Reports say the hard-living, acerbic comic book writer died Sunday in a Las Vegas hospital due to complications from pulmonary fibrosis. He was 60 years old. Writer Mark Evanier, a longtime friend and colleague of the writer has written an official announcement post on Gerber's blog. Fans and pros from the comic-book world are paying their last respects in the comments below.

Gerber wrote for Marvel comics throughout the '70s, penning classic superhero and horror stories, eventually introducing a cigar-chomping, take-no-nonsense, talking duck who went on to take mainstream comics by storm. By all accounts, writing Howard was an autobiographical experience for Gerber. He was the duck. The duck was him. During his short but memorable first run, Howard tangled with moonies, self-help gurus, KISS and many other mainstays of '70s culture. He ran for president. There was nothing else like it on the newsstands.

Howard ran for president in issue #8 of his original series. The satire's just as cutting today as it was then.

Gerber left Marvel in the late '70s and spent the '80s in comic book limbo, fighting for control of Howard (Marvel settled out of court), watching George Lucas produce a box-office bomb about his star creation, and writing animation scripts for now-classic kid shows like G.I. Joe, Dungeons and Dragons and Plastic Man. From time to time, he'd return with the occasional miniseries for DC comics or even Marvel.

I came to Gerber's work in 2002, when he returned to Marvel for one last Howard the Duck story, a riotous, poison-pen, send-up of Disney (Howard took on the form or a giant mouse for a few issues), daytime T.V. (Howard squared off against a demoniacally possessed Oprah and Dr. Phil) and even religion (the final issue is set in the afterlife, in which Howard shares a drink with an old guy, a young bearded guy and a dude with a sheet over his head). I ate it up and sought out his original run, which has just been collected.

Reading those old stories, it was impossible to ignore the specificity of Howard's speech and attitudes. In the '70s, comics were definitely written for kids, and the writing showed. Characters spoke in monosyllabic cliches. But Howard, he had a diction all his own, as shown in his monologue from the first page of the first issue of his first series: Captain America wasn't talking like that. Batman wasn't talking like that. Not even the wise-cracking Peter Parker could lay claim to this flavor of labyrinthine, self-referential dialogue. Whether you liked it or not, it sure was different. Howard the Duck was a mainstream comic with underground sensibilities. Steve Gerber was the medium's Jonathan Swift, a biting satirist with a playful heart who explored social issues by pushing them to ridiculous extremes.

While covering a comic convention in Chicago last summer, I sat in a crowded audience for a panel discussion that featured current Marvel Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada. During the Q & A, I was struck by a sudden urge to ask a question. I raised my hand: "When are you going to publish more Howard the Duck?" A cheer went up from the audience at the mere mention of Gerber's master of Quack-Fu, bringing a broad, goofy grin to my face. I was not alone. Quesada mumbled something about Howard having appeared in a recent Avengers tie-in and said they were planning another appearance in the future. I wasn't satisfied as Gerber hadn't been involved in the tie-in, but at least I could hold out hope for him to play a part in whatever was in the pipeline. The duck just hasn't ever been the same without his creator's wit and humor at the wheel. And now we know he never will be again. People with much more knowledge than me of Gerber's life, work and influence are writing about him all over the Internet: Mark Evanier:

"In much that he wrote, he chose to depart from reality or (more often) to warp it in those extreme ways that make us understand it better. But he always did so from his underlying premise as a smart, decent guy. I like almost everyone I've ever met in the comic book industry but I really liked Steve."

Warren Ellis:

"Steve was a giant in the American comics medium."

Tom Spurgeon:

"Steve Gerber's role as one of the best and emblematic writers of his generation can't be understated. He was a crucial figure in comics history. Like some of the all-time great cartoonists of years past, Gerber carved a place for self-expression and meaning out of a type of comic that had no right to hold within itself so many things and moments that were that quirky and offbeat and delicately realized -- except that Gerber made it work."

Mike Cane:

"Gerber was one of the new breed of writer who re-invigorated and re-invented comics in the 1970s."

Jerry Stratton:

"He showed this reading-obsessed thirteen-year-old that writing was something people did, and that the reason the best books were best was the author who wrote the story. And that I could do this too!"

If you want to pick up some vintage Howard the Duck comics or other work by Steve Gerber here in Chicago, head on over to the nearest Graham Crackers Comics near you. The Hero Initiative is a charity fund for comic creators that had been helping Gerber during his illness. If you'd like to make a donation, their Web site is here. All images © Marvel Comics

Amy, a Rogers Park resident, posted a truly harrowing story to her blog earlier today. She was one of about 20 Illinois Primary voters in Chicago's 49th Ward told to use a push-vote machine stylus to record their votes on paper ballots. When the styluses failed to leave marks on the paper, they were told by election officials that the pens used "magic invisible ink" to write down the votes. From her blog:

"Jim and I went to vote at 7 a.m. We were given Democratic ballots and pens. But when I got to the booth, my pen didn't work -- it was like a felt-tip marker with no ink. So I went back to the desk and was told -- along with several other confused voters trying to swap out their nonfunctional pens -- that these were "invisible ink" pens that would not leave marks on the ballot but would absolutely be read by the scanners. Except that they weren't. The optical scanners were spitting out ballots until one of the election judges used a key to override the system and get the ballots into the box. After my ballot was rejected once, I got a confirmation that my vote "counted" (when the number on the ballot box blipped from 19 to 20), but Jim was given a regular ballpoint to fill in his, and it counted right away."

Amy's blank ballot was refused by the optical scanner until an election official overrode the machine, causing it to count her blank ballot. Furious, she sent calls to the Trib, Sun-Times, a Rogers Park blogger and the Chicago Board of Elections. The Trib posted her story to their home page. Fortunately, there was a happy ending to the whole fiasco. Hours after her blank, invisibly-inked ballot was counted, after she had been on the phone with election officials all day, she heard the first 20 voters from her district were being invited back to vote again.

