Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp Release: April 2, 1964 Cover: July 1964 12 cents Brilliantly written by good ol’ Stan Lee Bashfully drawn by loveable ol’ Dick Ayers Boldly inked by faithful ol’ Paul Reinman Bravely lettered by fearless ol’ S. Rosen 16 pages
We’re throwing two issues of Tales to Astonish together because the Avengers’ series only leaves so much space for Giant-Man/Wasp adventures and because Wasp’s hairdo is difficult to reconcile with Avengers continuity.
Last issue, Hank was ready to propose. He’d even bought a ring. But then he got insecure and doubted that Wasp really loved him. By the end of the issue, he seemed more confident in Jan’s love. But I still don’t see a ring on her finger and there’s no mention of it this issue.
Wasp gets a new addition to her arsenal: a stinger. It’s a compressed air gun. She’d previously had a weapon she referred to as a stinger, but it was just a pin she held. In issue 46, they refer to it as though it’s a regular part of the arsenal. She’d picked up a pin the previous issue. In the backup story of this issue, which takes place before this story, she’ll also pick up a random pin and refer to it as her sting.
Featuring: Wasp Release: March 3, 1964 Cover: June 1964 12 cents Story plot: Stan Lee Script + art: Larry Lieber Inking: Paul Reinman 5 pages
Giant-Man is humiliated that Hulk is stronger than he. Humiliated. At some point we have to address that Hank has some pretty severe issues.
Wasp tells Hank a story of a far-off planet and three suitors competing for the hand of a princess guarded by the Bog Beast. The Bog Beast overcomes those who seem to be the most powerful suitors, but the peasant Lorenzo will win the princess’ hand.
Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp Release: March 3, 1964 Cover: June 1964 12 cents Written by: Stan Lee Drawn by: Dick Ayers 18 pages
The story leaves out the letterer credit for some reason. The GCD notes it’s Sam Rosen.
They spend a page detailing how Giant-Man’s ring transport method works. It really might be the dumbest thing in this series.
Giant-Man’s costume has been undergoing a gradual evolution. Ayers has been drawing him with these thick black suspenders, while everybody else has favorited light vertical stripes, as on the cover. They will eventually converge on the black suspenders look. Ayers adjusts them slightly in this issue. They had always been vertical like suspenders on the front, but now Ayers has them in a V-shape, meeting at his belt. I’d like to use costumes as a clue for how these issues fit around the Avengers issues, but Giant-Man must be changing back and forth.
Wasp also gets a new look this issue. This is also unhelpful to chronology considerations as this look never shows up in the Avengers comic. She has a new hairdo and new headpiece to show it off. In Avengers #5, she appears to have her old hairdo and headpiece. By Avengers #6, she is wearing a whole new costume. It will be hard to reconcile.
The big news of this issue, besides Wasp’s new do, is that Hank has finally bought a ring, and intends to propose to Jan. She’s been wanting that basically since they met while he has always been too preoccupied with science and superheroing.
Featuring: Fantastic Four Release: February 11, 1964 Cover: May 1964 12 cents Unforgettably written in the grand manner by: Stan Lee Powerfully drawn in the heroic manner by: Jack Kirby Inked by: George Bell Lettered by: Art Simek 23 pages
Thing stands alone no longer.
The Avengers and Fantastic Four team up to battle the Hulk. If there’s a better issue that serves as a microcosm for what the Marvel Universe is all about, I don’t know what it is.
I think this is perhaps the best comic cover we have yet come across. It’s very atypical of the Kirby covers in a number of ways. Likely stemming from having to cram an atypical number of characters in. But we see the full figure of each character, each taking up a small amount of cover real estate. He usually likes characters on his covers to be bigger. He also shows less concern about perspective than usual, since we see neither the floor nor any overlapping characters. He allows the action to be basically 2-dimensional and each character to be small, while overlapping none of the characters. He wants us to be able to see each character and their pose clearly. I’m reminded more than anything of posing action figures.
The whole of the scene with its 11 characters still fills a small amount of the cover. Kirby gives a lot of top real estate to word balloons. He could have zoomed in more if he wanted to. He didn’t. He wanted what is probably the widest cover shot we’ve seen yet.
