giant-man and wasp – Coke & Comics

Tales to Astonish #69

Oh, Wasp, Where is Thy Sting?

Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp
Release: April 1, 1965
Cover: July 1965
12 cents
Edited with perfect control by: Stan Lee
Written with all bases covered by: Al Hartley
Drawn with the impact of a line drive by: Bob Powell
Inked with the beauty of a three-bagger by: John Giunta
Lettered with only a few errors by: S. Rosen
12 pages

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Tales to Astonish #68, Story B	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #69, Story B
Tales to Astonish #68, Story B	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #69, Story B

All good things must come to an end, and so must this series.

Giant-Man is reduced to a small corner of the cover, with Hulk hogging the space. No mention that this is the epic finale to the adventures of Giant-Man and the Wasp.

Hulk’s solo series ended after only 6 issues, but then he returned as the backup feature in this title and has been a monthly fixture for going on 60 years. He returned by ending the Wasp’s solo series. Captain America’s return to a solo series caused the Watcher to lose his.

Marvel has had distribution problems for as long as we’ve been reading them, keeping a tight limit on the number of titles they can publish. So for every new title, something has to go. They’ve been trimming the western and humor lines, but ultimately it’s time to let go of some superhero titles.

We read the final Human Torch story a while back, but it was actually released just a week after this. Both Human Torch and Giant-Man lose their series at the same time. Both to make way for better things.

They found the weakest two series in terms of story to ax, and presumably the sales reflected that. Thor stories are good now, so it’s good they’ll stick around. Iron Man stories aren’t any good yet, but maybe they will be one day. Either way, he gets to stick around, now with the dubious honor of being Marvel’s worst remaining title.

We’ll have to wait until next month to see who these cancelled titles are making room for. Neither character will be new to us. One just hasn’t had a title for a while, and the other will get a second title with a very different focus.

Before we get to the final issue of their series, I think it’s worth pausing to reflect on the entire 36 issue run of Henry Pym/Ant-Man/Giant-Man/Wasp stories.

Tales to Astonish #68

Peril from the Long-Dead Past!

Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp
Release: March 4, 1965
Cover: June 1965
12 cents
Stupefying script by: Stan Lee
Stereophonic art by: Bob Powell
Stultifying inking by: Vince Colletta
Schizophrenic lettering by: S. Rosen
12 pages

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Tales to Astonish #67, Story B	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #68, Story B
Tales to Astonish #67, Story B	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #68, Story B

Who is Giant-Man’s #1 archnemesis? I had previously suggested it was Egghead, and my friend Dan countered with the Human Top. His original run only featured three repeat super-villains, Porcupine being the other. He fought Egghead 4 times and now Human Top 3 times. But two Human Top stories are 3-parters so Human Top appears in 5 different issues. They’re both strong contenders. Maybe we’ll see which are in more significant stories in the decades to come. So far, neither has been in any story I would call particularly significant. The possible exceptions are issues 57 and 59. 57 is significant for guest-starring Spider-Man and happens to feature Egghead. 59 is significant for guest-starring Hulk and happens to feature Human Top.

Neither is a particularly good villain.

Honestly, I would argue Porcupine is the best of the 3 villains, which is why he will go one to find better nemeses than Giant-Man and Wasp.

The issue opens with Human Top crashing a plane into Giant-Man to knock him unconscious. He’s stumped as to what to do next. Even unconscious, Human Top can’t figure out how to harm a giant.

The last time Human Top had Giant-Man at his mercy, he didn’t want to harm him. He thought locking him in a closet would be enough satisfaction.

Tales to Astonish #67

The Mystery of the Hidden Man and his Rays of Doom!

Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp
Release: February 4, 1965
Cover: May 1965
12 cents
Way-out story by: Stan Lee
Ring-a-ding art by: Bob Powell
Singin’ inkin’ by: Chic Stone
Boss balloons by: Artie Simek
12 pages

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Tales to Astonish #66, Story B	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #67, Story B
Tales to Astonish #66, Story B	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #67, Story B

We need to recall that everything is happening almost concurrently. The X-Men fight the Stranger and then Juggernaut. The Fantastic Four fight the Frightful Four and get lost at sea. The Avengers fight the Masters of Evil, then disband, then get replaced by the New Avengers. Thor fights Absorbing Man, then faces the Trial of the Gods, then the Destroyer. Hulk faces a series of villains controlled by the Leader.

