Fear #19
Fear #19 is one of the most consequential single issues of the Bronze Age: it delivered the first appearance of Howard the Duck, the satirical anthropomorphic waterfowl who would become one of Marvel's most culturally discussed 1970s characters and eventually receive his own solo series and a feature film. The issue is simultaneously a triple first-appearance book, introducing Korrek the Barbarian of Katharta alongside Howard, while also serving as the story that graduated the Man-Thing feature out of Adventure into Fear entirely and launched it into its own ongoing title. Writer Steve Gerber's willingness to drop an absurdist 'funny animal' into the middle of a horror-tinged multidimensional crisis was a deliberate provocation against superhero genre conventions, and the overwhelmingly positive reader response it generated helped open the door for the kind of satirical, socially aware comics that defined Marvel's mid-1970s creative peak. The issue also deepened the mythology around Jennifer Kale, the Nexus of All Realities, and the Kale family's occult lineage — a corner of the Marvel universe that writers would continue mining for decades.
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
The story, titled 'The Enchanter's Apprentice!', was written by Steve Gerber and penciled by Val Mayerik, with inks by Sal Trapani — the same interior team that had been working the Man-Thing feature for several issues. Gerber later recalled in a 1976 FOOM magazine interview that Howard originated as a pure sight gag, the only comedic beat he could think of to top the already-absurd joke of a barbarian materializing out of a jar of peanut butter; crucially, Howard's signature cigar was not in Gerber's script but was added entirely by Mayerik. Editor-in-chief Roy Thomas, who oversaw the issue, was initially skeptical that readers of a horror anthology were ready for a talking funny-animal character, and reportedly asked Gerber to write Howard out of the book almost immediately in the follow-up Man-Thing #1 — a directive that backfired spectacularly when fan response proved overwhelmingly enthusiastic. The cover was penciled by Gil Kane and inked by Ernie Chan, and the issue went on sale in September 1973 with a December 1973 cover date.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Howard the Duck (created by writer Steve Gerber and penciler Val Mayerik); Howard's iconic cigar was Mayerik's own addition to the visual, not specified in Gerber's script.
- First appearance of Korrek, the sword-wielding barbarian from the extradimensional realm of Katharta, who enters the story — memorably — by bursting out of a jar of peanut butter.
- Final issue of Adventure into Fear with Man-Thing as the lead feature; beginning with Fear #20, Morbius the Living Vampire took over the title spotlight through the series' end at issue #31.
- The story directly continues into Man-Thing #1 (Jan. 1974), making this issue the bridge between the Man-Thing's run in Fear and his own solo series.
- Interior credits: script by Steve Gerber, pencils by Val Mayerik, inks by Sal Trapani, colors by Stan Goldberg, letters by Artie Simek; cover pencils by Gil Kane, cover inks by Ernie Chan; editor Roy Thomas.
- The issue's plot pivots on a disruption of the Nexus of All Realities caused by construction in the Florida swamp, drawing together Jennifer Kale, her grandfather Joshua Kale, her brother Andrew Kale, Dakimh the Enchanter, Man-Thing, Korrek, and Howard the Duck against the machinations of the demon Thog.
- The story title is 'The Enchanter's Apprentice!', with the issue tagline 'The Land Between Night and Day'; Jennifer Kale formally begins her training as Dakimh's sorcerous apprentice in this issue.
- The issue has been reprinted in Essential Man-Thing Vol. 1, the Man-Thing Omnibus, the Howard the Duck Omnibus, and the Adventure into Fear Omnibus (July 2020, ISBN 978-1302925123), which collects all 31 issues of the series.