Marvel Masterworks: Ant-Man/Giant-Man Vol. 1

Marvel Masterworks: Ant-Man/Giant-Man #1

by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber (Artist), Ernie Hart

Collects material from Tales To Astonish (1959) #27 and #35-52.

Burned under the magnifying glass of overwhelming demand, Mighty Marvel has given in to bring you our smallest hero in his first big Masterwork! Scientist Hank Pym invented an amazing growth serum and a cybernetic helmet, making him the Astonishing Ant-Man! Teamed with the winsome Wasp, the tiny twosome battle a sensational array of mini- and maxi-sized menaces from the Scarlet Beetle to the Black Knight! And if that’s not enough to occupy a man of science, he’s also defending the good ol’ U.S. of A.’s secrets from the Commie hordes! But we’ve got more than just miniature mayhem for you, True Believer — you can also look forward to the birth of the biggest Avenger there ever was: Giant-Man!

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Superheroes, Crime, Fiction

284 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 15, 2006

About the author

Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.

With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.

Reviews

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well this was very...erm...yeah. I'm gunna go with the term 'dated', since what's present here (casual sexism and racism) was apparent in a lot or Marvel comics from the early 60s. And I know 'people didn't know much better at the time/period' isn't a good excuse for it, but people didn't know much better at the time.


Also, Janet decides she's deeply in love with Hank after literally a page, and then spends most of her time pinning after him and being mostly ignored.

Also, some of the villains are so terrible and lazy. It's no wonder they struggled to find a decent villain for the Ant-Man movie.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doctor Henry Pym creates a shrinking serum and quickly gets into trouble as he's dragged into an ant hill, finally befriending an ant and making it back to his antidote serum. In his next appearance eight issues later, Pym re-creates his serums and perfects communications with ants, becoming the costumed hero Ant-Man. Janet Van Dyne is introduced in issue 44 as the daughter of a doctor who died due to an alien attack, and is quickly given Pym's shrinking mechanism along with subcutaneous wings, becoming Pym's partner the Wasp. Hank later uses a different serum to grow in size, becoming Giant-Man in issue 49. Hank and Janet take on Communist agents, jewel thieves, and the Black Knight, as well as Egghead, a hyper-intelligent beetle, the Porcupine, the Human Top, and other less than impressive enemies.

A superhero who can shrink to ant size and retain human strength seems like a good idea and loaded with potential, but Ant-Man feels underused here, being set against fairly goofy Silver Age enemies while relying mostly on his ants and escaping traps by changing size. Things get more interesting when Janet Van Dyne is added to the cast, who is attracted to Pym but can't seem to get him to notice her. Janet is described as much younger than Hank and Hank, who has lost a wife, is focused on his science and superheroing. Janet is written with every female stereotype known, which is more than a little cringe-worthy. A still more interesting development is the introduction of Pym as Giant-Man (though the identities of Ant-Man and Giant-Man always used to confuse me), which seems like a much better use of size-changing than wrangling ants.

[Rick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I get that Ant-Man is the star here, but why isn’t the Wasp given equal credit on the cover? Shouldn’t this have been called the Ant-Man & the Wasp Epic Collection? Kind of insulting to diminish the Wasp’s presence especially when she’s features so prominently in many of these stories. Yeah, let’s give all the spotlight to the size-changing mad scientist who’s clearly not a very stable hero.

Tales to Astonish #27 - This story introduces Dr. Henry Pym, but not as Ant-Man, that comes in his next appearance. This is just an astonishing tale that is more reminiscent of the weird sci-fi films of the era, films of people getting trapped by weird pseudoscience phenomena (think The Fly, The Invisible Man or even The Incredible Shrinking Man. This amounts to one of the better stories in this collection.

