Howard the Duck #11

History

Written and edited by Steve Gerber — who had by this point taken on editorial duties for his own title in addition to writing — and pencilled by Gene Colan with inks by Steve Leialoha and colors by Janice Cohen, issue #11 was on sale in January 1977 with an April 1977 cover date. It follows directly from the breakdown hallucination sequence of issue #10 ('Swan-Song of the Living Dead Duck'), resolving Howard's delirium and setting him in motion toward Cleveland and the Sauerbraten County Mental Hospital story arc. Gerber's dual role as writer-editor gave him unusual creative control, and the sustained psychological and satirical ambition of this period of the series reflects that autonomy.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of Winda Wester (Earth-616): a young woman with latent psychic/telepathic powers and a pronounced lisp, introduced as a fellow passenger on Howard's bus to Cleveland; she would go on to appear throughout the remainder of Gerber's run and later summon KISS from her own mind in issue #13.
• Written by Steve Gerber (also serving as editor) with pencils by Gene Colan, inks by Steve Leialoha, colors by Janice Cohen, and lettering by Jim Novak — the core creative team of the book's mid-run.
• The story continues directly from issue #10's hallucination arc: Howard, recovering from a breakdown, flees New York after misreading Beverly's dinner with his doctor, boards a bus to Cleveland, and encounters a gauntlet of religious solicitors before the Kidney Lady triggers a bus crash that results in Howard, Winda, and the Kidney Lady all being taken into police custody.
• Characters including Pro-Rata, the Space Turnip (Arthur Winslow), and Winky-Man (Paul Same) appear only within Howard's dream/hallucination sequences — not in the real-world story action; their canonical first appearances are in earlier issues (#1, #2, and #4 respectively).
• Paul Same is noted by creator Steve Gerber and comics analysts to be a partial self-parody of Gerber himself; art critic Xavier Couture (Same's antagonist from issue #4) was a parody of Stan Lee.
• The issue has been reprinted four times: in Essential Howard the Duck Vol. 1 (2002, black and white), the Howard the Duck Omnibus (2008), Howard the Duck: The Complete Collection Vol. 1 (2015), and Marvel Masterworks: Howard the Duck Vol. 1 (2020).
• Archie Goodwin served as Marvel's Editor-in-Chief at the time of publication, while Gerber functioned as the series' own editor — an arrangement that afforded him substantial creative autonomy rare for the era.
• The Kidney Lady (Selma Blotte) makes a significant plot-driving appearance here, acting as the immediate catalyst for the bus crash that sends Howard and Winda to the Sauerbraten County Mental Health Facility, launching the multi-issue asylum story arc in issues #12–14.

Cast · 9 characters

Full credits

Key issues in Howard the Duck

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#1 1st appearance — Beverly Switzler

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#15 1st appearance — Doctor Bong

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#2 1st appearance — Kidney Lady

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#4 1st appearance — Paul Same

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#6 1st appearance — Rev. Joon Moon Yuc

Variants (1)