Enough Social Commentary to Quack About

395px-Modern_Howard_the_DuckEver since he got his first series in 1976, “Howard the Duck” has been the resident loudmouth of the Marvel Universe. Much like Eric Cartman in “South Park,” it’s much easier to have a foul-mouthed duck [or a fat fourth grader] talking about the problems plaguing our society than a person anyone could really connect with physically. However, in spite of being a fowl, the social satires have always been crystal clear, making him a cult-favorite.

Getting back into the limelight in 2007 after a bunch of small appearances over the last 15 years, “Howard the Duck: Media Duckling,” written by Ty Templeton and drawn by Juan Bobillo is the trade paperback that allows the character to be as edgy as he deserved to be back in 1973. It’s chock-full of social commentary and is hilarious from start to finish and equally as bizarre. A weird combination, granted, but a duck that cares about the United States enough to fight for its safety from a monster controlling the media is even weirder.

Nonetheless, it’s this blending of pop-culture, politics and marvel comics that make it an enjoyable page-turner.

When MODOT [Mobile Organism Designed Only for Talking] takes over the media, several questions pop up throughout the reading. What is the truth? Is it what we believe or what really happens? Is the news the population views being filtered so someone can get their views across? Are the rules and laws we live by in this country holding us back from seeing things the way they ought to be? Big questions for a comic book series, well a comic book series featuring a talking duck, but by the end of it, Howard is the advocate the public needs and risks his life to defend a country he isn’t even a legal resident of. That perhaps is the biggest social commentary throughout the book.

However, there’s much more in this four-issue trade to quack about.

The relationship between Beverly and Howard speaks volumes about interracial relationships and how respect and love for one another means more than simply being of the same color and culture. Beverly’s rise to fame also touches upon the country’s love of good-looking women and how they’re much more disposable than they think. Then there’s the topic of gun control that is interspersed through the trade as well.

All in all, this trade has enough hot topic ideas and statements to shake a tail feather at.

And Howard does much more than that by the end.

For this, the book is an engaging read, but the thing that will want you leaving more is the way it’s all presented. Funny and witty at its core, this trade never waxes poetic with you or force feeds you ideas.

Instead, it subtly lays down its ideas and takes you on a whimsical and never too serious ride through a world that ironically is eerily similar to the one we call home.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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