Ant-Man First Appearance: Tales to Astonish #27 and #35

Ant-Man first appeared in Tales to Astonish #35, cover-dated September 1962, when scientist Hank Pym first wore the costume. Pym himself debuted eight months earlier in Tales to Astonish #27 (January 1962), as a scientist without a costume. Both were created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby (Wikipedia). PriceCharting calls #27 the first appearance of Henry Pym.

So the answer depends on the question. For the first Ant-Man in costume, it is #35. For the first appearance of the character who became Ant-Man, it is #27, and that is the more expensive book.

Scott Lang first appeared in The Avengers #181 (March 1979) and became Ant-Man in Marvel Premiere #47 (April 1979), created by David Michelinie, Bob Layton and John Byrne. He was an ex-convict and electronics expert who stole Pym's Ant-Man suit to rescue Dr. Erica Sondheim, the only doctor who could treat his seriously ill daughter Cassie. Once she was saved, Pym let him keep the suit on the condition that he use it for good (Wikipedia).

Scott Lang is the Ant-Man of the films, played by Paul Rudd, which is why many people searching today mean Marvel Premiere #47.

Hank Pym's Ant-Man is a founding Avenger. The team debuted in The Avengers #1 (cover-dated September 1963) with Iron Man, Ant-Man, Hulk, Thor and the Wasp. After they defeated Loki, Ant-Man suggested that the five form a team and the Wasp named it the Avengers (Wikipedia). Captain America joined in issue #4 (March 1964) and was given founding-member status.

PriceCharting values retrieved September 25, 2026:

• Tales to Astonish #27 (first Hank Pym): ungraded $2,064.03 (about six sales a year); graded 2.0 $1,674.38; 4.0 $2,677.91; 6.0 $5,959.50; 8.0 $17,690.00; 9.2 $37,708.31 (rare)
• Tales to Astonish #35 (first Ant-Man in costume): ungraded $236.81 (about one sale a week); 4.0 $522.50; 6.0 $976.00; 8.0 $3,782.00; 9.2 $18,344.00; 9.8 $36,405.90 (rare)
• The Avengers #181 (first Scott Lang): ungraded $22.00; 9.2 $80.74; 9.8 $291.50
• Marvel Premiere #47 (Scott Lang becomes Ant-Man): ungraded $43.50 (about one sale a day); 8.0 $88.87; 9.2 $112.00; 9.8 $562.25

Ungraded, the Hank Pym debut is worth about nine times the first costumed Ant-Man on the same date. Scott Lang's books trade often and stay under $600 even in 9.8, so they only justify grading for a clear 9.8 candidate.

Ant-Man's first film appearance is Ant-Man (2015), with Paul Rudd as Scott Lang. Rudd then played him in Captain America: Civil War (2016), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019) and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). So yes, the first Ant-Man film came out a year before Civil War.

Photograph the front cover straight on, then the indicia (the small print on the first page or inside cover with the title, issue number and date). ComicLens reads the title, issue number and cover from the photo, matches the likely issue with a confidence indicator you can correct by hand, and shows a reference price range that moves with the grade you pick. For Tales to Astonish #27 and #35, confirm the issue number and date in the indicia before comparing prices, because later reprints and collected editions reuse the same story. There are free scans every day; the range is a reference estimate, not an appraisal or an offer.

Research and drafting were assisted by AI and checked line by line against the sources listed on this page. Prices are the figures shown by the named source on the date given; they change with the market, and a grade that trades about once a year can move a lot on a single sale.