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lacymae's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
renatasnacks's review
3.0
Until I started reading this I didn't realize that there's a VOLUME ZERO, thanks Marvel. So this was a little confusing (besides how Howard's whole deal is confusing) but with a lot of laughs. The best part was the crossover with Squirrel Girl, which I'd already read.
kfrench1008's review
2.0
I'm a big fan of the old Steve Gerber "Howard the Duck" comics, so I really wanted to like this relaunch, but I found the plots too confusing and there are far too many other Marvel characters shoehorned in for apparent crossover appeal. Disappointing.
thecommonswings's review
5.0
Still an absolute joy: Zdarsky keeps the plot a bit tighter this time, but still goes for zippy comedy at every opportunity and Quinones and Fish are perfect for the cosmic nonsense. But the absolute joy here is the Squirrel Girl crossover - it’s amazing how the sheer optimism and glee in that comic just takes over everything around it. It’s joyously daft and very funny and made me roar with laughter several times. Henderson and Quinones together make these issues feel even more spectacular. Just big goofy ridiculous fun and I love it
neveredning_tbr's review
4.0
started reading this for Gwenpool but ended up loving howard the duck!!!
just_fighting_censorship's review
2.0
Pretty forgettable. There are female time travelling clones of Howard and Rocket.... A golden Silver Surfer fangirl.... The collector.... The last two issues I already read since they are a Squirrel Girl team-up. I adored the first volume...not sure what happened here but I blame Secret Wars for breaking the momentum.
dr_matthew_lloyd's review
4.0
Howard the Duck is one of those comic book characters whose reputation precedes him - and not in a good way. Rumour was that the movie was an early indication that perhaps the genius of Star Wars was despite, not because, of George Lucas. When Howard was teased at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy, it seemed to make more than a few people angry. Reading [b:Marvel Comics: The Untold Story|13623814|Marvel Comics The Untold Story|Sean Howe|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1339631158s/13623814.jpg|19227562] it seemed like Howard was used largely for satire, a perspective that would have perhaps been interesting, but the Marvel of the twenty-first century, for better or worse, is not that of the 1970s.
It's perhaps the biggest problem with this volume that it doesn't really seem all that controversial. It's fun, much like Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, but it's nowhere near as silly; it lacks any kind of biting satire or dark comedy. It's just a solid, fun, not-quite superhero story where the 'hero' just so happens to be a flightless, talking duck, who, despite being a bit of a loser, knows most of the key players in the Marvel universe. The setting is cosmic in scale and draws in a bunch of heroes from across the Marvelverse, notably including the Guardians of the Galaxy, although not in the lineup familiar from the film (but still featuring precisely one woman). There were some jokes and some fun, although perhaps fewer jokes than I might've hoped. I found it to be pretty much the lighthearted fun that I had expected to find in Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, without the little bit extra that comic book ended up having. This volume also features the Squirrel Girl/Howard the Duck crossover, which I think is what all superhero crossovers should be (i.e. short) but was a little better in the Squirrel Girl volume, I think.
It's perhaps the biggest problem with this volume that it doesn't really seem all that controversial. It's fun, much like Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, but it's nowhere near as silly; it lacks any kind of biting satire or dark comedy. It's just a solid, fun, not-quite superhero story where the 'hero' just so happens to be a flightless, talking duck, who, despite being a bit of a loser, knows most of the key players in the Marvel universe. The setting is cosmic in scale and draws in a bunch of heroes from across the Marvelverse, notably including the Guardians of the Galaxy, although not in the lineup familiar from the film (but still featuring precisely one woman). There were some jokes and some fun, although perhaps fewer jokes than I might've hoped. I found it to be pretty much the lighthearted fun that I had expected to find in Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, without the little bit extra that comic book ended up having. This volume also features the Squirrel Girl/Howard the Duck crossover, which I think is what all superhero crossovers should be (i.e. short) but was a little better in the Squirrel Girl volume, I think.
projectmayhem7's review
3.0
So, I read this one first because I didn’t realize that this volume, volume #1, is actually the second volume… Volume #0 is the first one. Weird and not cool, Marvel. Pretty funny comic though.
Issue #1: 3 stars
Issue #2: 4 stars
Issue #3: 2 stars
Issue #4: 2 stars
Issue #5: 2 stars
Crossover Part One, Squirrel Girl Issue #6: 4.5 stars
Crossover Part Two, Howard Issue #6: 3.5 stars
[Little disclaimer: I love the political/cultural/social humor, but if you’re conservative or can’t take a joke, you may not like this one.]
So, I’ve heard of Howard the Duck, but just in passing. I thought it was some kind of “so bad it’s good” type of thing like that Tommy Wiseau movie The Room, and I’m not even sure why I thought that. Maybe I’d heard someone say that about the Howard the Duck movie? I don’t know. Haven’t seen that either. Whatever the reason, I was wrong. Chip Zdarsky (artist of one of the most unique comics I’ve ever read, Sex Criminals) and Ryan North (funnyman writer of the new Squirrel Girl comics) are a surprising team up. I definitely see North’s fingerprint, especially in the little footnotes from the narrator in the first issue, and obviously #6. Even if North didn’t help write the other issues in this volume, it’s obvious he was an influence on Zdarsky. Honestly, #6 where he teams up with North is probably the way Zdarsky should take it from now on. Howard works better with the footnotes. Or it could just be North underneath in the footnotes that’s working for me.