These all overlap to some extent.

We’ve just caught up on 4 months of Hulk stories in this title. We’d been keeping up with the Giant-Man stories, but skipping the Hulk ones. Now we’re caught up to both. The Huk’s saga is continuing, so we’ll read the next 3 issues together.

That’s commentary on when these Giant-Man/Wasp stories take place. They fit better before Avengers #15 or perhaps in the middle of Avengers #16, before Giant-Man and Wasp announce their retirement (page 6). When the Avengers disbanded, it sure looked like Giant-Man and Wasp wanted a break from superheroing. These next 3 issues we are about to read are published concurrently with Avengers #15-17.

Tales to Astonish #66

The Menace of Madam Macabre

Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp
Release: January 5, 1965
Cover: April 1965
12 cents
Story: Smilin’ Stan Lee
Art: Beamin’ Bobby Powell
Inking: Friendly Frankie Ray
Lettering: Sunny ol’ Sherigail
12 pages

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	Prelude	Marvel Comics #1, Story F
Tales to Astonish #65	Reading order	X-Men #10
Tales to Astonish #65, Story B	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #66, Story B

The Giant-Man tale is hogging most of the cover real estate.

Wasp doesn’t seem to be recognized as a co-lead for the second issue in a row. This is just described as a Giant-Man story. The covers have long since omitted her name.

Yes, we are falling farther and farther behind in our Hulk reading.

As before, it’s not actually a new Giant-Man. He just has a new hat.

Madam Macabre is an evil analogue to Giant-Man, with the power to make things shrink or grow. Not knowing she is evil, Giant-Man considers partnering with her, until he learns she thinks they can rule the world together.

Tales to Astonish #65

Presenting the New Giant-Man

Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp
Release: December 10, 1964
Cover: March 1965
12 cents
Writer: Stan Lee
Illustrator: Bob Powell
Inked by: Don Heck
Lettering by: Sherigail
12 pages

Previous	#313	Next
Fantastic Four #36	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #66
Tales to Astonish #64, Story B	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #65, Story B

The cover boasts of a new Giant-Man. They just mean a new costume, one which will not prove enduring. The corner box has already been updated with the new look.

We met Bob Powell in Strange Tales #130. He’s taking over two titles this month.

We met Sherigail the letterer once before in issue 55. Various websites, including Marvel’s official site, misattribute the lettering of Sherigail. Nel Yomtov had been kind enough to reach out and let me know that Sherigail is a pseudonym for Morrie Kuramoto.

We’re getting ahead with the Giant-Man/Wasp stories and behind with the Hulk stories in this title. We’ll catch up to the Hulk stories eventually.

Tales to Astonish #64

When Attuma Strikes!

Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp
Release: November 3, 1964
Cover: February 1965
12 cents
Edited by smilin’ Stan Lee
Written by laughin’ Leon Lazarus
Pencilled by capricious Carl Burgos
Inked by peerless Paul Reinman
Lettered by sparkling Sam Rosen
12 pages

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X-Men #9	Reading order	Sgt. Fury #14
Tales to Astonish #63, Story B	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #64, Story B

You’re correct, reader, that we have not finished Tales to Astonish #63 yet. We will get there. Hulk is involved in one big story, while Giant-Man and Wasp have shorter adventures which take place weaved around their Avengers adventures. It’s a tricky thing to negotiate. We’re not going to finish this comic right now either. We’ll come back to the Hulk story another day.

We get something new here. Leon Lazarus is not a name we’ve seen before. It honestly sounds a little made up. An alliterative name like that often turns out to be an alias in these stories. Especially with a biblical last name like Lazarus, a word common in superhero stories to describe effects that raise the dead (e.g. the Lazarus Pit used by Batman’s foe Ra’s Al Ghul).

And Stan Lee claims no writing credit. He’s been the sole credited writer on everything for the last year or so. And even when there were other credited scripters, Stan Lee claimed credit for the “story” or “plot” or such. This is the very first time in any Marvel Age story that Stan did not claim story credit.

Of course, Stan’s name still goes first in the credits, as the editor.

