Is My Copy of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Collected one-volume edition of the 1986 four-issue Prestige-format series
• The DC softcover trade, adding new material (new introduction, endpapers, chapter headings, sketchbook), is the first collected trade; identified by stated first printing, the printed price, and ISBN 0-930289-21-8
• A hardcover trade edition and a Graphitti Designs signed/numbered slipcased hardcover (limited, with additional material) followed

How DC Comics marked a first edition

• Indicia/copyright page carries the publisher block ('Copyright © [year] DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.'), ISBN, and a printing statement: a first printing states 'First Printing', often with no later dates, or a single…
• Modern DC collected editions use a descending number line in the indicia ('10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1'); the lowest number present is the printing, so '1' present indicates a first printing.

Full DC Comics first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Read the indicia — a first-printing single issue carries no later-printing line; a collected edition is “first thus,” not the true first.
4. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. 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?

Precedence: the four original Prestige-format comics (DKR #1-4, 1986) are the true first appearances and are themselves collectible, especially #1 in first print. For the BOOK, the DC trade is the first collected edition; the Graphitti signed slipcased hardcover is the premium limited state but later. The UK Titan edition follows the US.P-009358

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No standard book club; distinguish the 1986 first trade from later DC reprints via stated first printing and the original ISBN. The Graphitti edition is identified by its slipcase, limitation page, and Miller/Janson signatures.P-009359

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns a first edition?

A first edition of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller (with Klaus Janson & Lynn Varley) (DC Comics) is identified by: Collected one-volume edition of the 1986 four-issue Prestige-format series.

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

Check the copyright page. For a single issue, the indicia shows the printing. Precedence: the four original Prestige-format comics (DKR #1-4, 1986) are the true first appearances and are themselves collectible, especially #1 in first print.

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

No standard book club; distinguish the 1986 first trade from later DC reprints via stated first printing and the original ISBN. The Graphitti edition is identified by its slipcase, limitation page, and Miller/Janson signatures.

I have a first edition of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.