Great Episode! Gerber was like the proto-Morrison, just producing some really surreal and crazy stuff when that kind of thing was more accidental than anything else. Was really sad when he passed.
Sure, the weird stuff is where he made his mark, but his run on Defenders was damned good writing. Consistently more entertaining than Avengers or even Fantastic Four.
@@JoeJoe-lq6bd The chemistry among the characters worked incredibly well, despite the fact that the four of them were just thrown together in a random awkward way. It really good reading.
I was at the SanDiegoCon banquet in 1986 when Steve Gerber tottered into the hall late. He'd just been to the premiere of HOWARD THE DUCK. The poor bastard looked absolutely sick and devastated, as if he'd just been forced to watch his child violated. That was my first inkling the movie wasn't gonna help the comics industry look cool.
I sort of lived through much of this as I am 53 and I started reading comics when I was like 9 or 10 (1977/78). Destroyer Duck was the coolest thing. We felt like we were really helping "the Cause" by buying it.
Mead Packer, Booster Cogburn and Woblina Strangelegs were all on the Godcorp payroll. But they hadn't reckoned on a burly duck who'd made a vow to his dying friend: "Rest easy, squirt. They'll pay."
I remember when Howard the duck first hit the scene and then when Howard the duck # 1 came into the comic book store that I worked for. The first issue sold out immediately and started to resell for $20
I knew that the local news stand would be getting it in 3 months. Most people who collected comics weren't aware of this news stand and I scooped up 25 copies and was able to sell them 1 at a time over the next year. (I was also given 1 copy that I immediately sold because of circumstances I didn't find wholesome or fair. Even in the collector's world of comics there are bad people)
I was just using an opportunity that most comic collectors weren't aware of and I almost always used my profits to buy more comics. I used to view comics like the stock market, buy low sell high and utilize the market fever while it lasts. I used to tell my son that in most cases a high dollar item will become affordable if you wait (otherwise snap it up fast if you see a trend on the horizon, having future vision is tricky. And some people don't realize that wanting something can be more powerful than HAVING something. I tend to now agree with the philosophy of not letting your possessions possess you, hard to do in a consumer society.)
I'm writing this from memory, so the details might be a bit off. But Gerber claimed that "Giant Sized Man-Thing" really wasn't intentional. The story he told was that literally no one caught the double meaning until he met a new neighbor, mentioned he wrote comics, and then showed her one of the comics he wrote (GSMT, obviously). At that, she made a comment like, "oh, you write *those* types of comics", at which point Gerber considered the title and realized what she meant. Could it be true? I dunno. But his response to the double meaning of "Doctor Bong" was usually "oh, no, I have no idea what you mean, wink, wink". That he actually acknowledged the GSMT double meaning, and had a story about how he realized it, does make it somewhat plausible, at least. And, honestly, it's not like it was the only "Giant Sized" comic Marvel was putting out; it was fairly common for them to do "Giant Sized" versions of other titles (Giant Sized X-Men #1 probably being the most famous), so it's certainly possible someone said "okay, let's do a Giant Sized version of Man-Thing without a second thought. On the other hand, Steve Gerber being Steve Gerber, him realizing the implications of the title all along is also completely believable, so... take it as you will.
Thanks for this. I queried him (Chris) on this exact thing in a comment above. I believe you're correct, that it was not intentional...and I'm not sure if Gerber even had a say in it, since page count isn't determined by the writer anyway.
I drew the Marvel half of that 1996 crossover. Gerber and I became friendly after that, and let me in on his Howard plans. Yes, any Howards appearing in Marvel Comics after that issue of SPIDER-MAN TEAM-UP were clones. The "real" Howard would dye his feathers black and begin using the name Leonard. This meant that Gerber could maintain control and ownership of *his* duck. Steve and I were going to collaborate on the adventures of "Leonard The Duck", which would have become a dream come true for me. But things didn't work out. I never did get the full story about how and why the plan dissolved. But I'll always be grateful to Tom Brevoort for hiring me to draw that one story, and to Steve for including me in his Duck Scheme.
Thank you Chris for this video, I been wanting a Steve Gerber video for awhile. He is underrated in the names of great comic writers and his Man Thing run was excellent.
It was very funny to see raid shadow legends ad on this channel, but even though we all know about the quality of this product, I'm so happy that Chris gets such sponsorships, I'm really hoping he can make a living out of his TH-cam channel, he truly deserves that!
Excellent! This was really informative. Before this video? I was strongly under the belief that Gerber was totally wronged by "Evil MegaCorp. Marvel", but, after watching this video? Im unsure if anybody was in the wrong. It seems that Steve had his wires-crossed, and was making demands from an erroneous starting-point. I enjoyed this content a lot, and: I've also got some new titles to check out aswell! If anybody want to read some other good 'ol Gerber recommendations, then try "Man Thing". Those are great. And the issues illustrated by the mighty Mike Ploog are just beautiful to look at. (Ploog studied under Eisner, and it shows). Cheers Chris, And Happy New Year to all the Comics Tropes Fans "LiL'JpD."
@@bluespaceman7937 Look for "Screenplay of the Living Dead Man" aka "The Infernal Man-Thing", the brilliant sequel to "Song-Cry of the Living Dead Man", which was finally published several years after Gerber died because the art by Kevin Nowlan was too detailed to be printed properly within Marvel's budget using the technology available during Steve's lifetime.
Great overview. Howard the Duck was a favorite series of mine. I thought it was filled with action, satire and political commentary done in a unique and creative way! Gerber could write the hell out of an entertaining story!
Chris, you're looking great, and your show's looking even better. Watching this was a blast, and your channel has been a close ally through some hard times. Thank you for your content and see you next time
Loved Howard the Duck. He's the reason I got into comics & learned to draw. Also loved how he's an editorial vehicle. We could use more comics like his today.
Man, he died without ever getting the full rights to his character, and now Marvel is owned by the company that thought his character looked too close to their own duck character. Im glad he paved they way for stuff like this in comics though, a real visionary.
