BHOC: MARVEL PREMIERE #47

Now I know that I picked this issue of MARVEL PREMIERE up in a candy store in a distant strip mall that my parents had gone to for some shopping reason. My regular 7-11 didn’t seem to carry issues of MARVEL PREMIERE–they had quietly stopped getting all sorts of books, including double-sized issues such as Annuals and pretty much any newly-launched series such as SHADE: THE CHANGING MAN. It was a reflection of the fact that by the late 1970s, comic books as a category weren’t bringing in enough consistent revenue to be worried about. Once video game cabinets hit in a big way a year or so later, many outlets replaced their spinner racks with Space Invaders machines which brought in a lot more money for the same space.

There was something slightly mysterious and intriguing about Ant-Man when I began reading Marvel comics in the late 1970s. He had clearly been one of the founding characters, but over the years he had undergone tremendous changes of identity. Then, and for some time, he was Yellowjacket, doing pretty much all the stuff that his Ant-Man persona could do, plus more. I’d read one or two old Ant-Man stories by this point, and they weren’t especially memorable though they were entertaining. But Hank Pym’s star turn in the Ant-Man identity in AVENGERS #161 in which he single-handedly takes on the entire Avengers roster was still relatively fresh in mind. And so a spotlight on Ant-Man seemed like a cool proposition. And indeed it was.

And I think the reason is that the new Ant-Man had a lot more personality to him. The creation mainly of writer David Michelinie, Scott Lang is an electronics whiz who served a stint in jail for some earlier crimes but who is trying to walk the straight and narrow. And the reason for that is that he’s also the single parent to a young daughter, Cassie. But when it turns out that Cassie has a heart defect that requires her to undergo costly specialist surgery to survive, Scott is forced to turn back to his prior smash-and-grab career in order to pay for her treatments. But when he inadvertently burgles the home of Hank Pym, he comes away not with money or treasures but rather Hank’s discarded Ant-Man gear, including its supply of size-changing gas and the helmet that allows the wearer to communicate and command ants. All of this is a lot more interesting motivation and behavior than hank Pym ever had in the role.

The other big draw here is that this issue just looks great. It was penciled by John Byrne, who had a real affection for the original Ant-man, whose adventures he had read as a kid. Byrne was always expert in making any Jack Kirby design look attractive and modern, and he does that here with the Ant-Man outfit. He’s aided by Michelinie’s IRON MAN collaborator Bob Layton, who provides a slick finish similar to what he was doing over on Shell-Head. Byrne has gone on record as not really liking Layton’s inks–in one memorable interview that hasn’t aged well, he complained that Layton made all of the characters “look gay.” Regardless of his feelings, I found it an attractive combination on this Ant-Man feature.

It turns out that the only person who can save young Cassie’s life is a top neurosurgeon, Dr. Sondheim. Scott Lang goes to seek out her assistance, but arrives to see her being hustled off by men working for Cross Technologies. Unable to prevent this in his civilian guise, Scott returns later as Ant-Man, intent on invading the premises, locating Dr. Sondheim and then getting her to save his daughter’s life. This is very much of a piece with the sort of real-world espionage vibe that Michelinie and Layton were giving to Iron Man at around the same time–Lang would wind up becoming a popular recurring character in that series after this two-part tryout–and so it felt contemporary and grounded and exciting.

Byrne and Layton do a really great job with the visual storytelling throughout this sequence, spotlighting Ant-Man’s tiny size and putting his size-changing abilities to good visual use as he works his way past layers of security. Byrne was doing a lot of work during this time, more than two books a month in most cases, but his storytelling work was always spot-on, and his plotting chops were also excellent. He made a lot of stories play better due to how he executed them and what details and emphasis he provided. Even more than the attractiveness of his pages, it was this storytelling strength that made him such a force for Marvel at this time.

By the end of the issue, Ant-Man has made his way to Dr. Sondheim, who is preparing to operate on a mysterious patient. Scott lays out his sales pitch to the Doctor, but before she can agree to go with him, Ant-Man’s attention is distracted by a voice from behind him. And then, in the final double-page spread that closes out the issue, he is challenged by Darren Cross, the wealthy head of Cross Technologies and also Dr. Sondheim’s patient. He’s got an enormous hulklike body, which doesn’t spell an easy fight for poor ol’ Ant-Man. But that’s where this issue is To Be Continued. I have to say, I really liked this outing and hoped that I’d be able to locate the second part when it eventually dropped. (Spoiler warning: I did.)