Tales to Astonish #35-40 - The stories in these issues, introduce Henry Pym in his new secret identity as Ant-Man, battling threats such as communist agents, a protection racketeer, a mad scientist known as Egghead (who’ll be back to haunt Pym throughout his career), an irradiated beetle with dreams of conquest, and a hijacker. There are some similar themes throughout most of these stories that weaken them as a group, but they’re still fun and the art by Jack Kirby elevates these stories to hold the reader’s interest.

Tales to Astonish #41-43 - Don Heck takes over the art duties, and while he’s no Kirby, and his style does take a bit to get used to, he does provide a different perspective on the character. But the villains continue to be, if not increasingly, lame. An invader from another dimension who cannot even conquer his own people, a man who’s voice is immediately believed and whose every word is taken as indisputable truth, and then another mad scientist who is a master of aging (and no, none of these are Kang). These could all have been marvelous stories, but the art doesn’t quite work as well.

Tales to Astonish #44 - Kirby returns and he introduces Ant-Man’s new partner, the Wasp. But he also introduces some retroactive continuity with a previous wife for Pym, a new layer of motivation for becoming a crime fighter, and a new threat from space. Basically, Kirby just reinvented Ant-Man. What is so shocking though, is how easily Pym was ready to perform experimental surgery on Janet Van Dyne and accept this virtual stranger as a partner. This actually illustrates a fundamental flaw of Pym’s personality, and one that will get developed in greater detail over the years. Pym is a genuine mad scientist himself, and what he does to Van Dyne in this story, as well as how he’d experimented on himself previously, illustrate just how unbalanced he actually is.

Tales to Astonish #45-48 - Don Heck returns to the pencilling duties and Egghead shows up for his second attempt at defeating Ant-Man. Not a great story, rather typical of superhero stories of this era, but it does develop Egghead’s obsession with defeating Ant-Man. Then Heck delivers another alien invasion scenario, followed by another cheap thug with a gimmick and then a real honest supervillain: the Porcupine. Wait, seriously? Oh, no. Seriously, something has to change or this series and character is going to the dogs. Although, to be fair, this is also the start of Ant-Man and the Wasp co-founding the Avengers with Thor, Iron Man and the Hulk. So changes are definitely in the air.

Tales to Astonish #49-50 - Kirby returns! And he brings some of those BIG changes for our little heroes (who recently helped found the Avengers), as Ant-Man becomes Giant-Man. Unfortunately, this also further illustrates Henry Pym’s inferiority complex, as he desperately needs to feel he’s in the same class of heroes as his fellow Avengers, like Thor, Iron Man and Hulk. The first antagonist is an invasion from another dimension and then we’re treated with the first appearance of the Human Top (who will eventually become Whirlwind, not to be confused with Whizzer/Speed Demon)). Human Top also becomes the first villain to affectively defeat GiAnt-Man and the Wasp and come back and face them again. Oh wait, did I forget about Egghead? No, Egghead just escaped, he never defeated our size-changing dynamic duo.

Tales to Astonish #51-52 - These issues feature not only a tale of Giant-Man and the Wasp, but also a second tale that either features the Wasp spinning an astonishing tale or, as in the last couple of tales, involved in some solo antics of her own. Unfortunately, #51 marks that Kirby has left the series with his last art duties and then Dick Ayers steps in, and this means the stories aren’t nearly as entertaining as the Kirby ones. Still fun, but they just don’t have the Kirby magic. We do get a returning villain, the Human Top, and as well as a new opponent, the villainous Black Knight, so there’s still entertainment aplenty. But the quality is drooping.

[Deacon D. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The stories in this one get progressively better (misogyny aside) but it's still difficult for me to understand how these particular heroes ever got popular.