The ending where it was emphasized that Steve Gerber wasn’t interested in Tv or animation, he was interested in comic books. This is important; comic books are a medium unto themselves and more people need to understand that.
Amen... I hate when people make the implication that comics best achievement is getting turned into animation or a movie. I understand that financially, but artistically it's just another form of media that it has it's pros and cons. I liked the definition that Alan Moore gave once: comics aren't soundless, motionless movies; that's a very limiting, and negative way to examine comics. Nobody says stuff like that about regular books. So comics are a interesting halfway between ordinary books and motion pictures, were you have the visual spectacle but you also need to read and use your imagination to make the story alive, you are not a passive viewer: can read at your own pace - not spending the time the director of the movie want you to experience each scene.
Exactly. The Marvel and DC movies (with the possible exception of 1978 Superman) never fully caught the elements of what drew me into reading comic books. I just plain like the panel to panel medium of the art form. (I admit a weakness for the 1966 Marvel Superheroes TV show. The fact they used artwork right out the books was very cool.)
Was Gerber's (legendary) deadline lateness a product of writer's block, procrastination or perfectionism? Did he (or his colleagues) ever offer a perspective? Great episode as always! Thank you, Chris!
I've had several brilliant friends drop out of Phd programs or ruin academic careers due to being slaves to perfection. Meanwhile, I handed in my mediocre B- work and collected my Masters degree.
His friend David Anthony Kraft said to me that Steve would write himself into a corner. Steve mentioned how he didn't plot most things lo n g term, though he and Mary had an extended outline for Omega. DAK said Steve would brain storm occasionally with his creative friends to get the most inspired solution in a relatively timely fashion. #8 of HTD is an example where Don McGregor and DAK threw in assassination ideas. GS Defenders credits the dinner gang with help. He was pretty good about crediting his friends and fought for Msry's Omega byline. P.S. Mad Genius Associates was Jim Salicrup and DAK's 'business' - adapted to crank out those buttons. They and Mary would eat take out and watch Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman episodes while turning in side business after hours.This was all before my time, but confirmed by my friends, who were there. I didn't get to speak with Steve; I got into most of his work after he died- of the same disease that killed my also- Virgo father about the same time. Steve is my favorite comics writer. 😍 His scripting is regularly phenomenal.- Cecil Disharoon
Great work as always! The Howard the Duck saga is something I’ve been fascinated by but never knew all the ins and outs that you put here. Really enjoyed learning about this.
Howard asked the tough questions such as why Red Sonja wore a metal bikini. It's something every fan always wondered but Howard the Duck was the only one to ask it.
As a preteen I absolutely adored Steve Gerber's work . Loved it . The Defenders were MY team in the early 1970's and I still have and occasionally reread those crazy stories !
Man-Thing #5 The Night of the Laughing Dead was among my favorite comics of this period. Steve Gerber and Mike Ploog's storytelling collaboration was excellent. I even made my non-comic reader friend read this story.
I know he's had a long, respected career, but every time I see Roy Thomas all I can think of is House Roy, hapless lackey to Funky Flashman. I love me some petty Jack Kirby.
I first read Gerber when he wrote the Ultraverse title Sludge. Unfortunately it was canceled when Malibu was bought out by Marvel and all the Ultraverse characters have been in some type of legal limbo......
It only just occurred to me that the fact that Gerber established Man-Thing defending the universe by just mindlessly fighting whoever showed up is kind of a great commentary on who the proactive characters are in superhero comics (hint: it's not the heroes).
7:06 I think I should mention that Gerber apparently claimed that Dr Bong one was unintentional. He did say that people lately explained him other meanings for bong.
I was so proud to see Howard fighting in the Battle of Earth alongside the Avengers, the army of Asgard, the sorcerers, the Ravagers, the army of Wakanda, and the guardians of the galaxy.
Old comics drama sounds so much like old wrestling drama. Like, "The WWF screwed over the wrestler so hard that they had a massive falling out with everyone hating everyone..... and then a few years later he was rehired by the WWE and went on to have several title runs..... before it all happened again...."
Chris, this is one of those videos of yours that really reminds me what a wonderful job you do. So many Gerber retrospectives concentrate on his "funny" work, they include the issues of non-Howard material he worked on that parody something else or are intended as satire and that's about it. They have a vision of Gerber as a funny guy. However you showed Gerbers more serious work, his commentaries on violence, his use of "real world villainy" (as he called it) in Defenders and Captain America, etc. Truly one of the best and more complete looks at Gerber, flaws and all Thank you so much for all of your videos. I hope you keep doing them for many years to come. Your love of the form radiates out of each one and reminds me why I love comics as much as I do. They're very much the highlight of my week sometimes. Thanks for all you do.
In the 90s, I was contracted by Byron Pries and Marvel to write a story for their anthology THE ULTIMATE HULK. I was intentionally brought in because I was a big fan of THE DEFENDERS, particularly Steve Gerber's run. I wrote an outline for a story that featured not only the defenders but Gerber's character the Foolkiller has a homage to his run. I had managed to somehow track Steve down and emailed him asking if he would mind if I dedicated the story to him. He politely refused and answered a question I always had about his involvement with the Howard the duck movie... Not surprisingly I guess the outline for this story had been rejected I ended up writing another story which still Incorporated several characters that were dear to Steve. He's one of my idols, and I look to his writing has something to aspire to even in my grouchy old age... Thank you for spending time talking about him.
Steve Gerber was an amazing writer, even as a kid I knew that he was pushing the boundaries of comics. Some of his later work that’s really good that you need to check out is Nevada & Hard Time. Of course his ManThing run is the best!
Hey Chris! Have you ever read any of Paul Chadwick’s Concrete comics? I think it’s something you’d really like and I think you’re likely already a fan. I’d like to suggest some comics and comic creators to be in future episodes. Along with Chadwick’s Concrete, David Lapham’s Stray Bullets and James Kochalka’s Sketchbook Diaries are some comics that I think would make fun episodes. Evan Dorkin’s Milk and Cheese is another comic to add to the list. I’ll still watch and be a fan of your show even if you never talk about those comics. And I’m glad you got a sponsor.
