Issue(s): Howard the Duck #8
Cover Date: Jan 77
Title: "Open season! / Campaign Log: September / A chill October morn in Central Park! / Campaign Log: November"
Credits:
Steve Gerber - Writer
Gene Colan - Penciler
Stephen Leialoha - Inker

Review/plot:
Still more cute than funny or satirical, this issue details Howard the Duck's candidacy as a third party presidential contender.

It ends when a manufactured scandal is created when a phony picture of Howard and Bev in the bath together is posted in the press.

Howard's run for president was almost more of an event in the real world than in the comic, with campaign ads and updates in the Marvel books...

...and Steve Gerber selling Get Down America! buttons, seemingly independent of Marvel.

Quality Rating: C-

Historical Significance Rating: 4 - the "Howard the Duck runs for President" issue

Chronological Placement Considerations: Howard and Bev start this issue in Dr. Strange's house, since this occurs directly after Marvel Treasury Edition #12.

References: N/A

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: Essential Howard the Duck vol. 1

"Why a duck?" is a Groucho Marx reference. Doug Moench did much more blatant ones in some Giant-Size Master of Kung-Fus.

There's a subtle (for Gerber) commentary in the wardrobe of Howard's political consultant, Mr. Studley. The pattern on his shirt changes from panel to panel, like a leopard changing its spots.

I've been re-reading these issues again recently because of the especially insane presidential campaign that's been going on in the real world. I just wrote a piece on my blog looking back at Howard's run for the White House...

https://benjaminherman.wordpress.com/2016/03/23/howard-the-duck-for-president/

It's kind of amazing how much early Cerebus was preceded by HtD. I knew that they both had the "funny animal parody" element that Gerber trailblazed (I assume) but there's a lot of plot elements in here tgat seemingly inspired Sim when he was still working everything out in his own book...