So who is Leon Lazarus? What is his real name? Why did he decide to start writing for Marvel now?

Tales to Astonish #63

The Gangsters and the Giant!

Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp
Release: October 1, 1964
Cover: January 1965
12 cents
Sensationally superb story by: Stan Lee
Absolutely adorable art by: Carl Burgos
Incredibly imaginative inking by: Chic Stone
Logically lovable lettering by: S. Rosen
12 pages

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Daredevil #5	Reading order	Amazing Spider-Man #20
Tales to Astonish #62, Story B	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #63, Story B

Giant-Man was the clumsiest superhero, but he’s been working really hard to improve that image, learning to shrink and grow really fast while practicing gymnastics.

Tales to Astonish #62

Giant-Man Versus the Wonderful Wasp!

Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp
Release: September 1, 1964
Cover: December 1964
12 cents
Written–as if you couldn’t guess by now–by smilin’ Stan Lee!
Drawn–and here’s a little twist for you–by capricious Carlos Burgos!
Inked–as if he knew what he was doing–by devestatin’ Dickie Ayers
Lettered–as though each syllable is a gem–by amenable Artie Simek
12 pages

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Tales to Astonish #61, Story B	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #62, Story B
Tales to Astonish #61, Story B	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #62, Story B

The cover is vertically split between the two stories. This will be a common format for these shared titles. Hulk’s story comes first on the cover, but the issue opens with the Giant-Man and the Wasp tale.

Don’t think we’ve ever seen Dick Ayers referred to as Dickie before. Carlos Burgos is normally Carl Burgos, who we recall is the creator of the original Human Torch. He’s already shown up once in the Marvel Age to draw a story with the new Human Torch. Art sometimes does go by Artie.

Giant-Man has found a way to make plants grow, as well as humans. It’s a little confusing, as he was able to shrink a chair before he shrank himself. His original goal for the technology was to revolutionize shipping. Originally, it was a liquid he pored on something (an object or his skin) to make it shrink. Then he got it into pill form. Lately, he’s been able to use his cybernetic helmet to make both himself and the Wasp change size with his thoughts. His plant growth serum comes in the form of a spray. He thinks he can use it to help with agriculture and solve world hunger.

Tales to Astonish #61

Now Walks the Android

Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp
Release: August 4, 1964
Cover: November 1964
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee (He’s getting to be a habit)
And then the credits get complicated.
14 pages

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Amazing Spider-Man #19	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #61, Story B
Tales to Astonish #60, Story B	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #61, Story B

We get a new logo for the shared title. Giant-Man never got a logo before. Tales to Astonish had remained the logo despite his starring role. The new logo somewhat cramped to fit all the names. “Giant-Man” is spread across two lines and has to share its text box with “and the Incredible”. No mention of Wasp in the logo. The cover real estate is split about equally between the two stories, with Hulk’s story up top. The cover box is similar to last issue, just rearranged a bit to put Hulk on top.

Somebody’s muscling in on your territory, Giant-Man.

The first page has Stan Lee’s credit, then some typed text pasted over the rest of the credit box. It explains that Ayers is on vacation, they had hired a new artist to fill in, but circumstances altered the plan, and Ditko and Roussos stepped in last minute to draw the issue.

As with most things Stan Lee says, that text box contains partial truths and partial falsehoods. Last issue, they had announced the artist would be Dick Rockwell. Rockwell had been working in comics since 1949. He did a little work for Marvel at the time.

Tales to Astonish #60

The Beasts of Berlin!

Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp
Release: July 2, 1964
Cover: October 1964
12 cents
Excitingly written by: Stan Lee
Exquisitely drawn by: Dick Ayers
Extravagantly inked by: Paul Reinman
Emotionally lettered by: Art Simek
14 pages

The cover hints at a significant change to the title, but we’ll save discussion of that for the next post.

We begin with Giant-Man throwing a temper tantrum and kicking out his fan club. Wasp complains he’s scaring way their fans. She uses the phrase, “our fans”, but all the signs say “Giant-Man”, never “Wasp”.

This series is weird about secret identities in multiple ways. They sometimes act like they have secret identities that are important to protect. Other times, they seem pretty nonchalant about it. For example, Wasp calls him “Hank” in front of the fan club.