Chadwick's THE WORLD BELOW (Dark Horse) was really wild and weird but never got to finish because readers were far more "superheroes only" than today, believe it or not
@@MarsHottentot I’ve got a few issues of The World Below. I wasn’t aware that Paul Chadwick didn’t finish the story he wanted to tell. I’m going to go digging through long comic boxes and hope I can find my copies of The World Below. And maybe some Concrete comics while I’m at it.
Awesome video. I love Howard the Duck. I was around when it was new and on the shelves and enjoyed seeing his covers and ads each time, but didn't give it much appreciation beyond his appearance with Spider-Man in a Team-Up. It wasn't until getting a stack of them out if a 50c box decades later that I realized how cool he and his writers were. Artists too. After that I learned a little bit about the behind the scenes connected to him in some letters page/editorial from some non-big-two publisher. Thanks for connecting the dots for me.
I love Howard. I remember discovering a few of the comics when I was about 8. In the early 80s UK, these were pretty rare and remember having my tiny mind blown. A lot of it probably went over my head, but having been used to Marvel Superheroes, it was perhaps my first exposure to how crazy and creative mainstream comics could be.
Gerber wrote an episode of Star Trek the Next Generation where Riker is in a fake alternate future where he has a child that was very similar to a two-part episode of G.I. Joe with Shipwreck.
My friends pointed out to me a while ago that how badly I want in MCU version of a Howard the Duck movie is directly proportional to how drunk I am. If I'm slightly tipsy, I will express mild interest in seeing it. If I'm completely borderline blackout drunk I will start screaming, "Imma read you line for line the fan script that I wrote!!!" Whenever I get to that point, my friends always say "Ah shit. Steve's Howard-the-Duck drunk. Better cut him off."
I'm not drunk and I want a new MCU Howard the Duck movie so much. Out of all the Marvel properties I want adaptation to a new Marvel film, I want Howard the Duck the most to get an MCU film. Howard the Duck comic books are brilliant and the best Marvel franchise ever created in my opinion.
OMG! Those two panels at 5.35 are my clearest, cleanest memory from my comic book reading days as a kid. I even remember the time and place I purchased the comic they were in, and I still have an issue of it (not the original one I bought) somewhere in the house. I sold all of my comics many years ago, save that issue of The Defenders and, oddly enough, my Howard The Duck books.
I first knew Steve as the writer of the Hitchhikers Guide comic, I loved Howard the duck's movie as a kid but I wouldn't learn about the comics until much later. I love 70s marvel, what a bunch of hippies by today's standards. But that's how you made great art then.
Enjoyed this episode. I worked as a storyboard director for Marvel Animation back in the 80's I had many Gerber scripts come to my drawing table. I would always expect an imaginative script and was never disappointed. He was a good one.
You know you're thanking us for watching and liking and stuff but thank you for making this video. I personally have always been curious about Howard outside the movie and always got a kick out of his appearance in Marvel Zombies
You should call this “year of behind the scenes” or something. I know that name was crap, but you’re last several videos have all been about those behind the scenes stories about what’s happening with these stories and characters. Idk it just seems you’re on that topic
I enjoyed Steve Gerber's work. He stood out from all of his contemporaries back when I was reading during his time. He should have been included in any financial windfalls for his creation. Wonderful episode as usual, thank you.
I love Steve Gerber, it’s amazing how it’s folks like him we’re still talking about half a century later. Amazing writer and visionary. Might I recommend (highly recommend) a video on the life and career of another legend, Mark Gruenwald!
I recall the time I met Jim Starlin very briefly. I was sat behind him, drawing my own stuff at a con YEARS ago at this point (This was long before the Avengers came out and made everyone know who Thanos is). I remember looking over my shoulder to see the line of people trying to get commissions from him and I saw he was drawing Man-Thing who's always been one of my favourite characters from Marvel thanks to Steve Gerber. I remember muttering, "Oh, cool. Giant-Sized Man-Thing!" To myself and Jim Starlin overheard me and laughed at that and went "I was in the office the day that went to print and somebody finally noticed. It was already too late to change so they just put it out and hoped nobody would notice." So yeah. Seems like it may have been a joke that the censors only managed to notice at the point when it was too late to change things.
Love you Chris. Best comic book youtuber of all time. You can feel the passion and love in every video. Life has been a bit messy recently and quite stressful but it all goes away when I watch your videos. Thanks for being you Chris.
Thanks for posting this, Chris. I loved Steve and Gene's work on Howard back in the 70s was devastated when Steve left suddenly with no explanation in the comic or Bullpen Bulletins. I didn't find out the real story until many years later. One small correction. The comic Steve was taken off so Gerry Conway could write it was actually the Defenders, not Daredevil. Steve had given up Daredevil to write Defenders a couple of years previously.
19:53 Holy crap, out of all the formulaic mediocrity of the G.I. Joe cartoon, I specifically remember that two-part episode as one of the strangest and saddest, developing the character Shipwreck more than almost anyone else in the series. I guess it makes sense, he was a bit of a fish-out-of-water kind of like Howard.
I only recently found and subscribed to your channel (around 2-3 weeks ago) but I've already binged nearly all your content. Truly great stuff, thank you for all the amazing work you do Chris! You are very appreciated
I haven't really sat down and read comics and in least 3 years. Things just got too wild and my attention drifted elsewhere. I greatly appreciate your content and your deep dives into the stories behind the stories. I love putting on one of your videos while doing chores.
Gerber's run on Man Thing often gets overlooked. I always loved the concept of the Nexus of Realities. Chris Claremont tied back into Gerber's Man Thing with his villain Despayer who appeared in his runs on Marvel Team Up and Uncanny X-Men.
In my view, Gereber's most underrated work was the cartoon Thundarr The Barbarian. That Saturday Morning cartoon started off with being in a post-apocalypse. I always felt it ironic that Disney tried to get Marvel to change Howard The Duck when Howard and Donald were completely different characters ...and then decades later buy Marvel. At least Gerber gets credit for creating Howard when Howard shows up in the MCU. In any case, as much I love the Howard character and even Man-Thing... if you work for a company, ad you have a contract, any work you do for that company, while the company will give you credit for creating or helping create something, they own that work.
