Joe R. Lansdale First Editions

• Act of Love — 1981 · ZebraZebra Books mass-market paperback original, 1981 first printing. Lansdale's first novel. The US Zebra paperback original is the true first. Later Subterranean Press and Cemetery Dance limited hardcovers are first-thus reprints, not the true first. Not applicable; paperback original.
• Dead in the West — 1986 · Space & TimeSpace & Time (New York) softcover first edition, first printing, stating 'First printing: May 1986' on the copyright page. Cover and frontispiece art by Allen Koszowski; the weird-western/zombie-western novella had earlier appeared serialized in Eldritch Tales. Space & Time softcover is the true first. Later editions (including Night Shade) are first-thus reprints. N/A (paperback original).
• The Magic Wagon — 1986 · DoubledayDoubleday (Garden City) 'Double D Western' US first edition, 182 pp, with 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page. This was Lansdale's first hardcover. The dust jacket of the true first is price-clipped-free and carries a printed price. US Doubleday hardcover is the true first; the Bantam mass-market paperback (1988) follows. Doubleday book club copies of this era lack the jacket price and typically bear a blindstamp or gutter dot on the rear board; they omit or alter the 'First Edition' statement. A priced jacket plus a stated 'First Edition' distinguishes the trade first.
• The Nightrunners — 1987 · Dark HarvestDark Harvest (Arlington Heights, Illinois) first edition, with introduction by Dean R. Koontz and illustrations by Gregory Manchess; first appearance of Lansdale's God of the Razor. Issued as a trade hardcover plus a signed limited: 300 numbered copies signed by Lansdale, Koontz, and Manchess, and 26 lettered copies (bound in white simulated leather, no jacket, in a wood slipcase). Dark Harvest is the true first. The signed numbered and lettered states are the collectible issues; the trade issue is the same first-edition year. N/A.
• The Drive-In — 1988 · BantamUS Bantam Spectra mass-market paperback original, 1988, ISBN 0-553-27481-3 (9780553274813), with the complete number line present down to 1 on the copyright page. The full title reads 'The Drive-In: A B-Movie with Blood and Popcorn, Made in Texas.' Roughly 158 pages; a comic science-fiction/horror novel and World Fantasy Award nominee. As a paperback original the wrappers themselves carry the price; there is no…. The US Bantam Spectra paperback original (1988, ISBN 0-553-27481-3) is the true first. The New English Library (UK) edition, ISBN 0-450-51570-2, is a later, separate printing and does not have precedence. N/A (paperback original).
• By Bizarre Hands — 1989 · Mark V. ZiesingLansdale's first short-story collection. Mark V. Ziesing first edition hardcover (Shingletown, CA), with an introduction by Lewis Shiner; a signed limited state was limited to 500 copies. Confirm via the Ziesing imprint and the limitation page on the signed limited. The Ziesing hardcover is the true first; a later Avon paperback followed and is not the first edition. The signed limited is the collectible issue. Not applicable.
• Cold in July — 1989 · BantamUS Bantam mass-market paperback original, published February 1989, with a complete descending number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. A Mark V. Ziesing signed limited hardcover (dust-jacket art by Terry Lee, limited to 500 slipcased copies) also exists and is the collectible issue. The Bantam paperback original is the first trade appearance; the Ziesing signed limited hardcover is the sought-after collector issue. Verify the number line on the Bantam copy and the limitation page on the Ziesing copy. Not applicable; the trade first is a paperback original.
• The Drive-In 2 — 1989 · BantamBantam Spectra US mass-market paperback original, with the full subtitle 'Not Just One of Them Sequels.' Identify the first printing by the statement 'A Bantam Spectra Book / July 1989' together with the complete number line 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on the copyright page; the presence of the terminal 1 (and the leading 0) marks the first printing. No hardcover trade edition preceded it, so the paperback original is…. The US Bantam Spectra paperback original is the true first. N/A (paperback original); later Bantam printings advance the number line and drop the lower numbers.
