# Is "Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion" by Neil Gaiman a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion by Neil Gaiman (Titan Books, 1988) is identified by: UK Titan Books first edition; softcover (paperback original), ISBN 1-85286-013-8 (9781852860134); first printing. The true first is the UK Titan Books paperback original, published October 1987 (not 1988).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Titan Books first edition; softcover (paperback original), ISBN 1-85286-013-8
- first printing
- The original text comprises chapters 1 through 22 plus five appendices
- A US Pocket Books paperback (ISBN 0-671-66426-3) followed in 1988 with 181 pages
- Publisher imprint reads Titan Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Neil Gaiman |
| Publisher | Titan Books |
| Year | 1988 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK Titan Books first edition; softcover (paperback original), ISBN 1-85286-013-8 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
UK Titan Books first edition; softcover (paperback original), ISBN 1-85286-013-8 (9781852860134); first printing. The original text comprises chapters 1 through 22 plus five appendices. A US Pocket Books paperback (ISBN 0-671-66426-3) followed in 1988 with 181 pages.

## Is this the true first?
The true first is the UK Titan Books paperback original, published October 1987 (not 1988). An often overlooked early Gaiman nonfiction title, though not his first book: his Duran Duran biography (Proteus, 1984) and the co-written Ghastly Beyond Belief (1985) precede it.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition. The revised and retitled later editions (1993, 2002, 2009) are distinct expanded texts, not firsts; the 1988 US Pocket Books paperback is a separate later issue.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion* by Neil Gaiman a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/dont-panic-the-official-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-comp
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.