Yet Disney didn't do shit with Howard the Duck in MCU. Only few cameos here and there. Even in the series "What If...", Howard unfortunately only has brief appearances. The fact that MCU didn't do anything with Howard the Duck is the main reason to me why MCU is lame. Like seriously what's stopping the MCU to do a Howard the Duck animated series and a new Howard the Duck movie?
ive loved Howard the duck ever since The movie came out when I was a kid. I Know everyone says its bad but i think its a great movie, maybe you had to be a child when it came out. Anyway I wish he would show up more often in some crossovers, seriously i do, for real.
I sold all my books in like 2006(much regret) but I started collecting Savage Sword and Defenders again! Love that book. Defenders 108 (off the shelf)was the first book I actually put in a bag and decided to start collecting.
Thanks for doing this video! Steve Gerber was one of my favorite writers in this CHAOTIC era of Marvel and the only comic I’ve ever subscribed to! His writing always weird with bizarre humor and unexpected things tossed in wasn’t predictable or in my opinion always unusual! Howard’ last run with Steve and excellent art by Phil Winslade had Howard having a chat with God in the last tale! Gerber is/was one of a kind and if people get it or not? Whatever,it is what it is! All of his stuff is recommended reading! Thanks again!
Waiting to see one of these career retrospectives on Frank Thorne now, who was also a colorful character in his own right. Marvel might have been chaotic in the 70's, but they produced a lot of good work during that period.
I find it kind of funny that Steve had all these legal issues, when his brother is a lawyer and was my professor in Brooklyn Law School. You'd think he'd give the stuff to his brother to look over, at least. Michael Gerber is literally a contract attorney.
Honestly Chris I’m so happy to see you taking ads, especially from such big companies like RSL and MagicSpoon!! I have absolutely no issue watching or skipping through an ad if it means you’re more properly compensated for your hard work. Congrats and thanks for the great videos!! :)
You say he wasn't much of a businessman, but going against Marvel, who was? Sounds like a LOT of their artists/writers got screwed. In the new Hawkeye series on D+ I was surprised to see no overt credit given to Aja/Fraction despite how much of their book was used in the show. That being said, I was a Howard fan back in the day, had all his comics and a button! Wish I had them now.
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Lol, no.
It is so familiar and yet so out of place here. To a million subscribers! Forward, ho!
Awesome! Way to get a sponsor!
Finally....Someone talks about Howard the Duck and not just the 80's movie.
Ha I was waiting for the movie reference 🦆🤷
Or that funny duck man in guardians of the galaxy
Good point
It was an incredible 33 issues.
@@JunkyardKid aaaaaaand an entire history of tie-ins, crossovers, team ups, reboots and more lol
Gerber was a mad genius. And like all mad geniuses, he drove the people who actually knew him crazy.
Great Episode! Gerber was like the proto-Morrison, just producing some really surreal and crazy stuff when that kind of thing was more accidental than anything else. Was really sad when he passed.
Gerber reminds me of Alan Moore in a lot of ways.
@@robvangessel3766 Tangentially: Gerber's book NEVADA for Vertigo was under-read, underrated, and underappreciated. People should seek it out.
@@keithpl5438 Agreed!
Sure, the weird stuff is where he made his mark, but his run on Defenders was damned good writing. Consistently more entertaining than Avengers or even Fantastic Four.
I loved his Defenders run. It's way underrated.
@@JoeJoe-lq6bd The chemistry among the characters worked incredibly well, despite the fact that the four of them were just thrown together in a random awkward way. It really good reading.
I am convinced that Thor: Ragnarok took some inspiration from Gerber's Defenders run.
@@alandoane9168 I don't really remember many details, just that it was really good reading.
@@jimmy.r.minnelli If you think about the eventual team that forms in Ragnarok, it's very close to Gerber's Defenders.
I was at the SanDiegoCon banquet in 1986 when Steve Gerber tottered into the hall late. He'd just been to the premiere of HOWARD THE DUCK. The poor bastard looked absolutely sick and devastated, as if he'd just been forced to watch his child violated. That was my first inkling the movie wasn't gonna help the comics industry look cool.
Apparently Gerber helped write the script, so I think he knew what he was getting into
@@tripdefect87 to play devils advocate many people write a screenplay/script with the intention of it being one thing and then becoming another
I sort of lived through much of this as I am 53 and I started reading comics when I was like 9 or 10 (1977/78). Destroyer Duck was the coolest thing. We felt like we were really helping "the Cause" by buying it.
Artists creating art to defend their art is awesome! I would have been proud to purchase as many copies as I could have afforded.
Mead Packer, Booster Cogburn and Woblina Strangelegs were all on the Godcorp payroll. But they hadn't reckoned on a burly duck who'd made a vow to his dying friend: "Rest easy, squirt. They'll pay."
I'm 56. I had a bunch of Defenders, Man-thing, and HTD comics, including #1. I sold them awhile ago, and sorta miss them.
@@heavyearly2232 I feel your pain.
@Thomas R. Piner Me too!
I remember when Howard the duck first hit the scene and then when Howard the duck # 1 came into the comic book store that I worked for. The first issue sold out immediately and started to resell for $20
I knew that the local news stand would be getting it in 3 months. Most people who collected comics weren't aware of this news stand and I scooped up 25 copies and was able to sell them 1 at a time over the next year. (I was also given 1 copy that I immediately sold because of circumstances I didn't find wholesome or fair. Even in the collector's world of comics there are bad people)
Bad but it seems you made some profit
I was just using an opportunity that most comic collectors weren't aware of and I almost always used my profits to buy more comics.
I used to view comics like the stock market, buy low sell high and utilize the market fever while it lasts.
I used to tell my son that in most cases a high dollar item will become affordable if you wait (otherwise snap it up fast if you see a trend on the horizon, having future vision is tricky. And some people don't realize that wanting something can be more powerful than HAVING something.
I tend to now agree with the philosophy of not letting your possessions possess you, hard to do in a consumer society.)
