# Is "Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama" by Alison Bechdel a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama by Alison Bechdel (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012) is identified by: First edition: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt hardcover with dust jacket, dated 1 May 2012, ISBN 9780618982509 (ISBN-10 0618982507). The US Houghton Mifflin Harcourt hardcover (May 2012) is the true first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt hardcover with dust jacket, dated 1 May 2012, ISBN 9780618982509 (ISBN-10 0618982507)
- A first printing shows a full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page
- Sewn binding in paper over boards, about 286 pages, illustrated with black-and-white and some color line drawings; the jacket carries its printed price
- Correct publisher/imprint: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Alison Bechdel |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |
| Year | 2012 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Comic / graphic novel |
| Key point | First edition: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt hardcover with dust jacket, dated 1 May 2012, ISBN 9780618982509 (ISBN-10 0618982507) |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt hardcover with dust jacket, dated 1 May 2012, ISBN 9780618982509 (ISBN-10 0618982507). A first printing shows a full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. Sewn binding in paper over boards, about 286 pages, illustrated with black-and-white and some color line drawings; the jacket carries its printed price.

## Is this the true first?
The US Houghton Mifflin Harcourt hardcover (May 2012) is the true first edition. The UK Jonathan Cape edition also appeared in 2012 and followed the US issue.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition; the later Mariner trade paperback under the same ISBN family is a reprint, not a first thus.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama* by Alison Bechdel a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/are-you-my-mother-a-comic-drama
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.