So I’m fully going to cop to the fact that I totally bought Marvel’s Howard the Duck Issue #1 last week for novelty/nostalgia value. Growing up, I remember my older sister watching the movie, I watched it too…well up until the point the government threatened Howard, and then I was out. Full disclosure: I still have never seen the end of that cinematic “gem”. I was already at the comic book shop, it was on the new release shelf, so I thought “why not?” and added it to my pile of comics.

That being said, I now can emphatically say you NEED to give this book a chance. Click more to see why.

The book is HYSTERICAL, okay, I need to slow it down, don’t want to oversell, but seriously, there were parts that caused me to snort laugh. Out Loud. On Public Transportation. Chip Zdarsky’s writing is quick and witty, and quickly proves that although he is our lead, Howard is definitely the underdog here. The mostly unliked underdog. He’s sarcastic, and maybe not the brightest or most moral of heroes, but he completely owns up to it and makes it work for him.

Throw in an adorable inked up “side kick” and a SLEW of Marvel cameos, She-Hulk, Spider-Man and Rocket Racoon to name a few, and it is just one fantastical journey. Totally worth picking up. I can’t wait to see Issue #2 out on April 1st.

-EM