[Sam Owens · Rating 3 out of 5]

enjoyable but parts aged poorly

[Myrmidon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un 7 bello pieno, ma a sto giro arrotondo per difetto (perché mi va così, ok?).
Non so quanto consiglierei queste storie, così come quelle del secondo volume, a chi non è un grande fan di Hank Pym (e non scordiamoci di Janet Van Dyne) come il sottoscritto.
Se si passa sopra a qualche cosina che oggi sarebbe, e giustamente, discutibile, ricordandosi sempre che abbiamo davanti un fumetto pubblicato negli anni '60 ("contestualizzare"?!? Troppo difficile, lo so), molte storie costituiscono, tutto sommato, una piacevole e leggera lettura; altre, invece, sono decisamente ben più noiosette e meno riuscite.
Tralasciando la primissima storia, che è di fatto un classico racconto breve sci-fi in cui uno scienziato cade vittima della sua stessa invenzione e vive così un'avventura ai limiti del possibile (oltre che un filino mortale), la quale serve solo a introdurre la prima apparizione in assoluto del nostro Hank Pym, molte delle prime storie di Ant-Man, l'alter ego che lo scienziato deciderà di crearsi dopo aver affinato la sua invenzione, sono tutte vicende autoconclusive dal sapore vagamente investigativo, non essendo infrequente che l'identità dell'antagonista di turno sia avvolta nel mistero, poi prontamente risolto da Hank (sovente con un po' troppa facilità, anche se non scade mai nell'essere un "Gary Stu", a mio parere); i nemici spaziano da agenti segreti sovietici (eravamo nella Guerra Fredda, rega') a scienziati vuoi amorali e senza scrupoli come Testa d'Uovo (è considerabile bodyshaming questo pseudonimo? Boh!), vuoi soltanto risentiti verso una società che li ha messi agli angoli (è il caso del "Signore del Tempo"), fino a insetti che hanno sviluppato intelligenza e poteri grazie alle radiazioni e, ovviamente, gli immancabili alieni.
Degna di nota è però la storia "La creatura di Kosmos": non solo perché viene introdotto il personaggio di Janet Van Dyne, destinata a diventare la storica partner di Pym (divorzio più, divorzio meno), ma anche in quanto viene rivelato un importante episodio del passato di quest'ultimo, cioè il rapimento e l'uccisione della moglie Maria Trovaya, figlia di uno scienziato sovietico rifugiatosi negli USA, fatto drammatico che lo ha segnato nel profondo e motivato a prodigarsi per combattere il crimine e le ingiustizie (peraltro, retconnando parzialmente i primissimi episodi, dato che l'interesse scientifico di Hank per le formiche sarebbe da attribuire a un proverbio ripetutogli da Maria proprio quell'infausto giorno). La tragica sorte della moglie è infatti ciò che rende Pym assai restio ad accettare come compagna (per ora, soltanto di avventure) la giovane Janet Van Dyne, che al contrario si scopre innamorata persa dello scienziato.
Molto carino anche l'episodio #49, in cui Hank, scoprendo come aumentare le sue dimensioni, diviene "Giant-Man" (il suo alter ego da me preferito), così come la storia, in due puntate, che vede come antagonista La Trottola Umana (il futuro Turbine), uno dei pochi villain di queste storie destinato a divenire un nemico ricorrente di Hank (secondo solo a Testa d'Uovo) e soprattutto di Janet.
A proposito di quest'ultima, non si può non ammettere che la sua caratterizzazione, in queste e altre storie dell'epoca, da ereditiera un po' frivola e civettuola potrebbe (ripeto, non a torto) far storcere il naso ai più, specie perché, in alcuni momenti, appare decisamente eccessiva e troppo caricata.
Certo, va anche detto che, da un lato, Wasp è dipinta con innegabili qualità positive, e non è mai usata solo ed esclusivamente come "damsel in distress" per Giant-Man, il quale viene anzi spesso salvato da Janet; dall'altro, questi suoi atteggiamenti sono probabilmente voluti in modo da metterla a contrasto con Hank, il quale è invece uno scienziato riservato, seppur affabile, e spesso restio ad aprirsi a Janet (la quale, pertanto, non perde occasione per tentare di ingelosirlo), preferendo lavorare ai suoi esperimenti piuttosto che corteggiarla o portarla a cena fuori.
Poi, certo, alcune battute (vedi Wasp che, scherzando, o almeno spero, afferma di dispiacersi quando gli uomini non la fischiano dietro per strada) si sarebbero anche potute evitare, e lì siamo assolutamente d'accordo (fermo restando che mentirei se dicessi di non essere scoppiato a ridere a quella scena).
Ah, e voi sapevate che il Cavaliere Nero (quello cattivo, Nathan Garrett, non il ben più eroico nipote Dane Whitman) è nato come nemico proprio di Giant-Man e Wasp (vedi sopra: "scienziati amorali e senza scrupoli")? Chi l'avrebbe mai detto!