I like Gerber, but one important aspect of the Destroyer Duck controversy was that Jack Kirby wasn't properly compensated for his work.
The irony.
Story of Jack's life, really
@@RickReasonnz Is Jack ever gonna get paid what he was owed which by my count is/should be millions, he should've been set for life after the 60s
Is this your first sponsor Chris, I don't remember, congrats, you deserve all the money!!!
Was thinking the same thing
I came across your channel the other week with the bob kane video. Since then i have watched nothing but your vidoes, i cant get enough!
Steve Gerber was the only person who could write Howard the Duck properly.
He was the only one that knew how to write Man-Thing too
I think Mark Russel (DC's Prez, Flinstones, and Snagglepuss) could do a decent job. But even then, Gerber is a pretty hard person to try and top
Chip Zdarsky writes him well
Alan Moore did Swamp Thing
I doubt that
I'm writing this from memory, so the details might be a bit off. But Gerber claimed that "Giant Sized Man-Thing" really wasn't intentional. The story he told was that literally no one caught the double meaning until he met a new neighbor, mentioned he wrote comics, and then showed her one of the comics he wrote (GSMT, obviously). At that, she made a comment like, "oh, you write *those* types of comics", at which point Gerber considered the title and realized what she meant.
Could it be true? I dunno. But his response to the double meaning of "Doctor Bong" was usually "oh, no, I have no idea what you mean, wink, wink". That he actually acknowledged the GSMT double meaning, and had a story about how he realized it, does make it somewhat plausible, at least. And, honestly, it's not like it was the only "Giant Sized" comic Marvel was putting out; it was fairly common for them to do "Giant Sized" versions of other titles (Giant Sized X-Men #1 probably being the most famous), so it's certainly possible someone said "okay, let's do a Giant Sized version of Man-Thing without a second thought.
On the other hand, Steve Gerber being Steve Gerber, him realizing the implications of the title all along is also completely believable, so... take it as you will.
Thanks for this. I queried him (Chris) on this exact thing in a comment above. I believe you're correct, that it was not intentional...and I'm not sure if Gerber even had a say in it, since page count isn't determined by the writer anyway.
It's kind of cute if it was unintentional. Weird little creative naïvete.
Gerber was one of a kind. And he’ll, I was ten when Doctor Bing came out, and even *I* knew it was a pun :)
I drew the Marvel half of that 1996 crossover. Gerber and I became friendly after that, and let me in on his Howard plans. Yes, any Howards appearing in Marvel Comics after that issue of SPIDER-MAN TEAM-UP were clones. The "real" Howard would dye his feathers black and begin using the name Leonard. This meant that Gerber could maintain control and ownership of *his* duck. Steve and I were going to collaborate on the adventures of "Leonard The Duck", which would have become a dream come true for me. But things didn't work out. I never did get the full story about how and why the plan dissolved. But I'll always be grateful to Tom Brevoort for hiring me to draw that one story, and to Steve for including me in his Duck Scheme.
Steve Gerber has long been a favorite of mine. Howard the Duck is very important to me.
Thank you Chris for this video, I been wanting a Steve Gerber video for awhile. He is underrated in the names of great comic writers and his Man Thing run was excellent.
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It was very funny to see raid shadow legends ad on this channel, but even though we all know about the quality of this product, I'm so happy that Chris gets such sponsorships, I'm really hoping he can make a living out of his TH-cam channel, he truly deserves that!
The ad played for probably a good 10 seconds before I realized it wasn't another fake out.
Patrons get ad free versions of the episode a little early.
Years of excellent work and content must be rewarded. It's just fair.
Excellent!
This was really informative. Before this video? I was strongly under the belief that Gerber was totally wronged by "Evil MegaCorp. Marvel", but, after watching this video? Im unsure if anybody was in the wrong. It seems that Steve had his wires-crossed, and was making demands from an erroneous starting-point.
I enjoyed this content a lot, and: I've also got some new titles to check out aswell!
If anybody want to read some other good 'ol Gerber recommendations, then try "Man Thing". Those are great. And the issues illustrated by the mighty Mike Ploog are just beautiful to look at. (Ploog studied under Eisner, and it shows).
Cheers Chris,
And Happy New Year to all the Comics Tropes Fans
"LiL'JpD."
I should read more Man-Thing. Well, most people should.
@@bluespaceman7937 Look for "Screenplay of the Living Dead Man" aka "The Infernal Man-Thing", the brilliant sequel to "Song-Cry of the Living Dead Man", which was finally published several years after Gerber died because the art by Kevin Nowlan was too detailed to be printed properly within Marvel's budget using the technology available during Steve's lifetime.
Great overview. Howard the Duck was a favorite series of mine. I thought it was filled with action, satire and political commentary done in a unique and creative way! Gerber could write the hell out of an entertaining story!
Steve Gerber walked so grant Morison could run
Chris, adoramos tus vídeos que no solo exploran las historias si no las cuestiones detrás de la industria.
Chris, you're looking great, and your show's looking even better. Watching this was a blast, and your channel has been a close ally through some hard times. Thank you for your content and see you next time
I don't really read comics but I love learning about them through your vids, thanks dawg!
Gotta hand it to Gerber. He was playing chess while they were playing checkers.
Loved Howard the Duck. He's the reason I got into comics & learned to draw. Also loved how he's an editorial vehicle. We could use more comics like his today.
Man, he died without ever getting the full rights to his character, and now Marvel is owned by the company that thought his character looked too close to their own duck character. Im glad he paved they way for stuff like this in comics though, a real visionary.
Donald and Howard buddy movie ?
Only if they include the Duck clone joke.
@@turtleanton6539 there’s gotta be a way we can get Daffy, and Duckman in there.
@@dkres82 And Darkwing Duck in there. Imagine Howard, Donald, Daffy, Duckman, and Darkwing as a team, that'll be really awesome.
@@retrofan4963 I’m down but let’s add Duckula too.
I am so happy that you upload weekly videos again. I hope the best for your channel!
The ending where it was emphasized that Steve Gerber wasn’t interested in Tv or animation, he was interested in comic books. This is important; comic books are a medium unto themselves and more people need to understand that.
