| “ | NOTE: This ain't no comic for you fantasy slobs with pointed ears. This comic is for the hard-workin' joe that takes it in the butt from the I.R.S. every year—like clockwork. | ” |
—Note featured on the cover art. | ||
| “ | Before the TV show! Before the comics adaptation! Here's a special limited edition of the hard-to-find original E. Peck comic that started it all! | ” |
—Text on the cover of the re-issue. | ||
Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man Issue #0 is a collection of the original comics that Duckman series creator Everett Peck had concepted the characters with.
This one-shot comic book was originally published in September, 1990 by Dark Horse Comics, later being republished by Topps Comics in February, 1996.
Stories[]
Airstream[]
Duckman and Cornfed solve a case involving a space-age cult, whose leader turns out to be King Chicken in disguise.
Duckman With Fluffy and Uranus[]
Duckman yells at Fluffy and Uranus when their kindness prevents them from doing their jobs.
Duckman At Home[]
Duckman is annoyed by his children and ignored by his wife.
Duckman (He's a Mess Today) with Fluffy and Uranus in "Party Animals"[]
Fluffy and Uranus attempt to keep Duckman from going to a Labor Day party.
Duckman in "ChinaTown Beat"[]
Duckman attempts to score with a sexy client. Fluffy witnesses and is traumatized.
Duckman's In a Snit Today[]
Duckman finds out the Labor Day party was postponed.
Duckman in "Make Mime Murders"[]
Duckman solves a string of mime murders.
Duckman's Been Under a Lot of Stress Lately[]
Duckman punches a rabbit who asks him to put out his cigarette.
The Cast[]
The original character descriptions for the main cast is written (complete with typos) as follows:
Private Dick/Duck — The Duckman Hangs on scratching out piss poor living with pard "Cornfed",His complaining pig Friday.
At home, Duckman gets no relief. Wife is goofball 80's gal who spends all her time working out.
Ajax Teenage kid who is prime candidate for "Twilight Sleep". He's really no worse than any other teenager though, which is to say he's a giant pain in the butt.
Dog Gecko Everyone hates this obnoxious gas bag, except the Duckman. He feels this mutt is the best thing to happen to him since toilet seat protectors.
The Twins Charles & Mambo. These two whiners are best described as other worldly.
Grand Mama Duckman's mother-in-law. She's been propped up in a chair, watching television since 1964. It's the twins responsibility to keep her vacuumed once a week.
Fluffy and Uranius Two work experience students who get hooked up with Duckman through a computer error. These two naive fur balls make "snuggles" look like Charles Manson.
Character Differences and Similarities[]
The characters from these stories are not quite the ones we know and love from the TV show, or proceeding comics. The prototypes that appear have many noticeable differences than their later incarnations.
- Duckman: In these stories, Duckman is noticeably taller, measuring in as the tallest cast member. He is sometimes referred to as "The Duckman". He also doesn't exhibit the redeeming qualities shown in the series, such as being a devoted father and husband, nor is he ever portrayed as particularly sympathetic, merely overworked and ignored. However, he does seem to be more competent in his detective work than he is in the series.
- Cornfed: His vast array of skills and experiences are not present. He also seems to exclusively be Duckman's work partner, not having any close relationships with any of Duckman's family members.
Cornfed is still called a variety of nicknames by Duckman, such as "Corny" and "my pointy-hooved compadre".
- Beatrice: Duckman's wife was originally alive in these stories. She has Beatrice's hair from the series, but wears the outfit that would later be given to Bernice. She is obsessed with working out and eating healthy, traits that would also later be given to Bernice. Unlike in the series, she ignores Duckman due to her fitness obsession.
- Ajax: Ajax's stupidity and emotional naivety are not present in his original characterization. Instead, he is portrayed as a typical teenager who annoys his father by asking to take the car.
- Gecko: He is characterized similarly to how he is in the series, except Duckman is the only family member who likes him. Also, he farts a lot, a trait that would later be given to Grandma-ma.
- Charles and Mambo: Instead of being intelligent and rude, the twins are petty and annoying. They irritate Duckman for no good reason, and later get run over while playing in the driveway.
- Grandma-ma: Grandma-ma is still seemingly comatose, however she has been watching TV since the mid '60s.
- Fluffy and Uranus: They are very similar to what they would be in the series, only instead of plush bears, they are gofers.
- King Chicken: King Chicken makes a short appearance in one of the stories; he still wears a disguise in order to trick people and carry out an evil scheme. Also similarly to the series, Duckman hadn't informed anyone of his history with King Chicken prior to their first encounter with him as a villain. However, Duckman and King Chicken's history isn't explained in the comic. King Chicken swears revenge on Duckman for figuring out his true identity and foiling his plans, then nothing else is stated. When Cornfed asks who King Chicken is, Duckman only tells him, "That's another story".
Notes[]
- "Make Mime Murders" (also known as "The Mime Murders") was originally published in Dark Horse Presents (Vol. 1) #29.
- "Duckman's In a Snit Today" was originally published in Dark Horse Presents (Vol. 1) #31, and was reprinted in the trade paperback The Best of Dark Horse Presents Volume 3.
- There was a third Duckman story published in the Dark Horse Presents Anthology series that is not included here: Love Me Tender, which was originally published in Dark Horse Presents (Vol. 1) #22, and was later reprinted in the trade paperback The Best of Dark Horse Presents Volume 2.