Che dire, quindi: se anche voi siete fedelissimi membri del fan club di Giant-Man e Wasp (che, non sto scherzando, esiste nel fumetto) e avete la curiosità di leggervi le primissime avventure del duo (e i carinissimi racconti, in appendice a ogni episodio, che Wasp si inventa nelle sue visite a orfani e veterani, oppure per distrarre Hank dai suoi esperimenti), allora recuperarvi questo volumone, come anche il secondo, s'ha da fare. In caso contrario, potete tranquillamente vivere senza (o leggervele su Marvel Unlimited, che sicuramente vi costa meno dei Masterworks).

[Glen Engel-Cox · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many superheroes exhibit powers that defy easy logic, chosen instead for their look on the 4-color page or for the concept. Ant-Man is one of those. Not only does Henry Pym figure out a way to miniaturize himself, but he also can communicate with insects and can withstand behind shot from a catapult-like device to nearly any part of the city (the G-forces must be tremendous) where he lands on a hill of ants that have congregated on the exact spot he was aiming for. When Lewis Carroll asked us to believe several impossible things before breakfast, Stan Lee wants us to accept even more before lunch and dinner.

The addition of the Wasp to the stories helped, mainly to give Pym someone to talk to because Lee’s characterizations of women in the 1960s had more issues than the number of comics he was publishing at the time. For every case where the super-heroine came through with an independent attack and saves the day there’s a dozen instances of the same heroine decrying her lack of make-up, her fashion, or expressing her infatuation for some male. Lee also loved to put those women in Damsels in Distress roles, often forgetting they were supposed to be heroic as much as the men. (He did get better, and comics in general would improve upon this in later decades).
And, as much as Ant-Man’s powers are hard to believe, the villains here are almost equally outrageous, including, for example, the Human Top, who spins his way into banks, etc., to complete his burglaries.

Better things are to come with these characters, especially the reboot that occurred when Ant-Man became a Marvel Universe movie franchise. Reading these early stories is only for the historians and those interested in the development of the characters.

[Jared Z. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ant-Man is one of the more... interesting characters to come out of the Marvel Bullpen. His stories are entertaining, but they tend to range more toward the silly and childish than, say, the stories written for the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man. Perhaps part of the reason is that most of the scripts weren't written by Stan the Man himself, but rather were written by other Marvel staff writers, namely Stan's younger brother, Larry Lieber, and H. E. Huntley, neither of whom had the panache for comics writing that Stan had. Much of the dialogue is rather wooden, and Henry Pym, alias Ant/Giant-Man doesn't really have much of a personality until Stan takes over the scripting himself, when he begins to develop some banter with his lovely sidekick, The Wasp.

And now for said lovely sidekick, the beautiful Janet Van Dyne, alias the Wasp. She, like many of early Marvel's female characters, hasn't particularly aged well in her early portrayals. While she admittedly brings a distinctive personality, a quality in which Henry Pym was most distinctly lacking, she comes off as rather ditzy, as was common for female characters in comics in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

In short, entertaining, but not on the same level as Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, or the X-Men.

