Howard the Duck, Vol. 0: What the Duck

Howard the Duck

by Chip Zdarsky, Joe Quiñones (Illustrator)

Hot off the pages of the...well, the post-credits scene at the end of a popular movie...Howard the Duck is back! Join the foul-mouthed fowl, trapped in a world he never made (but has grown accustomed to) as he takes on weird cases that only a talking duck can crack — as the Marvel Universe's resident private investigator! Howard's first case begins with the Black Cat but soon goes cosmic, landing him in the Collector's clutches! But he's not alone — Rocket Raccoon is a prisoner, as well! Can these two anthropomorphic animals turn the tables and break free? Well, yeah. Plus: Howard investigates a a senior citizens crime spree, teams up with Doctor Strange for some magical antics and learns a lot about new friend Tara Tam, because communication is key. Plus: a Secret Wars tie-in! Sort of.

Collecting: Howard the Duck 1-5

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Humor, Fiction, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics

112 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2015

About the author

Chip Zdarsky is a Canadian comic book artist and journalist. He was born Steve Murray but is known by his fan base as Chip Zdarsky, and occasionally Todd Diamond. He writes and illustrates an advice column called Extremely Bad Advice for the Canadian national newspaper National Post's The Ampersand, their pop culture section's online edition. He is also the creator of Prison Funnies and Monster Cops.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

How do you get down off your high horse?

You don’t get down off your high horse, you get down off a duck.

In the wake of Matt Fraction’s run on Hawkeye, we’ve seen a lot of laid-back, toned-down, humorous takes on super heroes from Marvel and for the most part, they’re pretty good.

Until now.

Howard the Duck, a talking alien fowl who has become a private eye here on Earth, has been around since the early seventies and has usually drifted in satire/parody and the occasional inclusion in Marvel continuity.



In this volume, he’s given up cigars and dialed down the rage machine a bit and he says Waugh a lot instead of quack.



Waugh. Evelyn Waugh!

Howard takes a case involving missing jewelry, finds a female partner and interacts (in a forced-humor kind of way) with the denizens of the Marvel universe.



Bite me, mind-controlled Aunt May!

And who didn’t see the inevitable witless Rocket Raccoon-Howard the Duck team-up?



If you didn’t see this coming, then you must be a pod person.

The reader might smile knowingly on occasion, but beyond that: Nothing.



Bottom line: Lord love a duck!

But not this one.



The alternate covers in the back of the book are the best thing about this volume.

[Manny]

DO YOU KNOW WHAT HOWARD, BEVERLY AND DOCTOR WALTER JENNING ARE TALKING ABOUT ? IF NOT, CLICK HERE!
________________________
[Update, Apr 3 2016]

THE CHANGE.ORG PETITION IS NOW UP TO 53,000 SIGNATURES! IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY SIGNED, DO SO NOW AND MAKE SURE THOSE POOR REPUBLICANS ARE ALLOWED TO TAKE DEADLY WEAPONS TO THEIR NATIONAL CONVENTION!

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

After gently amusing audiences (and likely confusing a few) with a post-credits cameo in the Guardians of the Galaxy movie, Howard the Duck is given a new series written by Chip “Sex Crimz” Zdarsky and drawn by Joe Quinones.

If you read Charles Soule’s She-Hulk (recommended) you might remember seeing Howard in a panel in the final issue moving into the office next to Jen’s. Howard’s decided to become a private investigator and is hired by the mysterious Mr Jonathan Richards to steal back something Black Cat stole from him. But Mr Richards is more than he appears to be and… Howard’s got to save the world?! Waugh!

I love Sex Criminals and, on the face of it, it looks like the perfect match: Howard the Duck AND Chip Zdarsky? And it’s not a bad fit though I wanted to like the series more than I did.

The story is a bit rambling, which is fine, as Howard interacting with most of the Marvel Universe leads to some good scenes (and really what else is there to do with Howard?). Like Dan Slott’s Silver Surfer, Zdarsky’s teamed up the bizarre-looking protagonist with a cute girl sidekick, maybe going for a Doctor Who-type dynamic. The repeated Spidey break-downs were a kinda funny running joke, and the team-up with Rocket Raccoon led to the best line in the book “Who’s the sexy prisoner now? You’re ALL sexy prisoners!”