• Savage Season — 1990 · Mark V. ZiesingFirst Hap and Leonard novel. Issued in 1990 in two forms: a Mark V. Ziesing hardcover (trade plus a signed limited state, some in a two-volume slipcased set paired with Cold in July, signed by Lansdale and illustrator Terry Lee on the limitation page) and a Bantam mass-market paperback original. Confirm the Ziesing copy by its limitation page and the Bantam copy by a number line ending in 1. Both the Ziesing hardcover and the Bantam paperback original appeared in 1990 and precedence between them is not firmly settled in the sources; some dealers treat the Bantam PBO as the first appearance while the Ziesing hardcover is the collectible first hardcover. Present both as 1990 first-year issues rather than asserting one as the sole true first. Not applicable; the Bantam issue is a paperback original and the Ziesing issue is a limited/trade hardcover, not a book-club edition.
• Batman: Captured by the Engines — 1991 · Warner BooksUS Warner Books (Warner Paperback Library) mass-market paperback original, New York, 1991, with a number line ending in 1. The first hardcover, from Borderlands Press (Baltimore) in 1992, was published in somewhat revised form, limited to 500 numbered copies signed by Lansdale on a tipped-in leaf and issued in a dust jacket and slipcase. The 1991 Warner paperback original is the true first. The 1992 Borderlands Press signed, numbered limited hardcover is a later collectible issue in slightly altered text, not the first edition. Not applicable; the first edition is a paperback original.
• Mucho Mojo — 1994 · Mysterious PressSecond Hap and Leonard novel. US Mysterious Press first-edition trade hardcover, New York, 1994 (ISBN 0892964901), stated First Edition / First Printing with a complete number line on the copyright page. Bound in quarter black paper over blue boards, in a first-issue dust jacket printing its price (present on an unclipped jacket). The US Mysterious Press trade hardcover is the true first. A separate CD Publications / Cemetery Dance limited edition of 400 copies, signed by Lansdale and jacket illustrator Mark A. Nelson on a limitation page, was also published in 1994 as a distinct signed/limited issue, not the trade first. No book-club edition point is confirmed for this title; the Mysterious Press trade hardcover is the first. If a book-club edition exists it would typically be identified by a blind stamp on the rear board and lack of a printed price, but do not assume one is present.
• The Two-Bear Mambo — 1995 · Mysterious PressThird Hap and Leonard novel. US Mysterious Press first edition hardcover, 1995, octavo, roughly 273 pages, bound in black and gray paper-covered boards with the spine title stamped in metallic red, issued in a dust jacket that should retain the printed price on the flap. A number line appears on the copyright page. The US Mysterious Press trade hardcover is the true first; the UK Gollancz edition followed and is not the first. A separate signed, numbered limited edition of 100 copies was bound in quarter-leather from the Mysterious Press sheets by James Cahill Publishing and is a distinct issue rather than the trade first. No book-club edition point is confirmed for this title; the Mysterious Press trade hardcover is the first. Do not assume book-club markings are present.
• Bad Chili — 1997 · Mysterious PressTwo 1997 firsts exist. The true first is the Mojo Press edition, limited to 500 copies signed by author and artist. The Mysterious Press New York trade hardcover (ISBN 0892966196) is the first trade edition, identified by the number line on the copyright page and no later-printing or book-club statement. Mojo Press limited edition (500 signed copies) is the true first; the Mysterious Press trade hardcover is the first trade edition and followed it. Hap and Leonard book four. A book-club edition of the Mysterious Press trade text exists; it lacks the number line and is typically a smaller, blind-stamped, lighter volume without a printed jacket price.
• Rumble Tumble — 1998 · Mysterious PressTwo 1998 firsts exist. The Subterranean Press signed limited edition (limited to roughly 400 copies, signed on a limitation page) is the collectors' true first. The Mysterious Press New York trade hardcover (ISBN 0892966203) is the first trade edition, identified by the number line on the copyright page. The Subterranean Press signed limited edition is the true first; the Mysterious Press trade hardcover is the first trade edition. Hap and Leonard book five. A book-club edition of the Mysterious Press trade text exists; it lacks the number line, is typically lighter and blind-stamped, and carries no printed jacket price.
• The Bottoms — 2000 · Subterranean PressTwo distinct 2000 states. The Subterranean Press limited edition (signed, 400 numbered plus 26 lettered copies, illustrated) was published roughly May 2000 and is set from Lansdale's longer original manuscript. The Mysterious Press trade hardcover, with the standard text, followed about six months later; its first printing states 'First Edition' with a complete number line down to 1 and carries the printed price…. Correction: the Subterranean Press limited edition (2000) precedes the Mysterious Press trade edition by roughly six months and uses a different (uncut) text, making it the true first edition of the work. The Mysterious Press hardcover (2000) is the first trade edition and the first appearance of the published text. Buyers should specify which they want, as the two are textually different. Book-club editions of the trade text are common: blind-stamp to the rear board and no price on the jacket.
