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Steve Gerber poked fun at American life through the travails of his cigar-chomping duck. |
Steve Gerber, 60; created Howard the Duck
LOS ANGELES - Steve Gerber, a cutting-edge comic-book writer and creator best known for Howard the Duck, the ill-tempered, cigar-smoking Marvel Comics character whose adventures satirized American life in the 1970s, has died. He was 60.
Mr. Gerber, who also wrote for animated television series such as "G.I. Joe" and "Dungeons & Dragons" and was known in the comic-book industry as a strong advocate of creators' rights, died yesterday in a Las Vegas hospital of complications of pulmonary fibrosis, said Mary Skrenes, a longtime friend and writing collaborator.
"He had an unusual way of writing human stories, whether it be a supernatural, a superhero, an occult, or a semi-realistic world," said Skrenes, who co-wrote the 1970s Marvel superhero comic book "Omega the Unknown" with Mr. Gerber.
"So many people could identify with his characters, and his characters spoke the truth about the real world in a comic-book world he created," she said.
Observed Mark Evanier, another writer-friend who collaborated with Mr. Gerber on TV cartoon series and comic books: "He was a distinctive, fresh voice in the '70s, telling personal stories in a medium that was not always known for that."
Mr. Gerber, who joined Marvel Comics as an associate editor and writer in 1972, began by writing stories for "Daredevil," "Sub-Mariner," and other superhero titles. He became known for injecting absurdist humor and social satire into the plot lines.
Mr. Gerber recalled that he was at home in his Brooklyn apartment working on a plot one night when he had the idea for Howard the Duck, whom he described as "the living embodiment of all that is querulous, opinionated, and uncool."
The iconoclastic duck from another world, originally drawn by artist Val Mayerik, made his first appearance in 1973 as a one-shot character in "The Man-Thing" feature in Marvel's "Adventure into Fear" comic book.
Immediately popular with readers, Howard returned to make guest appearances and became his own comic book title in January 1976.
The all-too-human Howard - "Trapped in a World He Never Made!," the cover catch-phrase declared - was prone to depression and struggled to pay the rent, yet had a sexy human companion, Beverly Switzler - "Toots" to Howard.
The unlikely comic-book hero battled villains such as Pro-Rata, an insane financial wizard who lived in a castle made of expired credit cards.
In writing "Howard the Duck," Mr. Gerber satirized elements of '70s culture such as kung fu, antigay activist Anita Bryant, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon and self-help groups.
"Howard the Duck really stood out against the backdrop of superhero comics that took themselves very seriously," said Tom Spurgeon, who runs the Comics Reporter, a comics industry news blog.
"On the surface, you had kind of a straight-forward comedy that lampooned culture," he said. "But at the same time, a duck character walking around in a world full of humans is a classic symbol of alienation and being different and feeling different.
"That was a subject Steve would often bring to his titles. . . . That's why people feel so fondly about his 1970s (comic) books because they kind of struck a chord with kids who similarly felt different or not in the mainstream."
Howard, which the Village Voice called "the last angry duck," became a cult phenomenon, although not everyone fell under his caustic spell.
One disgruntled reader wrote to Mr. Gerber blasting Howard the Duck for being a "pseudo-sexual, liberal, pseudo-intellectual premise obviously written by an oversexed manic depressive."
Mr. Gerber called it "my favorite fan letter."
Dubbed "America's newest comic juggernaut" by the
Spurgeon said Mr. Gerber, a native of St. Louis who left Marvel in a dispute in the late '70s, had "very little to do" with the 1986 "Howard the Duck" live-action movie, which famously flopped at the box office.
A protracted legal battle Mr. Gerber had with Marvel over ownership of Howard the Duck ended in a settlement in which Marvel retained the rights to the character. But the sealed terms of the settlement, Mr. Gerber later said, were "such that I am no longer angry."
"He was a big fighter for creators' rights," said Evanier. "One of the reasons that people can make a decent wage in comics these days is because Steve stood up to some of the more onerous business practices."
Among Mr. Gerber's numerous creations or co-creations during his 36-year career are "Nevada," "Void Indigo," "Sludge," "Destroyer Duck," "Hard Time," and the graphic novel "Stewart the Rat."
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