Part of what made me stop being interested in comics, was them making themselves look more like their movie versions.
Amen... I hate when people make the implication that comics best achievement is getting turned into animation or a movie. I understand that financially, but artistically it's just another form of media that it has it's pros and cons. I liked the definition that Alan Moore gave once: comics aren't soundless, motionless movies; that's a very limiting, and negative way to examine comics. Nobody says stuff like that about regular books. So comics are a interesting halfway between ordinary books and motion pictures, were you have the visual spectacle but you also need to read and use your imagination to make the story alive, you are not a passive viewer: can read at your own pace - not spending the time the director of the movie want you to experience each scene.
@@Shinmsl I feel like comic books are a medium that deserve respect but now there still seen as niche by most and beloved by fewer people then ever.
Exactly. The Marvel and DC movies (with the possible exception of 1978 Superman) never fully caught the elements of what drew me into reading comic books. I just plain like the panel to panel medium of the art form. (I admit a weakness for the 1966 Marvel Superheroes TV show. The fact they used artwork right out the books was very cool.)
@@markmarderosian9657 It was pretty sweet
Was Gerber's (legendary) deadline lateness a product of writer's block, procrastination or perfectionism? Did he (or his colleagues) ever offer a perspective? Great episode as always! Thank you, Chris!
I've had several brilliant friends drop out of Phd programs or ruin academic careers due to being slaves to perfection. Meanwhile, I handed in my mediocre B- work and collected my Masters degree.
One possibility that you don't mention is ADHD. I'm not saying he had it, just that this is one thing that can cause deadline lateness.
That's a great question, I hope someone has an answer.
In one of the issues of Howard The Duck he touches on his inability to meet deadlines. It was a truly weird issue.
His friend David Anthony Kraft said to me that Steve would write himself into a corner. Steve mentioned how he didn't plot most things lo n g term, though he and Mary had an extended outline for Omega. DAK said Steve would brain storm occasionally with his creative friends to get the most inspired solution in a relatively timely fashion. #8 of HTD is an example where Don McGregor and DAK threw in assassination ideas. GS Defenders credits the dinner gang with help. He was pretty good about crediting his friends and fought for Msry's Omega byline.
P.S. Mad Genius Associates was Jim Salicrup and DAK's 'business' - adapted to crank out those buttons. They and Mary would eat take out and watch Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman episodes while turning in side business after hours.This was all before my time, but confirmed by my friends, who were there. I didn't get to speak with Steve; I got into most of his work after he died- of the same disease that killed my also- Virgo father about the same time.
Steve is my favorite comics writer. 😍 His scripting is regularly phenomenal.- Cecil Disharoon
Great work as always! The Howard the Duck saga is something I’ve been fascinated by but never knew all the ins and outs that you put here. Really enjoyed learning about this.
Howard asked the tough questions such as why Red Sonja wore a metal bikini. It's something every fan always wondered but Howard the Duck was the only one to ask it.
As a preteen I absolutely adored Steve Gerber's work . Loved it . The Defenders were MY team in the early 1970's and I still have and occasionally reread those crazy stories !
Man-Thing #5 The Night of the Laughing Dead was among my favorite comics of this period.
Steve Gerber and Mike Ploog's storytelling collaboration was excellent.
I even made my non-comic reader friend read this story.
Yeahh!!!! It is the first time I feel glad to see a sponsor in a video. Congratulations, Chris.
Sponsors! Congtatulations Chris!
I know he's had a long, respected career, but every time I see Roy Thomas all I can think of is House Roy, hapless lackey to Funky Flashman.
I love me some petty Jack Kirby.
Yep, The Nexus was introduced in Man-thing. Nexus is mentioned in WandaVision.
Great fix for the focus issue.....just move closer to the camera !! 😂😂😂
This is one of maybe five channels that I watch every single episode the moment I see it on my feed. Love your show homey keep up the awesome work.
I first read Gerber when he wrote the Ultraverse title Sludge. Unfortunately it was canceled when Malibu was bought out by Marvel and all the Ultraverse characters have been in some type of legal limbo......
Pretty sure Steve Orlando just brought back Omega The Unknown into the Marvel canon through the recent Darkhold mini-event
Howard the Duck has long been a favorite of mine. That Gerber run is very important to me.
It only just occurred to me that the fact that Gerber established Man-Thing defending the universe by just mindlessly fighting whoever showed up is kind of a great commentary on who the proactive characters are in superhero comics (hint: it's not the heroes).
7:06 I think I should mention that Gerber apparently claimed that Dr Bong one was unintentional. He did say that people lately explained him other meanings for bong.
As if
Thanks for posting this! Steve was my all time favorite comic writer!
I was so proud to see Howard fighting in the Battle of Earth alongside the Avengers, the army of Asgard, the sorcerers, the Ravagers, the army of Wakanda, and the guardians of the galaxy.
Old comics drama sounds so much like old wrestling drama. Like, "The WWF screwed over the wrestler so hard that they had a massive falling out with everyone hating everyone..... and then a few years later he was rehired by the WWE and went on to have several title runs..... before it all happened again...."
I'm not sure if it falls within there purview of this channel but it would be kinda neat to see an episode about Pogo
I think a great episode would be about the floating/sliding timeline that Marvel and DC uses. As always, great episode Chris!
I saw Howard the Duck as a kid (and it was as mentioned meant for kids), and I liked it very much (except from the guitar playing at the end).
Chris, this is one of those videos of yours that really reminds me what a wonderful job you do. So many Gerber retrospectives concentrate on his "funny" work, they include the issues of non-Howard material he worked on that parody something else or are intended as satire and that's about it. They have a vision of Gerber as a funny guy. However you showed Gerbers more serious work, his commentaries on violence, his use of "real world villainy" (as he called it) in Defenders and Captain America, etc. Truly one of the best and more complete looks at Gerber, flaws and all
Thank you so much for all of your videos. I hope you keep doing them for many years to come. Your love of the form radiates out of each one and reminds me why I love comics as much as I do. They're very much the highlight of my week sometimes. Thanks for all you do.