There are also a couple of decent backup stories drawn by Rob “Chew” Guillory and Jason “Southern Bastards” Latour. Guillory’s was by far the best, a three-page strip about Howard being sued by Luke Cage and Iron Fist for touting himself as a “Hero For Hire” defended by a mad lawyer who’s pretending he’s secretly Spider-Man. I love Guillory’s artwork and, though there’s nothing wrong with Quinones, it made me wish the whole series had been drawn by him – THAT would’ve really made me excited for this series as Guillory’s manic style is the perfect complement to Zdarsky’s script.

And while Howard comes off as a likeable protagonist, most of the jokes are just… meh. Not laugh out loud, not chuckle-worthy, not even a grin most of the time – the kind of humour that’s just a little too self-aware to be funny. Also the “Howard’s a pathetic schlub” angle gets old pretty fast and some of the team-ups aren’t so great, like the Doctor Strange one. The ending too is designed to be stereotypical Marvel fanfare but still fell flat in trying to be a bit too clever.

What the Duck is an uneven read varying from somewhat funny-ish moments to not, bundled together in a meandering and vaguely interesting-ish story. It’s not bad, it’s not great, it’s… Howard the Duck!

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zdarsky pokes fun at the Marvel Universe while Howard pretty much meets everyone in the Marvel U. Howard has become a private dick. He's hired to find a magical gem which turns out to be part of a knockoff Infinity Gauntlet. I found this to be a lot of fun. I especially liked how they poked fun at their title ending because of the Secret Wars crossover.

[Terence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Howard the Duck is having a hard time on Earth.

As the only talking duck on the planet, he has a hard time making friends although from time to time he does make some. Howard is doing as well as he can as a private investigator, but he's not too proud to beg.


Howard the Duck is quite the odd character. He's understandably mad and that unfortunately seems to lead to many people not liking him. His lawyer never calls when he gets arrested. He has to worry about guys like the Collector sweeping him up for their collection. It's all exhausting.

What the Duck was exactly what I would expect from a Howard the Duck volume. Humor that sometimes hit sometimes misses and one gruff duck who finds himself in one rough spot after another.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book. I've loved Howard the Duck for years and was so happy to have him back.

While I did enjoy this book, it wasn't the five star corker I'd been hoping for. Howard seems a little off somehow. Not angry enough, maybe? I also hated the running joke of Spider-Man being a useless cretin. I'm really not sure what that was supposed to achieve other than tell everyone Zdarsky hates Spider-Man. Nobody cares, Chip.

Overall, the book was OK. I don't regret reading it and I'll be reading the post-Secret Wars relaunch, it just wasn't anything special. Maybe it'll hit its stride now it's past its first story-arc.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've never been a Howard the Duck fan, but I've been meaning to give the Chip Zdarsky run a try since he's been doing a decent Daredevil recently. Well, this ain't that.

Dumb duck jokes prevail in this team-up book that has Howard hanging in turn with She-Hulk, Spider-Man, Rocket Raccoon and the Guardians of the Galaxy, Dr. Strange, the Human Torch and more before the all-hands-on-deck finale -- which a day later I'm hard pressed to recall . . . something, something, Skrulls, something, the book is canceled for a relaunch, something.

Ho-hum to the meh degree.

[Artemy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really hope Chip will up his game in the next volume, because right now his writing is not good. Yes, this book is funny in a zdarsky way, but plot-wise, it is pretty weak, both in this one and in his creator-owned Kaptara. Out of these two so far, Howard is at least a bit more enjoyable with all the fun pokes at major super-heroes (oh, Spidey). And his style just works better in a ridiculous comic book about a funny grumpy talking duck a bit better than a book about getting trapped on an alien planet with five ugly dudes and a bunch of monsters.

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Duck Yes! Howard is back! Not just back he's a private Duck Dick and perhaps a hero for hire as well. This is a ducked up book as only Chip Zdarsky could create that pokes fun at some of the most favorite characters of the Marvel-verse while spotlighting its funniest and daffiest avian.

[Murphy C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I vaguely recall seeing Howard the Duck as a kid with my Dad. This comic is much better!! This series is funny, sweet, silly, and about as good as a comic book can possibly be. I love it!

[Peter Derk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great. Funny, and great.

Here are three of the jokes I thought were great. If these hook you in, then read it!

