Howard the Duck #8 Review!

Jondee here at Cleveland,

Howard the Duck is an absurdity in Marvel’s stable of characters, created by Steve Gerber and Val Mayerik, eventually making it into a 1986 Howard the Duck film. We may also know him from Howard’s cameo at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).  It seems like comics creators are embracing that film which almost torpedoed Marvel films. The current title is by Chip Zdarksky and Joe Quinones. They are keeping the parody and absurdity of the Master of Quack-Fu with Howard having a new assistant in Tara Tam who ate a Skrull turned into a duck and now has Skrull powers. His other assistant is Aunt May! (not Marisa Tomei, the elderly comics character) He needs both of them to keep his detective business in Brooklyn and also survive cosmic adventures. Howard has used his cosmic powers merged with the Nexus of Realities to return home. There is several panels in retro-style with Howard’s adventures with Beverly facing Dr. Bong and others. Quinones’ art excels at simple lines to render Beverly in yellow dress against a Maine sunset with the “Beverly” title for issue #8.  His art reminds me of Mike Allred. She invites Howard in and he gets her updated (and the readers too) explaining about his new sidekicks. He feels she abandoned him and it is apparent when the dialogue balloons are inserted in the retro panels that he has ignored her all of these years and her dream of being a vet. Beverly explains that they both had quiet lives and she thinks Howard is a trouble magnet which brings in the reworked Sentinel, Iron Punisher! He blasts them thinking they are superhuman until skewered by the board of Scout, former herald of Galactus who left him when he became Galactus the Lifebringer. Beverly kisses Howard goodbye and Scout takes Howard back to Brooklyn. Beverly has been reading up on “Diagnosing and Treating Birds” when she goes out to fly for a short bit, super Beverly! Howard is sleeping when Aunt May wakes him up for a “special client”, whom we get in a splash page, Lea Thompson (who was Beverly in the Howard the Duck movie!). Get your copy now! Four Iron Ducks out of Five!