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DC Comics Presents (1978-1986) #27-28, 36, 43
Superman vs. Mongul
Superman battles the intergalactic conqueror known as Mongul in these tales from the late 1970s and early 1980s. Introduced as a physical challenge to the Man of Steel, Mongul appeared in stories that guest-starred Wonder Woman, Batman, Supergirl and others. This collection includes the classic tale "For the Man Who Has Everything," by the WATCHMEN team of writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons.
This volume collects DC COMICS PRESENTS #27-28, 36 and 43 and SUPERMAN ANNUAL #11.
This volume collects DC COMICS PRESENTS #27-28, 36 and 43 and SUPERMAN ANNUAL #11.
144 pages, Paperback
First published December 24, 2013
11 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
Len Wein
1,587 books154 followersLen Wein was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men (including the co-creation of Nightcrawler, Storm, and Colossus). Additionally, he was the editor for writer Alan Moore and illustrator Dave Gibbons' influential DC miniseries Watchmen.
Wein was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2008.
Wein was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2008.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 9, 2015
I'm just not a fan of the old school ' Sunday newspaper comics' set up (though sometimes the newer stuff gets incredibly jumbled). It makes it hard to get into the story.
July 1, 2018
Mongul's first appearance came in the middle of a classic Len Wein/Jim Starlin run on DC Comics Presents, the Superman team up book of the late 70s and early 80s. That's why we don't get the first chapter, a wonderful story featuring the Spectre, which is a shame.
Nevertheless, these stories are true Superman classics, including the evergreen Alan Moore story For the Man Who has Everything, drawn by Watchmen collaborator Dave Gibbons. The only weak spot is the issue guest starring the Legion of Super-Heroes, fighting a 20th century version of the Sun Eater.
A good collection for the shelves.
Nevertheless, these stories are true Superman classics, including the evergreen Alan Moore story For the Man Who has Everything, drawn by Watchmen collaborator Dave Gibbons. The only weak spot is the issue guest starring the Legion of Super-Heroes, fighting a 20th century version of the Sun Eater.
A good collection for the shelves.
February 26, 2016
Excellent reprint volume featuring nearly all of Superman's battles with Jim Starlin's Mongul, basically a DC-fied version of Thanos (not that DC needed one with Darkseid, of course). Great artwork by Starlin, Curt Swan, and Dave Gibbons, with some great stories by Len Wein and Alan Moore.
My one complaint is that the book doesn't reprint the final story in the initial Warworld arc from DC Comics Presents, which didn't have Mongul in it, but let readers know what happened to Supergirl after she helped stop the giant killing planetoid.
Otherwise, this is a fun read for eighties' DC fans.
My one complaint is that the book doesn't reprint the final story in the initial Warworld arc from DC Comics Presents, which didn't have Mongul in it, but let readers know what happened to Supergirl after she helped stop the giant killing planetoid.
Otherwise, this is a fun read for eighties' DC fans.
July 16, 2021
This paperback collects five stories with Mongul as villain, with the first four being a somewhat self-contained story and number five the classic tale For the Man Who Has Everything . The art is wonderful and the story simple, but great. I actually expected this collection to consist of random tales pitting Superman against Mongul, but it is not as disjointed as I thought it would be. In the contrary: it is a great collection from start to finish.
One issue I have with Superman vs. Mongul is how Mongul changes from being a conqueror to a villain who simply wants Superman gone. I feel there could have been more to the character than becoming part of Superman's rogues gallery. In any case: it is a good introduction to the origins of the character Mongul.
One issue I have with Superman vs. Mongul is how Mongul changes from being a conqueror to a villain who simply wants Superman gone. I feel there could have been more to the character than becoming part of Superman's rogues gallery. In any case: it is a good introduction to the origins of the character Mongul.
December 24, 2022
I couldn't really get into the first issues of this compilation...they were just too early & much too campy for my present mood. However there was a diamond in the rough. The last story... the superman annual (from 1985 I believe) entitled "For the man who has everything," is simply MAGIC. I've seen the animated adaptation & that's pretty good too. 3.25/5
February 26, 2018
The Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons story is the real treat here.
March 23, 2019
In which we meet Mongul, and in a few instances, Superman is a dick.
September 2, 2020
The Moore and Wein stories are great, but the Levitz ones are pretty corny.
May 20, 2021
A little bit boring! However, Alan Moore’s “For the man who has everything” gets 5 stars! That was a brilliant one❤️
December 31, 2023
Alan Moore’s story is obviously the best in this although the other ones aren’t bad. Mongul is literally just A Dude, not sure of his motivations or anything but he does certainly Do Stuff.
