# Is "Batman: Year One" by Frank Miller & David Mazzucchelli a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Batman: Year One by Frank Miller & David Mazzucchelli (DC Comics, 1987) is identified by: True first appearance is the single issue Batman #404 (cover-dated February 1987), the first of the four-part arc running in Batman #404-407 (1987). True first is the single issue Batman #404 (February 1987) from DC Comics.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first appearance is the single issue Batman #404 (cover-dated February 1987), the first of the four-part arc running in Batman #404-407
- First-printing single issues carry no later-printing indicators
- The story was first collected in 1988 in an edition published by Warner Books (softcover and hardcover); that collected edition is first-thus
- Correct publisher/imprint: DC Comics

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Frank Miller & David Mazzucchelli |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Year | 1987 |
| True first | world edition |
| Format | Comic / graphic novel |
| Key point | True first appearance is the single issue Batman #404 (cover-dated February 1987), the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
True first appearance is the single issue Batman #404 (cover-dated February 1987), the first of the four-part arc running in Batman #404-407 (1987). First-printing single issues carry no later-printing indicators. The story was first collected in 1988 in an edition published by Warner Books (softcover and hardcover); that collected edition is first-thus.

## Is this the true first?
True first is the single issue Batman #404 (February 1987) from DC Comics. The 1988 collected edition, published by Warner Books, is first-thus. The Deluxe hardcover (2005) is recolored and is a distinct later state.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later collected printings carry printing indicators; the recolored Deluxe hardcover is a distinct later state, not the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Batman: Year One* by Frank Miller & David Mazzucchelli a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/batman-year-one
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.