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1

Also notable for his involvement with the first Kiss comic Marvel did. Silly, yes, but a pretty fresh idea at the time.

Posted by Strutter | February 11, 2008 6:21 PM
2

Howard the Duck ended up being an unintentional satire of 80s film more than anything.

Posted by Cale | February 11, 2008 6:26 PM
3

The only Canadian super patriot?

OK, then who was Captain Canuck, and why did I own first edition comics of him then ....

Posted by Will in Seattle | February 11, 2008 6:30 PM
4

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'?

Posted by left coast | February 11, 2008 6:31 PM
5

I'm with you man. I almost cried when I heard. Steve did some great and ground-breaking work. He will be missed.

Posted by Mike | February 11, 2008 8:29 PM
6

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 . . .

Posted by rtm | February 11, 2008 8:49 PM
7

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.

Posted by mike | February 11, 2008 8:49 PM
8

R.I.P. Mr. Gerber

Posted by mike m. | February 11, 2008 9:12 PM
9

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.

Posted by Malibu fool | February 12, 2008 10:27 AM
10

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.

Posted by pbw | February 12, 2008 10:30 AM
11

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.

Posted by pbw | February 12, 2008 10:30 AM
12

@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.

Posted by Wowza | February 12, 2008 2:42 PM

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