Because I still have the receipt, that’s how I know exactly when.
So from Wednesday’s post, adam asks
“hey mike did you ever read the novelization of the film? i remember it had a nice meta tone to it.”
And the answer is, of coures, I certainly did read the novelization! I even talked about the book (the actual physical object, though, not so much the content) about nine years ago, so I don’t blame anyone for not remembering. But here’s the scan I made of my actual copy of the book, purchased at 4:44 in the afternoon on July 18th, 1986:
I haven’t read it in a long time…I know I’ve read it more than once, but I definitely haven’t read it since maybe sometime in the late 1980s. I know I say this a lot about things I haven’t read or watched or otherwise experienced in a while, but I really should read it again, if only to see if there are maybe some nuances to the novel I missed the first time around or have forgotten about in the meantime. adam notes its “meta tone,” and I’d like to see, or at least be reminded of, what he’s talking about. Add that to the “Future Posts on Progressive Ruin” whiteboard!
Blogging sister Tegan adds
“I’ve been thinking Howard would be perfect for something like a low-risk/low-reward web series.”
That probably wouldn’t be a bad place for him. I thought for a while that a late-night animated series on the televisions might be a good fit, though I suppose if any studio or network is going to have some new thing with the name “Marvel Comics” on it, they’re gonna want it in front of as many eyes as possible. But that desire versus the aforementioned reluctance for putting too many eggs in the Howard basket would probably result in no Howard show at all. So instead, it’s probably cameos and guest-appearances for the near future…but I suddenly just pictured Howard popping up on Marvel’s site as an updated version of Clippy, making acerbic comments about how many times you keep clicking on that one Spider-Woman cover.
However, I would just plotz if Howard started showing up on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. I know there’s a general “never the twain shall meet” policy, that’s mostly held, between the Marvel TV shows and the Marvel movies, but I can’t imagine they’d be too worried about Howard making the leap between the two.
All this speculation is likely for naught, since realistically I expect Howard is going to stick to Guardians of the Galaxy appearances. …Unless we get that letter-writing campaign started right now, gang!
A couple things occurred to me as I read today’s post:
1. On first glance, I thought the author was Warren Ellis. And for a moment, I reveled in the glory that would be a Warren Ellis-penned Howard the Duck movie adaptation.
2. I would have thought that diversifying their output into a variety of platforms/levels of investment would be a no-brainer for Marvel. Big budget movies? Check. Network television shows? Check. Cable animation shows? Check. Low- to moderate-budget animation for late night or web? Well…?
3. I’d actually start watching Agents of SHIELD if Howard started showing up. It would be worth it to watch Coulson try to wrap his brain around a talking anthropomorphic duck like it’s no big deal and happens all the time.
didn’t they sort of already do a cable animated series when they did several seasons of Duckman? I know, I know, different source material technically, but I remember at the time thinking this was probably the closest I’d ever come to seeing Howard in animated form.
I read the novelization too. I remember Howard thinks disparagingly of a movie from his home planet, Goosebusters, which he calls an ost-com, or ostensible comedy.
About the meta aspect– The book begins by narrating the opening scene from the movie, but the book narrator gets in a fight with the movie narrator. Not to mention the adventure (in fanfic it’s called a side story) that Howard dreams up involving him, Tim Robbins, the glider, and the girl they leave behind.
IOW, almost too “clever” for its own good.
Mi6, KGB, US CIA!
I still sing it
Low-reward, indeed!