Friday 2 September 2016

Ant-Man/Giant-Man in Tales to Astonish (1959) # 27, 35-52


(I originally read these comics in early March 2015)

I'm taking a break from reading the Hulk by Peter David to read the early Ant-Man stories. Endearingly silly stuff. The only notable villains to debut so far are Egghead, the Porcupine and the Human Top (later Whirlwind, but for now looking more like the Spectacular Spinning Turnip). The less said about Trago, the Man With the Magic Trumpet, the better. 

Although these tales aren't nearly as bad as I feared they might be, you can tell the character wasn't really clicking, hence the introduction of Dr. Henry 'Hank' Pym's partner in adventure, wealthy debutante Janet Van Dyne, aka, the Wasp and his second alter ego of (Gi)ant-Man. This is Stan and co. throwing stuff at the wall in the hopes of it sticking. Unfortunately Ant-Man never quite took off like Marvel's other creepy-crawly hero (who debuted the same month). The funniest bits are when Pym rigs up a miniature cannon to blast him out of a tiny orifice in the wall of his building, to land at a pre-set destination, and ants converge under him to cushion his fall. I find it hard to believe that even in 1963 kids could take this completely seriously.

I've always known him to be an on-off member of the Avengers, but haven't read many Ant-Man stories, so there are elements of the character that I'm learning for the first time. It's a nice touch that he's a widower and the Wasp is helping bring him out of his shell again, though he's still protesting her romantic overtures. Hank is a stuffed shirt with none of Peter Parker's personality while Jan is flirty, flighty and more interested in keeping her costume fashionable than crimebusting. At this point, it's hard to believe she'd later go on to become a respected leader of the Avengers in the '80s.


   
   
   
   
  


Tales to Astonish (1959) # 27 and 35-52 are collected in:

Hardcover:

Softcover:

Tales to Astonish (1959) # 27/35 are collected in:

Hardcover:

Softcover:

Tales to Astonish (1959) # 27/35/49 are collected in:

Softcover:

Tales to Astonish (1959) # 35 is collected in:

Hardcover:

Tales to Astonish (1959) # 42 is collected in:

Hardcover:


Tales to Astonish (1959) # 44-48 are collected in:

Softcover:

Tales to Astonish (1959) # 51/52 are collected in:

Hardcover:



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