Howard the Duck

“Guardians of the Galaxy” movies have been good to Howard the Duck.

Howard appeared in the closing credits of the first “Guardians” movie. Marvel’s curmudgeonly duck has another cameo in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.”

The cameos are better than Howard’s big George Lucas movie dud from a few decades ago. “Howard the Duck” was Marvel’s first movie. Marvel has gotten better with movies in the intervening years.

Howard the Duck as a comic, well, not so much.

Yes, the cameos have led to new Howard stories of the duck once trapped in a world he never made, who is now “trapped in a world he’s grown accustomed to.” The “Guardians” appearance even led to a trade paperback collection of Howard’s earliest appearances from the 1970s.

The two do not compare.

“Howard the Duck” was the brainchild of Steve Gerber, who poured the world-weary philosophical side of his soul into the character. “Howard” was a strange series that was more social commentary than traditional “Bam-Pow” comic book action. 

From a world where ducks topped the evolutionary chain, Howard was dropped onto our planet by a shift in the cosmic axis. The talking, cigar-smoking, fedora-wearing duck found himself in a world of hairless apes. The comic took on martial arts, presidential politics, pro wrestling and numerous other facets of 1970s life in America.

The current “Howard” titles are more of a romp. Howard is grouchier but far less insightful. Silly things happen but there are no echoes of deeper relevance. 

Gerber was not involved in the recent reincarnations of Howard the Duck. Sadly, Gerber passed away in 2008. 

The newer “Howard the Duck” comics are fun but they are a sometimes painful reminder of what can happen when a character continues after its alter ego, its creator, passes away.