[Alessandro · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Marvel Masterworks: Ant-Man/Giant-Man, Vol. 1" is a fascinating window into the early days of Marvel storytelling. These stories might not have the polish or iconic resonance of Spider-Man or the Fantastic Four, but they show how Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Don Heck experimented with science-driven heroes in the Silver Age.
Hank Pym’s evolution from Ant-Man to Giant-Man is clunky at times, but that’s part of the charm—watching Marvel’s creative team try different angles, gimmicks, and supporting characters until something sticks. Jan Van Dyne (the Wasp) really brightens the later issues, and the interplay between her and Hank gives the series some much-needed personality.
The villains range from forgettable to delightfully oddball (Egghead, anyone?), and the plots are simple by modern standards. Still, the artwork bursts with that early-60s energy: bold layouts, inventive concepts, and a genuine sense of fun.
This isn’t essential Marvel reading, but it is essential Marvel history. For readers curious about the roots of the Avengers’ less-celebrated founding member, this collection offers a nostalgic, entertaining, and surprisingly rewarding ride.

[Paxton Holley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing my reading of all the Marvel Masterworks for the original lineup of the Avengers.
This one features the first appearances of Ant Man and the Wasp in Tales to Astonish.

It’s honestly kind of boring until Janet Van Dyne/The Wasp shows up. Then, Woo boy, strap in. The dynamic between Henry Pym and Janet is weirdly written and bizarre. She’s in love with him, but he pretends he isn’t in love with her. It’s nuts. Plus we also see villains like The Porcupine, The Eraser, and the Black Knight.

Kirby and Heck’s art is great. Stan Lee’s plotting is…okay. And his writing of woman is awful.

[Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's cool that Ant-Man started as a Weird Science/EC sort of story. He flounders after becoming a superhero, going back and forth between weird sci fi stories and gangster/spy stories like Marvel didn't know what to do with him. When Lee/Kirby take over near the end of the run, it gets really good, though. (obviously).

[José Ignacio ZG · Rating 1 out of 5]

Besides being poor in its writting, this book is, among other things, a clear example of the deep misogyny of early comics. Even the title of this reprint does not include its co-protagonist, as she is simply a funny accessory to the main man.

[DOUGLAS J BERRY · Rating 5 out of 5]

The golden age.

Good color artwork. A bunch of writers came and went. The origin of antman, wasp, giantman. Egg head is a super villain who keeps making a comeback. Good pictures of ants ants, and more ants.

[Reading · Rating 2 out of 5]

These stories are weird and mostly bad and pretty heavy on generic commie villains.

Can only go up from here?

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love Hank Pym so much. Small nerd. Loves bugs. Loves Science. Loves Janet. He deserves good things (he will get many bad things instead)

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

He was my favorite, after Aquaman, as a kid growing up.
Did not realize there were so few issues of Ant-man before he became Giant-man.

[radueriel · Rating 1 out of 5]

absolutely my least favorite Silver Age book. hard to stomach the way Janet is written, and Hank's not much better.

[Baldassarre · Rating 2 out of 5]

Facciamo una premessa, stiamo parlando di un fumetto di inizio Anni '60 quindi con dinamiche e sviluppo della storia molto diverso da quelli attuali. Fatta questa doverosa premessa Ant-man/Giant-man è un personaggio che in questo volume non mi ha convinto un granché e non stupisce che Pym non abbia avuto una gran carriera in solitario. Wasp è un personaggio piuttosto insulso in queste pagine, a parte fare la ragazzina svenevole non fa molto (tratto comune a molte delle eroine dell'epoca).
Per filologi e archeologi del Marvelverse!

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hank is a dick

[Rocío · Rating 2 out of 5]

Estos comics son tan tontos pero me dan mucha risa. Al principio es medio aburrido, más que nada porque se torna un poco repetitivo hasta que The Wasp aparece.

El personaje de Janet deja clarísimo que todos los personajes de Marvel de esa época están escritos para la mierda, lo único que hacen en estar enamoradas de un varón y ser secuestradas.

