Is My B.P.R.D.: Hollow Earth a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Hollow Earth #1, cover-dated January 2002, Dark Horse Comics; first issue of the first B.P.R.D. mini-series (a three-issue run, January to June 2002), by Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegoski with art by Ryan Sook and Curtis Arnold
• First print carries no printing statement

How Dark Horse Comics marked a first edition

• Trade paperbacks / hardcovers: the indicia/copyright page states 'First edition:' or 'First printing:' with month and year; later printings update the wording.
• Many Dark Horse collected editions print a printing-history line that adds dates as printings accrue — a first printing shows a single date.

Full Dark Horse 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. 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 world 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 true first of the B.P.R.D. spin-off is Hollow Earth #1 (2002). The mini-series introduces Johann Kraus. The collected trade paperback (Hollow Earth and Other Stories) is a first-thus.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later printings are marked; the first printing has no printing statement.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of B.P.R.D.: Hollow Earth a first edition?

A first edition of B.P.R.D.: Hollow Earth by Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden et al. (Dark Horse Comics) is identified by: Hollow Earth #1, cover-dated January 2002, Dark Horse Comics; first issue of the first B.P.R.D.

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 true first of the B.P.R.D.

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

Later printings are marked; the first printing has no printing statement.

I have a first edition of B.P.R.D.: Hollow Earth — what should I do?

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 lost. To sell, see the author’s collecting guide. Either way, nothing collectible ends up in a landfill.

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.