“Ruth Hart Breaker” She rode into town with trouble, and found herself into yet troubles more. A swamp’s a strange asylum in which to turn one’s self around, but Ruth Hart’s looking for salvation now, not trouble- and any place can turn out to be quicksand, when you’re not mindful of your path. Supporting characters come and go, sometimes with vocal fan support or enmity, sometimes by creative fiat. It just might be, however, a good writer knows when to listen, and by no manipulative design of his or her own, a character brought in for a story might stick around, might decide to go, might even return in another story---it’s a sign of life. That’s how you know you’re a loser: the best girl you can meet has a gang of bike toughs on her tail, and your best friend’s not even sentient. At least, that’s how you know you’re Richard Rory. In a way, you can’t really afford to lose this time, or someone’s going to die---but what can YOU do about things? No, the loser card was dro...

I love Ruth Hart's run in the early stories of the Man-Thing comic book series, precisely because she opts on her own to participate, and decides on her own to move on. She is the protagonistic opposite number to the Man-Thing, who relies utterly upon the emotions of others for his motivation. Ruth's source is herself. That is how she walks away from both the man she rode into town with (who set her up as double-crosser of the whole cycle gang he's double crossing) and even the cooler, trustworthy misfit guy Richard Rory, who helps her break free, on account of the bizarre weirdness that is relentlessly Rich's Citrusville companion. They'd both just stumbled into this life where he's taken residence, if not shelter; but much as she likes him, she decides maybe she's never done anything real after all. Her plans for leaving town would not involve stopping to load a muck monster into a van to visit Atlanta. But that's Rich for you. Why not throw in ...

Beverly Switzler is as much a part of the Howard the Duck stories as Steve Gerber himself. Beverly, like Amber and Ruth Hart from Omega the Unknown, make these two wonderful titles Gerber wrote in the latter part of the 1970's while working freelance for Marvel Comics, as he'd moved to New York City to do in 1972, I believe. All three were created by his collaborator, writer Mary Skrenes. why not imagine jet setting the globe in Epicurian splendor? When I was searching the apartment for change, I started telling Angela about Bev, scrounging those two quarters so she and her weird new best friend could have a candy bar. In direct contrast to Howard, she is never upset about the things that bother him. While she has fears only when they seem relatively sensible, it's those times Howard seems unafraid, and just enough unworried, even. His worrying is absurd to her, but she's not really hung up about his trip. Howard is a fantastic creature in our world,...

"From the time of his hatching, he was...different. A potentially brilliant scholar who dreaded the structured environment of school, he educated himself in the streets, taking whatever work was available, formulating his philosophy of self from what he learned of the world about him. And then the Cosmic Axis shifted...and that world changed . Suddenly, he was stranded in a universe he could not fathom. Without warning, he became a strange fowl in an even stranger land." The spirit of underground comics arrived in the mainstream in a big way when HOWARD THE DUCK #1 hit the stands in 1976. The movie? I've never seen it. Don't recommend it. Had nothing to do with Steve Gerber, who said "Howard is my conscience." By spirit, I'm talking about social satire, mature themes, visual hilarity and smart writing, usually plotted by the seat of the pants. This adventure starts off with his roommate and best human friend Beverly Switzer cheerfully finding ...