Kevin Smith Talks Howard the Duck Animated Series

This week Marvel Entertainment and Hulu announced they’re expanding their partnership for four new animated series and a standalone special. The writers behind the Howard the Duck animated series, Kevin Smith (Clerks, Comic Book Men) and Dave Willis (Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Squidbillies), recently spoke to to Marvel.com about the series.

“The times we’re living in deserve an orator who can identify all the quacks in the system – a straight-shooter who won’t leave us holding the bill,” said Smith. “Thanks to Marvel & Hulu, I get to do fowl things to one of my all-time favorite comic book characters in animation! Let’s be honest: I’m not talented enough to handle any of the Avengers, but Howard is definitely in my wheelhouse! However, the real brains of our operation is a legit cartoon genius: the great Meatwad himself, ‘Aqua Teen Hunger Force’s’ Dave Willis! So prepare to get Ducked hard!”

“I’m looking forward to working with Kevin on bringing Howard to the flat screen,” added Willis. “And I know if I screw this up, I’ll never be able to show my face at Comic-Con ever again. Nerds will hunt me the rest of my days.”

The streaming service has ordered animated series adaptations of M.O.D.O.K., Hit-Monkey, Tigra & Dazzler Show and Howard the Duck, as well as the special The Offenders, which will bring all of these heroes together for a team-up mission in the same vein as The Avengers and Netflix’s The Defenders.

M.O.D.O.K., set around the character of the same name created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, will be written and executive produced by Patton Oswalt (Happy!) and Jordan Blum (Community) alongside Jeph Loeb (Legion). The series will follow the titular supervillain with the really big head and really small body as he fights to keep control of his organization and his needy family.

Hit-Monkey will follow a Japanese snow monkey who trains with the ghost of an American assassin to prepare for a bloody and darkly comical revenge trip through the seedy Tokyo underworld. The character was created by Daniel Way and Dalibor Talajic and the series is being written and executive produced by Josh Gordon and Will Speck (Office Christmas Party) and Loeb.

Tigra & Dazzler Show will see the titular best friends/superheroes as they face one of their biggest battles yet: recognition from other superpowered people in Los Angeles. Tigra, created by Tony Isabella and Gil Kane, and Dazzler, created by Tom DeFalco, Roger Stern, Louise Simonson and John Romita Jr, have not been seen on the small screen for years, with Dazzler’s previous portrayal seen in the 2009 animated series Wolverine and the X-Men and is reportedly set to appear in the next live-action X-Men film, Dark Phoenix, and Tigra was last seen in the 1999 Fox animated series The Avengers: United They Stand. The new series will be written and executive produced by Erica Rivinoja (The Last Man on Earth) and Chelsea Handler (Chelsea) alongside Loeb.

Howard the Duck, who previously made it to the big screen in the widely detested 1986 film and cameo appearances in the Guardians of the Galaxy films, was created by Steve Gerber in 1973. The series, being written by Kevin Smith (Jay and Silent Bob reboot) and Dave Willis (Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell), will follow the titular hero as he, with the help of his best friend Beverly, attempts to return to his home planet before Dr. Bong can kill and cook him.

The Offenders, executive produced by Loeb, will follow all four of the characters as they are forced to reluctantly team up to save both the Earth and various parts of the universe from an unknown force.