Tales to Astonish #44

(June 1963)

The Creature from Kosmos! (Table of Contents: 1)

Ant-Man and the Wasp / comic story / 18 pages (report information)

Script

Stan Lee (credited) (plot); Ernie Hart (credited as H. E. Huntley) (script)

Pencils

Jack Kirby (credited)

Inks

Don Heck (credited)

Colors

?

Letters

Artie Simek (credited as Art Simek)

Job Number

X-192

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Throughout history there have been men who have become legends, men who have...

Genre

superhero

Characters

Ant-Man [Henry Pym] (also origin details in flashback); Creature from Kosmos [Pilai] (introduction, named in a later comic); Lee Kearns (voice only); Maria Pym (flashback, introduction); Doctor Vernon van Dyne (introduction, death); Wasp [Janet Van Dyne] (introduction, origin); Joe

Synopsis

When a fellow scientist is killed by an alien being, Ant-Man enlists the help of the dead man's daughter. He gives her the ability to shrink and tiny wasp wings, and she joins him as his partner the Wasp. The duo use the alien's acidic nature to destroy it, saving the city.

Reprints

• in Creepy Worlds (Alan Class, 1962 series) #68
• in Hit Comics (BSV - Williams, 1966 series) #146
• in Marvel Feature (Marvel, 1971 series) #8 (March 1973) [Panels 6-8 of page 2, pages 3-18]
which is reprinted
• in Etranges Aventures (Arédit-Artima, 1966 series) #60 (1er trimestre 1979) [N&B et recadré [B&W and reframed]]
• in Marvel Gold. El Hombre Hormiga: ¡El Hombre en el Hormiguero! (Panini España, 2015 series) (Junio 2015)
• in Marvel Masterworks: Ant-Man / Giant-Man (Marvel, 2006 series) #3 (2018)
• in Ant-Man / Giant-Man Epic Collection (Marvel, 2015 series) #2 - Ant-Man No More (2022)
• in The Superhero Women (Simon and Schuster, 1977 series) (1977)
• in Hulk Comic (Marvel UK, 1979 series) #20 (July 18 1979) [Extensively edited to bring the story length down to 4 pages. Prints pages 1-4; page 5, panels 1-5 & 7-8; pages 6-7; page 8, panels 1-2], #21 (July 25 1979) [Extensively edited to bring the story length down to 3.5 pages. Prints page 8, panels 3-7; page 9; page 10, panels 1 & 3-7; pages 11-13]
• in Miss Hulk (Arédit-Artima, 1980 series) #8 - Guérilla pour Miss Hulk (janvier 1983)
• in Strange Spécial Origines (Editions Lug, 1981 series) #178 (5 octobre 1984)
• in The Marvel Saga the Official History of the Marvel Universe (Marvel, 1985 series) #1 (December 1985)
which is reprinted
• in Marvel Saga (Semic, 1986 series) #1
• in Spider-Man Classic (Planeta DeAgostini, 1993 series) #13 (Febrero 1995) [Págs. 9-16], #14 (Abril 1995) [Págs. 25-32]
• in Essential Marvel Saga (Marvel, 2008 series) #1 (2008)
• in The Marvel Saga the Official History of the Marvel Universe (Marvel, 1985 series) #9 (August 1986) [excerpts]
which is reprinted
• in Marvel Saga (SatellitFörlaget, 1988 series) #9
• in Essential Marvel Saga (Marvel, 2008 series) #1 (2008)
• in Essential Ant-Man (Marvel, 2002 series) #1 (February 2002) [black and white]
• in Marvel Masterworks: Ant-Man / Giant-Man (Marvel, 2006 series) #1 ([March] 2006)
• in Secret Invasion: Requiem (Marvel, 2009 series) #1 ([January] 2009) [recolored]
• in Marvel Masterworks: Ant-Man / Giant-Man (Marvel, 2013 series) #1 ([December] 2013)
• in The Ultimate Graphic Novels Collection - Classic (Hachette Partworks, 2014 series) #1 - Marvel Origins: The 60s (January 2014)
• in Ant-Man / Giant-Man Epic Collection (Marvel, 2015 series) #1 - The Man in the Ant Hill (2015)
• in Die offizielle Marvel-Comic-Sammlung (Hachette [DE], 2013 series) #1 - Marvel Origins: Die Sechzigerjahre (März 2015)
• in Marvel Gold. El Hombre Hormiga: ¡El Hombre en el Hormiguero! (Panini España, 2015 series) (Junio 2015)
• in Marvel. Официальная коллекция комиксов (Ашет Коллекция [Hachette], 2014 series) #91 - Классика Marvel: 60-е Годы
• in True Believers: Kirby 100th - Ant-Man and the Wasp (Marvel, 2017 series) #1 (October 2017)
• in The Unstoppable Wasp (Marvel, 2017 series) #2 - Agents of G.I.R.L. (2018)
• in Ant-Man and the Wasp Adventures (Marvel, 2018 series) (2018)
• in Marvel Comics Digest (Archie, 2017 series) #7 (August 2018)
• in Wasp: Small Worlds (Marvel, 2023 series) (2023)

Keywords

Hungary

Indexer Notes

In addition to introducing the Wasp, this story fleshes out Henry Pym's background and introduces the death of his wife as a motivating factor.

Blueprint for Victory (Table of Contents: 2)

text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

?

Inks

?

Colors

?

Letters

typeset

Job Number

G-60

First Line of Dialogue or Text

The Rhine and its ruined bridges lay thirty miles behind and the roads were...

Genre

war

Characters

LtC. Cam Westover; Maj. Franks; Cpt. Bill Trayne; Gen. von Kretz

Synopsis

A cunning spy infiltrates German HQ with a phoney blueprint as bait and paralyzes communications before a major US assault.

Reprints

• from Marines in Battle (Marvel, 1954 series) #6 (June 1955)

Keywords

Klugenhorst; World War II

Indexer Notes

Text story with illustration.

Hunted (Table of Contents: 3)

comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

Stan Lee (credited)

Pencils

Steve Ditko (credited)

Inks

Steve Ditko (credited)

Colors

?

Letters

Terry Szenics (credited)

First Line of Dialogue or Text

The odds were impossible?

Genre

science fiction

Synopsis

In the year 2000 all of New York City is searching for a 'plague carrier' who is attempting to escape notice and flee the city. He is apprehended at a transportation center and the police remove the 'plague' from him which turns out to be a handgun he had stolen from a museum which officials had worried could back bring the plague of war.

Reprints

• in Amazing Stories of Suspense (Alan Class, 1963 series) #88
• in Sinister Tales (Alan Class, 1964 series) #20 (1965 ?)
• in Pow! and Wham! (IPC, 1968 series) #68 (4 May 1968)
• in Marvelserien (Williams Förlags AB, 1967 series) #39 (1970)
• in Hit Comics (BSV - Williams, 1966 series) #144
• in Le Motard Fantôme (Arédit-Artima, 1981 series) #2 (1er trimestre 1982)
• in Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Tales to Astonish (Marvel, 2006 series) #4 ([January] 2012), #4 ([January] 2012)
• in Marvel Masters of Suspense: Stan Lee & Steve Ditko Omnibus (Marvel, 2019 series) #2 (2019)

Keywords

New York