# Is "Building Stories" by Chris Ware a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Building Stories by Chris Ware (Pantheon Books, 2012) is identified by: Large hardboard boxed set of 14 separately bound printed elements (cloth/board-bound books, broadsheets, pamphlets, an accordion-fold board). US Pantheon boxed set is the true first; the UK Jonathan Cape edition followed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Large hardboard boxed set of 14 separately bound printed elements (cloth/board-bound books, broadsheets, pamphlets, an accordion-fold board)
- First printing identified by the complete number line printed on the inside of the box
- Pantheon imprint
- Correct publisher/imprint: Pantheon Books

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Chris Ware |
| Publisher | Pantheon Books |
| Year | 2012 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Comic / graphic novel |
| Key point | Large hardboard boxed set of 14 separately bound printed elements (cloth/board-bound books, broadsheets, pamphlets, an accordion-fold board) |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Large hardboard boxed set of 14 separately bound printed elements (cloth/board-bound books, broadsheets, pamphlets, an accordion-fold board). First printing identified by the complete number line printed on the inside of the box; Pantheon imprint.

## Is this the true first?
US Pantheon boxed set is the true first; the UK Jonathan Cape edition followed. No earlier precedence elsewhere.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition. Later printings are indicated by a shorter number line on the inside of the box.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Building Stories* by Chris Ware a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/building-stories
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.