Howard the Duck #15

History

The issue, cover-dated August 1977, was written by Steve Gerber and penciled by Gene Colan, who had been the series' regular artist since issue #4; Klaus Janson inked and also colored the issue, with lettering by Irving Watanabe. Gerber was simultaneously serving as the book's editor — a degree of creative control rare for a Marvel writer of that era — which gave him latitude to craft a villain whose personality was partly drawn from his own antagonistic encounters with the press culture surrounding the Kiss tie-in issues that had appeared just months earlier in issues #12–13. According to multiple sources including Wikipedia's Doctor Bong article and Grokipedia, the character's design was refined with input from Marie Severin, a veteran Marvel artist, though the pencilled interior art throughout the run belongs to Colan. The issue also exists in a notable printing error variant in which four pages had their magenta and yellow color separation plates swapped, resulting in an uncorrected version with a distinctly magenta-colored beach scene — a documented production mishap that collectors and printing historians have catalogued in at least five distinct print states for this issue alone.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of Doctor Bong (Lester Verde), Howard the Duck's primary arch-nemesis, who debuts both on the cover and in a cameo within the story.
• Story title: 'The Island of Dr. Bong!' — a direct parody of H.G. Wells' The Island of Doctor Moreau, placing Howard and Beverly on a mysterious island populated by humanoid animals.
• Written by Steve Gerber, penciled by Gene Colan, inked and colored by Klaus Janson, lettered by Irving Watanabe; Gerber was also the issue's editor.
• Doctor Bong was conceived as a parody of Doctor Doom crossed with pompous intellectual/journalist archetypes; his bell-shaped helmet can be struck to produce a range of sonic and reality-altering effects.
• The character's personality was loosely modeled on real-life journalist Bob Greene, and the 'Bong' name reportedly originated from an unusual fan letter Gerber received that had been misdirected to Kiss bassist Gene Simmons.
• Doctor Bong subsequently appeared in Howard the Duck #16–20, #24–25, #27, and #30–31 during Gerber's run, and later crossed over into Sensational She-Hulk #5, Deadpool #26–27, and Amazing Spider-Man #552, among other titles.
• A printing error variant exists in which the magenta and yellow color-separation plates were incorrectly swapped on four pages, producing visibly wrong hues — including a magenta beach and a purple Godzilla in an adjacent house ad; at least five distinct print states for this issue have been documented.
• The issue is collected in the Howard the Duck Omnibus hardcover editions published by Marvel.

Full credits

Key issues in Howard the Duck

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#1 1st appearance — Beverly Switzler

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#11 1st appearance — Winda Wester

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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 (2)