The Debris of Existence

Boxes of books, that’s all. Stuff that should’ve been put on the shelves and organized months ago. In those boxes, however, were a couple of my handwritten journals, circa 1977-79, starting just before I moved permanently to Los Angeles.

I could’ve lived without rereading those, without revisiting that time, without seeing how badly my handwriting has deteriorated over the past few decades.

Time concerns me a lot these days. How little of it there may be ahead, how badly I manage and use what’s at hand, how much of what’s gone before has been wasted.

Speaking of waste, it occurred to me the other day that 2006 marks the 20th anniversary of…this:

IMAGE OF HOWARD THE DUCK MOVIE POSTER DELETED

Time flies, doesn’t it?

11 Responses to “The Debris of Existence”

  1. Brian Spence Says:

    WAH!

  2. Leviathan Says:

    Ah, look at it this way, Steve: You were partly responsible for giving Tim Robbins an early gig.

  3. Patrick Joseph Says:

    As the operator of a video rental store, I hate to tell you that this has become a camp classic with the kids.

  4. Steve Gerber Says:

    Patrick: “As the operator of a video rental store, I hate to tell you that this has become a camp classic with the kids.”

    That’s okay. I actually got my revenge a couple of months after the picture was released. As a result of the debacle, Frank Price, then head of Universal Pictures, was shown the door, which news *Variety* reported with the following banner headline: “DUCK COOKS PRICE’S GOOSE”.

    That almost made up for, uhm, my life having been ruined.

  5. Micah Says:

    If they were to ever make another Howard the Duck movie I would like to see Bev played by Laura Prepon from “that 70’s show”. She would be perfect. And of course Howard would be played by Robert Deniro.

  6. Forrest Says:

    Seen that Finnish STAR TREK^H^H^H^HWRECK movie? Collect CPU time volunteers and do an all-CGI LtD picture.

    Or, you know, not. Logistics is not my middle name.

  7. Lorc Says:

    Just today I was reading Marvel Age 43 oct Oct 86 and was totally hyped about this movie! it’s one of those things that a howard the duck movie will always be more amazing in the minds of the readers than anything lucasarse can churn out

  8. Tom Walker Says:

    Trapped in a Movie He Never Made!!

    The poster says it all really – Howard the middle aged pervert? Howard’s condoms didnt help matters much either, as I recall..the definition of a killer gag, eh?

    I remember enjoying a lot of howard’s lines at the time, simply because I knew where most of them had been lifted from and had some affection for the source. However, everything Howard said or did missed the funny bone entirely. He seemed to have emerged from some form of puppet hell, sans charm, warmth, humour or integrity..

    Jeffrey Jones was funny and made me laugh, and the stop motion monster was entertaining.. otherwise the whole thing is hugely misconceived and only skewers itself as a parody of a big budget 80’s movie with all the audience friendly bells and whistles in place.

    BUT.. what of the video game: “Howard the Duck: Adventure on Volcano Island “mentioned in the IMDB?

  9. Logo Lou Says:

    Well, the movie led me to the comics so some good was done.

  10. Joe Brusky Says:

    I was a year out of college at the time and had abandoned comics mostly because of the crappy HTD magazine and this movie was so embarassing that I walked out.

    I have it on VHS and watch it – not all at one time – at least once-a-year.

    It has never gotten any better.

    Happy Anniversary HTD!!!

  11. Forrest Says:

    In 1986 I painted the Brunner-icon duck on a wall at a now nameless college…and stupidly captioned it “Tenth Anniversary Year” instead of “Thirteenth”. Well, it made the point.

    Triskaidekaphobia does gain a point or two of credibility on this basis.