Marvel Masterworks: Ant-Man Giant-Man - Volume 1 (Ant-Man/Giant-Man) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The Ant-Man/Giant-Man Marvel Masterworks volumes are definitely worth looking into.I always liked and thought that the Ant-Man/Giant-Man was an underrated comic book character.

For a long time I had wished that Marvel would revamp the original Ant-Man and return him in a full series and as a member of teh New Avengers.

You can, however, read the original stories of the Ant-Man who later becomes Giant-Man in these wonderful volumes.

The original Ant-Man/Giant-Man appeared in Marvel Comics' title "Tales to Astonish," in the early 1960'swhich originally began as a sic-fi/monster/fantasy comic book featuring various such stories in each issue.

Doctor Henry Pym (The Ant-Man) originaly appeared in one of these stories.Dr. Pym creates a formula to shrink things and has also created a restorative formula.He is shrunk to ant size and finds himself trapped in an ant hill.He befriends an ant who helps him out of the ant hill and bck to his lab where Dr. Pym is able to use the restorative formula to return to his normal size.It ends with Dr. pym dumping his shrinking formula down teh drain thinking it too dangerous for mankind to use.

However, a few issues later Dr. Pym returns with a change of heart.He has gone on to improve on his formula and makes it into a gas for along with the formula to enlarge him back to normal size again.They are contained in two canisters attached to abelt to a new suit he had developed to protect him from ant bites along with a cybernetic helmet that allows him to communicate with ants.

Soon Dr. Pym as the Ant-Man along with his fellow ants are fighting crime.

In later issues, the Ant-Man is given a lovely female partner, wealthy debutante Janet Van Dyne, who becomes the Wasp using Dr. Pym's formula along with Dr. Pym grafting wsp like wings on her back that become visible and enable her to fly when she is insect size.Along with that she is also given a cybernetic helmet to communicate with insects and stinger braclets to sting opponents with.

Ant-Man and the Wasp go on to become the original founding members of he Avengers.Around this time, Dr. Pym has worked on a growth formula that allows him to grow to the size of a giant.Thus Ant-Man becomes Giant-Man.By turning his growth and shrinking formula into pills, he is able to shrink to ant size and grow to a giant upon swalling the pills..

"Tales to Astonish" later was turned into a double-feature comic book.It featured stories of "Giant-Man" and stories of "The Incredible Hulk."The Hulk is introduced into the pages of "Tales to Astonish" in a story in which Giant-Man and the Wasp are pitted against the Incredible Hulk.

Unfortunately Giant-Man ran in "Tales to Astonish" just a while longer ending with Gioant-Man getting a new costume with a new helmet that also allowed him to grow and shrink.Giant-Man only appear in this new costume for the last three issues of teh series run in "Tales to Astonish," and was then cancelled by replaced by a new "Sub-Mariner" series.

They did return later on in the pages of the Avengers, but never regained a regular running comic book series again.

The first set of original Ant-Man stories were written by Stan Lee and drwan by Jack Kirby.

Again, I say that these volumes are well worth looking into.

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Grasshopper and the Ant by Harvey Kurtzman Review

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(More customer reviews)This is one of the few comics that Harvey Kurtzman both wrote and drew.It was done in 1960, after HUMBUG had folded, and before Kurtzman did HELP for Warren.He was on his own, had just done JUNGLE BOOK for Ballentine, and was working for Esquire magazine, doing ink and watercolor comics.

"The Grasshopper and the Ant" was created when his brush technique was in top form, and the art in this volume is striking.This book is the only reprint of this work, and the reproduction is gorgeous, done from the original art, at it's original, digest, size.The colors are vibrant, and each page of the story is given a leaf in the book, there is nothing printed on the backs of leaves.The ink is palpably thick on each page.The paper is a heavy, white bond.The spine is stitched.The book is built to last and enjoy for years.

The story is prime Kurtzman satire - it is listed on this page as for "young adult" tho I can hardly imagine a young adult enjoying it.Kurtzman uses the trappings of the Aesop's fable to tell a story about the existential choices in life, and how those choices intertwine with fate.I can't imagine a young adult being able to relate to those sort of choices, being too young, and being turned off at what seems like a "children's book."

In the story, the Grasshopper is a hipster, who lives life for the moment, and the Ant is a workholic who values security for the future.The Grasshopper becomes more convinced, as the story progresses, that he must live for the moment, as he watches friends suffer at the hands of predators.How can we live for tomorrow, when we may be gone today.But the Ant continues his work - while the Grasshopper rants philosophically, the Ant is storing away food for leaner times.

This story is parable with echoes from Kurtzman's own life, as Denis Kitchen illustrates in his excellent introduction.Kurtzman was married, with four kids, working in a business that only paid by the page of finished work.He also was the hippest cartoonist of his time period, a frequent visitor at the Playboy mansion, who hobnobbed with jazz musicians and models. His dark, but comic, look at the two sides of this equation, the need to enjoy life, and the need for security, is and hardhitting.The art is vintage Kurtzman, with that gorgeous thick line, exaggerated facial expressions, kinetic - at times frentic - energy, and oddly alluring women.He gives each season of the year it's own color palette with the watercolor wash.It is a visual delight, as well as a powerfully written book.I highly recommend this forgotten gem.It was originally priced at twenty-five bucks, and even tho it is a thin book, the book itself is so well produced, that it is a work of art as well.

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Product Description:
Kurtzman ---the creator of MAD--- delivers a bittersweet "beatnik" version of the venerable Æsop fable in exquisite full color. Created without collaborators in 1960, at the peak of his powers, this is the 1st book printing of the lost Kurtzman classic. Selected as "One of the Best 100 Graphic Novels" in Steve WeinerÂÂ's book of the same name, and nominated for a Harvey Award. 10" square hardcover with dust jacket. Shrink-wrapped. Introduction by Denis Kitchen.

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