![](https://i.annihil.us/u/prod/marvel/i/mg/5/10/5d01311304acf/clean.jpg)
Sometimes, superhero comics get weird.
![](https://64.media.tumblr.com/826a1dc1cd7658b936c184256d49f5e9/9e7b5334f11a6493-4d/s1280x1920/b03925f877ade90e020e699c4cebd14f728834df.jpg)
Really weird.
![](https://64.media.tumblr.com/9975d98082c3bfaf93b1a742419cdae0/ca358cd10db8c3b4-19/s1280x1920/1e4fa32be8168d6344acfe4c33fcd1919e7c24ee.jpg)
![](https://64.media.tumblr.com/0b0b12ca9198a17eadda24cb18347c99/ca358cd10db8c3b4-44/s1280x1920/2acde2c65ff7c23b24f7954eceafb8b42f050d06.jpg)
![](https://64.media.tumblr.com/8c6006f618fee123cfee7275776ab997/ca358cd10db8c3b4-7f/s1280x1920/ae36ec35d781684e5f611cf2a6bbe6c0d9e648ed.jpg)
Picking up right where Giant-Size Man-Thing #5 left off, Howard the Duck #1 finds Howard depressed and wanting to swim, but the water is all full of muck. So, he decides to kill himself. Yes, this is a pretty cavalier way of talking about suicide–and it’s just used as a plot device to get him to a tower (with the goal of hurling himself off it, to his death), but when he gets there he finds himself dressed like Conan the Barbarian, saving a Red Sonja stand-in from a wizard named Pro-Rata whose goal is to become chief accountant of the universe.
![](https://earthsmightiestblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/IMG_0358-2-1-1007x1024.jpeg)
The issues that follow have him fighting Space Turnip and a giant cookie, meeting Spider-Man, becoming a pro-wrestler, and being drawn by some of the best in the business.
This is pretty heavy handed (and, frankly, dated) social satire. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, it’s always self-indulgent, and it’s always unique. But I will say: It doesn’t work real well for me, so I’ll be glossing over these issues in large chunks.
At the same time, issues #1 and 3 are two historic books–and some of Steve Gerber’s best. When you try something this experimental and swing for the fences, it either goes well or it’s a dramatic miss. This series overall was more of the latter than the former, but the hits it did have are truly unforgettable.