• Captains Outrageous — 2001 · Mysterious PressTwo firsts exist. The Subterranean Press signed limited edition (limited to roughly 450 copies, signed on the limitation page) is the collectors' true first. The Mysterious Press New York trade hardcover (ISBN 0892967285) is the first trade edition, identified by the number line on the copyright page. The Subterranean Press signed limited edition is the true first; the Mysterious Press trade hardcover is the first trade edition. Hap and Leonard book six. A separate UK edition (Weidenfeld & Nicolson / Orion) also exists. A book-club edition of the Mysterious Press trade text exists; it lacks the number line, is a lighter blind-stamped volume, and carries no printed jacket price.
• A Fine Dark Line — 2002 · Subterranean PressThe true first is the Subterranean Press signed limited edition, published in 2002, which also contains exclusive material (two unused prologues and an afterword) not in the trade edition. The Mysterious Press trade hardcover (ISBN 0892967293) followed in January 2003 and is the first trade edition, identified by the copyright-page number line. The Subterranean Press limited edition of 2002 is the true first and predates the Mysterious Press trade hardcover of January 2003. Original publisher and year corrected accordingly. A book-club edition of the Mysterious Press trade text exists; it lacks the number line and printed jacket price and is typically a lighter blind-stamped volume.
• Bubba Ho-Tep — 2003 · Night Shade BooksNight Shade Books, 2003, is the first standalone hardcover. It collects the novella together with the shooting script and an introduction by Lansdale and director Don Coscarelli. Issued as a signed limited edition of 750 copies signed by Lansdale and Coscarelli, and as a trade hardcover. The novella first appeared in the anthology The King Is Dead (1994). The first separate book edition is the Night Shade Books hardcover of 2003, not a Subterranean Press edition. Subterranean later published the related prequel Bubba and the Cosmic Blood-Suckers. Not applicable.
• Sunset and Sawdust — 2004 · Alfred A. KnopfAlfred A. Knopf New York first edition, 2004 (ISBN 0375414533). Knopf firsts state 'First Edition' on the copyright page together with a complete descending number line ending in 1. First-issue dust jacket carries the Knopf price and no later-printing indicators. Knopf US first edition is the true first for the US market. The UK Weidenfeld & Nicolson edition is a separate 2004 issue and does not precede it; no Subterranean limited edition of this title was located. A book-club edition of the Knopf text exists; it lacks the 'First Edition' statement and number line, is typically a lighter blind-stamped volume, and carries no printed jacket price.
• Lost Echoes — 2007 · Subterranean PressThe true first is the Subterranean Press edition of 2007, issued as a signed limited (roughly 400 numbered copies) and a trade hardcover. The Vintage Crime/Black Lizard trade paperback is a later reissue, not the first appearance, so it is not the true first. Corrected: the record treated the Vintage Crime trade paperback as the US first, but Subterranean Press published the book first in hardcover in 2007 and the Vintage paperback followed as a reissue. Not applicable to the Subterranean Press first; no book-club edition of the true first is indicated.
• Leather Maiden — 2008 · Alfred A. KnopfAlfred A. Knopf US first edition (ISBN 9780375414527), 2008, identified by a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page and no later-printing statement; first-state jacket present with its printed price. The US Knopf trade hardcover (ISBN 9780375414527) is the true first edition. A separate signed limited edition of 500 numbered copies was also issued and is distinct from the trade first. Later book club editions lack the trade number line and the printed price; check for a blind stamp on the rear board and the smaller, lighter binding typical of club printings.
• Vanilla Ride — 2009 · Alfred A. KnopfAlfred A. Knopf US first edition, 2009, ISBN 9780307270971 (9780307270979), identified by a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page beneath the Knopf stated-first-edition wording. Seventh Hap and Leonard novel. A first-issue dust jacket retains the printed price on the front flap (present and unclipped on a true first-issue jacket) and the Borzoi/Knopf colophon. The US Knopf hardcover (ISBN 9780307270979) is the true first edition. Later book club editions exist and lack the trade number line and the printed flap price; verify a true first by the intact number line ending in 1 together with the priced first-issue jacket.
