Star Waaugh

HOWARD THE DUCK — Issue no. 23, January 1978

Book: Howard the Duck

Issue No.: 23

Published: January 24, 1978

Title: “Star Waaugh”

Cover Price: 35¢

Format: Original paper copy

It’s hard to overstate how big of a deal Star Wars (some folks call it Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope nowadays, but at the time it was just Star Wars, because it was the only Star Wars movie we had) was in the late 1970s. If you adjust its box office haul for inflation, it’s still the second biggest movie of all time (behind Gone With the Wind).

Given the movie’s popularity, and the fact that Marvel was publishing the official Star Wars comic book in the 1970s, and Marvel’s penchant for cross-promotion, and Howard the Duck writer Steve Gerber’s sense of humor, it should come as no surprise that Gerber spent a whole Howard issue (this one, no. 23) spoofing the already classic sci-fi flick just a few months after it was released.

The story is titled “Star Waaugh” (I’m pretty sure “waaugh” is the quacking-type sound a duck makes), and the cover of the book implies that Howard is playing the Luke Skywalker role. But given his sardonic and pragmatic nature, Howard is more the Han Solo of this tale. Howard’s pal Man-Thing (the hulking sentient muck monster) takes the Chewbacca role, and the Luke role is more or less filled by Korrek the Barbarian. Korrek is very Conan-like, so, aside from riffing on Star Wars, there is a little riffing on Conan as well. There are two robots (the R2-D2 analogue was created from a trash bin), both magically animated by the sorceress Jennifer. But Jennifer is missing for most of the story, because she’s been captured by the bad guys, thus filling the Princess Leia role.

The jokes come fast and furious, and they don’t always hit. But the plot moves along at a good pace, and, even though he’s a talking duck, Howard is relatable and endearing. Heck, Korrek is way too gung-ho about fighting and adventure, but he’s endearing, too.

A guy called Bzzk’Joh (allegedly pronounced “Berserk Joe”) is the bad guy here, and, in one of the best jokes of the story, it is revealed that his space fortress is an immense floating shopping mall called the Death Store. You see, rampant consumerism is the real evil. (Reading 45-year-old comic books often reminds me that the more things change, the more they stay the same.) Our heroes also have to contend with Donny and Marie doppelgängers who encase their prey in saccharine. And the good guys fly around not in the Millennium Falcon but in the Epoch Weasel.

The closest thing I can compare “Star Waaugh” to is Mel Brooks’ classic-in-its-own-right sci-fi spoof Spaceballs. I’m not sure this Howard the Duck story is as classic as Spaceballs, but I gotta give the Howard creative team credit for beating Brooks to market by almost a decade.

Next time — The rampaging Hulk, plus my January 1978 wrap-up!