Howard The Duck Quacking Up
Wheading for the big screen any time soon after his post- credits cameo in the Guardians Of The Galaxy, Howard the Duck is returning in a new comic next month. Written by Sex Criminals artist Chip Zdarsky and drawn by Joe Quinones, the dimension- hopping mallard is more relatable than any member of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
“He’s an everyman, or should I say every- duck,” says Zdarksy. “Howard’s out of place as a duck in a human world, but he’s still more of a human than Captain America, y’know? You’d go for a beer with Howard but with Cap, you’d maybe go for a jog.”
Created by the late Steve Gerber and Val Mayerick in 1973, Howard The Duck’s social satire was very much of its turbulent time. “I love the classic run but if any of that is referred to, it’ll be in such a way as to not alienate new readers,” reasons Zdarsky. “I haven’t really had to update anything but there’s an instinct on my part to try and focus on Gerber’s issues and desires for the character, so a lot of what he introduced and pushed for will be things I maintain as well. Also, Howard will be really into dubstep.”
However, Zdarksy refuses to confirm whether Howard’s sometime- girlfriend Beverley Switzler is still a part of his life. “Beverly’s a bit of a mystery at the beginning as clearly something has happened between her and Howard,” teases Zdarsky. As for the Guardians of the Galaxy, they’ll show up in issue two, which will explain how Howard fell into the hands of The Collector. “Howard is firmly in the Marvel universe and that big ol’ universe includes the Guardians, for sure! Half the fun of writing a Marvel book is utilising the Marvel characters. So I’m basically putting in as many characters into the book as Marvel will allow until they legally have to deem it an event book and pay me accordingly!”
The one thing that Zdarsky is promising is plenty of laughs. “It’s got to be funny!” he says. “That’s my number one goal! Comics need more funny in them so you may as well use that talking duck character for it!” Howard the Duck’s new series starts later this month.