• Edge of Dark Water — 2012 · Mulholland Books / Little, BrownMulholland Books (Little, Brown) US first edition (ISBN 9780316188432), identified by the First Edition statement with a full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page, in dust jacket. Distinguish the US trade hardcover from the concurrent British PS Publishing hardcover by imprint: the PS issue is a signed limited of 300 numbered copies with a special jacket and slipcase, signed on the limitation page. The US Mulholland / Little, Brown hardcover is the recognized true first, published March 2012. The PS Publishing UK signed limited also appeared in 2012, effectively concurrent, but the US trade hardcover is the standard collected first; the PS issue is distinguished by its limitation and slipcase rather than preceding the US. No standard trade book club edition is a concern here. The 2013 Mulholland trade paperback is a later issue; distinguish the US trade first from the UK PS limited by imprint, number line, limitation page, and slipcase.
• The Thicket — 2013 · Mulholland Books / Little, BrownMulholland Books (Little, Brown) US first edition, identified by the First Edition statement with a number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. The US Mulholland / Little, Brown hardcover (ISBN 9780316188456) is the true first edition. No significant book club edition concern; confirm the trade first by the First Edition line and number line.
• Paradise Sky — 2015 · Mulholland Books / Little, BrownMulholland Books (Little, Brown) US first edition (ISBN 9780316329378), identified by the First Edition statement with a full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. Octavo, bound in red boards stamped in black, in dust jacket; the first-issue jacket should retain its original printed price at the flap. The US Mulholland / Little, Brown hardcover is the true first edition, published June 2015. No significant book club edition concern. Confirm the trade first by the First Edition statement and number line ending in 1; the later trade paperback and audio issues are not the first hardcover.
• Honky Tonk Samurai — 2016 · Mulholland Books / Little, BrownMulholland Books (Little, Brown) US first edition, published 2 February 2016, identified by the 'First Edition' statement together with a descending number line on the copyright page. Ninth Hap and Leonard novel, issued in hardcover with dust jacket; the first-issue jacket should retain its printed price on the flap. The separate Gauntlet/Charnel House signed limited issue is a later, distinct edition and should…. The US Mulholland / Little, Brown trade hardcover (ISBN 9780316329408) is the true first edition, ahead of the UK Hodder & Stoughton printing. No significant book club edition concern; confirm the trade first by the stated 'First Edition' line with the accompanying number line, and note that the 2017 signed limited is a separate later edition, not the first.
• Rusty Puppy — 2017 · Mulholland Books / Little, BrownUS Mulholland Books (Little, Brown) first edition, February 2017, ISBN 9780316311564, identified by the words "First Edition" or "First North American Edition" on the copyright page together with a full number line descending to 1. Tenth Hap and Leonard novel. The first-issue dust jacket carries the printed price on the front flap (present, unclipped, on a true first-issue jacket) and the Mulholland Books…. The US Mulholland Books hardcover (ISBN 9780316311564) is the true first. A UK edition (Hodder & Stoughton) followed. No book club edition of note; disregard any BCE claim for this modern crime hardcover. Identify the trade first by the stated "First Edition" line and the intact number line ending in 1, and keep the priced first-issue jacket.
• Jackrabbit Smile — 2018 · Mulholland Books / Little, BrownUS Mulholland Books first edition, with a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. Eleventh Hap and Leonard novel. The US Mulholland Books hardcover is the true first. A UK edition (Hodder & Stoughton) followed. No book club edition of note; disregard any BCE claim for this modern crime hardcover. Identify the first by the number line.
• The Elephant of Surprise — 2019 · Mulholland Books / Little, BrownUS Mulholland Books / Little, Brown first edition (ISBN 9780316479875). The copyright page reads 'First Edition: March 2019' and carries a complete number line ending in 1. Twelfth Hap and Leonard novel. The US Mulholland Books hardcover is the true first. A UK edition (Hodder & Stoughton) followed. No book club edition of note; disregard any BCE claim for this modern crime hardcover. Identify the first by the 'First Edition: March 2019' statement and the number line ending in 1.

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