In the 90s, I was contracted by Byron Pries and Marvel to write a story for their anthology THE ULTIMATE HULK. I was intentionally brought in because I was a big fan of THE DEFENDERS, particularly Steve Gerber's run. I wrote an outline for a story that featured not only the defenders but Gerber's character the Foolkiller has a homage to his run. I had managed to somehow track Steve down and emailed him asking if he would mind if I dedicated the story to him. He politely refused and answered a question I always had about his involvement with the Howard the duck movie... Not surprisingly I guess the outline for this story had been rejected I ended up writing another story which still Incorporated several characters that were dear to Steve. He's one of my idols, and I look to his writing has something to aspire to even in my grouchy old age... Thank you for spending time talking about him.
Steve Gerber was an amazing writer, even as a kid I knew that he was pushing the boundaries of comics. Some of his later work that’s really good that you need to check out is Nevada & Hard Time. Of course his ManThing run is the best!
Hey Chris! Have you ever read any of Paul Chadwick’s Concrete comics? I think it’s something you’d really like and I think you’re likely already a fan. I’d like to suggest some comics and comic creators to be in future episodes. Along with Chadwick’s Concrete, David Lapham’s Stray Bullets and James Kochalka’s Sketchbook Diaries are some comics that I think would make fun episodes. Evan Dorkin’s Milk and Cheese is another comic to add to the list. I’ll still watch and be a fan of your show even if you never talk about those comics. And I’m glad you got a sponsor.
Chadwick's THE WORLD BELOW (Dark Horse) was really wild and weird but never got to finish because readers were far more "superheroes only" than today, believe it or not
@@MarsHottentot I’ve got a few issues of The World Below. I wasn’t aware that Paul Chadwick didn’t finish the story he wanted to tell. I’m going to go digging through long comic boxes and hope I can find my copies of The World Below. And maybe some Concrete comics while I’m at it.
Good God, those Marvel cheques are beyond scummy
This review of Howard the Duck left me well-informed on the various heads of the hydra.
Awesome video. I love Howard the Duck. I was around when it was new and on the shelves and enjoyed seeing his covers and ads each time, but didn't give it much appreciation beyond his appearance with Spider-Man in a Team-Up. It wasn't until getting a stack of them out if a 50c box decades later that I realized how cool he and his writers were. Artists too. After that I learned a little bit about the behind the scenes connected to him in some letters page/editorial from some non-big-two publisher. Thanks for connecting the dots for me.
Very interesting and nuanced stuff - before this video, I thought that Marvel was a total villain in this case - not that much, now.
Thanks Chris for another great video
I love Howard.
I remember discovering a few of the comics when I was about 8.
In the early 80s UK, these were pretty rare and remember having my tiny mind blown.
A lot of it probably went over my head, but having been used to Marvel Superheroes, it was perhaps my first exposure to how crazy and creative mainstream comics could be.
Gerber wrote an episode of Star Trek the Next Generation where Riker is in a fake alternate future where he has a child that was very similar to a two-part episode of G.I. Joe with Shipwreck.
I bought the masterwork of Howard the Duck in Comixology for less than a dollar, so this video is the perfect companion
Same!
My friends pointed out to me a while ago that how badly I want in MCU version of a Howard the Duck movie is directly proportional to how drunk I am.
If I'm slightly tipsy, I will express mild interest in seeing it. If I'm completely borderline blackout drunk I will start screaming, "Imma read you line for line the fan script that I wrote!!!"
Whenever I get to that point, my friends always say "Ah shit. Steve's Howard-the-Duck drunk. Better cut him off."
I'm not drunk and I want a new MCU Howard the Duck movie so much. Out of all the Marvel properties I want adaptation to a new Marvel film, I want Howard the Duck the most to get an MCU film. Howard the Duck comic books are brilliant and the best Marvel franchise ever created in my opinion.
OMG! Those two panels at 5.35 are my clearest, cleanest memory from my comic book reading days as a kid. I even remember the time and place I purchased the comic they were in, and I still have an issue of it (not the original one I bought) somewhere in the house. I sold all of my comics many years ago, save that issue of The Defenders and, oddly enough, my Howard The Duck books.
Defenders 22. One of my favorites as well.
@@mysterymac38 It was decades ahead of its time, like a comic book from the future. It left a profound impression on me.
You should do a short on his limited series The Foolkiller. Amazing story with crap art. And never collected or reprinted.
I first knew Steve as the writer of the Hitchhikers Guide comic, I loved Howard the duck's movie as a kid but I wouldn't learn about the comics until much later. I love 70s marvel, what a bunch of hippies by today's standards. But that's how you made great art then.
Enjoyed this episode. I worked as a storyboard director for Marvel Animation back in the 80's I had many Gerber scripts come to my drawing table. I would always expect an imaginative script and was never disappointed. He was a good one.
i've been waiting for this video since i first started watching you.
You know you're thanking us for watching and liking and stuff but thank you for making this video. I personally have always been curious about Howard outside the movie and always got a kick out of his appearance in Marvel Zombies
You should call this “year of behind the scenes” or something. I know that name was crap, but you’re last several videos have all been about those behind the scenes stories about what’s happening with these stories and characters. Idk it just seems you’re on that topic
I enjoyed Steve Gerber's work. He stood out from all of his contemporaries back when I was reading during his time. He should have been included in any financial windfalls for his creation.
Wonderful episode as usual, thank you.
Hey man, your comic book industry deep dives are always appreciated and very interesting. 👍🏻
I love Steve Gerber, it’s amazing how it’s folks like him we’re still talking about half a century later. Amazing writer and visionary. Might I recommend (highly recommend) a video on the life and career of another legend, Mark Gruenwald!
Hard Time is a gem. My favorite Gerber book.
That's the most helpful lawsuit of all time, Disney offering a free redesign.
I love love love Bill Mantlo's version of Howard the Duck!
