Another one where I don’t think I looked at the price tag, because jeez. No way, man. Not worth half that to me. And the cover’s got weird bends in it, it’s 100% not worth this much money. I’m retroactively mad. Ah, well. Howard the Duck creator Steve Gerber’s relationship with Marvel had long-since soured at this point, and Howard’s solo title was cancelled in 1979 after other people just couldn’t hack it. But Alan Kupperberg, the man who will later be drawing all the original Spider-Ham material, is well equipped for a “funny animal”-type situation. And he writes, draws AND colors this one himself! He opens on Spider-Man swinging over a traffic jam, in which Howard happens to be stuck in his capacity as a cab driver.
A very Gil Kane-esque Spidey in panel 3.
Well, this is some very Howard the Duck territory very fast.
Aaaaalrighty. Meanwhile, our very tired hero is going to watch the news before going to bed at 6pm, so tired is he, but he sees this Status Quo guy drawing a crowd, and also sees Howard, who he says he was never totally sure was real after their encounter in Howard the Duck #1, and decides he’s gotta go down there, tired or not. And when he arrives, he finds Status Quo has worked various old guys and stuffed suits into a frenzy, and has them attacking joggers and other young people. Howard is on hand for some reason, and gets hit in the head with an umbrella. Someone throws a trashcan through the window of a disco, but Spidey manages to keep anyone from being hurt by shattered glass. Then things just get goofier as the rioters announced they’re “fighting fads with fads” by throwing explosive frisbees.
Howard is chased into the park by a murderous mob as Spider-Man webs up various side streets to corral the crazy people he’s been dealing with in one place. Howard is reduced to stripping down and trying to blend in with some normal ducks to loose his assailants. And when they’re gone, he find someone’s stolen his clothes, which makes him swear revenge against Status Quo. We cut to some random news room talking about how to cover this for 2 panels, then back to Spider-Man.
I must say, Kupperberg’s Spidey is very dynamic. I know he’s had some work on the blog before, but this issue is very energetic. he swings over 3 kids who say they should start a Spider-Man fan club, which draws the ire of the rioters, forcing Spidey to double back and save the kids.
Well, it was certainly silly. Much more of a Howard story than a Spidey story, but I guess it’d have to be, really. Spider-Man will meet Howard again a few times, tho, whether he likes it or not.