Issue #4: I feel like introducing a new character, so why not model them loosely after aspects of myself? Howard is still a taxi driver in Cleveland, and he picks up a new passenger: a introverted, lonely young man who's being chased by an evil witch, who turns out to be the Kidney Lady.
Meet Andrew Whitehouse. Andrew relates his origins to Howard as Howard drives him all around the streets of cleveland: a young 20-something year old, andrew lost his parents two years ago in a tragic accident. Ending up alone in the world with nobody to guide him, andrew ended up severely depressed and existensial. He stopped eating, barely slept, and began questioning the point of life. He even contemplated just ending it all a few months ago. But then he found himself latching onto a new interest: magic.
Magic gave Andrew hope. He began going to libraries and secret black magic stories all over the Midwestern US, hunting down magical tomes and tools. For the past five months, it's been his life. It was all he talked about. So when we rode the public bus and rambled about his love of magic, he didn't see any issues. Except that the Kidney Lady was riding the bus. And she heard him. And she assumed he was an evil wizard coming to take her kidneys and enslave cleveland. So she attacked him on the bus. And for the past 24 hours, Andrew's been trying to elude her on the streets.
So that leads us to Andrew getting in Howard's cab. And with most of this issue being dedicated to the origins of Andrew, we end on the image of the Kidney Lady, who's turned herself into a giant! She's coming to finally put an end to this kidney stealing conspiracy, once and for all!
Issue #5: Picking up where issue four, howard and andrew floor it. They drive out of Cleveland, hoping to escape the kidney lady. They end up on a wild goose chase, which leads them all the way into a small town near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Their cab runs out of gas there, and howard and andrew are finally forced into confronting the kidney lady. Andrew realizes he's probably going to need to fight her magic with some magic of his own, so they go to the local library to try and find some magic tomes.
With some clever thinking, Andrew manages to find a spell to reverse the kidney lady's growth spell. He just needs time to cast it probably. So very reluctantly, Howard ends up refuelling his cab and distracting the Kidney Lady by driving her across town. Eventually, Andrew's spell works! The Kidney Lady shrinks back to human size, but not before she decks Howard in the face! Then the cops show up and take her into custody, for possibly the first time in Howard the Duck history.
With the Kidney Lady defeated, Howard gives Andrew a ride back to Cleveland. And although they really only became friends and allies due to convenience, Howard and Andrew still part as friends. If either of them needs anything, they should feel free to reach out.
