Popular Post glendgold Posted July 31, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted July 31, 2017 Actual grail for me. I've been luckier than most in tracking stuff down, but this one was a long time coming. http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=2460 I've written a bit about Howard the Duck, but since the last essay he's had a bit of a renaissance. People have discovered the art in a big, surprising way (surprising to me, at least). Howard first showed up as part of Steve Gerber's slow, steady process of turning every single Marvel property that he touched into a springboard for an exacting, hilarious, melancholy, dark probe of his own psyche. Everything from Man Thing to the Defenders to Omega to KISS contained a little of Gerber's neurotic DNA. You could call his work social satire, and it is that (Gimme a B! Gimme an O! Gimme a Z! Gimme an O!) but it's also a roadmap of his bafflement at having to live in a world that clearly did not understand him. The feeling was mutual. When Howard showed up in Fear 19, Gerber had a mouthpiece already, Richard Rory, the tense, constantly-threatened everygerber (err...everyman) who was involuntarily along for the ride. Howard was just a waddle-on for a couple of panels. But by the time he landed in Cleveland a few months later, Howard was Gerber's full-on mouthpiece to yell at all the cultural weirdness of 1970s America that plainly bothered his creator. He started by taking on the comics themselves. What was big at the time? Oh, monster stories, horror stories, sword and sorcery, science fiction, kung fu - in other words, the plots of Howard's first five solo adventures. But then Gerber did the thing he always did. Though Howard was as much a spokesperson for him as any protagonist, he started adding extra pseudo-Gerbers beginning in issue #4 with Paul Same, the sleepwalking anhedonic artist. To say the stories were personal is an understatement -- even when I was about 12 years old I realized that whatever showed up that month was going to be something I only half understood, the other half basically an argument Gerber was having with the unfair planet. On came rueful stories about money, gothic literature, politics, mental illness, more mental illness, KISS, the unfairness of journalists, -- Well, wait, hold up. The last page of HtD 15 has the first appearance of a villain named Dr. Bong. #16 was supposed to reveal who he was -- a cipher for Bob Greene, the Chicago journalist who screwed Gerber over in an article. But that didn't happen. When I picked up #16 off the stands, I understood by the cover hat the worst had happened, and the Dreaded Deadline Doom would mean this was a fill in, a frequent occurrence at mid-1970s Marvel. The fill in issue was like inflation, gas shortages, late afternoon speeches from the President carried live on TV -- part of the constant crisis of living. I bought it anyway. And holy smokes was I wrong. It wasn't a fill in. But it was. It was something I'd never seen before. 17 pages of narrative, but weirder than anything that had yet appeared in a Marvel comic. Gerber was overwhelmed with work, and moving to Las Vegas, and didn't have time to write this month's Howard, so instead he penned -- obviously doing it VERY FAST -- a letter from the road explaining what was going on with him. It was as naked a statement of artistic intent as anything I'd read to that point. Granted, I was twelve, so that's not much of a list. But maybe that's why it hit me so hard. The issue is a series of double splashes illustrated by various artists -- John Buscema, Ed Hannigan, Giordano, Mike Nasser, Dave Cockrum and Alan Weiss among them. He makes fun of the Grand Canyon, he compares writers to flowers, he writes a one-page story and then spends two pages with Howard analyzing it. He parodies fight scenes with a double splash (by Tom Palmer) of a Las Vegas chorus girl and an ostrich fighting a lamp shade to the death. Was it any good? Letters in follow up issues suggested that no, people weren't psyched about it, but Gerber pre-empted them by providing his own critique in the issue. (Plus marks for the fight scene and his analysis of the Grand Canyon as the World's Deepest Rut; minuses for general self indulgence.) I wasn't a fan of the issue, but being a fan wasn't the point. This was Gerber doing a Hail Mary, and I'd argue that he accidentally paved the pathway for all kinds of personal comics. I think the door to a lot of Vertigo and autobiographical comics opened the moment he wrote, “I can relate to Howard the Duck because he will never become an institution.” I felt like I'd seen the first genuine artistic experiment in mainstream comics in my lifetime. When the narrative started again in #17, it continued in its month-to-month lurching to whatever bothered Gerber at the time. Howard turns human, Beverly marries his worst enemy. But then it felt like it was slowing down -- there's an Anita Bryant deal, a Star Wars pastiche, an issue where nothing much happens at all -- and then a sudden revving up as the Circus of Crime takes Howard on a tour of fleecing rich people. It felt like Gerber's energy was just coming up again when he was removed from the book. Though I love the post-#16 issues, there's a feeling of momentum to the earlier issues, and it's like #16 is the warning that it can't last much longer. I have been searching for this cover since I became interested in original artwork. It was the combination of it being the ultimate Howard issue and it being a typewriter and it being Howard v. his creator. This all spoke to me for personal (though easily guessed) reasons. It was like the adult world was letting me in on secrets about how to be creative and how to live as an artist. Gene Colan did a great job. There aren't a ton of surviving pencils from his 1970s jobs, most of them being just like this -- covers that Palmer lightboxed. (Jim Warden has the Palmer inks to this in his gallery). This one gets framed and put on the wall. Very satisfying to actually find it. Hope you dig. Squeezy McSphincter , Pirate, The Shoveler and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comix4fun Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Fricken Awesome! So happy for you and that you finally tracked this down! glendgold 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skizz Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Congratulations on getting your grail mate. I've never read Howard the Duck or Steve Gerber's writing, but your write up makes me wanna some Gerber. glendgold 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GotSuperPowers? Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Very cool story/write up. Is there a story around how you got it? Chasing down leads, a collector/dealer knowing Howard is of general interest, or something else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thethedew Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Congrats, hope you can pair with the Palmer inks someday! glendgold 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Toy2Many Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Congrats, man! glendgold 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matches_Malone Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 3 hours ago, Skizz said: Congratulations on getting your grail mate. I've never read Howard the Duck or Steve Gerber's writing, but your write up makes me wanna some Gerber. Gerber's writing in Man Thing was superb. Worth a look. glendgold 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glendgold Posted August 1, 2017 Author Share Posted August 1, 2017 The writing in Howard the Duck holds up. I've had non-comics friends tuck in, and it's a really interesting 1970s relic, like THE BAD NEWS BEARS or SMILE, satire that's so smart and specific that you can keep coming back to it. And alas, there's not much of a story behind the aquisition. Got it at auction by paying more than the other guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeGiant Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 3 hours ago, GotSuperPowers? said: Very cool story/write up. Is there a story around how you got it? Chasing down leads, a collector/dealer knowing Howard is of general interest, or something else? I will second this request - let's hear the backstory of the search for the grail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glendgold Posted August 1, 2017 Author Share Posted August 1, 2017 2 minutes ago, JadeGiant said: I will second this request - let's hear the backstory of the search for the grail See my reply above. It's DISAPPOINTING so I'll add just that I also shot a guy, romanced his woman, stole his car, took over his corporation, assumed his identity, traveled the world for many years, learning about Burgundy and fine watches. Then I stole a dirigible and floated over an auction house and did my bidding from there, and after I won, I had them throw the art into the air so my sky monkeys could catch it. Other than that, it was pretty normal. GotSuperPowers?, JadeGiant and The Shoveler 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeGiant Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 2 minutes ago, glendgold said: See my reply above. It's DISAPPOINTING so I'll add just that I also shot a guy, romanced his woman, stole his car, took over his corporation, assumed his identity, traveled the world for many years, learning about Burgundy and fine watches. Then I stole a dirigible and floated over an auction house and did my bidding from there, and after I won, I had them throw the art into the air so my sky monkeys could catch it. Other than that, it was pretty normal. I knew there had to be more the story! glendgold 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comix4fun Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 11 minutes ago, glendgold said: See my reply above. It's DISAPPOINTING so I'll add just that I also shot a guy, romanced his woman, stole his car, took over his corporation, assumed his identity, traveled the world for many years, learning about Burgundy and fine watches. Then I stole a dirigible and floated over an auction house and did my bidding from there, and after I won, I had them throw the art into the air so my sky monkeys could catch it. Other than that, it was pretty normal. How much is "flung into the arms of sky monkeys" on the shipping cost chart? glendgold 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewincanada Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 (edited) Well, you DID also spend half a day guessing when the auction would end, and wondering if anyone would snipe you at the last second, and if someone DID snipe you, whether or not that would extend the auction further, and if so, how long it might extend it. A bit nerve wracking, I expect. You know how I feel about this win, but I'll join the public chorus and shout "huzzah"! This page has found its perfect home. Edited August 1, 2017 by drewincanada glendgold 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewincanada Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 Also: great writeup. A fine read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alxjhnsn Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 I was older when HtD came out, but it was just as odd to me as it was to you. I enjoyed it though. glendgold 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhamlau Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 wow, I actually had that cover in my hands. Earl Shaw had it. I didnt know if it was the final cover or not so i passed on it. Glad it went to someone who knew what it was and appreciated it. glendgold 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thawk Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 Always fun when someone finds that piece after such a long search glendgold 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glendgold Posted August 1, 2017 Author Share Posted August 1, 2017 I did get this at Hake's, so if you go to that thread and see my kibbitzing...or whining...about that the shortcomings of that house's current platform, you can see what piece of art I was talking about. In short, their closing rituals (I wouldn't exactly call them science -- more arcane and druid-approved than that) seem to depend on them reading the entrails of sparrows and their elders drinking ayahuasca to come to consensus about whether the auction is over or not. Also: high bid has to be 10% over the previous bid, which is a system only Paul Erdös could love. But I vented about that already and the upside is that the art is now here, so I'm happy ultimately. The Shoveler and JadeGiant 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alxjhnsn Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 Speaking of HtD becoming popular, after his appearance at the end of the first GotG movie, Metropolis contacted me about buying my Brunner HtD piece. I guess they were speculating that HtD art would go up due to the movie. Hard to believe that would be true for my commission since Frank is around to draw more. It struck me as odd. Anyone see a hike in HtD pieces? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
