Howard the Duck #23

Marvel's 1978 Star Wars parody issue arrives with a cover by Gene Colan and Alan Weiss that gleefully reimagines that galaxy far, far away — complete with Howard the Duck front and center clutching a rifle and a "Please Don't Litter" tombstone, flanked by a sword-and-sorcery barbarian, a scantily clad blonde woman, a looming armored figure in a gas-mask helmet, and a robed elder in the background. A small inset corner panel shows Howard fleeing from a purple-caped villain, and the cover's tagline — "Right this very minute in a galaxy too close for comfort… Star Waaugh!" — sets the satirical tone perfectly. Steve Gerber and artist Val Mayerik deliver the kind of absurdist pop-culture commentary that made this series one of Marvel's most delightfully unhinged titles of the era.