1. The story involves an Infinity Gauntlet knockoff known as the Abundant Glove.

2. The Abundant Glove also has knockoff gems. They are as follows:
Compassion
Laughter
Dance
Respect
A Second Dance Gem

3. The case of the Heroes For Hire Against Howard's "Hero For Hire" Ad Campaign




A lot of you probably saw Howard the Duck in the end of Guardians of the Galaxy. Whether it was weirder to see a duck man or Benicio Del Toro with a weird blonde wig is debatable.



What is NOT up for debate is the weirdness of the Howard the Duck movie from the 1980's. After all this Back to the Future day hubbub, can we finally get back to the idea that Lea Thompson PROBABLY had sex with a duck man. And can we ignore my Google habits and the fact that I know ducks have enormous, corkscrew penises that are corkscrew because that way they can bypass the SECOND vaginas that lady ducks have, the decoy vagina they use when they don't want to have ducklings? Because that is a significant fact within movie history. There was a major Marvel movie release with bestiality before there was a release with gay love! I guess whether Howard is a best is up for debate. You don't actually SEE the corkscrew lil' Howard. Despite my NUMEROUS letters to Marvel asking for it on the DVD release. Most of which went unanswered, a few of which were answered. Rudely.

But, True Believers, my history with Howard, my Howardstory, if you will, goes back even further than Lea Thompson's questionable sexual practices.

It's the story of three brothers plus a real nerdy friend that I had.

My dad, when we were kids, had a shitload of comics. I mean a shitload. He subscribed to the monthly books the entire time I was a kid, and he would read them, then stack them in an entertainment center in the basement that no longer held a TV or anything like that. Just comics. And once me when playing hide and seek. I closed myself in one of the cabinets and hid long enough that parents were driving the neighborhood to find me. That's some serious hiding right there. Parents got in a car. I did not fuck around with hide and seek.

Anyway, when this entertainment center wasn't hiding my body, it was filled with comics. The huge TV space was just stacks and stacks of comics.

And at some point, I convinced my dad to let us split up his collection. Here's the breakdown.

My oldest brother got The Avengers.

My younger brother got Iron Man.

My nerd friend got Fantastic Four. I guess because he happened to be there that day(?) Not really sure how that worked out, but here we are today, and he has a comics room FILLED with comics. I'm 100% sure he's the only one who still has the books we got that day, so I feel good that they went to the right home.

Oh, and me. Let's not forget yours truly.

I got a couple different things.

Jack of Hearts. A playing card themed hero. Who had an arrow that pointed at his groin.



I don't remember much about him, and the only powers I remember are that he had an arrow pointed at his groin and no one mentioned it.

I also got War of the Worlds, starring Killraven. Who was like...Conan, but in the future, but a post-apocalyptic future. Imagine Conan, but instead of a big desert, he's fighting shit on a collapsed Golden Gate Bridge. This may have also been the beginning of my hatred for media where swords and guns are combined. The fuck, you guys. The fuck. Here's a tip: If you're in a battle with a sword in one hand and a gun in the other, hurl that sword into a volcano and use both hands to shoot the gun. C'mon.

Finally, I got Howard the Duck.

My dad's run was pretty thorough. He had most of the 30-some core issues from the original series, and I was introduced to Quack-Fu, Man-Thing, and of course, Howard's nemesis, Dr. Bong. Who was a giant bell, you dolts. That Maryweed has rotted your goddamn brains.

The original run was mostly about a semi-suicidal duck from a planet of duck men who found himself trapped on a planet of "hairless apes." He had some adventures, occasionally crossed streams with Marvel regulars, and mostly bumbled around.

They were fucking great. A total precursor to the slacker superhero types of the 90's, but with a little more heart, and a little more sense of humor.

I tried to fill in the series with the issues I was missing. This was in the pre-internet days, youngsters, and your best bets were a trip to Mile High Comics, where you could pay a princely sum to get a single issue. By "princely" I definitely mean "gouging". That place. Such a paradise, yet so gougey. Or, you could take your chances on a bet. For example, Ron, who had a coin shop, also had an entire basement full of comics.

No, this is not a story that ends badly. "Go in the basement, I have COMICS, kids!". Not that.