[Topher Marsh · Rating 1 out of 5]

In Stan Lee’s kingdom of Marvel superheroes, the Fantastic Four are chose defenders of the realm and Spider-Man is the dominion’s crown prince. Ant-Man / Giant-Man is the tinkerer commoner whose adventures are not the tales of royal legend. Ant-man is a capable hero created by capable writer. But that is as far as praise can go. Stan Lee created the stories and his brother Larry wrote the scripts. The scripts are the weakest part of the whole creation. Kirby and Lee are legendary talents. However, the stories of Ant-Man in the hands of Lee’s less-talented younger brother did not yield anything interesting – just lots of exposition in the dialogue to support a story, when its secrets are revealed, that is not too clever or intriguing. While sitting at a bus stop reading FF Fantastic Faux a few weeks ago, a guy wearing a Superman t-shirt and sitting behind me leaned over to ask what I was reading. I told him that I was reading a Marvel comic. He nodded. Then shaking his head and pointing to the cover , he said “Yeah, Ant-man is the Aquaman of Marvel.” I am not exactly sure what he meant. But I think it has something to do with Ant-man being a weaker secondary character that doesn’t hold his own in the larger pantheon of heroes living under a comic book banner.

[Stolt-man · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went into this book knowing that these early Marvel comics were written for a different time and are very dated. For example, Ant-Man's original method of transportation was ridiculous. He would shrink to ant size, then shoot himself out of a tiny cannon. While flying across the city, he would telepathically let his ants know where he was going to land. The ants would all gather in a giant pile at this location and their bodies would cushion his fall.
Even though these stories were very goofy, most of this book wasn't the chore to read I was afraid it might be. The first batch of stories were scripted by Larry Lieber. His stuff was easy to read. Then a few stories were scripted by H. E. Huntley and he was terrible. His issues were overwritten and boring. Then Stan Lee took over the full writing duties(He was plotting the series all along)and things got better again.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Larry Lieber's scripts are less impressive than Stan Lee's on both Iron Man and Thor. Ernie Hart, alias H.E. Huntley, is a new name to me, and he did the best scripting in the volume. Wasp, created in his first issue, was almost like a female Batman in her desire to fight crime and avenge the death of her father. It was easy to understand why this version of the Wasp would have coined a team name like "The Avengers," something I never understood until reading this material. When the Giant-Man stories started, Stan Lee took over as full writer, and began portraying Janet van Dyne in the same annoying way he portrayed Sue Storm and Jean Grey--obsessed with clothing, perfume, and jewelry, and shopping for thereof. It's no surprise that, despite the appealing design of Ant-Man's helmet, that this one did not run much longer.

[Devero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finalmente è stato pubblicato in Italia dalla Panini anche questo masterworks, uno dei pochi che mi interessi davvero. Le storie risentono dell'atmosfera degli anni 50 e 60, e la cosa strana di questo eroe, il mio preferito, per inciso, è che Lee non ne ha mai colto le immense potenzialità e lo ha trattato come un super eroe DC dell'epoca. Dov'è il "superproblema" dell'eroe, quel quid che ha fatto la differenza coi Fantastici Quattro, l'Uomo Ragno, Iron-Man, Hulk.
E sì che di questo uomo, genio scientifico, molto umano e non troppo super all'epoca si sarebbe potuto fare molto di più. Ottimi i disegni di Kirby e Ayers, un poco meno gli altri.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, better than I was expecting. The handful of Lee/Kirby stories are great fun, but the Lieber/Heck team is very strong, too. Ant-Man is a completely ridiculous concept, but some of the tales are really great, issues 42 and 49 in particular. And it's fun watching Ant-Man fight an evil jazz trumpeter.

[Edward Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

What started off as a one time story only a few pages long soon became a popular Avengers character as Hank Pym became the Ant Man! Featuring some of the most dreadful villains in Marvel comics, it's amazing that this journey of Hank Pym's from Ant Man to Giant Man is so much fun!