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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
There were giants in those days..., March 16, 2002
In the heirarchy of Marvel superheroes, if the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man were the fair-haired children, then Ant/Giant-Man, the Wonderful Wasp and their showcase book Tales To Astonish were the red-headed stepchildren. This book reprints the complete run of a comic and a character that was, among other things, the first comic book I ever owned and one of my favorite characters.Stan Lee and Jack Kirby originally started out scripting and drawing the adventures of Henry Pym, a scientist who developed a way to communicate telepathically with ants and subsequently used this technology to fight crime (most likely inspired by the film The Incredible Shrinking Man) but they soon moved on to other things and turned it over to Stan's brother Larry Lieber and frequent Kirby inker and western & war comic vet Dick Ayers. This was not uncommon, since as Marvel grew they just couldn't do everything. They also developed and handed off Thor, Iron Man, and others. Lieber and Ayers, while certainly accomplished pros, were not possessed of the magic synergy that Lee and Kirby had, so Ant-Man's exploits weren't quite as remarkable as the FF's or Spidey's. Eventually, it was decided to have Pym give his girlfriend, socialite Janet Van Dyne, shrinking powers, wings and "biological stingers", dub her the Wasp, and become his crime fighting partner. Soon after, he figured out how to grow ten feet tall and renamed himself Giant-Man. Other artists and writers soon followed, most notably Bob Powell, who drew a great Wasp, and the pair faced a mix of second string villians like the Human Top, the Black Knight, the Eraser, and other assorted aliens and mad scientists. In one memorable issue, Giant- Man accidentally enlarged a spider and was blocked from reaching his helmet controls to restore it to its normal size. Made for a tense situation for several pages... A variety of powers, costumes, and situations were tried out, but Giant-Man and the Wasp never really caught on with the comic buying public. Eventually, the Powers That Be decided to divide Tales To Astonish between GM and new stories featuring the Hulk, and about a year later they dropped old High Pockets completely in favor of new Sub-Mariner stories.
Giant Man and the Wasp still appeared in the Avengers, but it was clear they had lost their opportunity to shine brightly in the Marvel firmament. While these stories in this collection don't always feature the absolute best of 60's Marvel by any stretch, they are still fun reads, like those old drive-in movies weren't always great films but were still very entertaining. Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne had a sort of Nick and Nora Charles type banter that was always a highlight, and the last two-parter in this collection emphasized their relationship in a way that was still novel to comics back then. It made them warm and real and really impressed the 6 year old boy that read them so many years ago. Although I wish these collections were in color, I understand that it helps keep the price down, and it's probably the easiest way to read these books that are often hard to find and expensive when you do find them. These adventures of Ant/Giant Man and the Wasp aren't profound and most likely won't change your life in any way...but they are a hell of a good read for the money.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Little Superhero that Couldn't, December 23, 2004
Henry Pym holds the ignominious title of being the first Silver Age Marvel Comics character who failed (actually the Hulk was the first series to end, but he has since returned in a big way). Frankly, it isn't hard to see why as Pym seemed utterly average compared to the other interesting, archetype-busting characters in the Marvel Universe. Pym was another independently wealthy super-genius in multiple scientific fields who had a state-of-the-art crime lab and a dull, square-jawed professorial personality. He lacked any of the pathos-inducing handicaps or traits that made Iron Man or Daredevil stand out. Although this is probably due to the fact that he was actually created in a pre-Silver Age, early 60's story in a Twilight Zone-esque, sci-fi anthology series (Tales to Astonish #27, also included).
As such, the early Ant-Man tales come across as an ongoing battle for writers Stan Lee and his brother Larry to make Pym more interesting. This led to the introduction of the Wasp (Janet van Dyne), joining the Avengers, constant costume changes and power additions (enter Giant-Man), and a tacked-on backstory about Pym's first wife who was murdered by communists, none of which really worked for me. The endeavour definitely was not helped by the seriously underwhelming Rogue's Gallery. There was Egghead (a totally average mad scientist), Porcupine (a disgruntled engineer in a battlesuit, kind of like the Beetle only pointy), and the Human Top (a high rpm mutant who would get a less goofy name and costume later in the Avengers as Whirlwind). Those are pretty much the only ones worth mentioning by name. There was also a cross-dressing commie spy, a guy with a magic trumpet, a South American dictator with a horned hat who liked to run into things, and a guy who could command others with his voice (just like Daredevil's Purple Man, except that he wasn't purple).
One reviewer said that he liked Hank and Janet's Nick-and-Nora style bantering, which does make for some good dialogue, but those looking for that sort of thing would be better served with the Fantastic Four. I felt that Hank was more belittling and coarse than Reed Richards and Janet acted more like a whining spoiled shrew than Sue Storm. Once again, the Ant-Man comics just seemed to be overshadowed on all sides from its other neighbors in the Marvel world.
I know I've sounded completely negative so far, but the truth is that I would still recommend The Essential Ant-Man to all fellow fans of classic Marvel comics. Ant-Man is no less a part of Marvel's storied Silver Age history and features stellar artwork by Jack "King" Kirby and Don Heck. Every issue of Tales to Astonish that Pym headlined (many of which are near impossible to find these days) is collected in one comprehensive and inexpensive Essential volume. As much as I love the Essentials, the Astonishing Ant-Man is less of a must-have than most (X-Men #1 and FF #3 are my all time favorites) but perhaps I'm being unfair. For only $15, all other true believers are free to see for themselves.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The "Master of Many Sizes" finally gets his due!, March 2, 2003
This most neglected character of Marvel's Silver Age--who initially was on a par with Thor, Iron Man, Spidey et al in that he had his own series, is finally showcased for all to see. Giant Man is my favorite character in all of Marvel and the Wasp is right up there too. It is hard for me to describe why I like them so much; maybe its the fact that others could care less about them. But if you are at all curious about them I would encourage you to give this book and these characters a try. The stories are fun, fast-paced and a perfect example of what Marvel was putting out at the time. Take a growth capsule and enjoy!
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by Stan Lee
by Stan Lee
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