SDCC News. Marvel Comics will mark the 50th anniversary of Howard the Duck later this year with a special one-shot, Howard the Duck #1, by Chip Zdarsky, Daniel Kibblesmith, Merrit K, Joe Quinones, and Annie Wu, among others, to be released in November 2023 with a cover by Ed McGuinness.

“It's kind of a fun tale where we take a look at how Howard's life might have turned out if he had been in alternate timelines and alternate universes,” Marvel Comics VP of Print & Digital Publishing David Gabriel told retailers at the Diamond Retailer Appreciation Luncheon at San Diego Comic-Con.

Howard the Duck first appeared in Adventure into Fear #19, which had a cover date of December 1973, and got his own eponymous series in 1976.  That series lasted for three years.  The character has appeared in a number of different Marvel comics since then, and Marvel launched a new ongoing series, by Zdarsky and artist Joe Quinones, in 2015 (see “New Ongoing ‘Howard the Duck’”).  The first issue was the seventh-best seller in comic stores the month it came out (see “‘Howard the Duck’ Outsells Top DC”).

Marvel released a series of Howard the Duck 50th anniversary variant covers, placing the character in scenes from other Marvel stories, in early 2023 (see “Preview: ‘Howard the Duck’ 50th Anniversary Variant Covers”).