Is My Akira (English collected, Epic Comics) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• US first English edition: the Epic Comics colorized floppy series, Akira #1 cover-dated August 1988, colored by Steve Oliff (an early showcase of computer coloring)
• First prints carry the 1988 Epic indicia and no later-printing line
• Japanese original: serialized in Kodansha's Young Magazine from December 1982, then collected in six tankobon volumes beginning with volume one in September 1984, printed in black and white and read right to left

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Read the indicia — a first-printing single issue carries no later-printing line; a collected edition is “first thus,” not the true first.
3. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

Format & printing

This title first appeared as a single issue / periodical, not a trade book. The true first is the first-printing single issue; later trade paperbacks or hardcover collections are “first thus.” Check the indicia (the small-print publication block) for a printing statement.

Is this the true first?

The Japanese Kodansha tankobon (volume one, 1984) is the original-language collected true first, drawn from serialization that began in 1982. The Epic Comics colorized US series (1988) is the first English-language edition. The later Dark Horse black-and-white collected volumes of the 2000s are a separate English first-thus. Three precedence layers: Kodansha, Epic, Dark Horse.P-017796

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition. Distinguish Kodansha (Japanese, black and white, 1984 tankobon) from Epic (US, color, 1988) from Dark Horse (US, black and white, 2000s). Verify imprint, language, and color.P-017797

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Akira (English collected, Epic Comics) a first edition?

A first edition of Akira (English collected, Epic Comics) by Katsuhiro Otomo (Marvel/Epic Comics) is identified by: US first English edition: the Epic Comics colorized floppy series, Akira #1 cover-dated August 1988, colored by Steve Oliff (an early showcase of computer coloring).

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. For a single issue, the indicia shows the printing. The Japanese Kodansha tankobon (volume one, 1984) is the original-language collected true first, drawn from serialization that began in 1982.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No book-club edition. Distinguish Kodansha (Japanese, black and white, 1984 tankobon) from Epic (US, color, 1988) from Dark Horse (US, black and white, 2000s). Verify imprint, language, and color.

I have a first edition of Akira (English collected, Epic Comics) — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.