I recall the time I met Jim Starlin very briefly. I was sat behind him, drawing my own stuff at a con YEARS ago at this point (This was long before the Avengers came out and made everyone know who Thanos is). I remember looking over my shoulder to see the line of people trying to get commissions from him and I saw he was drawing Man-Thing who's always been one of my favourite characters from Marvel thanks to Steve Gerber.
I remember muttering, "Oh, cool. Giant-Sized Man-Thing!" To myself and Jim Starlin overheard me and laughed at that and went "I was in the office the day that went to print and somebody finally noticed. It was already too late to change so they just put it out and hoped nobody would notice."
So yeah. Seems like it may have been a joke that the censors only managed to notice at the point when it was too late to change things.
Love you Chris. Best comic book youtuber of all time. You can feel the passion and love in every video. Life has been a bit messy recently and quite stressful but it all goes away when I watch your videos. Thanks for being you Chris.
Thanks for posting this, Chris. I loved Steve and Gene's work on Howard back in the 70s was devastated when Steve left suddenly with no explanation in the comic or Bullpen Bulletins. I didn't find out the real story until many years later. One small correction. The comic Steve was taken off so Gerry Conway could write it was actually the Defenders, not Daredevil. Steve had given up Daredevil to write Defenders a couple of years previously.
Wow kinda mind blowing that one of the writers on the G1 transformers series happened to be the guy credited with creating Howard the duck
19:53 Holy crap, out of all the formulaic mediocrity of the G.I. Joe cartoon, I specifically remember that two-part episode as one of the strangest and saddest, developing the character Shipwreck more than almost anyone else in the series. I guess it makes sense, he was a bit of a fish-out-of-water kind of like Howard.
I only recently found and subscribed to your channel (around 2-3 weeks ago) but I've already binged nearly all your content. Truly great stuff, thank you for all the amazing work you do Chris! You are very appreciated
Always loved the movie as a kid when I saw it with my cousin Nick.
I remember the next day was the debut of Men in Black The Animated serious.
Commenting and liking to bless you on the algorithm, keep up the good work
I haven't really sat down and read comics and in least 3 years. Things just got too wild and my attention drifted elsewhere. I greatly appreciate your content and your deep dives into the stories behind the stories. I love putting on one of your videos while doing chores.
You do the best reviews about comic artists I idolise from my childhood, In-depth but uncontrived. I share your love for the medium . Thank you !!
Gerber's run on Man Thing often gets overlooked. I always loved the concept of the Nexus of Realities. Chris Claremont tied back into Gerber's Man Thing with his villain Despayer who appeared in his runs on Marvel Team Up and Uncanny X-Men.
Never read enough Marvel Team Up either.
Howard the Duck comic books by Steve Gerber is often overlooked as well.
In my view, Gereber's most underrated work was the cartoon Thundarr The Barbarian. That Saturday Morning cartoon started off with being in a post-apocalypse.
I always felt it ironic that Disney tried to get Marvel to change Howard The Duck when Howard and Donald were completely different characters ...and then decades later buy Marvel. At least Gerber gets credit for creating Howard when Howard shows up in the MCU. In any case, as much I love the Howard character and even Man-Thing... if you work for a company, ad you have a contract, any work you do for that company, while the company will give you credit for creating or helping create something, they own that work.
And Howard the duck in the MCU wore pants. Disney had the last laugh
Yet Disney didn't do shit with Howard the Duck in MCU. Only few cameos here and there. Even in the series "What If...", Howard unfortunately only has brief appearances. The fact that MCU didn't do anything with Howard the Duck is the main reason to me why MCU is lame. Like seriously what's stopping the MCU to do a Howard the Duck animated series and a new Howard the Duck movie?
ive loved Howard the duck ever since The movie came out when I was a kid. I Know everyone says its bad but i think its a great movie, maybe you had to be a child when it came out. Anyway I wish he would show up more often in some crossovers, seriously i do, for real.
Phenomenal video! I always love hearing behind the scenes stuff regarding Howard the Duck
I heard that Steve Gerber and Frank Miller were going to pitch their version of Superman to DC...god that would've been pretty cool if DC accepted it
I sold all my books in like 2006(much regret) but I started collecting Savage Sword and Defenders again! Love that book. Defenders 108 (off the shelf)was the first book I actually put in a bag and decided to start collecting.
Thanks for doing this video! Steve Gerber was one of my favorite writers in this CHAOTIC era of Marvel and the only comic I’ve ever subscribed to! His writing always weird with bizarre humor and unexpected things tossed in wasn’t predictable or in my opinion always unusual! Howard’ last run with Steve and excellent art by Phil Winslade had Howard having a chat with God in the last tale! Gerber is/was one of a kind and if people get it or not? Whatever,it is what it is! All of his stuff is recommended reading! Thanks again!
Glad to see that sponsors are coming through for you
Waiting to see one of these career retrospectives on Frank Thorne now, who was also a colorful character in his own right.
Marvel might have been chaotic in the 70's, but they produced a lot of good work during that period.
I find it kind of funny that Steve had all these legal issues, when his brother is a lawyer and was my professor in Brooklyn Law School. You'd think he'd give the stuff to his brother to look over, at least. Michael Gerber is literally a contract attorney.
He got Marvel to settle his lawsuit against them for undisclosed damages, so he obviously wasn't completely misguided in taking them to court.
Interesting bit of information.
Honestly Chris I’m so happy to see you taking ads, especially from such big companies like RSL and MagicSpoon!! I have absolutely no issue watching or skipping through an ad if it means you’re more properly compensated for your hard work. Congrats and thanks for the great videos!! :)
You say he wasn't much of a businessman, but going against Marvel, who was? Sounds like a LOT of their artists/writers got screwed. In the new Hawkeye series on D+ I was surprised to see no overt credit given to Aja/Fraction despite how much of their book was used in the show.
That being said, I was a Howard fan back in the day, had all his comics and a button! Wish I had them now.
If he had started under Shooter he would've gotten a better contract, but probably fired fast due to lateness.
My first contact with Howard the Duck was through the Marvel DC Amalgam universe. There existed a Lobo the Duck.
Yeah, I regard Gerber as the best comic book writer I've ever read. If he'd ever written novels, I would have read the shit out of them.