tales to astonish – Page 6

Tales to Astonish #55

On the Trail of the Human Top!

Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp
Release: February 4, 1964
Cover: May 1964
12 cents
Story by: Happy Stan Lee
Art by: Heroic Dick Ayers
Lettering by: Honest Art Simek
18 pages

For the third comic in a row, I feel the need to point out that we are reading a February comic when not yet done with the January comics. I have reasons.

Please recall that Hulk and Namor remain at large.

How does Wasp feel about not getting her name on the jackets?

Actually, you often look foolish and clumsy. Do you have any footage of your recent battle against El Toro?

Human Top is Dr. Pym’s third repeat villain, after Egghead and Porcupine. Returning villains have become much more common across all the titles these last couple months, now that a staple has been built up.

Tales to Astonish #54, Story C

Conquest!

Featuring: Wasp
Release: January 3, 1964
Cover: April 1964
12 cents
Dreamed up by: Stan Lee
Scribbled + sketched by: Larry Lieber
Finished in India ink by: Sol Brodsky
Lettered + bordered by: At Simek
5 pages

Last issue, Porcupine seemed very interested in trying to learn Giant-Man’s secret identity. But Wasp’s mask has never covered her face and she doesn’t seem that concerned about her secret identity.

In fact, here we see her babysitting a friend’s child in costume. He refers to her as “Aunt Jan”. Maybe Porcupine wasn’t the genius he thought he was. It’s like thinking people somehow knew Sue was Invisible Girl but not that Johnny was Human Torch.

Tales to Astonish #54

No Place to Hide!

Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp
Release: January 3, 1964
Cover: April 1964
12 cents
Daringly written by: Stan Lee
Dramatically drawn by: Don Heck
Deftly lettered by: Art Simek
13 pages

The placement of this story is tricky. Where we have it, Hulk and Namor are still on the loose, so this is no time for Wasp to be talking about a vacation. Doesn’t mean she wouldn’t be. Hank does note they don’t have time for a vacation. I choose to treat this as a veiled reference to the whole Hulk/Namor situation, whether intended or not.

On the subject of chronological concerns, notice Giant-Man is in his older outfit, last seen in issue 51. This indicates to me that he alternates between the outfits. In reality, the outfit seems to correspond to the artist. Ayers drew the issues with the thick suspenders. Kirby and Heck seem to be drawing Giant-Man with the lighter stripes. They will all eventually converge on thicker suspenders.

We see some pretty rough play between Giant-Man and Wasp. It seems to be all in good fun, but may be early warnings of an abusive relationship forming.

Tales to Astonish #53, Story B

When Wakes the Colossus!

Featuring: Wasp
Release: December 2, 1963
Cover: March 1964
12 cents
Story plot: Stan Lee
Script + Art: L.D. Lieber
Inking: D. Heck
Lettering: R. Holloway
5 pages

Once again, we get a Wasp story where she narrates another story. This time, she tells her story to Hank before heading to the Veterans hospital.

It concerns a warlord named Mingo (perhaps inspired by Ming from Flash Gordon). An atheistic conqueror, he takes advantage of his targets’ religious beliefs, easily defeating a people who don’t believe in fighting at night and another who can’t fight soldiers wearing sacred animal garb.

Tales to Astonish #53

Trapped by the Porcupine!

Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp
Release: December 2, 1963
Cover: March 1964
12 cents
Story by: Daring Stan Lee
Art by: Dazzling Dick Ayers
Lettering by: Dynamic S. Rosen
18 pages

Porcupine is only Dr. Pym’s second recurring villain. Egghead was the first.

Giant-Man’s costume seems to be undergoing frequent slight alterations. I’m not sure what’s going on with the black suspenders. They may be adjustable. Whatever is going on, this issue they seem to form an “x” on his back.

Tales to Astonish #52, Story B

Not What They Seem!

