Is My Ghost World a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First collected edition, Fantagraphics, 1997, a limited signed and numbered HARDCOVER of 2,500 copies, approximately 80 pp., with Clowes's wraparound cover art and the green-and-black interior color scheme
• This 1997 limited hardcover is the true first book edition; the trade softcover did not appear until 1998
• Confirm the 1997 hardcover and its numbering rather than the later softcover

How Fantagraphics Books marked a first edition

• Book-format collections follow standard book-trade conventions: the copyright page carries a 'First printing' or 'First edition' statement with month and year (e.g. 'First printing: September 2019').
• Subsequent printings update the statement to 'Second printing,' etc.; the absence of any higher-printing statement, together with the original stated month, is the first-printing tell.

Full Fantagraphics Books 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 Eightball serialization (Fantagraphics, issues 11 to 18, June 1993 to March 1997) is the true first appearance. The 1997 Fantagraphics limited signed and numbered hardcover (2,500 copies) is the first book edition; the 1998 trade softcover and the later expanded Special Edition and 2001 film tie-in are all separate later issues.P-005597

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition. The key distinction is format and date: the 1997 first edition is the limited hardcover, not a softcover. The widely circulated softcover is the 1998 trade printing and later; the Special Edition and film tie-ins are later still.P-005598

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Ghost World a first edition?

A first edition of Ghost World by Daniel Clowes (Fantagraphics Books) is identified by: First collected edition, Fantagraphics, 1997, a limited signed and numbered HARDCOVER of 2,500 copies, approximately 80 pp., with Clowes's wraparound cover art and the green-and-black interior color scheme.

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 Eightball serialization (Fantagraphics, issues 11 to 18, June 1993 to March 1997) is the true first appearance.

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

No book-club edition. The key distinction is format and date: the 1997 first edition is the limited hardcover, not a softcover. The widely circulated softcover is the 1998 trade printing and later; the Special Edition and film tie-ins are later still.

I have a first edition of Ghost World — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And 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 discarded.

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.