Me and my aforementioned nerd buddy went into his store's basement and spent HOURS looking through piles of comics that were unsorted. It was dark as the only light came from the stairwell and the store above, and the comics were just piled willy-nilly on the floor. Willy Nilly may have also been a title I got from my dad's collection. If Willy Nilly was a guy, and if he sucked, I definitely got it.

This was the kind of work you had to do to collect comics back when. It was a lot more than living with the buyer's remorse. You had to venture into a darkened basement, sort through piles and piles of shit, and then emerge, squinting into the daylight, only to ask "How much?" and have this asshole open an Overstreet Price Guide. For those of you who aren't familiar, Overstreet was the corkscrew giant duck penis of price guides for comics. It would screw you hard, and in ways that were baffling and confusing, and its very appearance was sickening and unnatural.

Ron quoted me the price for Howard the Duck #16. A book that was only inches above a cement floor moments ago, a book that was in a basement unequipped with lights, a book that should have been a dollar book, he told me "Let's call it $8.99." Bastard. Rat bastard. That book is $7.99 TODAY on eBay.

I didn't buy it. I returned it to the basement, hid it somewhere in a stack. Just in case I cam back some day, a rich man with ALMOST ten bucks to burn.

Now you can buy the Essential Howard the Duck, 592 pages of duck. Or you can buy the Howard The Duck Omnibus, which reprints the first 33 issues and some other key moments in full, glorious color.

Penis Arrow of Hearts didn't stick with me. But Howard did. So much so that when I put a comic on Amazon, and I needed to rip off the cover from somewhere, I knew exactly which one to pilfer.



There have been a few reincarnations of Howard over the years. Even one by the O.G., Steve Gerber. But it just didn't quite hit the sweet spot.

And finally, we got it. Nice work, Mr. Zdarsky.

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship · Rating 5 out of 5]

So this was awesome, absolutely laugh out loud hilarious!

Howard is a private eye, a Duck dick if you will, and his office is next to none other than She-Hulk. Despite her appearances being few and far between she was infinitely more interesting and likable in this title than in her own now canceled series She-Hulk, Volume 1: Law and Disorder.

Other cameos include:
Spider-Man
Doctor Strange
Rocket Raccoon & the rest of the Guardians
Aunt May
Black Cat
Luke Cage
Iron Fist
Human Torch & the Fantastic Four
Falcon/Current Cap
And so on...



I loved the team up with Rocket and every Spidey scene was hilarious but the final issue, which was packed with superheroes, was actually my least favorite. There are plenty of fun in-jokes and references that make the book fun for fanboys and fangirls.



Howard is tasked with retrieving a stolen necklace which takes him all the way to outer-space and back. He teams up with a tattoo artist named Tara which I didn't really think was necessary, but I guess they wanted someone for him to talk to.

Overall, this was witty clever fun.

[Brandon Forsyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Marvel announced that they were handing off possibly their most loony title to noted quack Chip Zdarksy (artist on the incredible SEX CRIMINALS), I knew I couldn't duck out of buying this. I expected (and have clearly fully embraced) the puns. I didn't expect the emotional moments about being an outsider, about belonging and the ways your alienation and anger can drive you further away from people, and they way back from that path. It's actually moving.
But also Zdarksy is just ruthless with sticking it to Marvel at every possible opportunity. Wonderfully anarchic.

[Maria Kramer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The quality of this volume is a bit erratic compared to Vol. 1. Some jokes hit, but some definitely miss. You could skip it and start with Vol. 1, if you wish. You won't miss too much.

[Vinton Bayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 - This book is a lot of fun and it is a great homage to the classic stuff. The one thing that ruined it for me was their take on Spider-man (and to a lesser degree a few other major Marvel characters). Yes it was funny but it quickly became over used and more importantly, if your story is set in the main Marvel universe you can't turn major characters into cartoony spoof caricatures of themselves. It was a little ridiculous. I may have enjoyed it more if it wasn't set in the 616.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

what? I mean, somewhat entertaining, but probably way more entertaining for someone who isn't me?

[Villain E · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read a good Howard the Duck story since the original Steve Gerber run. Until now. This was smart and funny and parodic. Howard is trying to be a private detective in New York City. Even he questions why he left Cleveland. He and some superheroes get on each other's nerves. And he gets dragged into an adventure which is way over his head.

