# Is "Elektra: Assassin" by Frank Miller & Bill Sienkiewicz a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Elektra: Assassin by Frank Miller & Bill Sienkiewicz (Marvel / Epic Comics, 1986) is identified by: True first appearance is the single issue Elektra: Assassin #1 (August 1986), the first of an eight-issue limited series from Epic Comics (Marvel's mature-readers imprint) running August 1986 to March 1987. True first is the single issue Elektra: Assassin #1 (1986).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first appearance is the single issue Elektra: Assassin #1 (August 1986), the first of an eight-issue limited series from Epic Comics (Marvel's mature-readers imprint) running August 1986 to March 1987
- First-printing single issues carry no later-printing indicators
- The collected edition followed and is first-thus
- Correct publisher/imprint: Marvel / Epic Comics

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Frank Miller & Bill Sienkiewicz |
| Publisher | Marvel / Epic Comics |
| Year | 1986 |
| True first | world edition |
| Format | Comic / graphic novel |
| Key point | True first appearance is the single issue Elektra: Assassin #1 (August 1986), the first… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
True first appearance is the single issue Elektra: Assassin #1 (August 1986), the first of an eight-issue limited series from Epic Comics (Marvel's mature-readers imprint) running August 1986 to March 1987. First-printing single issues carry no later-printing indicators. The collected edition followed and is first-thus.

## Is this the true first?
True first is the single issue Elektra: Assassin #1 (1986). Collected editions are first-thus, not the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later collected-edition printings are reprints and carry printing indicators.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Elektra: Assassin* by Frank Miller & Bill Sienkiewicz a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/elektra-assassin
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.