Books Steve Gerber is Dead
posted by on February 11 at 18:07 PM
I imagine that this will only be sad for a very few people, but Steve Gerber passed away on Sunday. Gerber wrote some great mainstream comic books in the 1970’s, particularly Omega the Unknown, a weird Superman-type story that was strained through Nixon-era paranoia and probably a few hallucinogens. (More on Omega here.) Jonathan Lethem is writing a completely unnecessary revamp of Omega for Marvel Comics right now.
Gerber will probably always be best known for creating Howard the Duck, which is a character who will probably always be best known for the atrocious George Lucas-produced bomb that was released in theaters for something like four days in the 1980s. This is a shame, because the Howard the Duck comic book was a wonderful satire of America in the 1970s. Howard ran for President but had to drop out in disgrace after a phony sex scandal brought him down. He also fought villains like The Beaver, who was perhaps the only Canadian superpatriot, and the terrifying Doctor Bong. It was maybe the most personal mainstream comic ever produced, and it deserved much more than to be buried in the wake of a miserable big-budget movie. And Gerber deserved a lot more respect than he received at the end of his career. I hope his early work will got a lot more love in reprints and popular recognition, because it stands as some of the best comic book satire ever produced.
Also notable for his involvement with the first Kiss comic Marvel did. Silly, yes, but a pretty fresh idea at the time.
Howard the Duck ended up being an unintentional satire of 80s film more than anything.
The only Canadian super patriot?
OK, then who was Captain Canuck, and why did I own first edition comics of him then ....
I saw Howard the Duck at the drive-in with my girlfriend. Even the possibility of sex in the car couldn't keep me awake for more than half an hour. I've never seen an estimate of the amount of coke consumed during the making of that film. The coke budget had to be huge, could they really have spent more than a million on the 'special effects'?
I'm with you man. I almost cried when I heard. Steve did some great and ground-breaking work. He will be missed.
I remain convinced that HTD #16 is the single most unique comic Marvel ever released. Gerber was moving, and simply didn't have time to do the book, so he created a weird stream of consciousness masterpiece - "Deadline Doom" - which spliced together his and Howard's travails. Never forget the spine tingling battle with the Vegas showgirls . . .
First Suzanne Pleshette, now Gerber. Is John Doe next? Don't answer that . . .
Paul,
Thanks for this bit of historical decoding. Somewhere in the archives I have a few late-70s Epic-era HtDs. They are yours should they ever resurface.
R.I.P. Mr. Gerber
I met Mr. Gerber briefly when I was a serf at Malibu Comic Entertainment and Mr. Gerber was one of the writers involved in a "co-op" creation of a superhero series called the Ultraverse. Mr. Gerber was kind, quiet, funny and always behind in deadlines (I think it was because he saw what was coming). Along with his work, his legacy is his advocacy for creators' rights in the comic industry. Malibu Comics all came tumbling down amid the company's owners recriminations, greed and lies. I regret that such a talented and sensitive person had to experienece that. RIP Mr. Gerber.
What an odd thing to say, "this will only be sad for a very few people." Steve touched a lot of people - those who met him personally, as well as the multitude he reached with his work. Helluva writer and a great guy who struggled for creators rights in the comics industry, whose last year of life was spent coping with an awful medical condition. It's a sad day for A LOT of people. Saying it that way seemed like a weird and unnecessary qualification.
What an odd thing to say, "this will only be sad for a very few people." Steve touched a lot of people - those who met him personally, as well as the multitude he reached with his work. Helluva writer and a great guy who struggled for creators rights in the comics industry, whose last year of life was spent coping with an awful medical condition. It's a sad day for A LOT of people. Saying it that way seemed like a weird and unnecessary qualification.
@6 - I'm really glad I heard you say that. In clicking around various links on him, I was very intrigued by what I read about that very issue, and plan on tracking it down ASAP.
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