''Tales to Astonish'' is the name of two American

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

series and a one-shot comic published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in ...

. The primary title bearing that name was published from January 1959 to March 1968. It began as a science-fiction anthology that served as a showcase for such artists as Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, then featured

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

es during the period fans and historians call the

Silver Age of Comic Books The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an in ...

. It became '' The Incredible Hulk'' with issue No. 102 (April 1968). Its sister title was '' Tales of Suspense''. A second Marvel comic bearing the name, reprinting stories of the undersea ruler the Sub-Mariner, ran 14 issues from December 1979 to January 1981. A

one-shot followed in 1994.

Publication history

Science-fiction anthology

''Tales to Astonish'' and its sister publication ''Tales of Suspense'' were both launched with a January 1959 cover date. The early run of the first volume of ''Tales to Astonish'' ran from issues #1–34 (January 1959 – August 1962), initially under

Atlas Comics Atlas Comics may refer to * Atlas Comics (1950s) Atlas Comics is the 1950s comic-book publishing label that evolved into Marvel Comics. Magazine and paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman, whose business strategy involved having a multitud ...

, the 1950s forerunner of Marvel; it fell under the Marvel banner with issue No. 21 (July 1961), the first with a cover sporting the early "MC" box. It contained science-fiction mystery/suspense stories written primarily by editor-in-chief

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

and his brother, Larry Lieber, with artists including Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Dick Ayers, Don Heck and Paul Reinman. One such story, "The Man in the Ant Hill", in No. 27 (January 1962), introduced the character Henry Pym, who would be repurposed eight issues later as the superhero Ant-Man. Anthological stories continued to appear as backups until ''Tales to Astonish'' became a superhero "split book" in 1964, when it began featuring one story each of Giant-Man and the

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...

Ant-Man and Giant-Man

Following his one-shot anthological story in No. 27 (January 1962), scientist Henry Pym returned donning a cybernetic helmet and red costume, and using size-changing technology to debut as the insect-sized hero Ant-Man in No. 35 (September 1962). The series was plotted by Lee and scripted by Lieber, with penciling first by Kirby and later by Heck and others. The

Wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...

was introduced as Ant-Man's costar in issue No. 44 (June 1963). Ant-Man and Pym's subsequent iteration, Giant-Man, introduced in No. 49 (November 1963), starred in 10- to 13-page and later 18-page adventures, with the rest of ''Tales to Astonish'' devoted to the anthological science fiction and fantasy stories the comic normally ran. Aside from Lee and Lieber, occasional writers included

Ernie Hart Ernest Huntley Hart
at the

, under the pseudonym H. E. Huntley,

Leon Lazarus Leon Lazarus (August 22, 1919 – November 28, 2008)Social Security Death Index
record ...

(#64, February 1965) and

Al Hartley Henry Allan Hartley (October 25, 1921 – May 27, 2003)Henry A. Hartley
at the United States

Golden Age of comic books,

Carl Burgos Carl Burgos (; born Max Finkelstein ; April 18, 1916 – March 1, 1984) Note: Gives only month and year of death. was an American comic book and advertising artist best known for creating the original Human Torch in ''Marvel Comics'' #1 (Oct. 1 ...

and Bob Powell. The backup feature "Tales of the Wasp" (#51–56) used the superheroine as a framing device for anthological science-fiction stories, having her relate tales to hospitalized servicemen and the like. The Wasp also starred in two subsequent solo backup stories. All were scripted and penciled by Lieber.

Hulk and Sub-Mariner

The Hulk, whose original series '' The Incredible Hulk'' had been canceled after a six-issue run in 1962–63, returned to star in his own feature when ''Tales to Astonish'' became a split book at issue No. 60 (October 1964), after having guest-starred as Giant-Man's antagonist in a full-length story the previous issue. The Hulk had proven a popular guest-star in three issues of '' Fantastic Four'' and an issue of ''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bimonthly per ...

''. His new stories here were initially scripted by Lee and illustrated by the seldom-seen team of penciler Steve Ditko and inker George Roussos. This early part of the Hulk's run introduced the

Leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets v ...

, who would become the Hulk's nemesis, and this run additionally made the Hulk's identity known, initially only to the military and then later publicly. The Abomination first appeared in ''Tales to Astonish'' No. 90, and is introduced as a KGB agent and spy. Stan Lee chose the name "the Abomination," which he realized belonged to no other character, before conceiving the character's background and appearance. Lee recalled that he simply told artist Gil Kane to "make him bigger and stronger than the Hulk and we'll have a lot of fun with him." Namor the Sub-Mariner received his first feature in a decade beginning with No. 70 (August 1965). The Golden Age character Byrrah was reintroduced in issue No. 90 (April 1967). After the final issue of ''Tales to Astonish'' (which became the solo magazine ''The Incredible Hulk'' with issue No. 102, April 1968), the Sub-Mariner co-starred in the split-book one-shot ''

Iron Man and Sub-Mariner ''Iron Man and Sub-Mariner'' is a one-shot comic book published by Marvel Comics in 1968. It is notable for being the first Marvel title to be intentionally published for only one issue, as it existed to use up two half-length stories left over a ...

