In case you’re in need of a last-minute gift idea for your pal Mike.
Perhaps you remember all the way back to Monday, when I was discussing the Superman Vs. Mongul trade paperback and its lamentable omission of the concluding chapter for a three-part Superman story from DC Comics Presents (which I confirmed, by the way, once I had the book in my hands on Tuesday while breaking down the latest Diamond shipment). Well, whilst perusing the Grand Comics Database to see if those stories had ever been reprinted under one cover (well, in color, anyway), I discovered the existence of this item:
…a UK color hardcover annual, under a swell Brian Bolland cover, reprinting all three issues of this storyline!
There is a minor caveat, in that the reprintings of parts two and three omit the second page of each story, in that they were pages of exposition reminding readers what had occurred in the previous chapter(s). Here’s the second page of the third issue as an example:
…and there must have been some relettering and recaptioning involved in this annual, since at least in the original issue #29, the first panel of page three directly continues from the second page flashback:
But despite the loss of a couple of pages of Starlin art, it’s nice to know that the (mostly-)entire story from DC Comics Presents #27-#29 was collected together at some point in its own little package. But man, it would be worth owning for the cover alone. Just look at that thing.
EDIT 12/19: Bob has more to say about the production issues of this particular item in this post right here!
It’s on its way.
I actually bought that a couple of years ago when ordering some other books from Old Blighty (as John Constantine probably calls it when being written by Americans). There were a couple of other production issues in addition to the missing recap pages that make it a less-than-ideal reprint, but still a curiosity worth having if it’s not too expensive.
Is that the one where Superman almost breaches the border of heaven and gets a talking to from God?
S.B. – Egads. If you really did, that’s very kind of you! I was only joking!
BobH – Whoa, I didn’t remember that post. I’ll add the link to my entry.
Casey – That’s the one!
What about DC Comics Presents #36? Has that been reprinted anywhere? I loved that Starlin Mongul story. I think it was, “Whatever Happened to Starman”. I remember bagging them out of order so I’d have that right after 27-29.