Featuring: Wasp
Release: November 6, 1963
Cover: February 1964
12 cents
Story plot: Stan Lee
Script and art: Larry Lieber
Inking: G. Bell
5 pages

Wasp visits an orphanage to tell another sci/fi tale. The main plot about prisoners pursued by the Space Patrol doesn’t have too much going for it. But along the way, one convict lists some weird planets he was aware of. And those planets all represent some cool sci/fi ideas.

Tales to Astonish #52

The Black Knight Strikes!

Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp
Release: November 6, 1963
Cover: February 1964
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee
Illustrated by: Dick Ayers
18 pages

This story is 18 pages. They’d been seeming to have trouble filling 13, but 18 will be the new norm. The 5-page difference is made up for by the lack of a science fiction backup, save the tale the Wasp tells. An era is soon coming to an end.

While I mostly think of him and appreciate him as an inker, I’d like to note that Dick Ayers is a pretty solid draftsman in this issue. I complained recently about his Strange Tales work with George Roussos. But, inking himself, he gives a very clean take on these characters.

We meet the new Black Knight, Professor Garrett. He’d been a spy busted by Giant-Man. He fled the country to his castle in the Balkans. (Yes, another super-villain with a castle; at least this one’s in a part of the world with lots of castles.) He used his science knowledge to genetically engineer a winged horse and build a lance that has all kinds of weapons attached.

In particular, his lance can melt metal. Since that’s the only power of the Melter, the Melter would feel pretty useless if the two ever teamed up.

Tales to Astonish #51, Story C

Somewhere Waits a Wobbow!

Featuring: Wasp
Release: October 1, 1963
Cover: January 1964
12 cents
Story plot: Stan Lee
Script and art: Larry Lieber
Inking: G. Bell
5 pages

Wasp finally gets her own solo adventures… the first female character to do so. And she’ll spend the series… reading science fiction stories to sick children.

Huh. Not exactly where I thought her character arc was going.

So far, she has shown an interest in men, makeup, and fashion. At least her interest in science fiction is less stereotypical.

Really, this is the same type of story that has been appearing in this series after the Ant-Man tales all along. Weird little science fiction shorts. We’ve been skipping most of them. But now they’re part of our superhero reading because the Wasp is narrating them.

Tales to Astonish #51

Showdown with the Human Top!

Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp
Release: October 1, 1963
Cover: January 1964
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee
Drawn by: Jack Kirby
Inked by: Dick Ayers
13 pages

This continues the story of the previous issue. This is arguably the first real 2-part story we’ve seen. The Fantastic Four took two issues to defeat Dr. Doom in Fantastic Four #16–17. But as one encounter was in the Micro-World alongside Ant-Man, and the other was not, it could be argued those were two different stories, the main plot of issue 16 being resolved. Here, issue 50 clearly ended with a note the story was to be continued. Nothing was resolved. So that makes this something of a milestone within our reading.

They presumably mean his worst defeat since becoming Giant-Man. As Ant-Man, he was defeated by a vacuum.

Tales to Astonish #50

The Human Top!

Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp
Release: September 3, 1963
Cover: December 1963
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee
Illustrated by: Jack Kirby
Rendered by: Steve Ditko
23 pages

Kirby and Ditko is a rare and special combination. I think this is now the 4th time we’ve seen the combo.

Giant-Man gets a costume change, though less dramatic than the Iron Man one we just saw. Since he’s no longer Ant-Man, the ant logo is vestigial. He thus drops it in favor of some vertical stripes that resembles suspenders.

We get a major new villain, Human Top. For many characters, it’s obvious who their arch-nemesis is. Thor has Loki, the X-Men, Magneto. For Dr. Pym, it’s less clear. I had suggested it was Egghead, but a friend argued it was the Human Top. Both are contenders.

We learn Dave Cannon was born with super speed and the ability to whirl really fast like a top. This makes him a mutant as Professor X explained the term. Though this comic does not use that word.