on with his never-say-die attitude, confronting every obstacle with anger, defiance and usually a humorous quip.
Weiner has great fun writing the quiet moments and the truly chaotic ones alike, and even plays little tricks on the reader throughout, such as randomly changing Lieutenant Welker's name to Weber and back, sometimes within the same chapter (some think this was actually a printing mistake, but having read it as many times as I have, I'm convinced it was deliberate), and taking moments out of action scenes to provide us with more humorously over-detailed descriptions ("And then the TV, as though itself disgusted with the unremitting junk of the networks and the locals, blew the hell up!"). We even get a military parody of the Mickey Mouse Club theme song and a book-exclusive surprise or two, such as the form the Dark Overlord starts to take during the final confrontation, which I won't reveal here.
The book may be too goofy for some, and perhaps too detailed for others. For me, it's a classic and an all-time favorite. Anyone who doesn't laugh at SOMETHING in this book is either too serious or too inattentive, or just lacks wit. Whatever the case, this book is comedy gold and, if I had any say, it would be put back into print, because more people should read it. If you're one of those who enjoys a good laugh or three and has some time to kill, it's well worth it to track down and purchase a copy of this book. It has enjoyed a spot on my shelf since 1986, and it will keep that spot in the years to come.
November 2, 2019
Pretty good adaptation. There’s a lot of extra stuff. Like duck puns. So many duck puns. Like almost too much. But I enjoyed reading it.
did-not-finish-or-start
March 8, 2021DNS 3/8/2021
December 11, 2021
Troppo divertente, da piccola lo rileggevo in continuazione!
September 17, 2024
Better than I expected. It has a nice Douglas Adams/Terry Pratchett quality to the writing. I get the feeling Weiner enjoyed writing it. Almost 4 stars but some propaganda toward the end hurt it.
September 10, 2025
"...So he was trapped in a world he never made.
Who isn't?"
adapted film:
howard the duck (1986) dir. Willard Huyck.
Who isn't?"
adapted film:
howard the duck (1986) dir. Willard Huyck.
November 28, 2025
MUCH better than AWFUL movie. Reread
November 1, 2015
I read this book years ago, and I thought it was as funny - believe it or not - as The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It was not, however, nearly as popular, because it was the novelization of a famously bad movie. It's a shame that movie wasn't better, because then more people would have read the book.
June 26, 2012
The adaptation was far better than the film.
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