Fred Hovel

Bronze Age Marvel has its share of oddball treasures, and Fred Hovel — introduced in the oversized Marvel Treasury Edition #12 in 1976 by the wonderfully offbeat team of Steve Gerber and Sal Buscema — is one of those supporting players who earns a warm spot in the hearts of deep-cut collectors. With a handful of appearances stretching remarkably into 2020, Fred has proven durable enough to earn a place in Marvel's official handbooks alongside some genuinely colorful company: Iron Man and Valkyrie share his pages, as do the gloriously named Olivier Bedwette, Matilda von Tromp, and Tillie the Hun. If you're diving into the Marvel Masterworks: Howard the Duck collections, keep an eye out — Fred Hovel is exactly the kind of character who reminds you how wonderfully strange the Bronze Age could be.