Tales to Astonish #37 - First Appearance of Protector, Printings and Contents

Identification plate

Series: Tales to Astonish (Marvel, 1959 series)
Issue: #37
Publication date: November 1962
Key date: November 1962
On-sale date: August 2, 1962
Indicia publisher: Vista Publications Inc.
Price: $0.12
Pages: 36
Rating: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

Match the book in your hand against this plate before paying an edition-specific price.

Why this issue matters

First appearance (cover) of Protector - the earliest appearance on record is a cover, not an interior story.

First appearance (cover) of Gerald Marsh - the earliest appearance on record is a cover, not an interior story.

The evidence

Claims here come from the story records for this issue, listed under Sources at the bottom of the file. Character hubs with full evidence tables are coming to this site.

Seq	Story	Type	Pages	Credits	Characters
0	The Unknown Protector!!	cover	1	script: Stan Lee; pencils: Jack Kirby; inks: Dick Ayers; colors: Stan Goldberg; letters: Artie Simek	Ant-Man, Gerald Marsh First, Protector First, Hank Pym
1	Trapped by the Protecter! [Part 1]	comic story	5	script: Stan Lee, Larry Lieber; pencils: Jack Kirby; inks: Dick Ayers; colors: Stan Goldberg; letters: Artie Simek	Ant-Man, Gerald Marsh First, Protector First, Hank Pym
2	The Magician	text story	2	letters: typeset	Howard; Uncle Bart
3	[Trapped by the Protecter!] Part 2 Face-to-Face With the Protector!	comic story	8	script: Stan Lee, Larry Lieber; pencils: Jack Kirby; inks: Dick Ayers; colors: Stan Goldberg; letters: Jon D'Agostino	Ant-Man, Gerald Marsh First, Protector First, Hank Pym
4	Afraid to Dream!	comic story	5	script: Stan Lee, Larry Lieber; pencils: Don Heck; inks: Don Heck; colors: Stan Goldberg; letters: Jon D'Agostino	Harry Fiske
5	The Star Raiders	comic story	5	script: Stan Lee; pencils: Steve Ditko; inks: Steve Ditko; colors: Stan Goldberg; letters: Artie Simek	Brock; Zenogg

Printings and variants

Edition	How to tell
British	price 9d [0-0-9 GBP]

Where to read it

Collection	Year
Marvel Collectors' Item Classics #2	1966	On eBay ›
Essential Ant-Man #1 ISBN 0-7851-0822-X	2002	On eBay ›
Marvel Masterworks: Ant-Man / Giant-Man #1 ISBN 0-7851-2049-1	2006	On eBay ›

Reading the story costs a fraction of owning the issue. Both routes are on every file.

Before you buy

Check spine ticks and cover gloss in the photos; silver-age Marvels chip at the edges easily.
Look for tanning at the page edges and transfer stains on the inside covers.
Confirm the cover price against the plate; higher prices can mean a later or foreign printing.

Series context

‹ #3637 of 101#38 ›

Sources

Grand Comics Database, issue record (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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