FemForce #30
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeFemForce #30 (1990) is the first appearance of Garganta — Dr. Carol Heisler, the 50-foot giantess who would grow into one of AC Comics' most enduring and distinctive original characters. Her debut as a V-47-formula accident victim who transforms from an elderly scientist into a rampaging giantess gave the series its most iconic post-launch creation and effectively launched AC's long-running fascination with giantess storytelling as a genre strand in their own right. The issue simultaneously advances the multi-part 'Vault of Heroes' saga, assembling an extraordinary parade of public domain Golden Age heroes — from Airmale and Stampy to The Black Owl, Iron Jaw, and Cave Girl — within a single narrative climax, making it one of the most densely populated issues in the series' history. That the first appearance of a character who would eventually headline her own comic, a spin-off backup feature, and multiple live-action DVD productions appeared in the pages of an independent black-and-white anthology speaks to the creative ambition AC Comics consistently brought to its modest production environment.
In "Up from the Ashes Rises... ..Death!", the Black Shroud's assault on Dr. Weir's high-tech asylum unleashes three dangerous prisoners—Iron Jaw, Mirror Man, and The Monster—setting off a deadly chain reaction. With Airmale and Stampy already fallen, the FemForce faces a brutal new threat as the city teeters on chaos. Written and illustrated by Bill Black, with inks by Mark Heike and letters by Walt Paisley, the cover by Will Meugniot and Mark Heike captures the rising dread.
In "Up from the Ashes Rises... ..Death!", the Black Shroud’s assault on Dr. Weir’s high-tech asylum unleashes three dangerous inmates—Iron Jaw, Mirror Man, and The Monster—setting off a violent chain reaction. With Airmale and Stampy already fallen, the city braces for the chaos these newly freed villains bring.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
AC Comics — founded by Bill Black as Paragon Publications in 1969 and operating under the AC Comics banner since 1984 — launched FemForce in 1985 as what it billed as the first ongoing all-female superhero team book in the American market. By issue #30, published in July 1990, the series had already established its trademark formula of original continuing stories interwoven with reprinted Golden Age material from public domain sources. The Garganta origin story within this issue was written and drawn by Richard 'The Count' Rome and inked by Mark Propst, working alongside publisher and series mainstay Bill Black (who handled the Vault of Heroes lead story, inked by Mark Heike); the color cover was painted by Will Meugniot and Mark Heike, a rare full-color presentation for a series whose interiors ran in black and white with gray tones.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Garganta (Dr. Carol Heisler), AC Comics' 50-foot giantess character, in the story 'Garganta, The 50 Foot Woman!' — written and drawn by Richard 'The Count' Rome, inked by Mark Propst.
- Garganta's origin: elderly biochemist Dr. Carol Heisler volunteers as a U.S. government test subject for the V-47 formula (the same serum powering Ms. Victory), and involuntarily transforms into a giant, uncontrollable engine of destruction.
- The lead story, 'Up From The Ashes Rises…Death!', is written and drawn by Bill Black with inks by Mark Heike, and features an extensive guest cast of Vault of Heroes characters including The Purple Claw, Miss Masque, Yankee Girl, American Crusader, Crimebuster, Captain Flash, The Black Owl, Iron Jaw, Cave Girl, and The Kitten — and includes the in-story deaths of Airmale and Stampy.
- The issue includes a Golden Age reprint: Camilla, illustrated by Ralph Mayo, reprinted from Fiction House's Jungle Comics #151 — part of AC's ongoing mission to preserve public domain Golden Age material.
- A Will Meugniot Nightveil centerspread is featured as an interior bonus.
- The color cover was produced by Will Meugniot and Mark Heike; the interiors are black and white with gray tones, standard for FemForce at this period.
- Garganta debuted as a villain but proved popular enough to return in FemForce #32, eventually transitioning to an auxiliary team member and headlining her own 2001 solo book, Garganta's Thrilling Science, and multiple AC-produced live-action DVD films beginning in 2006.
- The issue sits within FemForce's multi-issue 'Vault of Heroes' / Black Shroud story arc, which drew on dozens of public domain Golden Age heroes from defunct publishers such as Holyoke, Sterling, and Harry 'A' Chesler.
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↩ Reprints Jungle Comics #151 (1952)
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