This concludes a two-part Fantastic Four story, the best Fantastic Four story yet, but it’s also part of a bigger saga. It’s been building since Hulk quit the Avengers in Avengers #2, carried over into the Avengers’ battles with Hulk and Namor in Avengers #3and #4 and will have an epilogue in Avengers #5, where the Avengers have one last encounter with Hulk, at least for now.
Still, it doesn’t really end there. Events at the end of Avengers #5 lead directly into issue 6, which itself ties in with Sgt. Fury #8. And the Hulk’s story continues, with the toll these events have taken on him leading indirectly to his upcoming battles with Spider-Man and Giant-Man. These two issues are at the center of a giant interconnected web of stories, which revolve around Hulk being (justifiably) upset with how the world’s been treating him.
It’s all part of the long build-up to Hulk finally getting his solo adventures again. He was the first superhero of the new Marvel Age to have his title cancelled and will be the first to be revived.
Featuring: Fantastic Four Release: January 10, 1964 Cover: April 1964 12 cents Sensational story by: Stan Lee Astonishing art by: Jack Kirby Incredible inking by: G. Bell Lighthearted lettering by: S. Rosen 22 pages
I have no idea why it took us so long to get to something like this. It seems like such an obvious superhero story to me: a good old-fashioned slugfest. Take two very strong characters and just have them duke it out. Thing and Hulk are perfect for a brawl. They met before, but it wasn’t a brawl. There was a mystery and a Commie plot and all this stuff. This time, the rest of the team is quickly taken out of contention. And it’s up to Ben Grimm to hold his own against the Hulk.
Worth the wait.
We get some preamble. Hulk has returned to New Mexico with the Avengers in pursuit. Unbeknownst to them, he turned around suddenly and went to New York to find them. He read in the paper that Captain America had replaced him and thought Rick had betrayed him. He is off to finally destroy the Avengers. Of course, Rick never betrayed him. And the Avengers only replaced him because he quit.
Featuring: Avengers Release: January 3, 1964 Cover: March 1964 12 cents Gloriously written by: Stan Lee Grandly illustrated by: Jack Kirby Gallantly lettered by: Art Simek 23 pages
No inker is given in the credits for some reason. The GCD suggests the inker is George Roussos, who has been doing a lot of inking lately under the pseudonym George Bell. I don’t think we’ve yet seen a single comic where Kirby has done his own finishes. Probably because he’s drawing a half dozen comics each month.
There’s something that troubles me about these credits, and it’s the type of thing that makes Stan Lee a controversial character to this day. Look to the acknowledgement on this first page. Stan notes that Jack drew the original Captain America comics. That’s true and good to point out. But that massively understates Kirby’s contribution. Kirby and Simon created Captain America. The box should say. “Jack Kirby is one of the creators of Captain America.” Now, this may have been mere thoughtlessness on Stan’s part. Kirby used to draw Captain America and now is drawing him again; Stan used to write Captain America and now is writing him again. That may be the only point he wanted to make, and perhaps no other thoughts occurred to him. But the phrasing seems careful, and reflects the longtime legal stance of the many companies that have owned Marvel, that people don’t create characters, companies do. You can read an article from Brian Cronin on a piece Stan Lee had written in 1947 crediting publisher Martin Goodman with the idea for Captain America. The piece is basically fictional. Joe Simon came up with the character independently, and Kirby helped him flesh out the details. Stan’s failure to credit them for that goes back a long ways.
Featuring: Wasp Release: February 4, 1964 Cover: May 1964 12 cents Story plot: Stan Lee Script and art: Larry Lieber Inking: George Bell Lettering: Sherigail 5 pages
This is the first lettering we’ve seen attributed to “Sherigail”, a pseudonym for Morrie Kuramoto. The name is a combination of both his wife and daughter’s names.
I originally attributed the lettering to Ray Holloway. Thanks to Nel Yomtov for the correction.
I recognize that “gypsy” is an outdated and offensive word, but it’s in the title of the comic, and it’s how the comic describes the strange alien visitor.
Though the era of weird tales is ending, through the Wasp’s stories we get two more in this title.
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.
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.
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.