'' No. 1 before going on to his own 72-issue series.

Revivals

A second volume of ''Tales to Astonish'', using the cover logo ''Tales to Astonish starring the Sub-Mariner'', ran 14 issues (December 1979 – January 1981), reprinting edited versions of ''Sub-Mariner'' #1–14 (May 1968 – June 1969). All but the last issue ran 18-page versions of the originally 20-page stories, with panels and text reworked to condense the plot. That last issue also included three Sub-Mariner pinups, one by character creator Bill Everett, reprinted from '' Marvel Mystery Comics'' No. 9 (July 1940); one by penciler Jack Kirby and inker Sol Brodsky, reprinted from '' Fantastic Four'' No. 33 (December 1964); and a new one by artist Alan Weiss. Covers repurposed the original art, with the premiere issue's image flipped 180 degrees. ''Tales to Astonish'' vol. 3 No. 1 (December 1994) was a 72-page

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'' (2 ...

special starring the Hulk, the Sub-Mariner, Ant-Man, and the Wasp in the story "Loki's Dream" by writer

Peter David Peter Allen David (born September 23, 1956), often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films and video games.Buxton, Marc (March 29, 2014)"From 'Future Imperfect' to '2099': Peter David's Greatest Hits" Co ...

, with painted art by John Estes.

Collected editions

*''

Marvel Masterworks ''Marvel Masterworks'' is an American collection of hardcover and trade paperback comic book reprints published by Marvel Comics, with the main goal of republishing classic ''Marvel Comics'' storylines in a hardcover, premium edition, often with ...

: Atlas Era Tales to Astonish'' ** Vol. 1 collects ''Tales to Astonish'' #1–10, 272 pages, January 2006, ** Vol. 2 collects ''Tales to Astonish'' #11–20, 272 pages, March 2008, ** Vol. 3 collects ''Tales to Astonish'' #21–30, 272 pages, March 2010, ** Vol. 4 collects ''Tales to Astonish'' #31–34, and material from #35–51 and No. 54, 304 pages, March 2010, *''Marvel Masterworks: Ant-Man/Giant-Man'' ** Vol. 1 collects Henry Pym story in ''Tales to Astonish'' #27 and Ant-Man/Giant-Man feature in #35–52, 288 pages, March 2006 ** Vol. 2 collects Giant-Man feature in ''Tales to Astonish'' #53–69, 304 pages, February 2008, *'' Essential Astonishing Ant-Man'' Henry Pym story in ''Tales to Astonish'' No. 27 and Ant-Man/Giant-Man feature in #35–69, 576 pages, February 2002, * '' The Superhero Women: Featuring the Fabulous Females of Marvel Comics'' includes Ant-Man and the Wasp story from ''Tales to Astonish'' No. 44, 254 pages, November 1977,

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publi ...

, *''Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk ** Vol. 2 collects Giant-Man feature in ''Tales to Astonish'' #59 and Hulk feature in #60–79, 266 pages, December 2004, ** Vol. 3 collects Hulk feature in ''Tales to Astonish'' #80–101, 288 pages, January 2006, *''Essential Incredible Hulk'' ** Vol. 1 includes Hulk feature in ''Tales to Astonish'' #60–91, 528 pages, February 1999, ** Vol. 2 includes Hulk feature in ''Tales to Astonish'' #92–101, 520 pages, September 2001, * ''The Incredible Hulk'' includes Hulk stories from ''Tales to Astonish'' #60–74 and No. 88, 253 pages, July 1978, Simon & Schuster, * ''Bring on the Bad Guys: Origins of the Marvel Comics Villains'' includes Hulk stories from ''Tales to Astonish'' #90–91, 253 pages, October 1976, Simon & Schuster, *''Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner'' ** Vol. 1 collects Sub-Mariner feature in ''Tales to Astonish'' #70–87, 224 pages, May 2002, ** Vol. 2 collects Sub-Mariner feature in ''Tales to Astonish'' #88–101, 240 pages, June 2007, *''Essential Sub-Mariner'' Vol. 1 includes Sub-Mariner feature in ''Tales to Astonish'' #70–101, 504 pages, September 2009, * ''Marvel's Greatest Superhero Battles'' includes Sub-Mariner story from ''Tales to Astonish'' No. 82, 253 pages, November 1978, Simon & Schuster,

In other media

In the 2015 film '' Ant-Man'', after showing archival footage of Hank Pym/Ant-Man in action, Darren Cross jokes that the whole idea sounds like "tales to astonish."

References

External links

''Tales to Astonish''
an

at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tales To Astonish 1959 comics debuts 1968 comics endings 1979 comics debuts 1981 comics endings Atlas Comics titles Comics anthologies Comics by Archie Goodwin (comics) Comics by Jack Kirby Comics by Peter David Comics by Roy Thomas Comics by Stan Lee Comics by Steve Ditko Defunct American comics Fantasy comics Hulk (comics) titles Marvel Comics one-shots Science fiction comics