<Tr> <Th> Pages </Th> <Td> 59 pp . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Followed by </Th> <Td> The Iron Woman </Td> </Tr> <P> The Iron Man: A Children's Story in Five Nights is a 1968 science fiction novel by British Poet Laureate Ted Hughes, first published by Faber and Faber in the UK with illustrations by George Adamson . Described by some as a modern fairy tale, it describes the unexpected arrival in England of a giant "metal man" of unknown origin who rains destruction on the countryside by attacking industrial farm equipment, before befriending a small boy and defending the world from a monster from outer space . Expanding the narrative beyond a criticism of warfare and inter-human conflict, Hughes later wrote a sequel, The Iron Woman (1993), describing retribution based on environmental themes related to pollution . </P> <P> The first North American edition was also published in 1968, by Harper & Row with illustrations by Robert Nadler . Its main title was changed to The Iron Giant, and internal mentions of the metal man changed to iron giant, to avoid confusion with the Marvel Comics character Iron Man . American editions have continued the practice inasmuch as Iron Man has become a multimedia franchise . </P>

When did ted hughes wrote the iron man