September 2, 2021
While Mongul feels like a poor man's Darkseid, it was a good book that covered Monguls origin and best story.
January 29, 2014
One presumes this was released because Jim Starlin's earlier and much better known creation, Thanos, is set to hit it big in various installments of Marvel's "Cinematic Universe" after his cameo at the end of The Avengers. Luckil Unlike most of the themed collections there is some kind of story happening here, as the first three stories do feel like they are building to something, if nowhere near as strong as the first sequence of Thanos tales found mostly in Captain Marvel (recently collected in Avengers vs. Thanos), there's still some feeling of a much smaller epic which is compelling in its own way.
The final story, while entertaining and expertly illustrated by the legendary Curt Swan clearly suffers from the lack of both Starlin and Len Wein; it really doesn't seem like any kind of culmination to the Mongul "saga" as such.
And yeah they threw in the Alan Moore / Dave Gibbons classic in what is probably the 50th time it's been collected. Of course this is the best story in here, but it doesn't have much to do with the rest of the collection. Hey, give them some credit, it must have taken a lot of restraint to not use either name on the cover! :P
The final story, while entertaining and expertly illustrated by the legendary Curt Swan clearly suffers from the lack of both Starlin and Len Wein; it really doesn't seem like any kind of culmination to the Mongul "saga" as such.
And yeah they threw in the Alan Moore / Dave Gibbons classic in what is probably the 50th time it's been collected. Of course this is the best story in here, but it doesn't have much to do with the rest of the collection. Hey, give them some credit, it must have taken a lot of restraint to not use either name on the cover! :P
May 8, 2014
OK so this book gains an extra star for its inclusion of the classic For The Man Who Has Everything (which I've encountered in other collections). Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons produce a beautiful looking and poignant story which also shows what happens when you really piss off Superman. Brilliant.
The impact of it is actually heightened by reading it in this volume as you can see that it os the closest Supes gets to being able to physically best Mongul where previously the villain had been able to brush him aside more easily.
The other stories in here are fun and include the Legion of Superheroes, a fight with Martian Manhunter, a crossover with Starman and the introduction of Warworld.
Worth a read especially if you've not read For The Man Who Has Everything (even if Mongul does come across like a cut-price Darkseid at times).
The impact of it is actually heightened by reading it in this volume as you can see that it os the closest Supes gets to being able to physically best Mongul where previously the villain had been able to brush him aside more easily.
The other stories in here are fun and include the Legion of Superheroes, a fight with Martian Manhunter, a crossover with Starman and the introduction of Warworld.
Worth a read especially if you've not read For The Man Who Has Everything (even if Mongul does come across like a cut-price Darkseid at times).
March 25, 2016
Welcome to the Bronze Age in this short collection of Superman vs Mongul stories, pulled almost exclusively from the pages of "DC Comics Presents".
The dialogue is about what you'd expect from early '80s comics - lots of helpful expository dialogue that allows the cramming in of metric tons of story beats into the shortest possible page count. The only exception here is fantastic Alan Moore story "What do you get for the man who has everything?" which is counted among the seminal Man of Steel tales. It's light years away from the other stories, and shows just how far ahead of the game Alan Moore was (and is).
This is a breezy collection for Superman completists - those looking to read the Alan Moore tale are better advised to pick up the DC stories of Alan Moore trade, which also includes seminal Batman tale The Killing Joke, among other gems.
The dialogue is about what you'd expect from early '80s comics - lots of helpful expository dialogue that allows the cramming in of metric tons of story beats into the shortest possible page count. The only exception here is fantastic Alan Moore story "What do you get for the man who has everything?" which is counted among the seminal Man of Steel tales. It's light years away from the other stories, and shows just how far ahead of the game Alan Moore was (and is).
This is a breezy collection for Superman completists - those looking to read the Alan Moore tale are better advised to pick up the DC stories of Alan Moore trade, which also includes seminal Batman tale The Killing Joke, among other gems.
January 25, 2014
If this only had the last story in it, which is "What Do You Give The Man Who Has Everything?", which is a brilliant Alan Moore penned story where Mongul traps Superman in a memory of a Krypton that never existed, this would be a five star review. Unfortunately, the prior stories, having Superman team up with among others, Supergirl, The Legion and a lame version of Starman, drag the quality down. It's worth a read, but it's not a keeper.
April 9, 2014
This soared past my expectations, and was very well written. I especially enjoyed 'For the Man Who Had Everything'.
February 17, 2016
A solid collection of Superman stories featuring the villain Mongul, including the all time classic "For The Man Who Has Everything" by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews