The Ninth Wonder Of The World!

Tales to Astonish is a venerable comic from Marvel which went on to feature Ant-Man who became Giant-Man and later gave a nest to the Hulk, and then to the Sub-Mariner. Later still the numbering of TtA was taken over by the Hulk and the series continued under that title for decades.

But it all began with giant monsters.

Tales to Astonish #1 has a cover announcing the coming of "The Ninth Wonder of the World", and shows giant gates opening as the massive bolt that holds them shut splinters. Natives and explorers shudder in front of what is coming through those gates and some run away.


It's a scene obviously intended to evoke the magnificent movie King Kong where Kong pursues Bruce Cabot and Fay Wray from the top of Skull Mountain and crashes through the gates which have held him at bay for years. It's also what brings about his ruin, but that's another story.


Years later Marvel reprinted the story in Weird Wonder Tales #4, but they altered the image of the "Ninth Wonder", making it more obviously aggressive and I guess more immediately menacing.

Why did they need to up the ante on terror. The first cover was apparently unusually subtle, as subtle I guess as a giant monster comic book cover can be. But what is all the running and terror about. What is the "Ninth Wonder" so skillfully hidden on both covers.

Yep. That's right, it's a turtle. A giant turtle, and based on this one page from the story not a terribly fearsome one. Just a turtle that is really really big.

Ah well. To my knowledge there has never been a sequel to this epic, this story that launched the venerable Tales to Astonish. But who really can be sad about that.


Oh I guess he might be.

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