I didn’t realize this comic was supposed to be some kind of humorous mash-up of a bunch of different comics and superheroes. We have Squirrel Girl, Aunt May, Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, A metal glove thing with a gem that looks a lot like Thanos’s glove, Galactus, The Collector, Venom, Thing, Silver Surfer, Kitty Pryde, Drax, Groot, Rocket Raccoon, etc., and I learned that Howard is from the same place as Rocket. Pretty cool, but it’s a bit much. There are some great lines in there though.
And what about those cringe moments?
Yeah, “Space Daddy”. He's is The Collector, you know, the baddie who imprisoned her friend Howard and countless other creatures on his “museum” prison planet. I hate to say this, because I can appreciate a good dad joke, but Zdarsky and North both have a pretty immature/cheesy type of humor, and sometimes it works, but when it doesn’t, it really doesn’t. Ryan North is actually really great at writing humor for young adult comics, so I can’t say anything about that. North is all about the puns too. I think Zdarsky tries to imitate North’s style, and sometimes he doesn’t succeed. Of course, Erica Henderson (the artist of the new Squirrel Girl comics and of the Howard/Squirrel Girl crossover issue in this volume) is amazing, so the crossover issue is tied with the Veronica Fish issue as the best in this volume. I’m just not crazy about the other issues. If I was only rating the others, I might give this comic 2 stars.
The second issue illustrated by Veronica Fish is much better than the other issues in this volume. The art is better, we learn more and get background on other characters, and for some reason it’s easier to connect to the characters. The art for the other issues isn’t bad at all, I just prefer Fish’s issue. (P.S. I have to give credit to the letterer for all the issues too. Good stuff).
The flashbacks and flashforwards are slightly obnoxious. Also, what’s up with all these characters who are smugglers? How are there so many smugglers in the universe? Like, how are there enough jobs for all of them? I guess it doesn’t really matter, it sounds like a badass job and it’s easy, a writer doesn’t have to explain too much if they’re smugglers. Just thought I’d voice that.
Lastly, is Mr. Biggs the cat from We3 by Grant Morrison? It has to be…right?
Issue #1: 3 stars
Issue #2: 4 stars
Issue #3: 2 stars
Issue #4: 2 stars
Issue #5: 2 stars
Crossover Part One, Squirrel Girl Issue #6: 4.5 stars
Crossover Part Two, Howard Issue #6: 3.5 stars
[Little disclaimer: I love the political/cultural/social humor, but if you’re conservative or can’t take a joke, you may not like this one.]
So, I’ve heard of Howard the Duck, but just in passing. I thought it was some kind of “so bad it’s good” type of thing like that Tommy Wiseau movie The Room, and I’m not even sure why I thought that. Maybe I’d heard someone say that about the Howard the Duck movie? I don’t know. Haven’t seen that either. Whatever the reason, I was wrong. Chip Zdarsky (artist of one of the most unique comics I’ve ever read, Sex Criminals) and Ryan North (funnyman writer of the new Squirrel Girl comics) are a surprising team up. I definitely see North’s fingerprint, especially in the little footnotes from the narrator in the first issue, and obviously #6. Even if North didn’t help write the other issues in this volume, it’s obvious he was an influence on Zdarsky. Honestly, #6 where he teams up with North is probably the way Zdarsky should take it from now on. Howard works better with the footnotes. Or it could just be North underneath in the footnotes that’s working for me.
I didn’t realize this comic was supposed to be some kind of humorous mash-up of a bunch of different comics and superheroes. We have Squirrel Girl, Aunt May, Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, A metal glove thing with a gem that looks a lot like Thanos’s glove, Galactus, The Collector, Venom, Thing, Silver Surfer, Kitty Pryde, Drax, Groot, Rocket Raccoon, etc., and I learned that Howard is from the same place as Rocket. Pretty cool, but it’s a bit much. There are some great lines in there though.
And what about those cringe moments?
Yeah, “Space Daddy”. He's is The Collector, you know, the baddie who imprisoned her friend Howard and countless other creatures on his “museum” prison planet. I hate to say this, because I can appreciate a good dad joke, but Zdarsky and North both have a pretty immature/cheesy type of humor, and sometimes it works, but when it doesn’t, it really doesn’t. Ryan North is actually really great at writing humor for young adult comics, so I can’t say anything about that. North is all about the puns too. I think Zdarsky tries to imitate North’s style, and sometimes he doesn’t succeed. Of course, Erica Henderson (the artist of the new Squirrel Girl comics and of the Howard/Squirrel Girl crossover issue in this volume) is amazing, so the crossover issue is tied with the Veronica Fish issue as the best in this volume. I’m just not crazy about the other issues. If I was only rating the others, I might give this comic 2 stars.
The second issue illustrated by Veronica Fish is much better than the other issues in this volume. The art is better, we learn more and get background on other characters, and for some reason it’s easier to connect to the characters. The art for the other issues isn’t bad at all, I just prefer Fish’s issue. (P.S. I have to give credit to the letterer for all the issues too. Good stuff).
The flashbacks and flashforwards are slightly obnoxious. Also, what’s up with all these characters who are smugglers? How are there so many smugglers in the universe? Like, how are there enough jobs for all of them? I guess it doesn’t really matter, it sounds like a badass job and it’s easy, a writer doesn’t have to explain too much if they’re smugglers. Just thought I’d voice that.
Lastly, is Mr. Biggs the cat from We3 by Grant Morrison? It has to be…right?