#destroyer duck

[godahlpresentslizziesmithson]

internet archive had Destroyer Duck available as a legally dubious digital download, so I figured it'd be a good way to read it without buying all the individual floppies--the scan of issue 1 was unreadable, though... I could barely make out what the dialog was supposed to say in most of the pages... well, I guess I'll keep holding out hope for an ombnibus (who owns the rights to Destroyer Duck, anyway? Image Comics, I guess? Since the character's last appearance was in a Savage Dragon issue, that's all I can assume...)

[godahlpresentslizziesmithson]

I was leafing around Steve Gerber's old blog, and i found this post that reveals the existence of audio files of what Howard the Duck's "waaugh" expression is supposed to sound like. Unfortunately, it seems like Gerber never posted the clips before his death. Aaaah ive gotta hear it... >_< im sort of tempted to reach out to mark Evanier, the site's current webmaster, to see if he has it handy. Evanier is a busy guy, though (still active in the comics industry!) Id feel kind of bad bothering him...

[dirtyriver]

Destroyer Duck was created by Steve Gerber as a means to raise funds to help him fight Marvel over the ownership of Howard the Duck. Various big name creators contributed to the series (Kirby as primary artist, covers by Neal Adams, Frank Miller, ...).

Destroyer Duck #7, May 1984, cover by Frank Miller

Referencing his own cover for Wolverine #4, December 1982 (inks by Joe Rubinstein)

[godahlpresentslizziesmithson]

Just read the Spider-man/Howard the Duck/Destroyer Duck/The Savage Dragon crossover (The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were in it, too). Howard fans might remember that as the event that ended with the heavy implication that the Howard in the modern comics is a clone and the real Howard ended up in the Image comics universe under a different name. These were confusing comics to read, I felt a bit lost at sea not knowing who some of these characters were. Good on Steve Gerber for technically getting back control of his most famous character though, legally or not. There's an interview with him at the end of the Savage Dragon version of the story where he seems very cynical and unhappy about his tenure at Marvel, and that really sucks, I wish he had been treated better. But you know what they say... "Comics will break your heart."

[beyondthespheres]

bet you never realized how much in need of Kirby inked by Alcala you were

Destroyer Duck #3, written by Steve Gerber and lettered by Adam Kubert

[disneyweirdness]

Destroyer Duck [Eclipse Comics] : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Destroyer Duck [Eclipse Comics 1982]

[smashedpages]

On this day in 1982, Eclipse Comics published Destroyer Duck #1. The anthology featured a main story starring the title character by Steve Gerber and Jack Kirby, as well as back-up features like Groo the Wanderer -- who made his first appearance in the first issue.

The book was a way for Gerber to raise money for his lawsuit against Marvel Comics, who he sued over the ownership rights of Howard the Duck -- one of the first highly publicized cases of a creator suing a company over a character they had created. Gerber eventually settled with Marvel and even wrote the character again for Marvel in 1989, when he guest-starred in a She-Hulk story arc.

Groo the Wanderer by Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier would go on to be published for more than 40 years (and counting) by publishers like Pacific, Eclipse, Marvel's Epic imprint, Image and Dark Horse. Here's some artwork from his first appearance in Destroyer Duck:

[tramblr]

We are all Howard the Duck.