After spending the day on the phone to various political offices and media outlets, Angela and I found out that the BOE was contacting the first 20 voters from our precinct to come back and cast another ballot. I don't know if it was the press inquiries, the pissed-off phone calls from citizens, or the threat of lawsuits from one candidate's lawyer (rumored), or some angry combo of the above, but something worked. I left work early and ran back to the polling place. The election judges were very accommodating and apologetic, almost grovelingly so, and they marked the "spoiled ballot" box on my voter register and issued me a new ballot. "Can I get a real pen this time?" I asked. And they said yes. As I filled in my little arrow for Obama with visible ink, I started to cry -- out of relief and gratitude and, I'm not even kidding, pride in being an American and being able to vote. Voting is important, y'all. Don't let anyone stop you from doing it.

Only in Chicago, right? There's a lot to think about here: astonishing stupidity, unresponsive election officials, etc., but the most interesting thing here is the part I bolded above. Ever since the hanging chad debacle, states have hailed electronic voting as the solution to voter fraud. Meanwhile, academics such as Ed Felten at Princeton have repeatedly demonstrated how easy it is to beat the machines, by installing malicious code using a thumb drive, for example. But this incident demonstrates a more fundamental problem facing proponents of electronic voting, one that no engineer or computer science wiz can solve: poorly trained polling officials. Not matter how slick your system is, how sophisticated its safety measures, how battle-tested and road-ready it is for an election, if the people running it are only too happy to override its sensors so it can read a blank ballot (amazing), the robots will never win. This story serves as a reminder that machines are only as smart as the people running them at the end of the day. We don't need better machines. We need better election officials, people who won't reach for the override key because the scanner's unable to read "invisible ink." If you've got a story from voting today, share it with other readers over here.

Another call-in report from the field:

"We were having trouble locating a gathering place for Romney supporters, until Tuesday morning, when we stumbled upon a woman standing outside Union Station, laden with Romney signs, posters, buttons and a hat. She was greeting people as they emerged from the station and encouraging them to vote for Romney. Perhaps not the wisest place to be securing votes, given that most people are arriving *from* their polling places, not on their way *to* them. But that's another issue. So we approached her and asked if she knew of a gathering place for Romney supporters. Most certainly! 950 W. Wrightwood, from 6 to 9. We blurted, 'Is it a bar?' thinking that these affairs are usually at hotels or union halls. Her pasted smile belied the drain of mirth from her tone. 'It's ... a ... dining establishment.' Longer pause, then: 'That serves liquor.' Party on, Mitt!"

A quick Google map check for that address brings us an answer. Who knew Romney's people were Grand Central types? A quick call over to the bar confirms that about 100-200 Romney supported will be gathering around 6 p.m. to watch the results roll in.

Maurice Badgett rode into Chicago with other members of "Michiganders for Obama" to support his choice for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. Hear him in his own words:

• "We're just firing it up for Obama"
• "He represents a choice of a change."
• "The only choice that was on our slate was Hillary...and we thought that was disenfranchising us as voters."

Super Tuesday's fiercely contested primaries are drawing political volunteers from across the Midwest to Chicago. About 10 Obama supporters from Michiganders for Obama, one of four Obama volunteer groups in the state, were working the corner of Jackson and Wells in the Loop this morning, handing out Obama stickers, posters and signs to anyone who passed by and leading modest chants of "Obama! Obama!" The group was greeted warmly. Several passing drivers honked and pumped their fists in affirmation. The Obama supporters, energetic despite leaving Detroit on a 3 a.m. bus to pick up other volunteers along the I-94 corridor, took it as a good sign. "We're just firing it up for Obama, coming in here during your caucus and trying to get the word out to go give Obama a good vote," said Maurice Badgett of Detroit, who had an Obama sticker affixed to the back of his leather jacket. "We see him as the next president." After a 30-minute stint on the corner, they asked a pedestrian for directions to Union Station and set off over the bridge to head north for their next stop.

New York-based stunt comedy troupe Improv Everywhere is making good on its name, launching a global social network for "agents" (what they call their members) following the "success" (i.e. media coverage!) of their recent 10-city No Pants! Subway Ride. Like Facebook, I.E.'s expanding by throwing open the doors, transitioning from a NYC-based group to a loosely organized global network of groups. Smart. A quick feature rundown from the launch post:

You can: - Create your own member page complete with Agent Name and Location. - Create your own group page for your hometown and start organizing with others near you. - Start discussion threads and brainstorm ideas at the local level. - Participate in global discussions and plotting. - Upload photos and video.

About 35 Chicago residents dropped trou earlier this month and rode the C.T.A.

The new site features groups of IE agents from major cities around the world. As of this post, the San Francisco group leads the non-NYC pack with 21 members, followed by L.A. with 16, the United Kingdom with 12 and Minneapolis/St. Paul with 10. Where's Chicago? ...deep in pack with a measly 3 members.

After the relative success of the no-pants initiative here in Chicago and this week's comedian-led fake protest of the Montrose Hole, you'd think we'd have a better showing. It's hard to imagine St. Paul having more people into this stuff than Chicago.

CMS nerd alert: It's funny to see IE using Ning (a service that lets you set up your own social network, which is essentially what IE's doing) to power the new site rather than use a self-hosted setup. But it makes sense. These guys are comedians, not developers. And I doubt much money is being made off IE...at the moment. That said, the Ning site's pretty harsh on the eyes. I don't know how much control they've got over their template, but someone should really dial down the bold on the headers. Ning's has been in the press this month. Tech bloggers are saying most of their traffic is porn-oriented. Ning's response? "We're agnostic on the issue."