Script by Stan Lee – Pencils by Jack Kirby – Inks by Don Heck – Letters by Sam Rosen

Journey into Mystery #97 felt like a soft reboot for Thor.

Tales to Astonish #49 feels like the same thing happening to Ant-Man.

The first thing that’s new: Hank Pym is now Giant-Man.

Lee and Kirby return to the feature for the first time since issue #37, and they immediately make changes. Giant-Man appears on the very first page, and Hank no longer has to rely on his shrinking gas. Pym has developed capsules that let him change size whenever he needs to.

Now Hank can shrink down to the size of an ant, return to normal, grow to a few feet tall, and eventually reach his maximum height of twelve feet. For the first time, the comic establishes some actual rules around his powers.

And Giant-Man seems to enjoy those powers.

Hank is more confident, more reckless, and more willing to make jokes. He throws his weight around a little. There are moments where he almost sounds drunk on the feeling of being Giant-Man.

It’s interesting because much later, Marvel will establish that Hank’s mental state is affected by his transformations. I don’t want to read that back into this issue, because there’s no indication that’s what Lee is doing here. It may simply be a byproduct of what kind of dialogue Lee likes to give his superheroes.

But the difference is noticeable.

Jan had a playful, flirtatious relationship with Hank, but now that Lee is back scripting the book, it’s moved beyond rom-com banter. Janet declares her love for Hank several times while he remains mostly skeptical that someone as young as her would know what true love is.

That would be charming if it wasn’t for the fact that Hank is kind of a jerk to her.

He barks orders at her and treats her more like a sidekick and a nuisance than a partner.

This week’s villain is the Eraser, whose primary ability is exactly what it sounds like. He can literally erase people from existence.

It’s a great visual idea, but the story itself feels like something left over from Marvel’s earlier anthology days.

Even the plot feels like a repeat from an earlier issue. Interdimensional aliens from Dimension Z are kidnapping scientists because they need Earth’s atomic technology.

Apparently, a civilization advanced enough to travel between dimensions hasn’t figured out how to make an atomic bomb.

Hank is transported to Dimension Z. The Wasp comes along, the prisoners need rescuing, and eventually Hank has to figure out how to escape.

The plot is pretty disposable.

But Kirby makes the setting fun anyway.

We get a glimpse of Dimension Z’s civilization, with different ranks in the alien army, different uniforms, strange technology, hunter hounds, and machines that seem to get more elaborate every time Kirby turns the page.

Kirby and Heck have worked together before, and it’s a great combination. Kirby gets to fill the world with strange ideas while Heck gives the characters those polished, attractive faces he does so well.

And once Hank becomes Giant-Man, the entire feature suddenly looks and feels like a completely different book.

Even with another disposable interdimensional alien plot, Marvel is starting to feel less like the comics of the 1950s and more like something new.

And Marvel is learning how to change inside a universe that also relies on continuity.

Marvel in the 60s – Entry #87