Howard the Duck Vol. 1 #1

My first comic from the 1970s, Howard the Duck Vol. 1 #1 is a Marvel issue that stars Howard the Duck with Spider-Man guest starring. Released in 1976, this is Howard's first solo outing in his own title three years after he debuted in Adventures into Fear #19 and appearing a few other times in other titles. The comic has Howard, tired of being treated horribly by humans and considered a joke, contemplating suicide. He decides to climb a tower that's in the middle of the swamp so that he could jump off it from the roof. As Howard nears the top, he finds an open window and enters so he can rest from the constant climbing. He finds a woman, Beverly Switzler, chained up and is soon attacked by an attack dog that Howard is able to kill, which then transforms back into a barbarian human. Pro-Rata, the master of the barbarian dog and the one who chained up Beverly, captures Howard and forces the anthropomorphic duck and the young woman to go into another dimension to retrieve an artifact so that Rata can rule the world. At the same time, Peter Parker is assigned by Jameson to go to Cleveland to verify peoples' story about a talking duck. In the other dimension, Howard and Beverly are able to fight off various creatures and come upon the artifact. When Rata transports them back, he also ends up transporting a large flying creature that threatens everything. Soon, Spider-Man shows up and helps Howard defeat Rata and the comic ends with the two heroes parting ways, with Spider-Man chasing after the flying creature while Howard and Beverly form a partnership. Steve Garber's writing is chuck of hilarious moments that at first feel serious but in a certain way can be viewed as funny. Vol. 1 #1 manages to give us a fun one-off antagonist whose theme and gimmick outright parodies comic book villains with outlandish ideas. Pro-Rata's entire thing is that he's a magician who specializes in accounting, hence why his tower is made of credit cards, his method of taking over the world is a mystical counting machine that needs a literal key shaped artifact, and why the temple to find said artifact is surrounded by giant stone numbers. Howard's constant desire to kill himself even when he is defending himself is just the right amount of dark and funny. The comic's combination of artwork and coloring gives a very detailed world with a great combination of dark and light. Howard the Duck Vol. 1 #1 is a hilarious start for one of Marvel's most underrated characters with clever use of satire and great comedic parts. Over all: 100%
Top list so far for 2nd set of comics:
1. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #6
2. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #5
3. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #4
4. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #3
5. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #1
6. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #2
7. Howard the Duck Vol. 1 #1
8. Deadpool Kills Deadpool
9. Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness
10. Wonder Woman: Rebirth (2016) #1
11. The Tick: Free Comic Book Day 2018
12. Free Comic Book Day 2018: James Bond 007-VARGR
13. Free Comic Book Day 2018 Invader Zim: Floopsy Bloops Shmoopsy
14. The Legend of Wonder Woman (2015-2016) #1
15. Free Comic Book Day: The Legend of Korra & Nintendo ARMS 2018
16. Ant-Man (2015) Vol. 1 #1: Second-Chance Man Part 1
17. Batman/The Flash: The Button
18. The Adventures of Superman Vol. 1 #500
19. The Unworthy Thor (2016-2017) #1
20. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #5
21. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #6
22. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #4
23. Thor: God of Thunder Vol. 1 #1
24. Wonder Woman Free Comic Book Day 2017 Special Edition (2017-) issue #1
25. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #2
26. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #1
27. Incredible Hulk (1999-2007) #92: Planet Hulk Part One
28. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #3
29. Wonder Woman (2006-2011) #1
30. The Astonishing Ant-Man (2015-2016) #1
31. Star Wars: Rogue One Adaptation #1
32. Tate's Not At Comic Con Local Indy Anthology #8