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Post by berkley on Dec 5, 2021 19:22:44 GMT -5
I'm half tempted to look at the magazine for the artwork by Colan and others but the idea of anyone but Gerber writing the character is such a turn-off for me that I doubt I'll ever overcome it.
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Post by mikelmidnight on Dec 6, 2021 12:32:57 GMT -5
I thought Mantlo's making the Howard/Bev relationship 'official' as a couple, and downgrading Bev's intelligence, were major turnoffs and I could never read past that.
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Post by commond on Dec 6, 2021 18:14:42 GMT -5
I'm not so sure about that last part. Gerber's treatment of women in Howard the Duck is problematic to say the least. There is a heavy focus on Bev & Howard's relationship throughout the black & white mag, however.
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Post by berkley on Dec 7, 2021 2:38:50 GMT -5
I'm not so sure about that last part. Gerber's treatment of women in Howard the Duck is problematic to say the least. There is a heavy focus on Bev & Howard's relationship throughout the black & white mag, however.
It's been many years since I re-read the series but I have to say, nothing in that line jumps put in my memory at the moment, apart from the general sexism of the era relative to our oh-so-enlightened 2020s*. In general, I'd say that Gerber's female protagonists were more independant and had more personality than most in comics at the time. Beverly Switzler might seem a little ambivalent because she was undoubtedly meant to be a sex symbol (as the lingo of the time had it), but I don't remember her as being in anyway playing second fiddle to Howard, except in terms of who was the star of the book. Or are you thinking of something else?
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Post by commond on Dec 7, 2021 8:16:21 GMT -5
I'm thinking of the later issues where Winda is sexually assaulted, and it is heavily implied that Bev demands sex from her captor, Dr. Bong. So much so that Mantlo had to retcon it when he finished the storyline. From what I've read, Gerber hated what Mantlo did with Howard. He hated the way he sentimentalized the relationship between Howard and Bev, and the way he brought out a mellower side in Howard. He thought Mantlo's humour was more in line with MAD magazine or National Lampoon, and accused Mantlo of being a communist. Gerber wanted it left unclear whether there was a sexual relationship between Howard and Bev. There were plenty of undertones. Gerber was the one who put them in bed together in the first place, though in his own words, what they did there was one of the great unsolved mysteries in comics. Mantlo took a more straightforward approach -- they were a couple with couple problems. Mantlo's Bev rescues herself from Bong, makes her own decisions, and ultimately is the one who breaks off the relationship. Personally, I don't care enough about Gerber's Howard to hate Mantlo's Howard. If anything, I appreciate the fact that Mantlo tried to create a coherent storyline. If you love Gerber then it's watered down crap, but I find Gerber overrated, didn't really love his Howard the Duck run, and still found the black and white mag worth reading. That might be because of the art, though. I didn't see what the big deal with Colon's Howard was until I saw it in black and white.
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Post by berkley on Dec 8, 2021 16:53:38 GMT -5
Been a log time since I read that Dr. Bong storyline - and I may in fact have missed that particular issue due to the patchy distribution of comics back then: I know I missed at least one issue of that story along with a few others, and though I now have the complete series I never have sat down to read it from start to finish. Might have to make time for that soon. I'll keep an eye out for the incident you mention when I do.
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Post by Batflunkie on Dec 16, 2021 19:50:08 GMT -5
and even gives characters like the Kidney Lady an origin (which may not please some Gerber HtD fans.) I'm fairly certain that Gerber already gave her one in issue #12?
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Post by commond on Dec 17, 2021 5:55:12 GMT -5
Oops, looks like it was a retcon. {Spoiler: Click to show} She is revealed to be a sorceress, who deliberately sought Howard out because he was an ally of her old foe, Dakimh the Enchanter.
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Post by Batflunkie on Dec 17, 2021 8:21:57 GMT -5
Oops, looks like it was a retcon. {Spoiler: Click to show} She is revealed to be a sorceress, who deliberately sought Howard out because he was an ally of her old foe, Dakimh the Enchanter. Not entirely sure how I feel about that. Probably one of the many reasons why I have no interest in anyone writing Howard except for Steve
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Post by badwolf on Dec 17, 2021 11:51:54 GMT -5
Man, I couldn't stand Windy.
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