Everyone loves a good duck, be it the rubber one in your bathtub or the one you would hunt on your NES or the private detective in Duckman. All of these ducks pale in comparison to Howard. Created in the early 70s by Steve Gerber and Val Mayerik, Howard the Duck has been an odd background staple of the Marvel Universe for fifty years now, so it’s only fitting that the character who nearly killed comic book movies in their infancy should be celebrated by a host of creators in the Howard the Duck 50^th anniversary special.

Set in 2025 during another round of superhero civil warring, Howard and Tara Tam navigate through the rubble of New York City. They meet the Peeper, cousin to the Watcher, who allows them to see into the multiverse for solutions to the non-stop hero fighting. What follows is a series of short “What-Ifs…?” that showcase Howard in a variety of roles he stumbles his way through. As President of the United States, he deals with alien invaders by lacking any kind of plan when negotiating with them outside of his vice president being Omega the Unknown. As a Mutant, Howard finally finds some semblance of contentedness and respect until his Mutant powers are taken from him. And as Star-Lord, he’s very good at finding lost pets but very bad at trying to guard the galaxy from the likes of Le Beaver.

Howard the Duck is more than just a collection of fun stories. These are celebrations of one of the oddest characters in comics history. Fifty years on from his first appearance, people still want more Howard the Duck. From Gerber and Mayerik’s original run in Fear to Chip Zdarsky and Joe Quinones’ runs just a few years ago, it’s hard to not want to see more of Howard in the future.

 While it may not portend another series from Zdarsky and Quinones, Howard the Duck remains a blast. As a character, he may not want to be celebrated—the heading on the cover even says as much—but it’s hard not to want to acknowledge the fact that he’s gone on this long and is only getting better and better stories. Because can’t we all relate to someone who’s becoming increasingly tired with their world and just wants a break? 

Get excited. Get quacking.

Drew Barth (Episode 331, 485, & 510) resides in Winter Park, FL. He received his MFA from the University of Central Florida.