# Is "Breakdowns" by Art Spiegelman a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Breakdowns by Art Spiegelman (Belier Press / Pantheon, 1977) is identified by: The true first is the 1977 Belier Press oversized hardcover, 'Breakdowns: From Maus to Now. True first is the 1977 Belier Press oversized edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first is the 1977 Belier Press oversized hardcover, 'Breakdowns: From Maus to Now
- An Anthology of Strips,' large quarto (roughly 10 by 14 inches) with glossy pictorial boards and illustrated endleaves, unpaginated, printed in an edition of fewer than 3,000 copies and now scarce
- The 2008 Pantheon 'Breakdowns: Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*!' is an expanded first-thus with a new introductory comic and long afterword
- Correct publisher/imprint: Belier Press / Pantheon

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Art Spiegelman |
| Publisher | Belier Press / Pantheon |
| Year | 1977 |
| True first | world edition |
| Format | Comic / graphic novel |
| Key point | The true first is the 1977 Belier Press oversized hardcover, 'Breakdowns: From Maus to Now |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The true first is the 1977 Belier Press oversized hardcover, 'Breakdowns: From Maus to Now. An Anthology of Strips,' large quarto (roughly 10 by 14 inches) with glossy pictorial boards and illustrated endleaves, unpaginated, printed in an edition of fewer than 3,000 copies and now scarce. The 2008 Pantheon 'Breakdowns: Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*!' is an expanded first-thus with a new introductory comic and long afterword.

## Is this the true first?
True first is the 1977 Belier Press oversized edition. The 2008 Pantheon expanded edition is a later first-thus, roughly doubled in length.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The 2008 Pantheon expansion is a distinct later edition, not a reprint of the 1977 original.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Breakdowns* by Art Spiegelman a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/breakdowns
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.