ANT-MAN 31
Comics’ Vertigo imprint also published two four-issue miniseries between 2006–8,
using artists new to Pekar such as Rick Geary, Gilbert Hernandez, Eddie Campbell ,
and Richard Corben.
See also: Memoir/Slice-of-Life Th emes; Underground and Adult Comics
Michael G. Rhode
ANIMALS. See Funny Animal Comics
ANT-MAN. Th e name “Ant-Man” applies to various Marvel characters. Th e fi rst was
Dr. Henry Pym, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for a story titled “Th e Man in
the Ant Hill,” and published in Tales to Astonish #27, cover-dated September, 1962.
Initially meant to be a one-time science-fi ction character, Pym returns as a superhero
in issue #35, now calling himself Ant-Man. In issue #44, Janet van Dyne, Pym’s lab
assistant, is introduced; Pym shares his “shrinking formula” with her, and she becomes
his sidekick, Th e Wasp. In Tales to Astonish #49, Pym—now a member of the newly
formed Avengers —fi nds a formula for growing, as well, and Ant-Man becomes
Giant-Man. (Th e Wasp remains Th e Wasp.)
Th e name change, a fi rst major hint of what later writers spun off into an identity
crisis of gigantic proportions, is only the fi rst of many. Th e “Giant-Man” feature in Ta l e s
to Astonish ended with issue #69 in 1965, but Pym and Th e Wasp continued to appear
in Ave nge rs. In issue #28 of that series, published in 1966, Pym becomes Goliath. In
issues #59 and #60, writer Roy Th omas and artist John Buscema let him experience
his fi rst major breakdown: Pym suddenly believes himself to be a new superhero called
Yellowjacket, complete with a new costume, who has “killed” Goliath and now wants
to marry Th e Wasp. Pym eventually fi nds his marbles again, the marriage sticks, and
so does Pym’s new superhero identity. All seemed to be well again, give or take a few
disturbing warning signs—until 1981, when writer Jim Shooter fi rmly cemented Pym’s
status quo as an uneasy superhero with an inferiority complex who would rather stay in
his lab. In Ave nge rs #213, Pym, increasingly overwhelmed by his duties as an Avenger,
hits his wife during an argument. He is subsequently expelled by the Avengers and
divorced by van Dyne. Ever since, virtually all major storylines involving the character
have circled around the same issues: his mental instability, his ever-changing costumed
identities, and his relationship with Janet. Currently, Pym appears regularly in Mighty
Ave nge rs , now calling himself Th e Wasp to honor his ex-wife, who dies at the end of
the 2008 miniseries Secret Invasion.
Like most of Pym’s identities, the “Ant-Man” moniker has been used by other
Marvel characters. In 1979, David Michelinie and John Byrne introduced Scott Lang,
a reformed crook and electronics expert who steals Pym’s costume and technology to
help his daughter. Once she is safe, Lang keeps the equipment and becomes a superhero,
with Pym’s blessing. After a career of ups and downs, he joins Th e Avengers, but dies
shortly after.