[Arthur · Rating 4 out of 5]

weird and entertaining

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chip's writing is a sheer delight.

[Jacob A. Mirallegro · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fun and enjoyable time, definitely felt like a quick easy read so I recommend it. The tone and pacing took some getting used to, it's practically parody, but there's a lot of great humor and funny moments. Chip really is the best boy for having Human Torch casually sing Beastie Boys. Quinones' art is very fitting with some really good expressions and comedic visuals.

[Matt Ferra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny duck

[rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading a lot of Chip Zdarsky lately and I think this is my favorite one so far. He made me feel empathy with a talking duck and all the parodies of the Marvel universe are so on point it hurts. Excited to read more of this.

[Alicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of a weird hodge-podge of Howard stories. Not un-entertaining but it was certainly not my favorite.

[High Plains Library District · Rating 5 out of 5]

Howard the Duck. Most of us probably remember the foul fowl from his 1980's screen debut. Yes, Marvel could have made a movie about Iron Man, or the Hulk or, I don't know, Dazzler, the mutant with the magic disco powers. But no. We got Howard the Duck.

And while the movie wasn't cinematic gold, the comics of the 70's were actually...kinda awesome. They were pretty subversive. How many comics can include a nemesis named Dr. Bong? Okay, the reveal of the bell-headed baddie was a bit of a gag on readers, but it was still pretty hilarious. What about the issues where Howard loses his mind and is visited by some demons, represented by the members of KISS?

There was some weird, cool stuff going on with Howard in the 70's. So much so that Howard ran for President in 1968, and supposedly got a significant number of write-in votes in the ACTUAL election.

There have been a couple relaunches over the years, but this one, this book right here, is the one we've been waiting for.

Folks, it's hilarious.

Let me share 3 reasons why. I don't want to ruin the fun, so I'll keep it short:

1. An out-of-shape Howard spends most of an issue running AWAY from a superhero battle, and a few blocks in to the run he's so out of breath that he can't even explain what's happening to a member of the Fantastic 4.

2. This book is about the quest for, not the Infinity Gauntlet, but the Abundance Glove.

3. The gems in the Infinity Gauntlet are Soul, Time, Space, Mind, Reality, and Power. Which gems are in the Abundance Glove?
Compassion
Laughter
Dance
Respect
A Second Dance Gem

Yeah. Read it.

~Peter

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

A likable volume but something feels a little off. Things are fairly frenetic throughout and sometimes the humor feels a bit forced. That said, this is still a fun read and it's quite nice to have Howard back in the Marvel universe.

[Des Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

What makes Howard the Duck so readable, is the constant comedy delivered with total disregard for the Marvel Universe, delivered by Chip Zdarsky. The is an ever-present irreverence for the characters of the Marvel U, with flagrant and hilarious dialogue woven into every issue. Zdarsky invents a new cousin to the Infinity Gauntlet, throws major league heroes against it, and uses Spider-Man as nothing more than the butt of a series of increasingly pitiful jokes. I love it, and am amazed Zdarsky got away with half of what he's done here. Quinones' art is a blast too as always, and paired with Zdarsky's absurdist approach to penning a big-two funny book, the fellas make an excellent, hilarious, breath of fresh air sort of book that I'm happy to continue reading.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up to knock out the 'Book with an Animal in the Title' in my Comic/Graphic Novel interpretation of the Popsugar Reading Challenge - I got it mostly so I could whine to my husband about how stupid Howard the Duck is and how much I dislike the whole premise - but I was SO wrong! This book had me laughing out loud the entire way through, and now I have to go out and pick up the rest of the series - there are great references to rest of the Marvel Universe, and TONS of character appearances. I loved this so much!

[to'c · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do have a soft spot in my heart for Howard the Duck. I really do. It was great seeing this fresh take on a favorite character. The Duck has always found himself in places he didn't belong and in situations he couldn't control and he has always come out on top. He still does.

You might want to read Volume 1 after.

[Joe Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chip Zdarsky - writer
Joe Quinones - illustrator

Witty, superhero pseudo-satire + strong, evocative artwork reminiscent of the style of Mike Allred = this book!

Highly recommended for fans of Marvel comics.

5/5

[Lisa Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the individual issues. I didn't know what to expect from this title, and I was pleasantly surprised! So funny! Highly recommended!